Occulturation #9 Imaginary Friend

Millie sits across from Garesh at the table, eating breakfast. Garesh reaches forward across the table. Millie cringes backwards in her chair. Garesh grabs the box of cereal and drags it back toward his bowl. “Don’t worry, Millie,” Garesh says, “I’m not going to force you to go into a symbol.” Millie doesn’t trust him. After she scared off Ystra yesterday, Garesh tried to get her into Screamer sigils. Millie stayed far away from him and wouldn’t let him touch her. Millie is still wary of Garesh this morning.

Millie steps away from the table. She doesn’t want to be close to Garesh. She has ripped up every paper that Garesjh has drawn a Screamer symbol on by now. She has erased the symbol for Fey on the door. Garesh didn’t see it. She hasn’t told Garesh about Ystra. Wilheim knocks on the walls and floor repeatedly. He has been making this noise all today and yesterday. He just won’t keep quiet no matter what Garesh says or does.

Wilheim must be dreadfully bored. Millie is bored too. She really wants to go outside, but Garesh won’t let her. He says it is dangerous for little girls to be outside alone, and Garesh won’t go outside with her to keep her safe. Perhaps an Incorporeal could be her chaperone, but Garesh says they shouldn’t go out either. Millie doesn’t think this is fair. She doesn’t care if Garesh wants to waste his life staying indoors all day, but Millie shouldn't be forced to live a dreary life doing nothing just because Garesh is lazy.

Garesh leaves the table and goes upstairs where the sound of Wilheim’s knocking is not so painfully loud. Millie doesn’t acknowledge that she is what caused Jack to Incorporate the door to scare off Ystra.  She knows that Jack went into the door because she wanted her to, but she doesn’t believe that he is incapable of doing so without her invocation.

Using what she knows about Incorporeal Incorporation, Millie has developed a plan to sneak outside. She can’t just open the door and leave. Garesh usually hears the door when it opens or closes and comes to check on whether anyone has left the house. Millie plans on bringing Wilheim with her to have fun outside because Wilheim is invisible, so he won’t be seen by anyone outside. Garesh will immediately notice his absence, however, because Wilheim is always making noise.

Millie has a solution. All she needs is enough Persuasion to convince Wilheim to follow along. After she explains her plan to Wilheim, the knocking sounds stop. Garesh comes down the stairs and asks, “Where is Wilheim? It’s too quiet.” Millie smiles and says, “He is right here.” She points at the wall and Wilheim knocks on it a few times and then stops.

Garesh is surprised that Wilheim is able to keep quiet. “Wilheim, what’s going on?” Garesh asks, “Why are being so quiet.” Millie shrugs and shrugs and says, “I just asked him to be quiet and now he is.” Garesh doubts this. “Really, he never listens when I tell him to be quiet.” Millie says, “That’s because you’re a meanie and I’m adorable.” Garesh groans in annoyance and goes back upstairs.

Millie’s plan is working perfectly so far. She gave Garesh a reason to not be suspicious of Wilheim not making noise while he is out with Millie. Now, Millie simply needs to make her escape undetected. This is where Svartr comes in. Millie traces the symbol for Incorporeal as it’s on the cover of the book about Screamers. She copies the sigil onto the door with a pencil.

“Svartr, you’re up,” Millie says, “Come here.” Svartr doesn’t move. “Please, Svartr?” Millie begs. Svartr relents and shadows over the symbol on the door. “Svartr, go in the door and make it disappear.” Millie says. The door disappears, with its only remnant being a shadow of the door on the ground. She walks outside and asks Wilheim if he has made it out yet. A quick knocking on the sidewalk confirms that he has escaped, too.

Millie puts her hand on the shadow of the door on the ground and says, “Svartr, come out and make the door real again.” The door reappears. Millie asks Svartr to join them outside, but he doesn’t leave the house. Millie looks around and sees that it is still dark. It is not yet morning. It clearly isn’t night, but the sun isn’t up yet. It must be Madrugada.

