NTWF Mafia: The Little Country Town

[Lizzie]

Candy floated back, flipping the knife in her hands, watching Terra and Celes.

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she thought of her life ahead. Hanging out with her friends, haunting people, learning to fight... Maybe even getting a boyfriend. She had eternity ahead of her. And the tourists would come as long as there were ghosts. She could ask Nelly to kill one of her horses, so she could be like the headless horsemen in the Harry Potter books... But with her head. Speaking of Nelly, she could still help at the bakery and take tourists horseback riding. Maybe she'd try to find a ghostly camera, and take ghost pictures. She could do anything!

Soaring upward to watch from above, Candy looked at the small town she was born in. It was flooded with people. Watching for Terra's movements, the girl floated quickly down, not watching where she was going... And ran straight into Drake. She remembered the last time she did that.

Oh, she was glad the car hit her. Death will be good.

((Mmkay, and that's my last post. This was fun guys! We should do another one next year.))

[Robyn]

"Yes, I... I did. Honestly, Robyn, it's better this way. Trust me. I've still got my typewriter, so if all else fails I could go back to writing for the Edition, but... it felt fine. I felt fulfilled, finished. Satisfied with what I'd done, there was closure to everything. Honestly... I'd say it was worth it... I'd been looking forward to being with the others again. And you. Believe me, I wouldn't want it any other way."

Robyn supposed she understood, but it was still painful to see him throw away what had been so forcibly taken from her. What was done was done, though. If he was happy, then so was she. She let herself smile, and he did the same as he went on.

"Anyways, yeah, that's all there is to it. I figured I'd drop by and say hi. What have you been up to?"

Robyn laughed. "If I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me. But I'll tell you anyways-- for a few months I totally went out and explored the depths of the universe. There is some /awesome/ stuff out there, Icon. You wouldn't even-- it's just awesome. But it did get awfully lonely out there, and I didn't even have a camera on me, so it wasn't long before I came back. Time kind of goes faster out there, so I guess it was a couple of months or so that'd passed after I returned. I got involved in the theater, got my hands on a really nice ghost camera, and now I'm working and living here. It's pretty nice. ...Mostly nice."

Icon raised an eyebrow. Robyn sighed and floated closer to him. After barely a moment of deliberation, she kissed him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and then resting her head against him. Her voice was quiet, sad, and content, but a smile still played along her lips.

"I really, really missed you."

Her soul fluttered and settled down when she felt his arms cross over her as well.

"I missed you too."

They stayed like that for a while, perfect in their reunion, before Icon looked up and cleared his throat. Robyn perked up and glanced over her shoulder to see a whole crowd of loyal theater patrons staring at them, half of them seeming amused or touched at the spectacle and the other half looking confused, waiting with ticket stubs in their hands. Robyn laughed nervously as she pulled away from Icon and faced the masses.

"Oh. Um," she mumbled, unsure of what to do. She zipped over to one of the lost-looking guests, examined his ticket, and beamed at him with an assuring air. "You're looking for theater 7, okay. Right over there. Yep!" She shot Icon an apologetic smile, but he was more than happy to wait as she sent the moviegoers quickly on their way.

Once the lobby had cleared, Robyn took Icon by the hand and led him down the halls of the theaters. The bulbs around the posters were the most brilliant white, the smell of theater treats hung salty and sweet in the air, and the neon lining the walls splayed blues and greens and pinks across the charcoal carpeted floors. The theater they chose wasn't empty, but not packed. They settled in for the feature, their hands meeting on the armrest, and Robyn couldn't help but feel that despite all the wonders and marvels the universe had to offer, there was no place but here she'd rather be.

The previews rolled, and so did they, into the rest of their afterlives.

((I think that'll be my last post as well. I had a great time with this whole thing, guys! Thanks for making it as cool as it was, and I hope we'll get to do something like this again next year!))

[icon]

Robyn led Icon through the theater, showing him all the sights. He was impressed by how well-run the establishment was for being made up of ghosts. Had he come down here alive, he probably couldn’t have seen the place as anything more than a haunted sewer with the faint scent of buttered popcorn. But here, in the afterlife, he could see the theater in its full. It was so vibrant, so colorful-- even with only the two of them wandering the halls it felt like it was just beckoning for a crowd of deceased patrons to float through, looking for an enjoyable time. Icon could see why Robyn loved the place.

His thoughts drifted as the pair floated down the hallways. What would happen next? As fulfilled as he felt, he started to realize he hadn’t actually thought everything through very well- what would he do next? If all else failed, he could probably still work his job at the Morning Edition. Being a ghost would probably make his job even easier. And who knows, maybe I could even convince them to let me write my own obituary, he thought with a chuckle.

But enough of that, they were entering the theater. The two floated up and took their seats. Icon grinned as the film started. It sure was great to see Robyn again. His mind started drifting again. What would he do about his body? How would he explain this all to his friends? What would the other ghosts around town think?

He shrugged the questions off, deciding instead to revel in the glory of the moment. He could figure it out later; there would always be another tomorrow. But for now, he decided to enjoy himself.

((Tthink this will be my last post too. It was a pleasure and an honour to see everything you guys wrote, you really made this so fantastic. Thanks so much for making this as great as it was!))