on the bright side

She couldn't understand what the pretty lady meant.

Hundred and one questions flashed in her mind - what did she even mean by 'shouldn't be able to see'? Was it a prank? Was she a soul no one else could see but her? - but the most pressing thought in her mind was that the woman she had a crush on for so long wanted to get rid of her.

A sharp pang hit her right in her chest and she looked away trying to calm herself down, but she didn't let it show. 

"Why am I not supposed to be able to see you?" she replied, a slight note of anger in her tone and she was trying hard to conceal it. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I- did I make you mad?" she asked, a bit saddened by the prospect. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," Clarabel sniffled, "It was dumb of me and-"

"But no, really," the woman interrupted, "You should not be able to see me. Like at all."

But Clarabel was tired of listening, she was not going to get insulted and laughed at and mocked by someone she didn't know and yet liked. This was among one of the chief reasons she never confessed to anyone ever. 

"No please, wait," the woman asked of her as Clara stood up from the seat, her face turned away. 

And just then, Clara felt it. A hand on her wrist stopping her from going and so, she stopped and stared at her wrist. And a fair hand was clutched her wrist. 

And she had never ever seemed more confused than at that moment then in all the years Clarabel had spend staring at her and she chuckled airily, "What?"

"I didn't pass through," she whispered back and then looked with that electrifying gaze of hers right at Clarabel's brown eyes. "I can feel you."

A beat. 

And that's what all that Clarabel got before she stood up and screamed, "WHAT?"

She began pacing in the moving about in the moving bus, screaming her head off, "This is fucking insane. No, no, not happening. No Heather, don't give yourself false hope again, she can't see you. It's all imaginary."

In a fiery moment, she slapped herself gently on the cheek, "No, stop your daydreaming!" 

"Oh my, don't do that, princess," Clara replied and gently pulled her hand down, "You can see me, I can see you; we've established that even though I can't seem to reckon why you would be surprised by that."

"No, you don't understand it yet," she told in a hurry and with that, she slapped the nearest person to her and instantaneously Clarabel had gasped so loud. 

But it never hurt and it passed right through. 

And that left Clarabel with the oddest most shocked expression that another person just getting on the bus asked her, "My dear, you alright?" 

"Oh, yes, I'm fine indeed," she told back in a whisper after a few moments and watched the way, the old kind lady with her wicker basket managed to pass right through the woman and Clarabel gave another gasp. 

She whispered to the woman who could pass through people, "I think I need to take a seat." 

She pursed her lips and replied to poor frightened Clarabel, "okay, yes, understandable."

And with that Clarabel sat down, stumped and perplexed as she stared out with her mind a thousand questions in her head and then she whispered, "What the actual hell?"

"I mean, I knew that things wouldn't be predictable and that I was walking straight into uncharted territory," she whispered angrily and stared around hoping no one was paying heed to her talking to thin air and considering her insane. "But what. in. the. fucking. universe?" 

"I know it's a lot to take it-"

"Lot to take in?" she was baffled, "I'm startled and fucking terrified right now; what's going on? You can pass through people? Why not me? Who the hell are you?"

"Look, I know this is a lot to take in," the woman replied as she occupied the empty seat beside Clarabel and smiled. "This is the first time anyone has been able to see me and listen to me in a lot of years." 

"Wait, back up, years?" 

She looked at her own hands shyly, "Yup, years, been stuck around for around 35 years already-"

"Oh really? Thirty-five years?" Clarabel looked amused a tiny bit. "You don't look that old."

She chuckled, "Yup, doesn't look that way but I'm over fifty years, truth be told; it's been hard, never talking to anyone, just keep staring-"

"Hey, so, what are you really?" Clarabel interrupted rather crudely. "I think I deserve to know that much at the very least."

"Human," she replied, "Just like you. But dead. Well, that's what I think I am? I'm sure I'm dead but doesn't really make much sense, but- uh- yes, I'm dead."

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry for your... loss?" Clara replied very uncertainly.

She laughed. And it wasn't just a chuckle, it was a whole-hearted head-thrown back kinda laughter that rang and for a moment, Clarabel was reminded of her crush on the woman and she blushed a tiny bit and looked away. 

"I'm Heather," she held out a hand. "Junior Heather Ciara, the third."

Clara smiled that soft smile, "You've got a beautiful ancient name."

"I feel old and ancient, it's been so  long since I last-" she was talking when she fell silent, "Never mind that now."

And that threw Clarabel into a spiral of thoughts, she wondered what Heather was about to say. A lot of thoughts crossed her mind all at once, she was stuck in predicaments before but none she couldn't solve in her life before, this would probably be the first among them that she couldn't find a solution for. 

"This is your stop," came a sweet voice from Clarabel's right. That broke her train of thoughts and she looked out of the window that was going to start moving again. "Oh shoot, I got to go-"

"Wait!" she screamed out loud as she stood up and walked towards the door. 

"See you tomorrow in the morning when you get on?" Heather grabbed her wrist one more time before Clarabel could leave. 

The look of need in the blonde's eyes melted something inside Clarabel and she replied with a small smile, "Of course, Heather, the third."

"Just Heather works too."

"I'll keep in mind."

And with that Clarabel got off the bus and walked the rest of the way to her home. 

But even through the journey from the bus stop to her house, she could not stop her thoughts from running wild and trying to come up with reasons as to why she was the only one who could see Heather and how  that was even possible. 

The rest of the journey was all a blur with her mind on the pretty eyed blonde and her mind was trying to stop the love-inflicted thoughts that swarmed her mind and try to come up with more logical reasons, but that was harder as she kept thinking about fate, and destiny among other things. 

And there came a moment when she had to tell herself to stop with all the extra unnecessary daydreams that would not  make any difference in the slightest and worry about more pressing issues. 

"But how?" 

That was indeed the question that haunted her. The rest of the entire day and every moment in every thing she did because it was quite an odd issue and one she didn't have an answer to. Truth be told, Meadows didn't like the situation she was stuck in one tiny bit. She was so used to knowing the answer or atleast a means to get to the required answer but this time, she was absolutely clueless without a single idea as to what on Earth she could do to obtain needed answers and she did not like that feeling at all. 

But then again, there was nothing she could have done either. Other than waiting. 

And so, she did that. Waited for answers, waited to talk to Heather. Just like every other night she spend obsessing about her. 

Well, on the bright side, atleast she knew her name and that was progress. Even if it was just a tiny bit.