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Sounds of the Season: (4) : This time of year, seasonal music is heavy in the air, and you’re never far from someone’s festive music. You won’t be surprised to hear many modern tracks, and an array of timeless or nostalgic songs as well. Somewhere along the way, though, you hear something different. Someone puts on an old holiday record; you might not recognize the music at all, but you have a sudden, powerful image of someone you ‘used to know’. It doesn’t feel like an illusion; you can see them, you can hear them, you can feel them. Maybe it’s someone you lost contact with in this life, maybe it’s an old friend you haven’t seen, maybe it’s someone your starseed knows but you’ve forgotten, maybe it was a ghost from another life, a memory engraved in your heart but brought to life for a brief moment–whoever it is, it’s someone important to you. Whether you know why, or not. The song is only a few moments long, but for the duration of the music, they’re real. And then, on the last note, they disappear. Whatever magic was on the record has faded; even if you hear the song again, your companion does not return. (While you may converse with this person, they are an illusion and can only speak vaguely about things your character doesn’t know. They should not talk about meta information or detailed past life or pre-side swap information without staff approval but you can PM The Space Cauldron if you have something in mind!)
Sitting perched in a snow dusted tree, Ilmare leaned back against the trunk and shivered with cold. But since this little nest of hers let her watch people and listen to holiday music, she wasn’t going to complain all that much about the cold. Besides, she had determination to help keep her blood warm and pumping. And a sense of calm since she’d tied up most of her remaining loose ends that morning. I can let myself relax a little bit, she thought, eyes half closed. One leg dangled off of the branch as Ilmare tipped her head back against the trunk, her hair spilling out around her.
The music that seeped out into the night was soft and mostly instrumentals. It was nice, she thought. Sure, she liked louder, edgier stuff as a rule, but it was really hard to beat old fashioned Christmas music. As she listened, she heard the music change. This song was livelier, almost a march. And it wasn’t anything that she recognized. Still, she liked what she could hear. She sat up slightly and then nearly shrieked in shock as she looked down. Sitting on a branch just below her was a child with masses of curly, blue black hair. She looked like she was around nine or ten and as Ilmare stared down, the girl smiled and waved before moving to climb up to where the corrupt senshi sat. How the kid had gotten there, Ilmare couldn’t say. She hadn’t been there earlier and she was certain that she would have noticed a kid outside and climbing trees!
At first, she assumed the twinge she’d felt upon seeing the girl was nothing more than shock and worry. But as the kid made it to her branch and plonked herself down, Ilmare felt her heart constrict painfully. She knew this kid, but she wasn’t sure how or why she’d come to that firm conclusion. And when the kid spoke, it made her heart hurt even more.
“You shouldn’t look so worried,” the girl said brightly, smiling crookedly. “I’m a very good climber, you know.”
Yes, Ilmare thought, somewhat wistfully, I know. I don’t know why I know, but I do. But, rather than give voice to her confusion, she instead held out a hand to the girl who clasped it quickly and squeezed in a friendly way. That squeeze evoked a visceral reaction and Ilmare felt like she’d been punched in the chest for a moment. She wanted to ask the girl why she felt so damned important, but couldn’t think of a way to do so that didn’t sound crazy. And maybe the kid could sense that because she smiled and managed to scootch closer, leaning against the senshi and hugging her hard.
“I don’t want you to be sad or worry about me,” the girl declared, voice muffled. “I just wanted to sit with you again and listen to the music. I always liked this song.”
The girl’s voice had lowered confidingly. Putting an arm around the little shoulders, Ilmare reasoned that the kid had to be real. She felt real and solid and warm. Even if she wasn’t sure why the girl felt so important, she was at least confident in her realness.
The music slowed down and there was a tiny pause just before something new began to play. Ilmare glanced up quickly and then turned her attention back to the child. Only to find her completely gone. Bending slightly, the corrupt senshi hugged herself and began to sniffle, mourning the sudden loss of the tiny girl who’d appeared between one sign and the next and who had felt so very, very real.
Word Count = 613