Millie sees a group of kids gathered at the edge of the block. Many of them are about her age, around 25 years old [a little over 8 years old on Earth], but just as many are several years younger and older than her. They’re all standing together on the sidewalk, as if they are waiting for something. Millie walks up to them. One of them is a boy that appears to be around 30 years old [10 years on Earth]. She asks him “What are you all standing here for?”

The boy turns and answers that they are waiting for the bus. When Millie further questions him as to where the bus would be taking them, the boy points out that it’s a school bus. It’s taking them to school. Millie is confused. “What’s school?” Millie asks. The boy gets a weird look on his face and asks Millie how she could possibly not know what school is, given that she looks like she should have already been in school for a few years already.

Millie doesn’t answer. She’s not going to tell a complete stranger about how she lived a sheltered life, staying inside at all times, never seeing the sun. School is something outside away from home. How could she possibly know what it is? The boy takes Milie’s lack of a response to his question as an end to the conversation. Millie is still curious about what a school is, but she also doesn’t like how the questions of these kids remind her that she hasn’t lived a normal life.

She won’t leave without answers. Millie makes her way around to the opposite end of the crowd of children. She finds a 36 year old girl [12 years on Earth] and asks her “What is school?” The girls seems taken aback that Millie doesn’t know about school but answers as best as she can. “School is a place where you learn.” Millie doesn’t like this answer. It doesn’t make any sense. She knows she can learn no matter her location, so why can these children only learn in, on, or at a school?

Millie feels Wilheim gently tugging on her shirt to lead her away from the children. Seems he’s bored already. Millie follows the direction Wilheim is pulling her. It’s a few streets down before they reach the park with the playground. Millie doesn’t know if Wilheim already knew of the playground or if he found it just now by chance. There are three little girls by the slides and jungle gym. Millie is wary of being close to others with Wilheim following her, so she goes to the swings. Wilheim rattles a few swings, but he doesn’t have enough strength to move them much. Millie starts to swing back and forth on the swing when she hears the voice of a little girl next to her on a swing saying, “Hello, what’s your name?”

Millie looks to her left and sees a little girl on the swing next to her. She didn’t see this girl when she first counted the kids in the playground. With this new girl, there are four girls other than Millie in the playground. This new girl looks like she is around Millie’s age, so she is probably around twenty-five years old [just over 8 years on Earth].

Millie nearly falls out of her swing. She hadn’t seen anyone at the swingset. This girl must have just arrived at the park playground. The girl laughs, “Haha, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” the girl says, “I’ve Cleo. What’s your name?” Millie doesn’t usually give personal information to strangers, but it occurs to her that such rules about strangers only really apply to strangers that are older than her, not little girls of the same age. It would be strange for her to be so tight-lipped about her name or her favorite colors and foods when trying to make a new friend. This is why Millie says, “I’m Millie.”

“Oh, Millie? That’s a nice name,” Cleo says, “I haven’t seen you at this park before. Are you new here?” Millie thinks about what would make sense as an answer. She doesn’t recognize her surroundings, and she is fairly sure that she didn’t live here before she met Garesh. Millie says, “Yes, I moved here a few days ago.” Cleo nods, as though she expected as much. “Ah, then you probably don’t know too many people around here,” Cleo says, “Well, you can start by getting to know me.”

Millie is feeling nervous. She hasn’t talked to any children her own age before. The kids waiting for the bus think she is strange. Millie would definitely like to get to know more kids her age. Cleo invites Millie to share her favorites, likes, and dislikes, as well. Millie is at a loss on what to say. She hasn’t done many things and doesn’t remember much beyond a few days ago. However, there is one thing that Millie is sure she likes.

“I like stories and rhymes.” Millie says. She doesn’t quite remember much else about what she likes or dislikes. “Oh, that’s cool,” Cleo, “What are some stories and rhymes you like?” Millie tries to remember some of her rhymes. “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.” Millie recites. Cleo nods as she comes to understand that Millie is interested in nursery rhymes.

