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Silent, The Pier At Night

Two Years Earlier, Gavin

Free wine after the concert. Lots of it. Later, Philippa and I headed off to Jace's party, stepping into the drizzle and a strong smell of cigarette smoke. The sun had nearly disappeared, leaving a dazzling glow that hurt my eyes. I heard shouting and laughter in the distance. A gust blew at us.

'It's meant to be summer and it's freezing,' I said. 'Where's the party?'

'The abandoned fairground.'

'In this weather?'

'Jace won't cancel.'

'How do you know that?  Do you know him?'

'No,' Philippa said. 'He and his mate Steve got chatting to me earlier and he invited me and whoever else I wanted to bring to his party. I'd never met him before today.'

'Oh, right. Well, let's hurry then.'  I could hardly stand straight from all the drinking I'd done. The music from the performance kept rushing about in my head, particular phrases echoing, making me sad.

Philippa nudged me. 'Don't make it obvious, but that girl over there by the railings. She works at the House.'

'Which girl?'

'She served us dinner earlier. Over there.’

Part of the way down, a figure stood alone, leaning against the railing. As we got closer, I noticed her skin was surprisingly pale in the fading daylight. Ghostlike.  I recognised her: one of the waitresses from Lyme House. Honey-blonde hair.

The tide was in, swirling around at the bottom of the pier structure, a dangerous turbulent colour. A girl standing by the railings in a drizzle, staring blankly at the water. There were buoys and emergency notices nearby.  'Maybe we should go over,' I said.

'She seems fine to me.'

'I'm not sure she is. I think we should go and check on her.'

'I disagree. Best not to get involved.'

‘I'm going over.'

I doubt the girl could hear us, but whatever. She glanced over at us suddenly, and I detected the type of stuff going around in her head, even from a distance. You know the sort of feeling?  Peering in a mirror and seeing your own state of mind reflected.

Philippa marched on, her long inky hair blowing in the wind. I caught up. 'Look, I'm going over,' I said. 'Just to make sure she's okay.'

‘I'll wait here for you then.'

So I went on my own, but when I got there, the girl had gone. Just like that. A ghost vanishing into the night without a trace.  

***
LUCY


She worked her way through half a pack of cigarettes while she waited for Arthur Harlesden to come out of the Theatre, struggling to keep them going in the rain.  After a while, she saw a couple of students from Lyme House walking towards the former fairground.  She'd served them earlier at the evening shift. A girl with long black hair, dressed entirely in black, and a lad, chunky build, thick raven hair. They were walking towards the old fairground when they stopped and stared at her. She found that irritating.  The next time they turned to gape, she slipped away, hiding behind one of the disused vendor booths.

And then, the lad came to talk her. What did he want?

She kept silent, and he left, clearly puzzled over the way she'd managed to make herself invisible.  
Written by Lozzamus
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