Back to Earth he went. As he walked through the park, he pondered about Mason. She was rather open and honest; however, he wondered how open and honest he could be about the current situation. He doubted that it would be that easy. But, since she could see him, she would be a great ally in the search for the little girl due to her knowledge of Earth. And that would be much better than aimlessly searching for her by himself with the Tolvian books.

Consequently, he imagined the look on Mason's face once she realizes he's actually invisible to most of the world. In fact, he looked forward to it. He pulled out his communication core. Now to put that memory tracker to use. Though, in retrospect, he should've placed a tracker on Cassie but what's done is done. The core displayed a small flame that pointed further ahead. It was only a matter of time until he found her.

~~

Several hours later, he came across a building and spotted Mason talking to a few friends outside. Around her, many teens were walking with books in hand and bags on their backs. This must be a school, but this was a bit different from Veith. Education in Veith normally took place outside in the courtyards and each student would summon their scrolls when needed to jot down notes.

Here, it seemed that no learning was done outside. Just constant chatter echoed among the children. It was pretty odd, that's for sure.

In any case, he decided to walk around a bit before confronting her. No need to make her look crazy in front of her friends. The school was rather big and must hold at least 300 people at a time. The students went about their day fairly fast and ran everywhere they went.

He approached what looked like a field with a large, yellow forked pole on each end. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and then turned around. It was none other than Mason.

"Hey, long time no see," he said.

"A week is that long huh? Came to spy on me?" Mason said.

"Something like that. I need some help with something." Gemini walked and sat on the bench.

"What do you need?" Mason asked as she sat next to him.

"Well, it's-."

"Hey," a voice said in the distance, "You still coming by our place?"

Mason looked up and waved in the direction of the voice. A young girl came up and waved back. Must be a friend of hers.

Mason laughed and nodded. "I'll just meet you there soon. I have to finish some things with my friend here."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Um, what friend?"

Gemini sighed and let out a small laugh. Mason frowned and pointed at Gemini. "He's right here! You can't see him?"

The girl shook her head and laughed. "Mason, you and your imaginary friend don't have to do this. He can come too if you want." She then started to walk off. "I'll meet you at the usual place."

Mason turned red and turned to Gemini. "She's messing with me, right?"

Gemini shrugged. "Maybe. I could-."

"Heads up!" another voice yelled. A football hurled towards Gemini and phased right through him. Mason's eyes widened and she pushed away several feet. Just then, one of the football players ran up and grabbed the ball, walking right through Gemini.

Mason then stood up and screamed. The football player jumped at such a response.

"Whoa! Calm down! What's going on?" he said.

Mason's heavy breathing slowed down and she covered her mouth. "I'm sorry. You startled me that's all. I...I got to go!" And with that, Mason bolted away.

Gemini then stood up and laughed. Priceless, but now to calm her down before she needs her own psychologist.

~~

Gemini walked over to the water fountain. Mason was there running water on her face. She splashed herself over and over again. This must really be getting to her. Of course, this probably was the first time she's seen something like that.

"I must be dreaming. Hallucinating," Mason said, placing her hands on the fountain. Her arms were visibly shaking.

Gemini sighed. "Sorry, but that's not the case."

Mason turned around and stepped away. "Go away!"

"Why?"

"Be-because you're not human! You're some ghost!"

People walking by began to stare. Several shook their head. Funny how people are quick to dismiss what was going on. Maybe they've seen their fair share of crazy things. Or maybe just their fair share of crazy people. But, Mason wasn't really crazy. At least from what he knew of her so far.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

He sighed and shook his head. "Maybe so, but even a ghost needs a friend." Gemini then looked around. "And it might be best to calm down. You're attracting a crowd."

"I'm attracting a crowd? Like I care. I just want to know...what are you?"

The question pondered in his mind. What route should he truly take on this scenario? He could be honest and say where he's from. Or, he could go with the ghost story. Ironically, the latter would seem more believable. But rather not say he's a ghost if he truly isn't. Still, telling an outsider about Veith may cause more problems than solutions.

"Well. I'm a guy in need of help and I can't rest until I find what I need," he said. "Do you think you can help me?"

Mason breathed in and out slowly several times. "I don't know. Why should I?"

"The best reason I can give is that people lives are at stake. Namely, a little girl's."

Mason frowned a bit. "Is the girl okay?"

Gemini shook his head. "Frankly, I don't know. But I need to find out where she is. Just few days ago, she was taken in an emergency vehicle after an accident. Do you know where we could start searching for her?"

Mason stroked her chin but immediately shook her head. "Wait, wait. This is all still crazy. I thought for sure ghosts weren't real. And yet, you're here in the...spirit I guess. Would this be what you need to do in order to go peacefully into the afterlife?"

If the afterlife meant Veith, guess that was a good of answer as any. "Look. It will help me. It will help me in more ways than you can imagine."

Mason looked left and right. Seems like she's paranoid about talking to me. Guess now she cares about making a scene. He could only imagine what it would be like in her shoes to talk to thin air.