Wilheim sharks a few more swings, including the one Cleo is on. Cleo look around. “That was weird,” Cleo says, “It must have been the wind.” Millie is worried that Wilheim will scare away Cleo. “Alright, Millie,” Cleo says, “What is something you don’t like?” Millie doesn’t think there is anything that she doesn’t like, so she says so. Cleo doesn’t believe her. “There must be something you don’t like,” Cleo says, “You probably just don’t realize it.”

Cleo pokes Millie. “Hey, stop that!” Millie says. Cleo grins. “Why?” Cleo asks, “Do you not like it?” Millie growls in annoyance and shouts, “Yes! I don’t like it! Don’t touch me!” Millie shouts louder than she means to. She is embarrassed and turns away, covering her face. Cleo cringes and says, “Well, we found something you don’t like.” Millie doesn’t respond. She is sad that she was mean to Cleo. Cleo has been so nice to her and she doesn’t want to drive her away.

Cleo seems intent on ignoring what happened. “What do you like to do, Millie?” she asks. Millie decides to go along with Cleo and ignore her outburst. “I like to… i like to…” Millie begins to say. She can’t finish. She doesn't have anything that she does. She barely remembers anything before meeting Garesh, and she has been bored because she has had nothing to do. Cleo sees that Millie is struggling to come up with an answer. “I’ll go first, to help you get an idea,” Cleo says,” I like to play in the park on the swings and talk with my friends. What do you like to do?”

Even with Cleo’s example, Millie is having trouble coming up with an answer. “I like to listen to stories.” Millie says. Cleo nods in agreement. “Yes, I like reading stories, too.” Millie notices that Cleo says she likes “reading” stories. Can Cleo read? Maybe kids Millie’s age normally can read, but Millie doesn’t know how to read. How can she possibly learn to read? She can only count to five and doesn’t really even know her letters. Yet, other girls her age, like Cleo, can read!

Millie is beginning to think should spend time meditating in the school like the other children. She thinks the idea is absurd, but maybe she will learn in an area consecrated for the purpose of learning. “Your turn, Millie,” Cleo says, “Did you think of something you like to do?” Millie hasn’t really been thinking about what she likes to do. However, she decides to improvise based on what she has been thinking about. “I like learning.” Millie says.

Millie notices that the three other girls at the playground are staring at her. When they see that she notices them staring, they look away. The girls gather together and point at Millie, whispering to each other. This makes Millie feel uncomfortable. Millie feels something pulling on her arm. She looks down but doesn’t see anyone. The invisible grip isn’t strong enough to pull her off the swing. Millie gets off the swing and says, “Excuse me for a little bit, Cleo. I need to take care of something really quick.”

Millie walks a little distance away from the swings and hunches down to keep people from seeing her face. “Wilheim, stop it. You’ll scare Cleo,” Millie whispers, “I know I promised I’d play with you, but I’ve finally met another kid my age. I can play with you later, Wilheim.” A shadow falls over Millie. She stiffens in fright. She looks up slowly to see one of the other girls in the playground is standing above her, with a worried expression on her face.

“Are you okay?” the girl asks, leaning down to bring her face level with Millie’s. “No, I mean. Yes, I’m fine.” Millie says quickly. The girl nods slowly and takes a few steps back. “Who were you talking to?” the girl asks. Millie panics. She doesn’t say anything for a few moments. “No one.” Millie says. “There is no one I was talking to.” The girl takes a few more steps back. “If you say so.” She says. The girl returns to the two other girls in her group and they whisper to each other. “Wilheim! See what you did!” Millie hisses.

“Millie, Why did you lie to that girl?” Cleo asks Millie from behind her. Millie turns to face Cleo standing close to her, no longer on a swing. “I didn’t lie,” Millie says quickly, “I wasn’t talking with anyone!” Cleo smiles wryly and says, “You were talking with me, weren’t you?” Millie takes a moment to gather what Cleo means. “Ah, yes.” Millie says, “I was talking with you… I just thought that the girl meant someone else.”

“Who else would you be talking to?” Cleo asks, “There is no one else here.” Millie nods emphatically, “Yes, yes. That’s right. There is no one else here.” Cleo shakes her head. “No, there are others here.”

“But you just said-” Millie starts to say before Cleo cuts her off. “Millie, you didn’t think I wouldn’t notice, did you?”

