Crossing Paths [Cassy]

[Sayf al Din]

7th of Fall It had been 4 days now, 4 long days... Sayf sighed as he reflected upon his purpose here, what it was that Yahal wanted from him. He found no answer, no clue, no sign to follow. He realized he had become too dependent on Yahal's guidance, too reliant on Him. Walking towards the Quays, from inbetween the eery marble row of tomblike buildings. He didn't go where his feet took him, he went where Yahal took him. He trusted firmly in Him and everything surrounding Yahal, yet he felt so lost at times...so empty. Why is it that the realization of something does not always resulted in action. Why was it that he was so weak, too weak to move his own feet. Was it because he had so much faith...or was it because he was so scared? Scared of living his own way and losing sight of Yahal in the process? No, this didn't even have anything to do with Yahal, Sayf felt the gnawing feeling in his heart that he was just scared...scared of life. Not willing to face the dangers that accompany living life. Emotional, physical and mental dangers...He was weak. Suddenly he found himself at the Quays, the location where he first set foot on this black rock. He had yet to mingle with the residents, not even the living. He had avoided contact with the inhabitants of Black Rock as much as he could, so far all he had done was find the location to stay at: The Crypt And Undertaker, paid up front for a seasonal room to stay in and ran upstairs. He hadn't even left his room until today. Sayf smirked, he suddenly felt so funnily pathetic. He knew he had things to think about, things to do, things to see...but he was lost, he had strayed from the path...Yahal's or his own, no matter, he had lost sight of either one. He pushed himself up on a mediumsized oval rock near the bank of the island, next to the dark docks and stared in front of him, suddenly a silhouette appeared in the distance, it was hard to see and he had only noticed by chance, but there was definitely something out there. It wasn't until the figure was relatively close to the island that he could feel a rushing feeling shoot through his body, he had felt this feeling alot since he arrived here...the feeling of nearby ghosts, it was cold yet rather pleasant, like a crisp wind on a beautiful day, with an unique aspect to it. A pleasant cold wind that had its own name. He even came up with a name for the feeling, ' The Breath ', it was a childish name to give to the ability of sensing ghosts, but Sayf didn't care about that. What he did care about what that the silhouette was coming closer and closer, he was about to get up and go back to his room when the blurred thing became more distinguishable and the fog surrounding it lifted itself slightly, revealing a young child. A child with long strands of silvery grey hair flowing behind her and dressed in a white gown, it seemed wet and it had small dots and flakes of snow or ice...as if she had been making a snowangel. When she came even closer to the island, Sayf was able to see the look in her cold eyes, they shone with an icy sapphire tint but rather than having starry, pretty eyes...hers were cold, just cold. Sayf felt bad for the child and he no longer thought about leaving or running away, he wanted to help her..somehow.. His heart and soul were stronger than his weak mind, the urge to help her overcame the urge to run from the unknown. His body moved on its own accord, towards the child who seemed to be in the same predicament as Sayf, lost.

[Cassy]

There was... someone... Through the gloom and dispair there appeared someone else... The darkness, it lifted slightly... The sound of shifting rocks and heavy foot falls growing closer...

It doesn't matter, Cassy thought, Nothing matters now... They are gone...I am alone...

Still, Cassy could not help but look up as the Benshira man approached. She let her gaze rake absently over his trimmed beard and darkened skin, noting that his eyes did not stray from her like most. By now any who saw her would have run in fear of her presence, but this man did not.

Why is that...? She wondered for a moment, but quickly dismissed the thought, No... It does not matter now...

The child shivered with cold. Once more Cassy looked down at the path, rubbing one of her small arms as she went. Her mind once more drifted into intelligible half thoughts and forlorn musings, and her form began to fade from sight.

[Sayf al Din]

While he approached the child he could feel the mental strength needed to face an actual ghost in person grow larger with every footstep made in her direction. Sayf got close enough to see her shiver as the swirling smoketrails around her dissipated slightly and then reformed themselves and continued on their neverending circling motion. Their eyes met for a mere second but it was enough to see the child's pain and apathic sentiment towards everything and everyone else. It was like she stared through him, not at his soul, but just...through him. Nothing besides her pain and suffering seemed to exist in this world anymore, for her. Sayf felt great empathy and for a moment he tried to imagine what it would be like. Living on in a world where you no longer truly belong, in a world where nobody needs you. To be needed, is one of life's greatest feelings and accomplishments afterall, to be needed is to live not solely for yourself or for your own good, but for the benefit of others aswell. Sayf reflected upon that thought as he continued to approach her and he realized that he was needed aswell, by Yahal. That feeling lifted his spirit and he felt relieved. This child had already had an impact on him and they hadn't even talked yet. He must help this child, if not out of compassion then it is out of repaying a great deed. Her form began to dissolve into thin air, Sayf didn't knew what this occurance meant but he doubt it could mean anything good, it seemed like the child was letting go of this world. " Don't go. " He said, louder and with more certainty in his voice than he thought he would speak.

