Romance Anthology

Spirited Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She officially hated crystals.

The new apartment did have its perks. Fairly spacious, decent rent, and a coffee shop right across the street. Of course, there was a downside. It was an older building that didn’t have an elevator. Not a bad thing for anyone on the first few floors. Her digs were on the eighth floor however, and that made her move frustrating. The stairs weren’t necessarily a problem. She worked from home after all, and it would be decent daily exercise going for coffee.

The crystals though, that was her tipping point. Why were there so many?

The realtor had breezed over the subject when she had inquired about them. There had been assurances made to their removal before she moved in. What a liar. The building manager hadn’t wanted to take them out himself either. It hadn’t seemed like he believed in all the holistic type of stuff, but by his reaction to her request, he didn’t appear as if he wanted to tempt fate. At least not for her sake. Not a believer but covering his bases type of vibe.

The only thing he had been honest about was not knowing how they got there. They hadn’t been there when the last tenant moved out. Nor had he lent the keys to the empty apartment to anyone that shouldn’t have had access.

Whatever the chain of events had been, it all led to her current irritation. She was removing all of them herself while a locksmith company was changing the lock on her apartment. Of course, the building manager was footing the bill and was standing in the middle of her living room supervising both activities. She had to give him props though. He was elderly in appearance and had still managed the eight flights of stairs to make sure her lock was changed. She would have been happier if the crystals had been removed before she had moved in though. Now her day was wasted. As a freelance editor and proofreader, there was no set time of day she had to be in an office. Normally she starts her day early, to free up her evenings, though today would have to be a late schedule. It wasn’t ideal, but would have to do.

The first thing she noticed was the voices. Nothing else penetrated her dark little world except voices. No words or context to them. They were a garble of sounds barely audible, but they were there.

Was it because her consciousness was sluggish in returning? Perhaps. How long had it been since she was imprisoned? A day? A week? Time meant little to her anymore, but it felt longer still.

The offending little rainbow makers were only half removed, and it was already nearing lunch time. She didn’t have a thing against the things themselves. They were very pretty to look at really. Unfortunately, they also reminded her of her mother. Not that they didn’t have a good relationship, but the woman was always on some new age health kick. It would be fine if it was only that. Every time her mom found some new, better way to live, she tried to bully her daughter into sharing in it. She was sick of it. Whoever had put up all the crystals obviously subscribed to the same beliefs. Nothing wrong with that, but it didn’t belong in her personal space.

She only became aware of herself again as points of pain registered. A tightening of strings in a vise before, one by one they disappeared. She wished whatever was happening to her would quicken. The uncomfortable feeling was barely tolerable, but tolerate it she would. There was nothing that she could do to stop it. Pricks of needles followed in the wake of each string that released, adding to her discomfort. If this was to go on for much longer, she feared for her sanity.

Not only did she have to remove all of them, but then she had to figure out what to do with them. Could she just throw them away or was that taboo? She didn’t know. No way was she calling her mom to get her opinion on the matter. Maybe she could give them away. That couldn’t hurt anyone, right? Ugh! This was not something she was equipped to deal with when she signed the lease.

“What are you planning to do with all of those?” She stalled in her task to look over at the building manager. He couldn’t be serious, could he?

All of what? Who cared? She certainly didn’t. She had finally heard someone. After so long alone, someone was there. Not a voice she recognized, but that didn’t matter. Her body felt lighter as hope sent her heart a flutter. Was that even possible for her?

“Throw them away? Unless you want them.” It wasn’t an affirmative statement, since she hadn’t thought much past getting them all down. If he would take them off her hands, that would be perfect. However, the old guy took two steps back from her with his body poised for more if she tried anything.

Like static on the radio, they came in and out to her. Not clear but how glorious that they existed. If only she could see who was talking. Patience. It would come. At least she hoped it would. Being cut off in the dark all alone had been dreadful.

“Are you sure you should do that?” ‘No, no she wasn’t, but what else was she supposed to do? This could have all been avoided if someone else had taken care of it in the first place.’ The snarky response was on the tip of her tongue, but she was raised better than that and her mother would be appalled if she acted otherwise.

“I’m open to suggestions.” He shrugged his shoulders, distracted by the locksmith as he was given the new keys. He was a big help. What was she supposed to do with them? Put them in a box at the street and write for free? That wasn’t a bad plan. She wasn’t aware of any building rule that said she couldn’t put things out for free for anyone to take. If he had a problem with it, he could do something else with them at that point. They would be out of her hands and that’s all that mattered.

She had no idea what the two of them were talking about, but she had a yearning to offer her opinion on the matter. She always had the best ideas. Well, at least she thought she did, even if everyone else during her life had said otherwise.

“I’ll leave your key here and let you get back to it.” Coward! He completely sidestepped the topic. Literally. Placing the new key on the counter furthest away from where she was sitting.

“Thanks.” She wasn’t sure he had even heard her as he shut the door before the word was halfway out of her mouth. He could really move for someone of his age. She was a little impressed, but only a little.

Turning her attention back to the sparkling trinkets in front of her, she sighed. Maybe she would skip work for the day. Perhaps she would even treat herself to one of the expensive coffee choices after she was done. She was going to be outside anyway, getting rid of the bag she was filling. Besides, she deserved a treat for the aggravation of the whole ordeal.

* * *

She awoke sometime later disoriented after such a long time in slumber. The room filled with the glow of sunset. A sight that was too good to be true. Stretching out, her limbs warmed with the use of them again. Her eyes danced around the room unrecognizable since the last time she had seen it. It was sparse in personal effects telling her nothing of the new occupant. Hopefully it was someone that was easy to get along with. Though that was dependent on the person being able to see her. They wouldn’t be the first not to. She hungered for a connection to anyone. The years became lonely from a bystander’s perspective. Then there had been the darkness. She shivered in remembrance of the cold place she had been. Anything was better than that. Even if she had to pretend that she was a part of a life she really wasn’t.

The jiggling of the doorknob and the sound of the tinkling of keys had her breathless. Rushing over to the entrance door, she bounced on the balls of her feet. Her brows furrowed as she clasped her hands in front of her chest. ‘Please see me.’

Balancing the cup and bag in one hand, she used the other to unlock and open her door. A long soak in a hot bath followed by some t.v. sounded like the perfect ending to a long day. Tomorrow she could start fresh as if today had never happened. Put it all behind her and move on in her new home.

The sound of footsteps down the hall unfamiliar as someone walked in her direction. She wasn’t expecting anyone. It was likely another of the building’s tenants coming home for the day. She wasn’t in the mood to socialize with anyone and refused to look in their direction. She didn’t want to incite small talk of any kind. The click of the lock had her shoulders sagging. She was almost in. Then she could close the door on the rest of the world beyond her apartment.

Swinging the door open she came face to face with the last thing she expected to find in her home.

“Welcome back, roomie!”

“Ahhhh!”