Cassie finally settled on a leather pants, leather jacket, and leather boots look, a lot different than the clean girl image she traditionally sported as a rising actress, and managed to rip off part of her t-shirt – I wasn’t even aware ghosts could do that – to tie her hair up in a ponytail. “Now this is better.” She stretched her arms. “I guess I can take that as one upside to being dead – no more playing the stupid image game. I can just be whoever I want to be.”
She cast a sideways glance at me. “You look like you…don’t really want to look like anything. What’s your story, anyway?”
“According to legend, phoenix are born from a drop of sun and when we die, we burst into flames. Eternally, we are reborn from our own ashes. Not as a child, mind you, simply…reborn as ourselves. As a result, phoenix tend to be ancient, by human standards, and…tired. There is no rest for us.” In a way, it was easy to envy the simplicity of life as a ghost. They had an end that would come soon. I never did. “We exist, apart from time, watching as the world around us changes and all we once knew disappears and dies. Immortality is no easy existence, but there is no escape. We are trapped in an endless cycle.”
“Damn.” She whistled. “That does sound rough. I’d always kind of figured immortality sounded awesome, you could learn everything there was to know, travel the world, see history unfold, but I hadn’t thought about that side of things. I guess you’ve lost a lot of people? Friends? Family?” She paused. “Lovers?”
“Phoenix don’t really have family, apart from lovers. But they all die.” I sighed lightly.
Cassie considered this. “So…basically, you’re lonely, you’re sick of losing everyone you care about and not being able to get involved. It sounds like you’ve lost your spark – no pun intended. Don’t you love anything anymore? Not just people, but, you know – a passion? Like I love – loved – acting. Some people’s thing is watching movies, others is, I don’t know, farming? Building things? Whatever? Don’t you have any passions like that? It seems like immortality would be the perfect opportunity to explore everything you love, become an expert in it, maybe even invent new ways of doing it. If it grows boring, find a new passion. It might at least last longer than other people, though I hope eventually you meet someone who does live as long as you do. Seems like you could get lonely otherwise.”
It was my turn to consider her words. It had been a long time since I’d thought about what made me passionate. Love had, at one point, but…apart from that? What had I loved, what had I enjoyed doing back before I had become so burdened with existing that I no longer wished to participate in anything?
My musing was brought short by our arrival at our destination.
Cassie’s brows rose as I opened the door to the flower shop. “Flowers? The guy we’re seeing sells flowers?”
“Sort of.” I led the way to the back of the flower shop, to almost a hidden door which led into the back area – a greenhouse, originally, converted into a medical clinic. “Adair?” I called.
My friend appeared from one of the side rooms holding a flowerpot, looking surprised to see me. “Cyra! And,” he paused, taking in my companion, “Cassandra North?”
“Cassie,” she corrected, then she looked at me. “Your name is Cyra?”
“A name,” I corrected. “You may call me that if you wish or come up with another one, I do not care. This is Adair, he is a doctor, I have known him for several hundred years. He’s a fairy,” I added, realizing Cassie had no real information about supernatural identities. “Adair, Cassie wishes to understand why ghosts are not permitted more freedom.”
“No, screw that.” She frowned at him, crossing her arms. “I want to know why people are allowed to bind ghosts against their will and no one does anything about it?! How am I supposed to be okay with basically being turned into a slave – without my consent? Not to mention the bitch who contracted me or whatever may have killed me, or at least I didn’t die a natural death, and I didn’t even know I was a supernatural until a short while ago, so yeah, I’m not on board with this and I don’t understand why supernaturals are okay with that.”
“Well,” Adair’s voice was calm as he set the pot down on a small end table. “Actually, a lot of us are not okay with it. It is an issue which leaders in our world have fought about for centuries.”
“Why?” She demanded. “How can people possibly justify slavery like this? What century are we even in? Do supernaturals not care about basic human rights – or supernatural rights, whatever?”
Adair was unperturbed by her anger, but I knew him well enough to recognized that he was troubled – by the topic, I expected. “We do. Or – many of us do, at least. Ghosts are a tricky subject for some people, though. There are those – before you get angry with me, know that I don’t agree with this viewpoint, but there are those who argue that there is no real harm done to the ghosts, that they are simply borrowed for a brief bit. It is hard to support that particular argument, given that you are borrowing someone’s soul, which is a big deal. There have been times in history when ghosts were made more often by consent, planned out and requested even, by those who wished for certain powers at death. There are those who argue that the usefulness of ghosts outweighs the ‘brief harm in temporarily constraining them.’”
He frowned. “Of course, that last argument just shows the greed in the whole affair. I’m not saying every ghost is made out of greed, but nowadays, that is the more common reason. Someone wants more power, they want something that benefits them specifically. It’s not like they’re being used to help the greater good or anything like that.
“Now, before you get more upset,” he added, “know that many of us – me included – are pushing for laws that protect ghosts better. We’re not ruled by monarchs anymore, and usually our system of government is by country – sometimes each city gives its vote, then the majority of cities’ votes carry. Sometimes each individual vote is counted. It depends on the country. All over the world, there are people pushing for better laws to protect ghosts, and my belief is it will happen. With more bindings being non-consensual than before, it is harder for them to justify their argument that binding ghosts is a mass benefit.”
“Fine, lovely,” Cassie waved her hand dismissively, “but what about now? What about me? I’m still stuck being forced to do what someone else decides without any say so in the matter? Someone who might have even killed me? That’s not fair!”