[Cassy]

A voice... calling out in the darkness...

Is it for me...? She wondered, but dismissed this thought for it was impossible. No one knew of her anymore...But then the voice called again, and the girl turned to look.

It was as if a small candle had been lit in the darkness of her misery. There stood the Benshira man, a short distance away, looking at her. Looking AT HER. For a moment Cassy was confused. The man did not quake or tremble at the sight of her, but looked her directly in the eyes as no one had done for years. She could see his breath coming out in a mist as he drew closer still, the air around growing colder the closer he got to Cassy.

Her for regained some of its solidity, losing most of it's transparency but for a few wisps still in her hair and clothing. Though she did not flicker no great details could be seen of her features.

Her eyes, cold and distant, locked on the man's, "Did you call for me?" Though her lips moved, her voice seemed to echo from her entire being. The air grew colder as Cassy focused on the man, using him to bring back what was left of her consciousness.

[Sayf al Din]

The moment his words had been heard, the faintly visible appearance of the girl started to become less transparent and more solid, it was like she had just materialized. Sayf didn't know whether that was the case or if he had had an positive impact on her and brought her back to this world somehow. Either way, his fear and anxiety were lessening at a rapid pace, at first he had to fight his mind with his heart in order to approach the ethereal girl, but now he felt more at ease around her. She wasn't a hostile being, nor a scary one. She was just a lost soul, a child who was a fragment of what she used to be. Granted, the opposite could very well be true and she could be an evil spirit disguising herself as a lost child, but that thought didn't cross the inexperienced Spiritist's mind. " Yes. " Sayf then pauzed for a moment to think about what he exactly wants to ask this child. All sorts of questions about her passed through his mind: - Who are you? - What are you? - What happened? - Why are you so sad? - Etc. etc. Not knowing what question was best he just spoke out without thinking about diplomacy, carefulness or tact. " I'm Sayf, Sayf al Din, I want to help you. " His blunt honesty could be inappropriate but he didn't really know how to behave or speak to ghosts, if there was a certain code or ruleset he should follow or not, so he just spoke.

[Cassy]

" I'm Sayf, Sayf al Din, I want to help you. "

Cassy heard this as if from a distance. With an effort she managed to focus her jumbled mind to comprehend the statement.

Help me...she thought, What is there to help with anymore?

Her thoughts drifted off into into confused murmurings and mumbles, her conscious wanting to slip away once more.

Help me... she repeated the words several more times to herself, using them as a tether to reality.

Cassy, her thin frame trembling, looked up at the man before her. The wisps began to fade as Cassy began to focus harder on materializing, shaking off the confusing darkness that plagued her.

"Sayf...al Din..." When she spoke, her voice carried a haunted tone filled with sadness and dispair. Cassy looked away for a minute, her mind seeming to drift once more, but as she turned her eyes seemed a bit clearer. In those glowing eyes, the eyes of a child, were tears of true sorrow, "Sayf al Din..."

She repeated the name several more times, her eyes never leaving Sayf's, almost as if she were trying to use him to focus her being into existence.

[Sayf al Din]

Misunderstanding the reason why the ghostchild kept repeating " Help me ", Sayf thought she was asking for him to help her, worried and stressed Sayf responded: " How, how can I help you? Tell me please. " He could tell that she was in a state of confusion and desperation, she became more and more solid yet everytime she looked away she seemed to drown in her sorrow again and dissapate slowly. Then she started to say his name, over and over again. It was rather eery and caused Sayf to worry even more and his desperation to help this child grew. " Don't go, tell me how to help you, I can help you! " His words might not be completely true considering he didn't know what it was the ghost needed or wanted, but they were not empty or without meaning either...He truly wanted to help this child. " Stay calm, child. " His tone of voice was like a worried father trying to reassure his daughter that everything will work out in time. Like a father he worried and like a father he felt responsible, although he has no connection to this child as of yet...he felt the need to help her burn inside him nonetheless.