“What? No.” Millie says, “There is nothing to notice, Cleo.” Cleo laughs a little bit. “Millie, there are three girls over there. And I’m over here. We were talking. Then you step away, not to the girls, not to me or any other person. Then when one of the girls from over there asks you who you were talking to, you say that you weren’t talking to anyone.”

“Yeah, so?” Millie asks. “Millie, unless you forgot about me, you spoke with someone between talking with me and that girl. So who was it?” Millie is really nervous. She can’t tell Cleo about Wilheim. They were going to  be friends. Now Wilheim has ruined it. “Millie, there is nothing to be nervous about,” Cleo says, “Everyone has imaginary friends.” This catches Millie off guard.

“Imaginary friends?” Millie asks. Cleo smiles. “Yeah, imaginary friends,” Cleo says, “They’re people that only you can see. Your parents will probably tell you that they’re not real.” Millie thinks about this. She has never heard of imaginary friends before. She doesn’t think she has ever had an imaginary friend. “Everyone has an imaginary friend?” Millie asks, “Even you?” Cleo shuffles her feet, “Well, no. Not me. I guess not everyone has an imaginary friend and certainly not all the time. But Most people have had at least one imaginary friend at some point in their life.”

Millie feels her shirt being pulled. “Wilheim, stop it!” Millie whispers. “Your friend is named Wilheim?” Cleo asks. “You heard that?” Millie asks. “We’re right next to each other,” Cleo says,” You’re going to need to try a lot harder if you want to say something without me hearing.” Millie thought she was being pretty quiet. “Yes, Wilheim is my friend.” Millie says. Cleo smiles. “Well he must really want your attention if he’s interrupting our conversation,” Cleo says, “You should deal with him first so he doesn’t keep distracting you.”

Millie doesn’t know she looked so distracted for Cleo to notice. It’s hard to ignore Wilheim grabbing her shirt and arm, but she reacted in any apparent way that allowed Cleo know that something was up. Millie turns away from Cleo and whispers, “Wilheim, what do you want?” The wood chips on the ground shift as something invisible draws a line in the dirt. It’s an arrow pointing out away from the playground they’re in. Millie stares at the arrow, trying to discern Wilheim’s message. Why would Wilheim want her to leave the playground? Does he want them to go back home? That might be a good idea. She can’t stay out too long or Garesh is sure to notice.

“Ok, Wilheim.” Millie says, “We’ll go back home.” The invisible Incorporeal stomps on the ground, causing wood chips to flatten on the ground and sounds loudly with the wood chips cracking beneath his force. Millie isn’t sure what that expression is supposed to mean, so she ignores it. She turns back to Cleo. “Sorry, Cleo,” Millie says, “I’ve got to go back home.” Cleo bids her farewell and promises to meet her again. Millie makes her way through the neighborhood and wishes she had memorized her house before she left it. She has no idea which house is hers.

Millie walks on the sidewalk in the neighborhood. She passes house after house, driveway after driveway. She may have passed her house already, but she has no way of knowing. She tries to send Wilheim into each house to check if it’s theirs, but Wilheim didn’t like the idea of doing such a task. Millie wonders if Wilheim cares about privacy or if he’s just lazy. Millie begins to fear that she may never see her house or Garesh again when she hears the cloppity-clop of hooves beating against the pavement. A dark brown horse with a familiar-looking woman riding it trots up the street. The sound of sirens follows behind.

Millie recognizes the woman on the horse, only because of her clothes. The woman wears a plain gray dress that goes down to her ankles and a belt around the waist over the dress, and belts around the ends of the sleeves. She also wears a wide brimmed hat with a cone-shaped top with a belt around the base of the cone top. Millie remembers this woman. This is Ystra. Millie doesn't trust Ystra, she’s a stranger. She has bound the nightmare spirit that attacked Garesh.