Adair frowned again. “If there’s proof that she killed you, then we can intervene, but unfortunately,” he grimaced, “most ghosts live such short lives, it’s hard to get the necessary proof before their contract ends and they cease existing. Not dying, exactly – ghosts are already dead – but passing on, perhaps?”
“See, that doesn’t seem fair, either!” Cassie threw her hands up in frustration. “Someone killed me, most likely, or I wouldn’t even be a ghost. Now I get brought back, but not only am I stuck doing what someone else wants, without agreeing to it, I don’t get anything out of it! It’s not like I get to just wander free as a ghost after that, or do whatever I want, I’m just trapped and then poof, I’m gone as soon as the contract is fulfilled.”
“Some ghosts want the contract to end soon,” Adair pointed out, “but I can understand the frustration.”
Cassie didn’t quite seem to buy his empathy, but she didn’t call him out on it, either. “So what am I supposed to do? Nothing? That really sucks, dude.”
Adair looked troubled again. “There’s nothing definitive we can do now without proof that the contractor murdered you,” he began.
And then I interrupted, a thought having crossed my mind. “You’re talking about national laws to protect ghosts, and you don’t have control over those – but what about here in the city? In Avenglade specifically? Doesn’t your wife have some influence here?”
Adair paused, surprised. “Well, yes,” he admitted, “she’s on the council and is pretty influential.” He considered for a moment, then motioned for us to follow him. “Come with me.”
We went back into the flower shop, then through a door that led to a set of stairs to the upper floor.
Violet, Adair’s wife, was upstairs attempting to corral a young fairy whom I assumed was Adair and Violet’s child. She looked tired, but still bright-eyed, like despite all the disaster in his wake she was still enjoying chasing the small child around.
“Oh!” She paused, looking at us. “Cyra, it’s lovely to see you again – it’s been quite some time. A couple decades, I think?”
I nodded in response, but my focus was on the young fairy child, who was happily pulling on one of the many plants in the house – fairies believed in having more greenery in their houses than furniture – until it fell over and spilled dirt all over him, which seemed to delight him.
“Your child is making mud in the middle of the living room,” I pointed out, as the young child began summoning water from a nearby cup to mix with the soil from the pot.
“Sorrel!” Violet dashed over and snatched him up. “He’s just started figuring out magic and it’s been…hectic at times.” She shushed him when he started chanting “mud, mud!” and then gave me a smile. “So are you here for a social call, or something else?”
“Something else,” Adair put in as he started to right the pot. “It’s about Cassie here – well, and Cyra. Cassie’s concerned about ghost rights, understandably, and Cyra pointed out that while we don’t have control over national choices, although we are trying to push for changes, you might have more control here in the city itself.”
Violet paused, looking surprised, ignoring the young child who was now pulling on her hair. “Oh! Well…yes! That’s true – that’s not – that’s not a bad idea at all! If the country is too slow getting things done, we might as well just do the right thing on our own. In fact, if we were to succeed in offering better ghost rights here in Avenglade, it could serve as a test study for other places, showing them things won’t fall apart if ghosts are treated properly,” she seemed to be thinking aloud. “There’s no reason to wait to do things right here if the entire country isn’t on board yet – no reason to wait at all!”
“So that means you’ll help?” Cassie asked hopefully. “And I won’t get stuck doing something I never signed up for?”
Violet hesitated as she looked at her, shifting her child to her other hip. “I will help,” she promised, “but what you must understand is that even here in the city, it will take time. Not as much as on the national scale because then you’re dealing with dozens of competing cities and interests, and I have a lot more influence on the council here. I think it’s safe to say that I can get what I want out of them, and they will eventually agree, but it’s not a dictatorship – I will still have to convince enough council members to join me to change the laws, and that won’t be an immediate thing.”
Cassie’s hope faded a bit. “So, what are we talking about? Weeks?” She frowned at Violet’s reluctant shaking of her head. “Months? Years?”
“Possibly a year or two, but that’s still a lot sooner than it would be on the national scale,” Violet hurried to assure her, “And I will do everything I can to push for it sooner rather than later. But change can take time, especially when I’m trying to motivate people to change their minds. There are several I can already count on, but to get enough votes there are several I will need to completely shift their point of view. I can do it,” she sounded determined, “but it’s not going to be one simple conversation. We’re talking weeks or months of trying to schedule meetings along with our regular work activities, trying to catch them in the hall, that sort of thing, and I will have to do that with several people. I’d be surprised if it took less than a year, to be honest.”
Cassie sighed deeply, her shoulders slumping. “Meaning that, at the end of the day, I’m still going to be stuck. No offense, I do appreciate that you want to help, but I can’t sit around and wait that long!”
She spun around and headed back downstairs, and I shrugged slightly at the fairies.
“Thank you for your help.” I knew better what it meant that Violet was promising to push this agenda to the front of her to-do list and try to get it done even within a year or two – that was a lot to promise. “She is new as a ghost and was not even aware that she was a siren, so this is all an adjustment.”
“It’s only fair to help,” Violet murmured, but she looked upset. “She’s right, ghosts are trapped without their consent and we’ve let this go on for far too long. We may not have the ability to change it everywhere, but – but I have some ability to change it here.” She looked me in the eyes, determined. “I will make sure the laws change here, Cyra, I promise. I’ll try to get it done soon for her sake – and for all the ghosts.”
I thanked her, and Adair, a little surprised when the young fairy child started waving at me when I went to leave, and I gave him a slight smile before heading downstairs and out the front door in search of my missing ghost companion.
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