Chapter 7: 7. Seeing Things

There was really only one touristy thing I particularly wanted to see, so after signing the contract with Eva I set out to go see it.

The London Eye was one of those things you saw on TV and stuff, it was a recognizable landmark and an interesting attraction. At least I thought it was. And it was a cool way to see the city, like there were some really good views of the river and everything when we were up at the top of the Eye. I made sure to take lots of pictures and stuff with my new phone, and overall it was a pretty cool experience.

The only thing that made it weird was having my ghostly friend along with me for the whole adventure.

Like I'd only just gotten used to the idea of Eva being a voice in my head, and apart from one slip-up I'd been good about think-talking to her while I was out in public. Now that I could see her standing next to me, and having her chattering away at me like a normal person, it was almost impossible to remember I wasn't supposed to respond normally to her.

Her outfit was the same as before, leggings and a t-shirt, but she had sneakers on her feet while we were out. Which left me with more questions, like she was a demon ghost so did she really need to worry about bare feet?

By the time we were done on the Eye the other people who'd been in there with me were all convinced I was nuts, from the way I'd been looking at and talking to an empty space next to me.

That whole situation left me embarrassed enough that I ended up heading back to the hotel afterwards. And apart from venturing out to get dinner at another nearby restaurant, I spent the rest of the evening in my room ignoring some movie on the TV while I surfed the net.

I'd been trying to find other touristy things. I was trying to keep the cost down though, despite what Eva said I was used to being short of money and it was kind of a habit. Like I wouldn't do anything too costly. I was looking for free or almost-free stuff for a tourist in London.

And there was actually a lot of stuff that fit the bill, except most of it didn't really appeal to me. Like there was a ton of old buildings to go look at. If you were into old architecture, this was the place. And there were squares, and statues, and monuments, and gardens. And loads of museums and galleries and stuff like that.

There were even a few things within walking distance of the hotel, like the British Museum was about two blocks away. And practically across the street from the hotel was some fancy garden square that was listed as a thing to go and look at. I thought it was just a little parkette, like back home they had loads of little parkettes in the middle of the city. I didn't think any of them were tourist attractions, but maybe they were?

Friday morning I slept in and missed the breakfast buffet again, but that square park across the street had a cafe in it so I decided to go over there for brunch.

It was already half past eleven in the morning by the time I was showered and dressed and ready to head out. I was in the leggings again and a loose comfy top, and went with the hoodie and sneakers too. I had Eva's bracelet on of course, and I put that tree of life medallion on as well.

As I rode the elevator down to the ground floor I started thinking about getting my ears pierced again, like instead of spending money on some touristy stuff maybe I'd have more fun getting some bling.

The little cafe in the park was all right, I got some coffee and a little sandwich then managed to get a table. It looked like the place was getting busy with the lunch crowd, so I was lucky to get a seat.

With my hoodie over the back of the chair I let myself relax and enjoyed my meal.

"I'm not sure if you noticed," Eva said as she sat in the empty chair to my right, "But I finally procured you a credit card last night. It's in the same pocket of your purse as the other cards."

She added, "It took me a little longer than I expected, as I figured out there was more to it than a square of plastic. Making it actually work was harder than I thought."

I rolled my eyes and had a bite of my sandwich, then as I was chewing I thought at her /Everyone is going to think I'm crazy if you keep turning up and starting conversations with me out in public./

She smirked, "Sorry Lexi. I know it's awkward and difficult for you. But I have to admit, I'm enjoying the sightseeing as much as you are. What are we going to do today?"

Before I could respond there was a welcome distraction, in the form of a question spoken in a French accent. "Pardon me, is this seat taken?"

Eva and I both turned to look, and I found myself staring at an attractive young woman.