Millie also hears the sound of sirens following behind Ystra and the horse. Millie remembers those sounds. They’re police sirens. Garesh always goes stiff and tells everyone to hide when he hears police sirens. The sound of sirens are coming from behind Ystra and the horse. Millie doesn’t know what the meaning of police sirens is, but she knows that she needs to get home. Millie has an idea on how to get home, but she doesn’t like it. As Ystra gets close, riding on her horse, Millie shouts to her.

Ystra nearly falls off her saddle when she sees Millie. The horse stops to keep her from tumbling to the ground as she holds to the saddle horn while hanging off the side of the horse. Once the horse has stopped for a bit, Ystra drops to the ground and begins hurriedly trying to get back on the horse. She is having a lot of difficulty trying to mount the horse. Millie runs over to her and calls out to her, “Ystra!”

Ystra tells the horse, “Go!” before she is on the saddle. She is standing on a stirrup and is holding onto the saddle horn as the horse begins to trot away. “Wait, come back!” Millie yells. Ystra continues riding away, trying to get back on the saddle. Millie chases after her in the middle of the street. The horse slows down as Ystra almost falls off again. Millie isn’t as fast as the horse, even with the horse going slower than normal to help Ystra not fall off. An idea occurs to Millie. She’s not sure of the movement speed of Wilheim. He doesn’t have a body. How can Incorporeal move? How fast can they go? Millie just hopes he can go faster than a horse.

“Wilheim, stop her.” Millie commands. She hears the knocking sounds of the Incorporeal beating against the ground as it moves towards the horse. Wilheim is faster than Millie, though she isn’t sure if he’s going to be able to catch up with Ystra. Even if he does catch her, what can Wilheim do? He can’t hold much weight. He doesn’t have much strength at all, and he has no weight to power his force.

The sounds of police sirens become painfully loud behind her. Millie glances behind her to see a police car turning the corner and speeding towards them. The car slows down a bit and honks its horn as it nears Millie. Millie can’t bother with police cars right now. She needs to get home. “Ystra, stop!” Millie shouts. The flashing lights and louds sounds from the siren scares Millie. She continues running, chasing after Ystra as the car moves to the side of the road and slowly tries to pass her.

The car isn’t following her, it’s going after Ystra. Millie has another idea, even worse than asking Ystra for help. The police car is going after Ystra, and Millie will never catch her on her own. Millie runs to the side of the road in front of the car. The car swerves to the other side, but Millie follows, keeping in front of it. The car is going really slow now, trying to avoid hitting her. Eventually, the car stops and the door opens as the police officer steps out and yells for her to get to the sidewalk. Millie charges at the car and leaps through the open door into the car. The officer is surprised and tells her to get out. Millie climbs into the passenger seat away from the open door and shouts, “Hurry! I need to catch that woman!”

The officer opens the passenger door and grabs her arm, trying to pull her out. Millie is too heavy, and growls, “Don’t touch me!” The police officer looks frantically between Millie and Ystra. He quickly comes to a decision and closes the passenger door. He gets in the driver’s seat and says, “If you’re coming with me, you need to wear your seatbelt.”

Millie around for a belt. Instead of any belts, she finds a strap to her side. She grabs it and crosses it to her other side, but she can’t figure out how to keep it from snapping back in place. The officer shows her the box the seat belt clip snaps into. Once Millie has fastened her seatbelt, the police officer starts driving towards Ystra. Ystra has turned down another street. Millie and the cop follow her and find that Ystra is barely holding onto the saddle with her hands as her legs flap off the side.

Millie notices the horse almost tripping on several occasions as it slips over something unseen, forcing the horse to slow down. This choppy near tripping is too bumpy of a ride. Ystra loses her grip and falls off the side of the horse, landing flat on the ground. The police officer slows the car to a stop in front of the woman and gets out to confront her. Millie opens her door as well and leaves the car.

“You’re under arrest for refusing to stop for an officer of the law,” the cop says. The horse stops and waits for Ystra. She slowly gets up, dazed from her fall. “It’s not my fault,” Ystra protests, “Lauren acted against my will.” The officer shakes his head. “Your horse, your responsibility,” the policeman says, “My siren may have spooked it, but you’re still in charge of pulling over your horse and stopping.”

