Chapter 6: No Fate

The wind had picked up by the time Annie finally reached 16th street. As welcoming as the twinkling Christmas lights wrapped around the trees were, the cold street was nearly empty, and she couldn't feel her hands under her gloves. She dove into her usual coffee shop as a gust of flurries swirled about her.

Everyone downtown seemed to have the same idea. Once Annie had her peppermint mocha, she considered herself lucky to even find a seat at all. There was an open chair across from a businessman in a thread-bare, off-the-rack suit. Annie tilted her head and looked him up and down. His fashion was off by years and his shoes were muddled with mismatched socks. He looked up to her, and drew back in surprise, but said nothing and returned to staring out the window. Annie sat across from him and slurped her coffee to give herself an excuse not to speak. The chill of the street seemed to have settled into her bones; the coffee did little to warm her from the inside out.

She grabbed a free copy of Westword off a nearby stand and a pen out of her purse and started to make a list of what she knew about Detective Park.

*Korean? Female?
*Tall, just under 6ft?
*Muscular build but thin, with a scar over her left eye
*Private investigator, finds missing people
*Gave me funeral flowers and this red bracelet. For a reason...?
*Apparently tells homicide detectives what to do
*Visited this coffee shop that one time = regular, or...?

Annie set her pen down and sighed.

This is going to be harder than I thought.

She searched through her purse for the card that the detective had given her, and instead found the red string bracelet. She fingered it, thought for a bit, then slipped it over her wrist for good luck.

It was then that the man across from her disappeared, and in one moment, all the puzzle pieces of the past three weeks snapped into place, while the rest of what was left of Annie's sanity shattered.

Annie recoiled in her seat. The feet of the chair squeaked and the coffee spilled over her hand. She didn't notice that all eyes were on her, once again. She was focused on where the man should have been. The crowd went back to their chatter and Annie, her hands shaking, wiped up the spilled drink that had soaked her. She couldn't feel him watching her, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was.

It all makes sense now, Annie thought. This stupid thing's haunted in reverse.

She didn't know where she was going to go, but she didn't want to stay at the coffee shop anymore. She considered calling her mother to come pick her up.

Or Hannah. Maybe Hannah was downtown, and if she wasn't, she lived in Capitol Hill. She could...

Annie set the coffee mug down and gathered napkins to clean up her mess. She stared at the empty seat where the businessman sat and forced a tight smile,

No. No more running. He hasn't harmed me, or tried. The old woman wanted to deliver a message. That jerk on the train just wanted to mess with me. It's like they're...people.

There's one more thing I can do. It's worth a shot.

Annie found the business card for APEX Detective Agency and punched in the numbers.

At worst, I'm crazy, right? I mean what worse can she do but ignore me or tell me what I already know?

She sucked a breath in through her teeth and hit 'call'. Almost immediately she heard a faint ringtone nearby. Annie jumped to her feet and looked around the crowded coffee shop.

Is that..."Smooth Criminal"? My Mom listened to that...

There she was. She looked masculine, with a green canvas jacket and her cropped black hair, but Annie was sure it was her. That cracked-doll scar had burned itself into Annie's memories and the woman had made no attempt to cover it up.

Annie wanted to jump up, wave her arms, and call out to her. Anything to get her attention. But the expression on the woman's face, a twisted grimace of annoyance and interest, made Annie take back her seat and lift her newspaper to cover all but her eyes. Her expression dropped when she saw Park put the phone on silent and pocket the mobile.

I don't understand, she thought. Why has she been ignoring me? Why did she reject my call?

Annie inhaled a breath through her teeth, slipped the bracelet off, and slammed her sweaty palms on the table.

"Excuse me, sir?" she whispered.

He looked up, startled, as if his face was in the dictionary for the word 'incredulous'.

"Oh my God. You truly can see me?" he asked. "I had thought...well. Hello. Yes, miss?"

"That woman over there, with the, um, face," Annie said, gesturing around her left eye to indicate Park's scar. "Do you know her? Is she a regular?"

"Sometimes. Nice lady, maybe a bit cold, but, usually polite," he answered. "Why?"

Annie thanked him without answering back. She pondered if Park could see, could talk to these...ghosts, too. The word felt foreign on her tongue. She had never said it in this context, and the word seemed to take on another meaning.

Out of the corner of her eye, Annie noticed Park making her way towards the door without buying anything. Annie hesitated, then slipped the bracelet back on and rushed after her. The woman, despite her size, or perhaps because of it, was out the door before meager Annie was halfway through the crowd.

Wattpad Accomplishments:
@LGBTQ 's "Book of the Month"
's "Best of #FrightFest2016 " Gold Medal Winner

Interviews:
@Wattpad - "Community Stories" for @ParanormalCommunity

Reading List Inclusions for Fear of the Dark:
@Wattpad - "Scary Stories"
@Wattpad - "Multimedia Magic"
@LGBTQ - "Book of the Month"
@Fright - "I See Dead People"
@blairwitchmovie - "Top Horror/Thriller"
@OuijaMovie - "Top Horror"
@IncarnateMovie "Best of Horror"

Fan Art for Fear of the Dark:

Detective Eun-yeung 'V' Park

By @FinnyH

V's left arm sigil

Annie Walker 

About the Author:

@Godhand was previously the founder and leader of the@ParanormalCommunity profile on Wattpad.

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