[Deleted]

Jonah's suit

Things were difficult, okay? Jonah hated himself for feeling so terribly down all the time. Everything at home reminded him of what he had lost when he’d cheated on John, and he couldn’t deal with the reminders of him that still lingered in the house. Like the toothpaste splatters on the bathroom mirror (they had always annoyed Jonah, but now he couldn't bring himself to wipe them). John's shampoo that he hadn't packed to take with him. His dyed black hairs were still found on the bedsheets, and his pillow still carried his scent. More often than not, Jonah found it impossible to stay at home after he was done with work for the day, or, as in this case, for the week. Though these days work was proving difficult, too. He couldn’t bring himself to feel joy for the couples that came to him. But he faked. Fake it till you make it, that was his way of dealing with stuff.

He had left his Toyota Corolla at a parking lot and gone to walk the streets of Los Eurosia, wondering if he would be able to find something to kill time with. His suit for the day was a dark red velvet one with embroidery flowers on the jacket, and he worried that someone would accidentally spill something on the suit. Some fabrics were more difficult to clean, and this one was extremely difficult.

He stopped as he saw a dark storefront with a decorative text above the door. Moondweller’s Cauldron? Sounded interesting, and Jonah was sure he’d never noticed the store before. It would be no surprise, as the storefront wasn’t particularly large or flashy. He glanced at the windows, realizing that he was most likely looking at some kind of a new age shop. Curious, he stepped in to see just what he might find, hoping no one would see him. It might give him one hell of a reputation. A new agey wedding planner who cheated on his husband? Well, not cool.

He was greeted by the scent of mixed incenses probably still in their boxes, but the smell was strong enough to reach his nose. Crinkling his nose in disgust he went further in, hoping the smell wouldn’t get stuck to his jacket. The tinkling bell above the door surely had alerted the store owner to come greet Jonah, but Jonah couldn't see them anywhere. Jonah would have a second to look at the store and decide if he would just get out.

The store was meticulously filled with tiny knick-knacks he didn’t know the purpose of as well as what seemed to be simply card decks, books… and a bunch of daggers. He went to the daggers just to see what they were like. Maybe his collection could use one like these? He reached to touch one of them just to see if the handle felt well-made, but his eyes found a crystal ball on the shelf behind the dagger display.

Didn’t some mediums use crystal balls to communicate with the spirits? Jonah was quite sure they did. Maybe he should buy one just to try. Maybe he was a medium, after all, at least that’s what the medium had said when Jonah was in high school. Maybe. But he refused to believe it, so his hand went to the dagger again. Daggers were purely physical, and they were a lot safer than messing with your mental health by attempting to talk to the dead. Besides, this one was blunt.

Evening Cadieux

[Evening Cadieux]

OOC: apologies for the wait!


The store was quiet (it usually was – she was lucky the rent was so cheap) and with no tarot readings booked for the afternoon, Eve was content to let her employees finish their shift early. Alone, she swept around the room in a black, tea length dress with sheer lantern sleeves, cheerfully tidying up and returning any stray items to their appropriate shelves. She’d been in Los Eurosia for almost half a year now, with Moondweller’s Cauldron coming up to its five month anniversary, but she felt like she’d been there for much, much longer. Already, her fingers brushed along the displays with a certain degree of sentimentality, every item placed with the love and care of a curator handling prized artefacts.

The familiar tinkling of the door’s bell alerted her to the arrival of a potential customer. She didn’t immediately call out to them, instead wanting to finish up her organising and (since the room was so quiet) hoping to overhear some of the newcomer’s thoughts. Their mental musings were faint, almost unintelligible due to the distance between where she and they stood, but she began to pick out a few words as they moved deeper into the store. Daggers? Something about a collection? Her curiosity was piqued. Her heels clicked softly against the wooden floor as she followed the thoughts to the person they belonged to –

And she almost stumbled when she heard them wonder if they should try to communicate with ghosts.

Alarm fluttered in her chest like a trapped bird. It wasn’t the first time someone had entered her store with such ambitions, but it never failed to surprise her when they did. People could be so… audacious. In a way, she admired that audacity, that inquisitive spirit and interest in interacting with forces far greater than them, but, mostly, she feared the consequences following such desires could lead to.

Thankfully the person didn’t ruminate on that topic for long. Her racing heart settled and she decided to approach them, if only to warn them away from considering it again.

It was a slim man in a pretty suit – dark red velvet, with flowers embroidered along the sleeves and sides. It brought an immediate smile to her face, momentary panic quickly forgotten. Red was her favourite colour, and who didn’t like flowers? Regardless, she appreciated any fashion that was a little different. Suits tended to be plain things – dark and serious. Attractive, yes, but almost identical in her eyes. As much as she liked black she at least chose dresses with a bit of whimsy to them.

He was looking at the athames; the ceremonial daggers whose primary purpose was to channel and direct psychic energy. As such, the blades were mostly blunt, difficult to cut anything cleanly with as they were not intended to harm or draw blood. Evening suspected the man was viewing them for their aesthetics rather than having any plans for a ritual, but that was completely fine by her; most of her customers weren’t witches, simply fans of incense and candles and the pretty trinkets she had.

She moved towards him with her hands clasped neatly in front of her lap. “That’s a beautiful jacket,” she said warmly. “You wear it well. Welcome, my name is Evening. Is there anything I can help you with today?” It was a question she didn’t love to ask. Sure, she was curious and truly did wish to know the answer, always eager to hear if a person had particular projects and goals she could aid them with, but… it was such a customer-service phrase. A little impersonal. She had been working in retail for years before she'd opened her own store and yet she’d never found a better way to say it.


@jonah

[Deleted]

ooc: No worries! I have been sick myself.

Jonah heard heels approaching, and prepared himself mentally for customer service platitudes. He knew them all too well — he had grown used to saying them himself recently as well. Before they hadn’t been empty phrases, he had fully believed in them. Luckily he had quite a poker face, so no one would be able to tell the difference between Jonah’s congratulations before and after.

It was quite shocking to realize he was viewing his life as a before and after, but it was probably to be expected. When you ruined your relationship with the love of your life, life turned into a before and after. Before the divorce from John; after the divorce from John.

“Thank you”, Jonah smiled nevertheless, attempting to clear his mind of John.

He was quite used to getting compliments for his suit choices. Especially this one, which also happened to be his favorite of the bunch that he owned. Jonah acknowledged the introduction with a nod. “Thank you, I’m just looking”, he said. “My curiosity was piqued, so I came in to see what you carried.” It wasn’t like he could just say he was curious about talking to the dead, was it? That would surely get him worried looks. Although Jonah knew in his heart that it had been his grandfather back in school. He had talked to him after his death, and there was nothing he could do to change the fact.

Oh but he was curious. And terrified, and a lot of emotions in between, with the negatives outweighing the positives. Curiosity killed cat, satisfaction brought it back — there was no way satisfaction would be the outcome of talking to the dead, Jonah was sure. His curiosity would need to be suppressed lest he lose his mind.

Although one could argue he had already lost his mind.

Evening Cadieux