Mason then sighed. "Fine. I'll take you up on it. We'll have to do some web surfing to find out though."

"What's this web surfing?"

~

Web surfing: apparently, it doesn't involve webs or even surfing for that matter. It involves a metal contraption with a glass surface. And many, many different wires. Gemini wondered if any of this was relatable to his world.

Mason was typing away at the keyboard. Her fingers appeared to fly at the speed of sound. And the sound that emitted from the device was like several bugs clicking at each other. Fascinating to watch really.

"Okay," Mason stated, "so, do you remember where the accident occurred?"

"Not really. But it wasn't too far from a park."

"Hm, and there's three parks here in Westlake City," Mason stated, still clicking away. "I wonder if she's been emitted to a hospital nearby any of them."

"Hospital huh?"

Mason sighed. "Yeah, if she was really in a car accident, she must be admitted somewhere."

True. Considering that all she did was faint in the middle of the street, the shock could've been devastating for the mother and child. But, still, that little girl was taken by Drexel. And if it's clear that these two worlds were related, there's a clear chance that kidnapping may have affected her physical body here in some way.

"By the way, what does she look like actually?" Mason said, tilting her head towards Gemini.

Guess he never really did say. "She's pretty. No more than 4 feet tall. And had nice red hair."

Mason raised an eyebrow. "So, this little girl was no taller than you?"

Gemini narrowed his eyes. "I'm five feet tall. In any case, does that help at all?"

"Nope, but I have another question. What details do you remember about the accident?"

"For one, she was nearly run over by a vehicle."

Mason's jaw dropped. "You mean the girl was almost hit by a vehicle? Or was she hit?"

Gemini waved his hands. "No, no, she's not harmed physically."

"So, if she was almost hit, why was she taken to the ambulance?"

"She fainted. She fainted and they couldn't wake her."

Mason said, "Hm. Okay, well that's not good." She started to click away at the keyboard once more. "Maybe I can look up news articles related to it. It's not common that kids get hit by cars around here. It may give us info on where she was taken."

As she started clicking away, the illuminated screen she was looking at suddenly turned off. Mason's eyes widened as she grabbed the sides of the device. "Wait! Why did it cut off?"

"The library is closing," a voice said in the distance. "If you have any books you want to take with you, please come up and sign them out."

"The ever so helpful librarian," Mason scoffed under her breath. This clearly wasn't helping the situation for either of them. She walked towards the counter where the voice was coming from as he followed close behind. At the counter, an older lady was stamping books. Her face and skin were fairly light and smooth. Her hair was tied into a bun.

Gemini turned back into Mason's direction. "Librarian huh? So, she could help!"

Mason looked at him, opened her mouth, and then closed it immediately. She looked around before letting out a small sigh. He guessed she was tired of looking crazy while addressing him in front of anyone else. Glad she's learning how to treat otherworldly beings in public.

When they arrived at the counter, Gemini stepped back. Mason seemed pretty social savvy. He wanted to see how well she could work with adults.

"Hello ma'am," Mason said, "I just need five more minutes. The computer shut off all of a sudden and I'm trying to look up some hospitals in the area. I have a friend that I'm trying to visit."

"Sorry young lady about the computer," the librarian replied, "Some of them need to be replaced. Nevertheless, rules are rules. I've already been reprimanded once for letting a student stay after hours."

"I understand that as well," Mason replied, "but is there anything I can do? I'll help you out with some work to make up for it."

The librarian shook her head. Mason sighed. But Gemini couldn't help but smile. With some luck, Mason will turn out to be a great woman someday as giving as she is.

"Actually," the librarian said as she tapped her fingers on her lips. She then reached under her desk and pulled out a several small yellow paged books. "I do have these. You may find what you're looking for."

Mason beamed with delight. All was not lost. "Thanks! I truly appreciate that!"

The librarian nodded. "You're welcome. I hope you enjoy them. Just make sure you bring them back tomorrow."

Mason nodded. "Will do!"

Mason and Gemini exited the library entrance. While walking through the halls, Mason didn't seem to notice where she was going before she collided into someone. The books fell to the floor and the person quickly dove to pick them up.

"Mason, I'm so sorry!" she said.

Mason kneeled and saw it was her friend from earlier. Brown hair covered the friend's bashful gaze as Mason smiled. "No worries, Rita."

Rita got up and handed Mason the book. "Hey, where you headed to?"

"To the hospital. There's a friend I have to meet there."

"Are they okay?"

Mason nodded. "Yes, they're fine. I'll catch you later."

As Mason and Gemini walked away, Rita ran in front of them and blocked their way.

"I'm sorry," Rita said. "I know you want to visit your friend, but I did need your help."

Gemini frowned. Was she really about to stop what she was doing to help her friend? Well, chances are she would. Mason looked down at him as she bit her lip. He knew what she was thinking. It wouldn't take a genius to figure it out. He sighed. "Fine, but let's be quick about it."

Mason sighed, smiled and then looked to Rita. "Sure, what do you need?"