[Cassy]

It was as if something had snapped into focus. Cassy's eyes were opened completely for the first time in two years, and she turned her eyes about her in confusion.

W-where am I? She thought to herself. Off to her right Cassy could see the ocean, its waves lapping on the rocks near the Quays. Shaking her head, Cassy tried to bring back the tattered remains of her memory.

Cold... Ice and water... The moon shinning bright over a frozen lake... Falling... pressure from behind... and...

Cassy scrunched her eyes as she remembered.

A man... on the edge of a frozen lake... Pain and terror... She did not understand why he... The man's wild grin and desperate eyes...

Cassy's thin frame shook as she thought of the man. His eyes... his smile... filled her with anger and hurt. Suddenly, she noticed a voice talking to her.


" Stay calm, child. "

Turning, she saw the man speaking only a short distance away. The man... That man... Cassy stared at Sayf, her eyes growing colder as she remembered the man's eyes as the stared at her from the edge of the lake. She no longer saw Sayf as a Benshira man. Her anger had taken over and twisted what she saw to fit her own fantasy.

Cassy's form flickered, and all of a sudden she appeared right in front of Sayf, mere inches away. She floated so that she was on eye level with the man, her feet now mere whips. The child stared at Sayf with cold, furious eyes. Her silver grey hair whipped about as if caught up in a strong wind, encircling Sayf though not touching. Her eyes glowed a fiery blue, and her ghostly formed swirled in agitation.

When she spoke it was in a haunting tone full of fury and malice, "Why am I dead? What have you done!?" Her voice echoed from her entire being, but her eyes never left Sayf, "What did you do!" It was clear that she was caught up in a past experience and could not see Sayf for who he was.

Cassy reached out a ghostly hand toward Sayf's face, her fingers curled into claws. If she touched the man would surely feel the otherwordly shock of a ghosts anger and the pain and cold that comes from touching a ghost.

"Tell me!"

[Sayf al Din]

Sayf felt relieved and happy that the child's eyes changed from lost and weary to a sudden state of confused focus of her surroundings. He thought he had made an improvement on her state of mind, but everything turned sour the moment she became lost in her remembrance of her demise. Suddenly shaking and shivering rather violently, the girl's eyes changed once more. From confusion to icecold hatred, Sayf noticed this but was unable to act or speak his mind, he was lost about what to do now and simply stared at the strange attitude-change of the ghostchild. Without warning her form vanished like her soulmist had been wisked away by a violent storm, only to reappear right in front of Sayf at eye-level. Sayf stumbled backwards, unaware of this "blinking-ability" he was startled and even scared. The ghost didn't let off though, the child's long hair swirled with fury around Sayf, seemingly slashing him all over with the whiplike strands. The hair always "dodged" Sayf, either instinctively or consciously. Sayf paid little heed to that right now though, he was scared and his mind went blank. He no longer thought about helping this child but rather to survive the encounter with the child. When she spoke, the sound came like a blast over him, not coming from the child's mouth from her entire being. And it was clear that she was filled with rage and had vengeance on her mind. Sayf was at a loss of words still and tried to crawl back but he couldn't move his body, he was petrified by his first "violent" encounter with a ghost. When the child was reaching out with her ethereal hand towards his face, he could only look at the aproaching hand and pray to Yahal for safety. Then the hand touched him. The stinging icecold feeling reached the side of his face before the now-corporeal hand even touched him, once it did though...The pain was mild but the touch of her was very uncomfortable for Sayf. All in all, the fear of her touch was stronger than the actual pain it caused. Jerking his head back and pushing her hand away from his face, Sayf said: " I didn't kill you. I didn't kill you! I want to help! " He told her with a louder voice after each sentence, hoping to bring her mind back to the present.

[Cassy]

The anger slowly faded from Cassy's eyes as she once more came to grips with reality. Turning suddenly she drifted a short distance away, whispering quietly to herself. Her memories were beginning to become more complete.

So I am dead... She thought to herself, But... why...?

Her anger dissipated into sorrow once more. Cassy cast about her, desperately searching for something, anything to anchor her to this world. Her glowing eyes once more turned on Sayf, and she truly saw him for the first time. Drifting forward once more, Cassy extended her hands to the man, looking up into his eyes, "Y-you... can help me...?"