“That’s not what I mea-” Ystra begins to say before the horse interrupts her by nudging her face with its muzzle. Millie steps towards Ystra, but the policeman puts his hand in front of Millie to prevent her from getting close. Millie shouts to Ystra, “I need your help, lady.” Ystra takes a few steps backwards when she sees Millie.

“You need to lead me back to Garesh.” Millie says. The officer looks at the little girl and says, “Why do you want her help? She’s irresponsible enough that I have to arrest her.” Millie realizes that the policeman is going to take away Ystra. Millie pleads, “Can’t you arrest her later? I can’t find my way back home without her.”

The policeman doesn’t want to deal with the child, and he doesn’t really know what to do with the horse if he arrests the woman. The officer decides to let Ystra go with only a ticket, fining her for riding a horse through the city streets and refusing to stop for law enforcement. Ystra is surprised that she is let off so easily. She is also surprised that her “crimes” were riding a horse and refusing to stop for the police. She had thought she was being chased for being a witch and for Lauren’s murder.

The officer commands Ystra to keep off the horse until she is back on her private property and to lead Millie back home safely. Ystra begins to slowly lead Millie through the streets towards Garesh’s house. A rapping sound echoes on the pavement beside Millie. “Shh, Wilheim. You’ll spook the horse.” Millie says. The horse snorts then says, “I’m not scared of a little poltergeist.”

Millie gasps, “The horse can talk!” Ystra stiffens and maneuvers  herself to the opposite side of the horse, so that the horse is in between her and Millie. Ystra leads Millie back to Garesh’s house and they are silent throughout their journey. Ystra tries to make conversation a few times, but Millie doesn’t give much for answers. Normal conversation starters like “So, what were you doing outside today?” and “Has anything interesting happened since I last visited” get responses like “I’m not talking to you!” and “It’s none of your business.” Millie is just that type of socially stubborn person.

Back at the house. Garesh is outside talking with the neighbors, so Millie knows something is wrong. When Garesh sees Ystra and Millie, probably because the horse draws so much attention, he waves his hands and shouts to Millie to go to him. He excuses himself from the group of neighbors and walks over to Millie and Ystra.

“Millie! What were you thinking!” Garesh says loudly, “I looked all over the block for you and even asked the neighbors to-” Garesh pauses and listens for a moment. “I hear footsteps. Wilheim, you’re in on this too?” A quick rapping against the ground sound Wilheim’s acknowledgement.

Garesh leads Ystra and Millie back to his house and the neighbors outside disperse, seeing that Millie has returned.

Millie runs to the bedroom and closes the door. Garesh sighs and decides that he can talk to Millie about what happened later. First, there is something he needs to talk to Ystra about.

Garesh asks, “Ystra, can you help me decipher the tome, ‘Rites to Commanding the Invisible.’”

Ystra, however, can’t read Sylvan Script and she knows that Lauren can’t either. “Sorry, no. I can’t read Sylvan Script.”

Garesh asks, ‘Ystra, do you know anyone that can read it?”

Ystra says, “The only person I know who can read it is my mentor. Also, any Fey can read it, such as the Fey from Daisy’s.”

Garesh asks, “Could I meet your mentor?”

Ystra says, “Sorry, no. My mentor is retired. I don’t even know where he is. The last place I saw him was at Daisy’s.”

Garesh asks, “What is Daisy’s?”

Ystra explains, “I’m referring to Daisy’s Corporate Chain. It’s a commercial enterprise run by a Fey Screamer named Daisy.”

Garesh decides that he is going to go to Daisy’s. Ystra warns him that he won’t be allowed to stay at Daisy’s long if he doesn’t buy anything, so he’ll need to bring souls with him. She gives him a little pamphlet about Daisy’s and an instruction manual for extracting souls through what she calls Hope-Bringing but the instruction manual calls Charity. Garesh finds that the more he learns about witches, the less impressed he is with them. They seem like optimistic and naive goody-two shoes that sincerely want to help Screamers and humans live together in peace and harmony. Garesh knows that such an ideal is impossible to achieve, but he can work his methods using Witchcraft. He doesn’t need witches.