She was about average height, maybe eight or ten centimetres taller than me, and her complexion had a slightly tanned look. Her deep chestnut-coloured hair hung down to her shoulders in waves, and her eyes were a beautiful hazel colour. She was dressed sort of casual-nice, in jeans, a pretty blouse, a stylish jacket, and low-heeled shoes. And she had a large purse over one shoulder, and her lunch in her hands.

I shook my head and replied, "Please, be my guest."

"Thank you," she smiled back as she set her lunch down, then slipped into the chair across from me. "I'm Marianne by the way. From your accent, I guess you're not a local? Are you American?"

"Canadian actually," I replied. "It's nice to meet you Marianne, my name is Lexi. And I'm guessing you're not from here either?"

"Paris," she responded with another smile. "Though I've been in London for the past two years, attending university here."

"Oh neat," I said as I had a sip of my coffee. "I'm just here as a tourist."

She started on her lunch as well, and the two of us had a nice conversation while we ate. Eva was still there too, sitting in the chair on my right. And on the one hand I felt rude about ignoring her and leaving her out of the conversation, but on the other hand I was enjoying Marianne's company and didn't want her to think I was a crazy person who talked to empty furniture.

As the two of us ate I found out she was taking a break from her studies over at the 'Institute of Historical Research', which was just a short walk away. And I made up a half-lie about taking a year off from my education to travel the world.

As we both finished eating, Marianne commented "I couldn't help noticing that bracelet of yours. May I ask how you came by it?"

Just like that I went from enjoying a nice meal with a pretty girl, to being on alert and ready for trouble. Like suddenly I wasn't sure if Marianne was actually a cop, or maybe she was a thief who'd been chatting me up before she tried to rob me or something.

"My grandmother left it to me when she died," I lied. "It's an old family heirloom. Why do you ask?"

She nodded slightly, "Ah I see. Sorry if I seem rude or overly curious, it's just that I recognize the design. If it is what I think, then it's very old indeed. Not the sort of thing one would expect to find being worn as an everyday accessory."

"Oh?" I asked as I tried not to let on how uneasy I was. "What do you mean, you recognize it?"

Then as I drained the last of my coffee I asked, /Eva can you tell who this girl really is? Are we in danger?/

Marianne responded, "Have you plans for the afternoon? The British Museum is just over there, I could show you what I'm talking about."

At the same time Eva replied, "She doesn't have any ill intent. She's intensely curious about you and about my bracelet. She knows it's a priceless antique, but she's not planning to steal it."

"Actually I haven't made plans," I replied to the pretty French girl, while pretending to ignore Eva. "And I haven't visited that museum yet. You said you were on lunch break though, I don't want to make you late for anything?"

You are reading story Missed Connections at novel35.com

She shook her head, "I'm on my own time, there's nothing I will be late for. Shall we go?"

A minute later the three of us were walking through the little park together. Or rather, two of us were walking through the park together, while my invisible demon ghost friend tagged along behind us.

I had my hoodie on again, but I was feeling very self-conscious about how I looked. That was actually a new experience for me. In my old body I didn't really care how I looked, I just didn't want anyone to look at me. Now I was walking next to a pretty girl and I felt like a slob in my oversized hoodie and sneakers. At least my hair was neat and I had some make-up on.

The museum was another big impressive building, but it wasn't all old. Like there was some new stuff as well as the old stuff. It was probably another one of those exciting places if you were into architecture. The admission was free though, which was nice.

Marianne obviously knew her way around, she didn't need to stop and look at the guides or maps or anything. She led me through and past some other exhibits and pretty much straight to the Ancient Greece section.

We finally came to a stop in a room dedicated to Greek Bronze Age stuff. And partway down the wall on one side was a glass display case full of shiny gold artefacts.

The three of us walked up to stand in front of that, and my eyes widened as I spotted plenty of familiar spirals and flower designs.

"This is known as the Aegina Treasure," Marianne explained. "It dates from between eighteen-hundred and fifteen hundred BCE. You recognize the patterns? Look at that cup, those spirals are almost exactly like your bracelet. And those little gold medallions, the rosette patterns on them match your bracelet as well, yes?"

