by Kade Cook
“Ah, sweetie, there was no woman. It was an empty session. You can check the books if you like.”
Gabrian wipes the look of disappointment from her face and forces a smile. She is not going to get the answers she needs. She backs down and resists the urge to question her again.
It is like I am having a nightmare where I am screaming for someone to hear me, to help me, but everyone keeps walking by, going about their business like I am invisible, Gabrian thinks. Is Rachael right? Did I fall asleep and dream this entire messed up thing? It would explain a lot of the oddities that took place. I would genuinely welcome the ability to dismiss all this and get back to a world where I am still in control.
“Maybe you are right. It just seemed so real to me…huh!” Gabrian says, running her hands through her hair and scrunching it up in a knot. Turning abruptly, she saunters back to her desk and glances discreetly from the corner of her eye at the chaise. She swears she can still see white light faintly glowing where the imaginary Mrs. Argryis had sat. “Nah!” she grumbles under her breath, trying not to give life to the haunting just in case it might not have been so imaginary.
Gabrian sits down at her desk and tries to focus on something that might distract her. Rachael crosses the room and takes a seat in front of her. “Gabrian, when was the last time you took a vacation?”
“Just the other week, we took the Friday off right before Remembrance Day so that we could stretch out the weekend,” she quickly answers, wearing a smug grin.
“No, that does not count. You spent most of your time off sitting in here by yourself, finishing up files,” Rachael corrects her. “I mean a real vacation with time away from here, away from your clients, and anything else that might resemble your work.”
Gabrian straightens her grin and places her left hand across her mouth in a thinking pose. “Never, okay. Are you happy now?!”
Rachael shakes her head at Gabrian’s response. “Here is an idea. What would you say if I were to propose that we close the office for an extra week or so over the holidays and take some time to relax—for real this time. Maybe, I don’t know...reboot your brain so to speak. What do you say?” Rachael leans in and rests her elbows on her knees then sets her chin within the palms of her hands and glares playfully at Gabrian. Gabrian is beginning to think that Rachael may need a bit of a break too. As much as she will never admit it, she is here almost as much as Gabrian is on her days off.
“How about we get through today, and we will go for a drink after work to discuss the details of this vacation thing you are talking about. Sound good?” Gabrian chuckles. Even though it is pretty early in the day to think about having alcohol, she is ready to get this day over with and have a sip of something to help smooth out the edges.
“Oh, now that sounds like a very solid plan. You have got yourself a date.” Grinning from ear to ear, Rachael gets up from her chair and smooths out her skirt, then turns toward the door. “I better get back out there. Mr. Redmond is going to start thinking that we forgot all about him.” Rachael giggles. “You know, it is too bad that we cannot date our clients! He is so nice...and really hot!” Rachael looks back at Gabrian and winks, quickly making her exit.
“Rachael, you wicked little thing!” Gabrian scolds her playfully. She is right though; he is pretty easy to look at—tall, dark wavy hair, an incredible smile…not to mention his eyes, like precious stones made of polished jade. Oh, that girl! Now I am never going to be able to look at him again without noticing.
Gabrian hears her addressing him on the other side of the door. It is time to get her game face back on. “Right this way, Mr. Redmond. Dr. Shadwell will see you now.” Rachael opens the door and sees Mr. Redmond into the office. Gabrian leaves her chair and meets him midway across the room. Raising her hand to greet him as usual. Gabrian swears that she sees colours flicker ever so faintly around Rachael, mostly white light with iridescent specks. She looks toward Mr. Redmond, but there is nothing around him, at least nothing that she can see. Gabrian turns back to Rachael. Just as suddenly as the aura had appeared, it is gone.
Ah, what is going on with me today? Gabrian screams inside her head. Keeping her composure and trying to pretend like she did not see anything, she starts to chant silently. Keep breathing. You are just tired. Act normal.
“Mr. Redmond, nice to see you again. Won’t you please come in and take your usual seat—feel free to make yourself comfortable. I will be with you in just a second.” She waves her hand and gestures to the chaise then quickly reaches for Rachael. “When you get back to your desk, can you make reservations for us for dinner?”
