In Spirit

Marianne is staring at the mug of hot tea in front of her, not drinking it. Her mother brought it to her a few minutes ago, knowing that it’s her favourite drink. In normal circumstances she would be eager to drink the liquid but it's as if she can't find the strength to lift it up to her lips. A pile of finished homework is by her side, but it's with little satisfaction as she realises that she has the rest of the day to do what she wanted before she had to return to school.

Sighing, she stretches her arms above her head and jumps off her bed, deciding to go and visit her next door neighbour, an old woman that always seemed to know what to do when Marianne was conflicted. She throws her favourite hoodie – a way too large, purple thing - and her white converse on. These items of clothing follow her wherever she goes, she doesn’t feel herself without them. About to exit her doorway, she remembers her forgotten cup of tea. Quickly, she grabs the cup and goes to drain it but only manages to gulp down a mouthful before she shouts in pain; the tea is still scalding hot and has burned her mouth. Jumping up and down whilst fanning her mouth, she mentally curses herself (she’d broken the habit of swearing out loud a year ago when her Mother heard her and all hell broke loose).

Her little sister Charlotte, or Lottie, chooses this moment to peek through her doorway and giggles. Marianne swivels and scowls when she sees the blonde-haired, blue-eyed child laughing at her misfortune. But no matter how much she wants to be mad at her sister, the little girl is only four years old and sickeningly adorable, and so holding a grudge is next to impossible.

“Where are you going Mari?” Lottie twirls a strand of hair around her finger and sticks her thumb in her mouth. It is a habit that has stuck with her ever since she was a baby and she hasn’t grown out of it yet. It worries her mother but Marianne finds it cute. The older girl smiles and sets her cup of tea down on her bedside table to be forgotten again.

“I’m going to see Nesta, want to come Lottie?” Lottie nods her head enthusiastically, jumping up and down as she does so. She loves the kooky old lady that lives next door, mainly because she always feeds her leftover cake and her dog, a yippy little terrier, always licks her face. Marianne scoops her little sister into her arms, ignoring her squirming, and heads out of the door and down the stairs. With a quick goodbye yelled to their mother, Marianne grabs sets Lottie down, grabs her hand and leads her out of the door.

Nesta opens the door just as Marianne goes to ring the doorbell; neither girl is surprised as this isn’t unusual. Nesta has always seemed to know when they were going to visit, before they knew themselves and Nesta was the only one, apart from her two grand children twins Aidan and Holly, who Marianne had confided in about being able to see ghosts. Marianne smiles, a tiny upward curve of her lips, at the sight of her.

A headscarf that you might find on a gypsy fortune teller (apart from the fact that it has a Thomas the Tank Engine pattern on it) adorns her head. Nesta has always collected headscarves and has a wide range of patterns, from Thomas the Tank Engine to traditional old floral designs (she rarely wore these, they were for special occasions she had told Marianne). She wears the headscarves for no other reason than to contain her wild mass of grey curls; Marianne had only seen her once without one and it ‘looked like her head exploded’. The rest of her clothes are extremely bright, matching her colourful personality. A yellow t-shirt with a smiley face on it, a purple shawl and a light blue, floor length skirt make up the rest of fit choice for the day.

“Marianne! Good to see you, come in chuck! Lottie too? Oh I am lucky, in you pop m’dear!” Marianne grins and Lottie smiles shyly, hiding behind the folds of her older sister’s jeans.
Nesta leads them into the cramped sitting room where there are already two mugs of tea and a plastic cup full of squash, along with three plates with a slice of cake each on the small coffee table. Lottie squeals in delight when she sees the cake, rushing over to her slice immediately. The old woman looks at Marianne thoughtfully for a second, before going over to Lottie.

“Lottie, dear, why don’t you take this into the living room. I’ve put that TV channel on that you like sweetheart. Let me and Mari here have a chat, okay?” Lottie nods and pads out of the room, careful not to drop her cake or spill her drink. Nesta pats Marianne’s hand and gestures for her to sit. “As much as I love your spontaneous visits Mari, I know you have a reason for being here.”

Marianne nods and sips her tea before explaining her conversation with Michael the other day. “…And so I have no idea how to tell them at all! They’re going to call me a freak and tell the whole school and then I’m going to be branded the sick freak that pretended she’s spoke to Elise and Connor Donnelly’s dead brother!” Marianne takes a vicious bite out of her cake at the end of her tirade and Nesta, who had remained silent through her explanation, pats her arm affectionately.

“My my, what a pickle.” Nesta taps her temple thoughtfully. “Have you ever spoke to either of these people before?” Marianne shakes her head, and bites into her cake forcefully again. “I guess you’ll have to do it, you did promise…Try talking to them each separately, and in private. If they see how serious you are, they might believe you…” Nesta looks up and sees how discouraged Marianne looks. “Mari, my darling, I know it seems like it could be the end of the world, but you’re helping one very lonely boy contact his probably very grief stricken family. What you are doing is a good thing. If they don’t believe you it’s their problem, you can sleep safe in the knowledge that you did the best that you could.” Marianne smiles softly and nods slowly.

“I guess so…” Nesta jumps up, surprisingly agile for her age, startling Marianne. She claps her hands together, as if she’s just realised something. “What, Nesta?”

“I know what will make you feel better, I’ll stick my Doctor Who box set on!” Marianne can’t help but smirk.

“Make me feel better, or you feel better?” says Marianne. Nesta grins.

“ Well, I do like that David Tennant!” Nesta winks at Marianne and goes to grab her DVDs.