"Wow," I commented quietly as I stared.

Marianne was standing to my left, and Eva was on my right. She seemed as interested in this stuff as our French guide was, while I just wanted to escape before anyone else noticed the bling on my wrist belonged behind the glass case with the rest of the hoard.

Fortunately I still had my hoodie on, and the long sleeves covered my wrists very nicely.

"She's right," Eva commented as she continued looking over the jewelry in the display. "I'm pretty sure my child was born around sixteen-hundred BCE on your calendar. And these objects actually come from the Aegean, where she lived. It's entirely possible my bracelet was made by the same artisans who made these items."

Marianne pointed out, "See that bracelet? Its construction is similar to yours."

"Mine's nicer," Eva bragged as she looked closer at the bracelet in the display. "That one isn't as well finished."

I nodded slowly, "Yeah, it's pretty wild. Like I said, the bracelet was an heirloom? I don't know how long it was in the family or where they got it. Maybe someone had it made as a replica of this old stuff?"

"Or perhaps it's an original," she responded. "The late nineteenth and early twentieth century was the time of treasure-hunters, many antiquities were lost to private explorers and collectors."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that so I just shrugged, "Huh."

After staring at me for a few more moments, Marianne glanced around as if to make sure there wasn't anyone else nearby.

Then she moved a little closer and asked in a half-whisper, "I have another question or two for you Lexi. Why does that ghost follow you around, and why does she look like your older sister? Can you hear her when she speaks to you?"

Both my and Eva's eyes went wide with shock, and my demon ghost let out a rather cute startled squeak as she vanished.

Which was just great, because it meant I was left to deal with the situation all by myself. At least I finally had an answer to that age-old question, could a six-thousand-year-old demon spirit suffer from social anxiety? Yes, she could.

Marianne and I stared at each other for a few more seconds, then I finally gulped "What ghost?"

"The one who's been with you since lunch," she replied quietly. "She was sitting at the table when I joined you. She followed us here, and she was looking at the collection alongside us. She's gone now, she vanished when I mentioned her. I know you were aware of her, you glanced at her several times while we've been talking."

"Do not tell her who or what I am," Eva cautioned. She was back to being a voice in my head again, but at least she was still around. "I'm not sure yet what she is or what her motivation is, but I'm monitoring her very closely. If she becomes a threat I will do what I can to protect us both."

I was still staring at Marianne, and I finally responded "Yes I can hear when she talks. Could you hear her too? Because it was really distracting having both of you talking at me at the same time."

"No," she shook her head. "I couldn't hear her, but I could see she was talking."

That was a massive relief, though I tried not to let it show.

My mind was racing and after a slightly awkward pause I decided the situation was a little too weird and uncomfortable, so the best thing to do was bail.

"Thanks for showing me this stuff Marianne," I said as I gestured at all the gold in the glass display. "It's cool finding out what sort of stuff inspired my grandmother's bracelet. And it was nice to meet you, but I think I'm going to go do some more sightseeing. Good luck with your studies."

She actually seemed surprised as I turned and headed back the way we came. Like it didn't occur to her that I might just walk away.

She hurried to catch up then walked alongside me, "I want to talk with you some more. I'd like to know more about your ghost friend and that bracelet."

"Sorry," I shrugged slightly as I continued walking. "I've told you what I know about the bracelet, and I don't want to talk about the other thing."

"But..." she struggled to find something to say, she seemed determined to change my mind.

She followed me all the way back out of the museum and onto the sidewalk outside. That's where I finally stopped, because I wasn't actually sure what direction to go. Partially because I only had a vague idea where I was, and partially because I had no idea where I was going next.

While I stood there looking around in indecision and confusion, she stepped up so she was directly in front of me.

She fixed those pretty hazel eyes of hers on mine, took a deep breath, then in a soft hopeful voice she asked "Please?"