“Sure, any place in particular?”
“No, you pick. Around six-thirty? I should be finished with everything by then.”
“Are you sure you are okay?” Rachael tilts her head, and her eyes reveal a look of concern.
“Yes, I am good. I think maybe you might be right about me needing to take some time for myself.” Gabrian’s mouth pulls slightly upward at the edges as she gives Rachael a crooked grin. “Who knows, I might just enjoy it!”
Rachael laughs quietly and shakes her head, her red curls swing carelessly about her as she turns and closes the door behind her. Gabrian takes a deep breath, trying to refocus on her work and returns to her client who patiently waits for her. Mr. Redmond looks up from the pamphlet he was reading and gives her a wide, charismatic smile.
My goodness, he really is handsome, Gabrian realizes, seeing him in a different light. Oh no! Damn that girl!
Chapter Three
A Drink Anyone?
IT IS SEVEN-THIRTY. Rachael and Gabrian sit at the bar, waiting to be seated in the dining area of the restaurant where Rachael had made their dinner reservations. It is some new-age, trendy place called Beauty & Essex that serves the best organic foods, or so she heard. The place is busy and loud. Gabrian glances down briefly at her watch to check the time again and starts to think that this may be as close as she will get to knowing how good the food is here.
“I need to go to the washroom. I will check on the reservation again on the way back through.” Rachael huffs as she gets up to leave.
Gabrian wishes her good luck. While Rachael is gone, Gabrian turns to see if she can catch the bartender’s attention to order another couple of drinks.
Maybe it is the alcohol getting to her, but suddenly, she finds the young man behind the bar to be very attractive. Since she has nothing better to do, she watches him work, captivated by how he interacts with the people he serves. He is handsome, obviously, muscular and lean in a sporty kind of way, well-groomed, and now seems to have an orange hue drifting about him. When Gabrian looks directly at it, she experiences a calm, welcoming feeling. If it was not so interesting to watch, she would be freaking out again.
He notices her following his every move and starts toward her. “Hi again! Can I get you something else?” The words roll of his tongue sweetly and rehearsed.
“Oh, um…” Gabrian panics, trying to remember why she was staring at him in the first place. “Could I have two more drinks please? It does not look like we will be eating anytime soon.”
He chuckles and nods his head in agreement. “Yeah, this place can get pretty crazy at times, especially on Friday nights. You wait until it hits nine and the band starts in the bar upstairs. The place gets so full, you can barely move.”
Gabrian looks around and notices an incredible chandelier hanging from the middle of the staircase that must lead to the place upstairs that he spoke of. She was beginning to understand why Rachael liked this place. There is a fun, swanky charm about it that makes her feel like they are in a cover up for some gangster hideout from the fifties. The outside of the restaurant is actually a fully functioning pawn shop that they had to walk through in order to get to the door that led them inside. It is surreal.
“So what would you like to drink?”
Looking down and swirling around the remains of an ice cube in her empty glass, she begins to ponder. She always ord
ers the same drink—Gin and Tonic with a slice of lime. It is safe, predictable, and reliable. Though after the day she just had, it does not seem to fit the occasion. Feeling a wave of recklessness hit her, she glances up at the bartender. “Surprise me!” she says.
Laughing at her answer—and looking completely delicious—he retorts playfully, “Are you sure? You are putting a lot of trust in me, and we have only just met.”
She grins at his spirited banter, feeling her face heat up. He reciprocates the gesture then quickly turns to fetch the drinks. Out of the corner of her eye, Gabrian sees Rachael returning with a crinkle in her nose as she bites the tip of her thumb. It does not look promising.
“We have hit a bit of a glitch. The reservations are running behind schedule, and it might be a while before we can be seated,” Rachael grumbles, taking a sip from the half-filled champagne glass she was served at the complimentary champagne bar just outside the bathroom. “I am so sorry for the mix-up. It must be because it is Friday night. I was here a few weeks ago, and it is to die for.”
