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It was her aura that tipped Yomiel off. He knew it sounded stupid and new-age-y, but when he saw the blue of the ghost world shimmering and bending around her like something truly astrological… well, he knew she was special. That brunette, confident but otherwise unremarkable, was someone to keep track of.
In his own body, he'd watched her drink her coffee from afar, working up the courage to go over and say hi. It took him the longest time to figure out how to do it. Yomiel had so little in common with the living, and faking a conversation got old, fast. Normally, he used Sissel, his shadow-pelted friend as an icebreaker, either of his own will or under his control. It was hard for a cat not to help start a conversation. But Sissel was off doing his own thing somewhere else, as cats did, so Yomiel was forced to approach the woman. Alone.
When he summoned up his courage and walked over, he could tell that she had seen something in him, too. The steel of her eyes told him that she was wary, but of a strange man or of a ghost? “Hello.” he said, putting on his most charming smile.
“Hello.” her smile was pleasant but it revealed nothing. She wasn’t chasing him off, though, so he took it as invitation to sit down across from her.
“I was wondering...” He went for whatever conversation topic was most relevant, “What the symbol was around your neck? I've seen it somewhere.” True enough. The teardrop-shaped jade stone was some sort of religious symbol, and it was a core – which was notable in itself. He bowed apologetically. “Pardon me for my insolent question.”
“Its a magatama.” she said, “It symbolizes the faith of my family.”
“Oh. I see.”
“Why did you really come over here?” she raised an eyebrow gracefully, “Did you need...” she hesitated, then said, voice lowered, “assistance?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, thrown off. What did she know?
“It’s all right if you don't want to ask now,” she said, cryptically. “You will ask when you are ready.”
“Oh, really.” She said it with such certainty that his skin might have crawled, if it still could.
“My name is Mia.” she said. Yomiel hadn't been expecting her to outright introduce herself. “Mia Fey, attorney at law. And you?”
“Yomiel... I... work with computers.”
“That's a very good occupation to have. I’m convinced that computers have a mind of their own, and there is always need for help with those devices.” She checked her watch. “I have to go. Here -” she handed over her business card, a neat and professional thing, modestly designed, “Drop by if you need help.”
“Sure.” Yomiel could think of many reasons why he might need a lawyer. But that aura...
“See you soon.” she said, giving him a little wave.
***
Yomiel’s business, shady as it was, took him near the address on the card. Actually, to the hotel right across the street! It was very convenient. It was also early in the evening, and she'd looked like the sort of person who worked late. He decided to drop by. Maybe if I ask her directly, she’ll tell me what, exactly, she is. He couldn’t get that strange aura out of his mind.
The office was a long way up – not enough to be prestigious but too much to be easy for anyone with an actual body. “Mrrow!” Sissel said, clawing his way up Yomiel's jacket to take his 'rightful place' on his shoulder.
“Tired of the stairs?” Yomiel quipped, rubbing Sissel beneath the chin. Sissel had been his friend for a long time, and he had always done what he wanted. Yomiel was honored that he was a part of that.
And there it was – Fey and co Law Offices. There was a light on under the door to the suite – his assumption had been correct.
He knocked at the door. “Hello?”
“Come in.” came the woman’s voice at the other side, “It's open.”
Yomiel opened the door and walked into a blandly uninspiring place. A reception desk stood, empty of people but covered with disorganized papers. A bathroom lurked by an old couch and television.
“I'll be with you in a moment!” She called from the back room.
Sissel, cat as he was, leapt from Yomiel's shoulder and trotted into the room without a care in the world. “Meow!”
“Oh, hello there! Who are you?” Another meow, one of protest. Mia appeared in the doorway, holding the cat carefully in her arms. She was, Yomiel thought, brave to pick up a strange cat. “Oh! Is he yours, Mister... Omen?”
“Yomiel.” he corrected. He wondered where she'd gotten 'Omen' from. she said it so confidently, and he wondered if she really thought that was his name. “And you could say that he owns me. His name is Sissel.”
“Well, hello Sissel.” Mia put the cat down, folding her arms beneath her chest. “I have a lot of work to do. How can I help you?”
“May we speak privately?” he asked, glancing at the desk.
“My assistant has left for the night. This is private.”
