Start writing a story that...
Step 1: has a character who: believes in ghosts
Step 2: add this word: city
Step 3: add this word: intolerant
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Yana had been able to see ghosts since she was 12. Her mother also saw them and had relayed all that she knew to her when Yana was 10.
"If you have the sight, it will come when you reach womanhood," she said. "Don't be scared."
Of course Yana was petrified. She had nightmares for two weeks, but then slowly forgot about it as the months passed. Then, while she was sitting in math class in 6th grade, she felt discomfort and asked to go to the bathroom. In the stall, she discovered that her period had started, but she had been prepared for it for weeks after conversations with her mom, doctor, and friends who had already gotten it, so she felt only relief to no longer be waiting for it. She cleaned up and went to wash her hands in the sink. As she reached for soap pump, the florescent lights above, which had a loud ever-present hum, grew silent. Their power dimmed and instead a brighter light began to form behind her. She watched it glow in the mirror and then she heard the sounds, very low at first, but then louder. It was a cacophony of voices, with no single voice standing out. It was as if a crowd had formed around her and everyone was having separate conversations, all at the same volume. It grew louder and louder and as she moved to cover her ears, all of the voices seemed to call out in unison, "Yana!"
She awoke in the school nurse's office and was told some students had found her passed out on the bathroom floor. She told the nurse, Ms. Rawlins, only that her period had started, and that seemed to satisfy any concern.
"Everyone responds differently the first time," Ms. Rawlins said. "I'll suggest your mom take you to the doctor for a checkup, but I suspect you'll be just fine."
Eight years later, Yana still thought back to that first day as she set up for her clients. She was now going to college in New York City, and she worked as "Madam Yulia" to help pay the bills. While her classmates worked as cashiers or messengers, and a few as escorts, she stole away to a small storefront that her Aunt, also a seer, let her use.
Yana had learned early that people had a particular vision of what this experience would entail. When she first began, she kept everything simple. A small, round wooden table in the center of the room with two chairs opposite each other. She would tell the clients to sit with her and she would hold their hands. She only asked for the name of the person they wanted to contact but didn't ask any other questions. She looked into their eyes and waited for the sounds of departed loved ones to fill the room. The ghosts never arrived alone, so she painstakingly found the needed voice within the din and relayed all they had to say to the person sitting before her. But the ghosts could not always be heard. Relationships among the living are fraught with anxiety, anger, intolerance, and jealousy. The ghosts were still the essence of their living selves and didn't become gracious or loving simply because they had passed on. Sometimes what they had to say seemed too unpleasant to pass on, or they simply refused to speak.
The few clients whose loved ones were present and had loving things to say, were mostly happy with what she had to tell them. However, those clients whose loved ones refused to speak, or were better not translated, called her a fraud. And it seemed that everyone, no matter what the result of their communication had been, had a difficult time believing that this young girl in a nearly empty store could actually speak to the dead. She looked nothing like they thought she would and said none of the things they expected to hear. Most left upset and did not return.
Yana began to see that she needed to do more than give them the truth. She watched every movie she could find about ghosts and mediums and mysticism. She bought curtains and hung them around all of the walls. She bought colored lights to bring a glow to the room. She found old fashioned robes and capes that she could wear, and she wore makeup to add age and intrigue. When they came in, she sat them down, and in a thick Russian accent that mimicked her old relatives, asked them about their departed husbands or parents and then moaned the names out loud.
"John Barron. Jooooohn Baaaaaronnnn. Come speak to us. We beseech you to come from beyond and speak to your beloved wife, Clara."
Then she listened to the voices that had already surrounded her to find the one that was John Barron. If she could find his words and they were kind or helpful, she spoke them aloud. If they were hurtful words, she changed them to add apologies or regrets from beyond. The ghosts themselves lacked fullness of presence and understanding, so they did not hear what she relayed to the living. They only spoke what was inside of them.
If she could not find the voice of the person her client wanted to reach, she learned how to fake it. Though she had true sight, she figured out how to glean the right information when she questioning them to give them believable loving messages from beyond.
Soon, more and more clients returned, often bringing friends or family. Over time, Yana got used to the presentation she had to give, but she began to wonder if there was anything true about her sight any more.
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