Well, all is not lost. The last couple of drinks they drank had pretty big limes in them—limes are considered a healthy food so Gabrian just counts that as supper. “Don’t worry about it. It is not the end of the world. We will try to get a table some other time. Besides, I am really not that hungry anyway,” Gabrian fibs to let her friend off the hook.
After a few more apologies from Rachael, she simmers down and starts to relax. Gabrian quite enjoys Rachael’s company when she is happy. She is so full of life and in awe of everything that sometimes Gabrian envies her. Even still, she is grateful that Rachael is in her life. Having met in university, they have been through some pretty interesting times together. Rachael is the light-hearted yet level-headed one, and Gabrian is the clever but naive one. She is not sure why their friendship works so well, but she is just glad that it does.
“There you go, ladies!” the bartender says, wearing a seductive grin as he serves them their drinks. “It is called the Grinch. It is our specialty drink for the upcoming holidays. Enjoy!” he says, starting to move away then stops and leans back in closer to them, wearing an impish grin. “Oh, and by the way, the name is Thomas, so if you ladies need anything else, don’t be shy. I am just a smile away,” Thomas adds slyly as he rubs down the bar and moves on to the next customer, eyeing them over his shoulder.
“Yum!” Rachael purrs taking a sip from her drink then immediately looks over at him.
Gabrian chuckles out loud and wonders if she is talking about the drink or the bartender. Either way, she is correct.
Rachael and Gabrian manage to grab a small table upstairs on the other side of the bar to discuss the details of their possible vacation. Having stepped away from all the lights around the bar, Gabrian is suddenly aware of the fragments of colours around the room. They are not coming from lamps. They stream from the people sitting in the bar in front of her. The colours flicker gently, much like the flames of a candle, waving in different directions in the most delicate manner.
Most of the people exude a soft, opaque white, but there are also hues of red, green, even dark purple displayed beautifully in all different shades. Gabrian notices that she does not see any others that resemble Rachael's colours and that a few of them do not have any light at all. She wonders if she should mention any of this to Rachael but decides against it. Until she can figure out why she sees these things, it might be best to keep it under wraps for the moment, or else she might be the one sent to a shrink.
Gabrian takes a sip of her drink and turns to Rachael. “So, about this vacation thing you think I am so desperately in need of, when do you propose it happens?” Gabrian smirks.
“Yay, I am so happy to hear that you are considering it.”
“Well, if I recall, you pretty much insisted that I take one. What was it you said? Ah yes, to reboot my brain. I like that one. It is a solid argument and so I concur.” Gabrian takes another sip of her Grinch and watches her friend fight desperately to contain her excitement at her decision.
“Well, since Christmas is just around the corner, we should take the time. Most people are on holidays anyway, and your schedule is not that hectic as of right now. There is enough space in the next few weeks to reschedule everyone in, and bring over a few appointments from the first week in January, giving you at least a couple of weeks to take off. And you know, I am sure that your parents would love to see you,” she reminds Gabrian.
“Yes, you are probably right. It has been a while since I have visited. They have asked me a few times about when I was going to come see them.”
Gabrian wonders if maybe that is why she has been dreaming of the country lately. This past summer, her parents sold their house in the city and moved back into their cottage on the east coast. She figures that they had had their fill of concrete and steel and wanted to get back to their roots. She does not blame them really. When she was a kid, they used to go to Sand Beach almost every day in the summer. She remembers how intoxicating the majestic grace of the ocean could be. Maybe a few days away would not hurt. Besides, it is not like they are out in the wilderness or anything. There is a quaint little town about five minutes away from their home and the hub city is only about an hour’s drive. It would not be the end of the world, and it might give her time to clear her head—maybe even get rid of all this ‘aura’ nonsense.
“I swear that you and my parents are in cahoots,” Gabrian says, laughing.
Rachael picks up her drink and raises it toward her. So Gabrian follows Rachael’s lead, clinking the side of her glass against her friend’s in a congratulatory salute.
“To vacation!” Rachael cheers then takes a big gulp from her drink.
“Ah, what the hell. To vacation!” Gabrian mutters, doing the same.
