There was no mistaking Kuro had heard that distinct voice before. He opened his eyes to see Melanie floating above him with her little green notebook in hand. “Wait, did I fall asleep in the bath? That’s dangerous, I need to wake myself up.” Kuro splashed water on his face and looked up again to see Melanie was still there.
“I told you, I’m not a hallucination.” Melanie picked up a shampoo bottle and dropped it on Kuro’s head.
“Ow! What was that for?!” Kuro rubbed the spot on his head where the bottle had landed.
“That hurt, did it not?”
“Of course it did!”
“Then it appears you are not dreaming.”
The idea that he may not actually be dreaming was very concerning. “If I’m not dreaming, does that mean I’m in a coma and everything that’s happened so far has been in my head?”
“Please don’t explain my existence away with such a bad storytelling trope.”
Kuro suddenly became very aware that he was in the bath and hurriedly covered himself. “If you’re real then what are you doing in my bathroom? Although, I’m not completely convinced you’re not brain damage from blood loss or something.”
“I can’t say whether or not you have brain damage, but I assure you I am real. As I told you before my name is Melanie. I’m here to observe you.”
“Well, you’ve certainly done that.” Kuro said going red in the face.
“Yes, well, this was the least likely place for someone else to be with you.” Melanie said, going a little red in the face as well.
Kuro hurriedly pulled a towel off the rack next to his bathtub and wrapped it around himself. “That doesn’t really explain why you’re observing me.”
“Since your lack of clothes clearly bothers you, I’ll explain it to you once you get dressed.”
“Could you at least turn around?”
“Very well, if you insist.”
Kuro awkwardly made his way out of the bathroom and started getting dressed. What the hell is going on? There’s no way this is real, right? Why is this happening to me? He quickly finished getting his clothes on as he kept a close eye on Melanie. She never turned her head but that didn’t make him feel any better. If he wasn’t dreaming, then a real person was floating in the middle of his one room apartment. “Ok, I’m dressed. Now who are you really? And why would you need to observe me?”
“I’m really Melanie, though I’m sure that’s not what you meant. I am what you humans might call a Fate. My job is to observe humans whose fates have changed and report that information to the gods so that they may make the appropriate changes to the Grand Design.”
“That’s kind of a lot to take in. So there are actually gods? I just assumed that was all made up to make people feel better about dying. Wait, if you’re supposed to watch people whose fates have changed does that mean mine changed?”
“That’s exactly what it means. Something you did the night that woman was attacked caused your fate to change. You were expected to die that evening, so it was a surprise to the gods when you survived.”
“That sounds about right. Even the gods expected me to fail. But how could I do something to change my fate? Aren’t fates supposed be carved in stone or something?”
“Not exactly. Humans have free will and as such you are able to make your own choices every moment you live. The gods predict your actions and plan the Grand Design around what they will likely be. However, sometimes those predictions can be thrown off by choices the gods didn’t expect a person to make.”
“How could they possibly predict what every human on earth is going to do before they do it?”
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“The gods are older than you can imagine. After all that time you’d be surprised how often decisions are repeated over and over. After observing mankind from the beginning of time, their predictions are almost always accurate.”
“Then what did I do that was so unexpected?”
“I don’t know, I do not pretend to be as knowledgeable as the gods. As a Fate, my job is just to observe for as long as is needed.”
“And how long would that be?”
“Whenever the gods decide they have enough information to accurately predict the next five hundred years, give or take a few decades. Though, there’s no telling how long that will be. It could be days or years.”
“Years!? How am I supposed to explain a floating girl to people?”
“That’s not something you’ll need to concern yourself with. Normally humans can’t see Fates, so our jobs don’t interrupt their lives or change their perceptions. You are an exception.”
“Why am I an exception? I’ve never been able to see floating people before.”
“I had the same question. I even sought guidance on whether or not I should continue observing you. Lady Ishtar informed me that the cause was unknown even to her, but as long as I never told you information you wouldn’t know, it would probably be fine.”
“Probably?”
“Yes…” Melanie rubbed her forehead. “Lady Ishtar can be a, let’s just say a free spirit. Regardless, whether you like it or not I will be observing you for the time being.”
“Great, I’m sure this won’t interfere with my day-to-day life at all.” Kuro said sarcastically.
“If it makes you feel any better, this will be a first for me as well. I’ve never spoken to a human before.”
“Really? Is it actually that rare for a human to see Fates that you’ve never talked to one?”
“It’s not unheard of, otherwise there wouldn’t be stories about us, but it certainly isn’t common. I’ve only been a Fate for about two hundred years, so I’m fairly young. The other Fates may have had more experience with this.”
“Two hundred years is young, huh?”
Melanie looked at Kuro with annoyed expression. “Yes. It is.”
“Ok, let’s say I believe all this. What happens now?”
“Nothing I haven’t already said. I will observe you while you go about your life. I’ve been given permission to interact with you as long as I don’t tell you anything you wouldn’t know on your own. That’s all there is to it.”
“So, I’m just supposed to pretend you’re not here and everything’s normal?”
“Correct, but to be completely honest I don’t think you need to do anything special. Although, it would likely make things difficult for you if you were to tell people about the flying invisible girl following you around.”
“That’s an understatement.” Kuro hung his head and sighed. “Are you going to be here twenty-four seven? I’m not sure I can handle this.”
“I’ll be observing you more often than not. However, I will occasionally observe those around you to gain context for my reports. I am quite efficient at my job. Even though I have the ability, I do not need to eat or sleep so I can make excellent use of my time.”
“At least the food bill won’t get any bigger, but this apartment is going to get cramped.”
“I don’t actually take up any space. You can think of me like a ghost, more or less. I can phase through objects at will and only take physical form if deemed appropriate.” Melanie emphasized this by putting her hand through the nearby wall.
“This is crazy. How is this not a dream? Everything that’s happened is so unbelievable it’s ridiculous. I get shot trying to help a girl, who ends up being the daughter of most important lawyer in the country, and now I’m being followed by a ghost.”
“I understand your skepticism, but things will be easier if you just accept what’s going on.”
“Might as well. Real or not this is definitely happening right now. Best case scenario I wake up tomorrow in the hospital and everything goes back to normal. Worst case, I end up in a room with padded walls for my newly found mental illness.”
“I suppose that’s good enough. It’s probably too much to expect you to understand everything immediately.”
“What about you? Are you ok with this? Just watching me all the time? You don’t think this is weird at all?”
“I’ve spent most of my life observing humans for the gods so it’s normal for me. I don’t mind it. You humans do and say very funny things when you think no one is around to see you.”
“I can only imagine what those people would think if they knew someone was watching. I feel bad for them.”
“Almost as bad as what people say when they think they’re dreaming.”
Kuro thought back to the night he first met Melanie and how he described her to prove she wasn’t real. He felt like his face was red hot. “You can just forget about that. I was a little out of it because of the morphine...”
“I dare not forget your words” Melanie smirked and giggled before continuing. “I will carry them with me for eternity.”
“I’m glad you find us humans so amusing…”
“I really do. It’s also nice to have someone to talk to while on the job for a change. Our work keeps us quite occupied for long periods of time, so we don’t get much opportunity to talk with the other Fates. It will be entertaining observing someone I can interact with.”
“Well, I hope you are looking forward to a rather uneventful time observing me.”
“I have a feeling things will be livelier than you say.”
“I certainly hope not. I’m not up for any more surprises.” Kuro said flatly. His stomach began to grumble as he headed towards the kitchen. I guess I had better get used to it for now. Not like complaining is going to make her go away… He was too hungry to think much more about what was going on. He opened his fridge to a rather unpleasant smell. Just perfect.