Glen was having the best day of his life. No screw that. He was having the second-best day of his life and it was only getting better. No more ghosts to mess with his vision. No more monsters to scare the living daylights out of him. No more patches scattered in the air like broken rainbows. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Not that he knew what ordinary was. Was it some kind of food? “Ahahahaha!”
“Don’t point at him,” a mother whispered loudly to her daughter as she dragged the kid away from the madman that was Glen.
How rude of her! He was no longer madman… he was a free man, baby! Hell yeah!
People avoided him like plague, but so what? It wasn’t the first time they viewed him as a lunatic. The most important thing was his perception. Everything should be fine as long as he no longer saw what he shouldn’t.
Things calmed down as he continued walking towards his destination. But the excitement never left him. Who knew traveling could be so fun? Perhaps he should consider traveling around the world after saving enough money. Buying the permanent seal from Sylvia comes first though. And yikes, $10,000 was a lot. It would take a very long time to get that amount unless his hourly rate increases, which was highly unlikely.
Half an hour later he arrived at an old apartment complex. It was hidden in a narrow alleyway, giving it a mysterious vibe.
Taking a deep breath, he climbed to the third floor and stood by the office that changed his life. Before entering however, he pulled out a notepad from his pocket and double-checked the list of questions he prepared. He has to make sure it was perfect.
“Looks good.” Now brimming with confidence, he reached for the door… only to realize it was already half open, Sylvia peeking from the other side. “Hi?” he greeted.
“Welcome to Sylvia’s Spirit Consultation Office,” The female detective opened the door for him with a smile. She wore a gray jacket that could barely contain her sizeable assets, and black jeans on the verge of exploding – holy mother of thickness, this woman. “Didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not at all. Please, come inside.” And that he did. “How was it like living without your arcane eyes?” Arcane eyes? Didn’t she call it with a different name yesterday?
It was mythic, or was it magical? Ah, who cares? “It was great! The world is way better without all the ghost or whatever! Thank you, Sylvia!”
Stolen story; please report.
“I’m glad to be of help,” she said as she went back to her seat. She walked and sat down with grace, like a refined lady from some influential family – he has never seen one but it felt that way.
After taking a seat, Glen skimmed through his notepad to calm his nerves down before moving onto his agenda. “Ahem, I’d like to know more about my eyes. How is it any different from normal eyes?”
“Hmm, what you have is a pair of arcane eyes which is common for members of the supernatural side. With those eyes you can see the first two layers of the perceivable world, namely, the physical layer and the spiritual layer.”
The names were self-explanatory. The physical layer probably consists of everything a normal person can see. And then the spiritual layer is…
“As you have guessed, the spiritual layer is where the strange stuff happens. Entities without physical form, demons of the old, and those that cannot be explained by science, all of them exists within the spiritual layer.”
“You mentioned first two layers. Does that mean there are other layers?” What comes after spiritual? Celestial layer? Four-dimensional layer?
“There exists one more layer. But what that layer is, I will leave to your imagination. Now do you have any other concerns?”
“Um, does the other side have their own police force or have people that deal with ghosts?” And monsters. He has seen three of them so far.
“The church is the closest thing to a police force for the supernatural side. Although they tend to operate in less populated areas due to reasons I can’t disclose.”
He knew he wouldn’t get anything beyond superficial knowledge so he simply crossed the question off his list and moved on to the next. That’s two down. Thirty-seven more to go.
…
“You’re one curious guy, aren’t you?” I told the man who came not to consult but give an interview, a lengthy interview.
“Sorry,” he apologized while scratching the back of his head.
“It’s fine, I did enjoy our conversation.” It’s better than staring off into space for an entire day. Not many believe in the supernatural so I rarely get any client. “Well, it was more like a lecture. Did you learn anything, my dear student?”
“I’m ready for the exam!” he caught onto the joke and went along.
“Good, we’ll be having an exam next session.” The consultation lasted for nearly 2 hours so I’ll charge him “The exam fee will be $180, and you have to pay now.” I think the price is reasonable considering the average rate is $100 per hour.
He started fiddling with his mobile device and soon I received a notification on mine. I received a payment of $180 in my bank account. “Say are you going to eat out for lunch after this?”
“No, I already prepared my lunch at home.” It’s way cheaper to cook everything myself. It’s also a nice way to pass time.
“I see, well I guess I’ll be off then. See you later, Sylvia.”
I smiled in response and waited for a while before calling out to someone. “Isn’t it about time you show yourself?”
“Indeed,” space itself was shattered, revealing a slit-eyed man wearing a black and red suit. “I heard you finally got your first client so I came to congratulate you. You look great by the way.”
“I wonder what scheme the great Devil of the North has in store for me today? Hopefully it doesn’t involve wrecking my office. There’s a limit to my patience, and this place is my bottom line.”
“Relax, even I am not foolish enough to tickle a sleeping dragon.” The Devil of the North, Mephisto, grinned wickedly. “At least not with my true body.”