ACROSS THE BAR, a smoky coloured mist slithers its way through the room and stops directly in the entrance of the bar upstairs. Undetected by the human eye, it changes form and takes on the appearance of a handsome gentleman wearing a distinguished grey, tailored suit. He stands erect and searches the room, looking for something or someone. Finding what he came for, he makes his way back to the downstairs bar.
“Hey, bud, what can I get you?” Thomas addresses the gentleman.
With eyes the colour of hazel and sunflowers, the man looks at Thomas and points to the seat that Gabrian had sat in. “What is the name of the girl with the long dark hair that was just sitting in this seat a few moments ago?”
“Hm, I am not sure, bud, but I do know that she is sitting upstairs at the other bar.” Thomas points over to the spiral staircase that leads upstairs.
“I know where she is. I just need to know her name,” he articulates, clenching his vaporous fists.
“She is quite the looker isn’t she,” Thomas states. “No need to be shy, man, just go up there and ask her. She seems really nice.”
His bodily facade starts to fade causing a glitch in his appearance. This triggers the well-dressed stranger to become agitated. He looks directly at Thomas, and his pupils expand briefly. Finding the link to Thomas’s mind, Adrinn’s irises darken to the colour of midnight as he connects to it.
“Go find the girl’s name on her bill, and bring it to me now!” he commands, his voice authoritative and cruel.
“Her name is Gabrian Shadwell,” Thomas reveals in a robotic tone. He had already memorized her name for his own benefit.
The fiend’s mouth turns eerily upward at the edges. He has found her. “Send her and her friend a little gift for me, will you? Make sure there is a mint leaf in it, a little something to give her instincts a boost,” the man utters, sneering in delight. “Tell her that they are from Adrinn, and that he sends his love.”
Thomas’s thoughts are still buzzing from the mind compulsion. He does what he is told and soon the waitress is on her way to Gabrian’s table with two more Grinches. Adrinn wants to ensure that the drinks reach their destination and follows the waitress along her trek. He observes the de
livery—and satisfied with the service—Adrinn disappears, leaving only a murky grey resonance of his essence behind.
The drinks arrive and this time they are topped with actual mint leaves. The waitress sets them down on the table in front of Rachael and Gabrian. They both look at her, confused.
“Excuse me, miss, but we did not order these,” Gabrian explains to the girl.
She smiles widely and points across the bar. “They are from that gentleman over there, the mysterious one wearing the dark grey suit.”
Gabrian searches the crowd in the direction the waitress points but all she sees is the faint reminiscence of an aura—a dark aura that seems different from all the others she has seen tonight. It was lifeless, dull-looking, and resembled the colour of smoke.
How peculiar, Gabrian thinks. “I don’t see anyone in a dark grey suit.”
The waitress looks around, squints her dark brown eyes in the dim light in a quick glance over, then shrugs her shoulders, and whimsically smiles. “Well, he was there just a moment ago. He was very handsome too. He asked Thomas to give you these. So here you go, enjoy, ladies!” she pitches to them and starts to walk away. Then she stops after a couple steps and shouts back at them, “Oh, and Adrinn sends his love!” She twirls back around and continues on her way.
Well, that is definitely one for the books, she decides. Gabrian has never had that happen before.
Rachael looks at her slyly and smiles. “Miss Gabrian, holding out on me, are you?”
“I am in the dark just as much as you are about this mystery man so stop looking at me like that. Maybe this mystery man was interested in you!” Gabrian chirps back in her defense. Ignoring the smug grin on Rachael’s face, Gabrian picks up her anonymous gift and sips it. She scans the crowd again nonchalantly in hopes to find the man responsible.
All Gabrian sees are the colourful auras as they illumine the darkness of the bar. Watching them float and intertwine with each other, she finds them to be quite intriguing and lovely. She breathes more deeply than normal, feeling more relaxed and rejuvenated with each intake of breath. She notices little white strands of light separating from the auras of the people next to her. They twist and turn in a delicate dance, coming toward her like she is orchestrating this whole thing.