“Ah, well.” A peek in the ghost world confirmed that her aura was there. Swirling. Trying to draw him in, almost. “I was wondering... Your aura...”
“So. You noticed.”
“Yes. It's... ah…” Yomiel didn't want to reveal too much, “Interesting.”
“And yours burns bright and hot like a star.” she said frankly. So she could see. “And it is detatched from your body.”
“Is it?”
“Mr. Meal,” she said with a coldly serious voice, “you aren’t of the living. So, what exactly are you?”
“I... How can you tell?”
“I was trained as a spirit medium. It is, you could say, the family business. I may be a lawyer, but the power to sense spirits is still strong in me.” She pointed at him dramatically, “a nd you are one.”
“Yes.” he said, as alarmed as he was relieved, “ I am... a ghost, I think.”
“I've never heard of a ghost like you before – one that walks around using its own body like a puppet.” Yomiel was shocked into silence at how much she had seen. “Now that we have that out of the way,” she said, her stance relaxing, “what did you need from me? Do you need me as a lawyer, or as a medium?”
“I'm not sure.”
Her voice softened. “Are you in pain?” she asked quietly.
“No...” His body was just a puppet. He couldn't feel anything. Not pain. Not the wind on his face. Not his cat’s fur... He didn't think that was what she was asking, though. Did he hurt inside? “I don't...” he couldn't be a part of the world. He would never see her again. He would never have a life again. “I don't know,” he said, defeated.
She put a hand on his shoulder that he couldn’t truly feel, though he was still grateful for the sentiment. “It's all right.” she said, “Whatever you are, whatever you're feeling, whatever happened to you, I am here. Maybe I can provide some solace or guidance.”
He almost turned away then. “... Thank you.”
She smiled at him. “Now, I need to get back to work. But if you want to stay and talk...”
Yomiel felt something now -- overwhelmed. He needed to get out and think about this. “... It’s all right... um,” he paused. “Would you mind meeting for coffee tomorrow? I need to... brush the cat.”
Sissel's ears perked up – he loved his brush.
She laughed. “Of course. It is always better to drink coffee with someone else than to drink it alone. Much more enlivening that way.”
“I'll see you then.” he said, and then he made his escape.
***
Coffee the next day went well – it felt almost normal. She seemed to go out of her way to put him at ease, and she asked very little about his unlife. If he wanted to reveal something about himself, she accepted it. If she didn't want to tell him something, she didn't. He avoided discussing his 'ghost issues' for the time being – he wasn't sure how to describe them.
Taking coffee with her became a regular thing. In the daylight, problems seemed different. The night had its dark shadows and it's pains, but the daytime seemed to blast it with its sunlight, sublimating it away until sunset. He thought she might appreciate the company of someone who understood something of the spirit world – he knew what it was like to have dual identities, and to work with people who didn't understand something key to his existence. Sometimes, she would talk about her cases, but always vaguely. He understood – mixing parts of ones life could get complicated. But gradually, she told him more and more, and he revealed more and more about himself. It was... freeing.
This soon evolved into exchanges of information.
As it turned out, information was profitable. Moving into that field kept Yomiel in suits and Sissel in kitty litter, cat toys, and delicious wet food. It also bought power and influence in ways that money could not. Ms. Fey needed information to turn the tides of her cases, or to make the correct legal decisions. Yomiel helped her investigate and fed her information. Mia gave him good company and a sense of purpose and, of course, also gave him information back in a way.
Yomiel had never had any spiritual guidance, in life or in death. Every power he had, every moral he had, he had learned on his own. With Sissel by his side, yes, but, in a very real sense, on his own. Finally having a source of guidance, finally understanding the meaning of things he had seen in his time as a ghost, this was valuable to him. She guided him through philosophy and questions of morals. The cause of his ghosthood bothered her, but she wouldn't tell him why. Finally, though, she told him what a medium did, and offered a suggestion to really, truly, help him. Or so she hoped.
So it was that they sat alone in her small apartment, surrounded by the dramatic burning of candles and incense. He dressed in a smart black suit, as formal as he could manage. She dressed in loose-fitting clothing, simple but distinctive. She looked at the old, slightly crumpled picture in her hands, gave him a reassuring smile, and closed her eyes. Yomiel fidgeted with his engagement ring as she brought her hands together, lowered her head, and began the incantation.
It was time for the summoning.