Echoes of the Unseen

After finishing lunch, they were making their way to the courtyard together, still in a playful teasing mode, continuing their friendly banter. They have established themselves as a solid group of friends already. Maya was relieved all the stress of not being liked within the Zeta group finally subsided.

The days were still warm and the stone of the academy glistened under the sunlight. The gentle glow illuminated patches of intricate carvings and weathered bricks. At places, ivy clung onto the walls, creeping upwards towards the sky.

The tower, touched by the same warm sunlight, stood out against the clear blue sky, a silent sentinel overlooking the academy. Its high windows gleamed, reflecting the sunlight. Its shadow fell across the courtyard, a cool respite from the warm day. As the sun journeyed across the sky, this shadow danced slowly across the stone—a silent sundial marking the passage of the day.

"Isn't anyone going to comment on the harvest we're forced to do this weekend?" Isaac begun.

"Harvest?" Maya felt as if she were constantly out of the loop.

"Corn harvest, yeah," Isaac clarified, then added. "In the fields outside the Walls."

"Outside!?" Maya was alarmed.

"During the day. No monsters then," Linda calmed her down a bit.

"I'm so excited. We're going to see the outside world," Andrea saw it in a completely different light.

"There's nothing outside but trees," Sarah grumbled.

"And corn fields, apparently," Andrea pointed out.

"I can't believe they are making us work in fields like some dirty farmers. Isn't the work we are already doing enough?" Sarah complained.

"Would you rather you had nothing to eat this winter? Everyone has to put in the work," Isaac countered.

"Aren't there peasants who do this kind of work? Why does it have to be us? And who eats corn anyway?" Sarah persisted.

"Quit complaining," Linda said.

"Oh, no. We're going to be so exhausted afterwards. The party, guys… Don't you dare miss out," Andrea was only worried about their gathering.

At one point, Maya felt drawn to look up at the tower. As she craned her neck to see, suddenly, something heavy fell, hitting the pavement with a sickening thud. A horribly mangled body lay before them.

Maya screamed in horror placing her palm over her mouth, in complete shock at what she'd just witnessed.

Everyone stared at her confused.

"Are you okay?" Andrea placed her hand on her shoulder with a worried expression.

Maya was confused by their looks and all the attention being directed at her.

'Didn't anyone else just see that?'

She quickly looked back to where the body should be, but there was nothing. It was a ghost. A re-enactment of death. Not only was she unsettled by the sight she was just subjected to, but was now also panicked as she didn't know how to explain her reaction to something no one else saw.

Other people in the courtyard quickly lost interest and returned to their business. But Maya could feel some had their attention still fixed on her—a few of the dead souls.

"What the fuck was that about?" Sarah asked.

"S—sorry," Maya apologized timidly.

"Don't you 'sorry' me. You were screaming like a lunatic. That requires some explanations," Sarah pressed.

"Leave her be. She is having a tough week," Linda came to Maya's defence.

"We all have tough weeks, but we don't suddenly start screaming. I swear, if she contracted some kind of madness from Elena—"

"You can't contract madness," Isaac interjected, tired of Sarah's constant complaints about Elena.

"Who's mentioning her now, huh?" Andrea pointed out.

While they were bickering, Maya stepped away to take a breath. She was still disturbed by what she saw. It was only a matter of time before her window into the world of the dead became a hindrance.

At first, Maya didn't want to think of it as a curse since having Leo around helped her cope detrimentally. However, seeing other ghosts and their deaths was more than she could chew. It scared her to think this was something she would have to learn to live with.

People quickly forgot, but ghosts that saw her react to someone dead seemed wary of her. It was making it difficult to focus on her Elemental Practices while feeling their gazes.

🜺🜺🜺🜺

"Aren't you going to help me? It's your job, too!" Maya hollered after Elena after she noticed her pass through the dark hallway across from where Maya had been cleaning floors during the after-hours.

No doubt, Elena hoped she could avoid her, but Maya rushed after her.

Elena let out a long sigh of annoyance. "Can't," she dismissed her. "I Have Warriors Practice."

"I thought Daria banned you from it. Did she change her mind?"

"No. But she will. And if the coach wants me there, it's not up to her."

"He didn't seem to want you there yesterday."

"He changed his mind."

"When??"

"You sure have a lot of questions," Elena was annoyed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Maya began. "Oh, right," she looked down, remembering. "Not friends…"

"Glad that's clear."

Having already turned her back to Maya, Elena began to walk away.

"Keith asked where you were last night," Maya quickly added before Elena could slip away.

Elena stopped, her back still turned to Maya. Maya knew this would provoke a reaction, but she couldn't see Elena's expression.

"Did he ask that on his own, or did someone suggest he should be wondering?" Elena's tone was cold and intimidating.

"I thought you were with him," Maya confessed. "Where were you?"

"That's none of your business."

Elena resumed walking. Just from her gait, Maya could tell she was pissed off.

"It's fine. I told him that I mixed up days. He doesn't suspect anything!" Maya cried out after Elena, hoping it would fix this situation. But Elena left her standing alone.

"I'm sorry, Elena," she murmured to herself, knowing her apology wouldn't reach Elena, even if she had shouted.

"She brought it upon herself. If you're cheating on your boyfriend, at least befriend one person who can tell on your whereabouts," Leo commented.

"We don't know that," Maya argued.

"I could've followed her."

"No, Leo. I don't want you to do things like that. It is an invasion of privacy."

"Right…"

"Wait… Don't tell me you follow her around?!"

"No! Why would I ever do that? It's not like she's even that attractive. You're way prettier."

"Huh?"

'What is he talking about?'