Chapter 16 Letter
Letter
My Darling Azizi,
It’s not like you to be asking about the things that go bump in the night.
Careful sister, or I might think you've gone mad out there in the woods on your own. Still, I must admit I am intrigued as to your newest curiosity, and I wonder if it has anything to do with the mysterious muse in your dreams or the newest little helper I convinced you to hire. You will tell me, won’t you?
Anyhow, lucky for you, I received your letter only a day before a Court gathering earlier this week, and my companions were overjoyed to discuss your recent run in with the undead.
Tangible spirits are rather rare, you remember, so you can imagine the debate that arose as we tossed ideas and theories around.
One day, dearest sister, I will convince you to join me once more at our old haunts. Many of my acquaintances and friends heard about your show and were quite interested in seeing your work. The more private ones, of course, not the boring drivel you have been cauterizing yourself with as of late.
But that is neither here nor there. I write instead to inform you of what I’ve learned on your behalf. Please save your thanks for next we meet, as I am sure they are too grateful and plenty for a single letter.
Now, when it comes to spirits, it is most often believed that they are attached to specific people, locations, or objects of which hold some semblance of importance to them.
These 'anchors', as some call them, are the source of their power within the world of the living.
A connection to our world from the next.
Your visitor, I would wager a guess, is connected to the house itself.
No doubt a result of her untimely death on the land it sits on.
I did bring up your Theodore's theory as well, and while none of my companions have any knowledge of whether speaking to a spirit can make them stronger or more visible, neither do any of them refute the possibility.
One dear friend of mine, the Lord Zagreus Macabre—whom you shall have heard me speak of before, I’m sure—posits the idea that the manner of someone's death, as well as the circumstances surrounding it, could influence their place in the afterlife.
He suggests this could also affect the power they hold in the land of the living.
I have been given permission to forward you his address should you wish to write him directly.
He is quite invested in topics such as this and expressed an interest in opening a line of communication if you have more questions.
For now, he suggests continuing as your Theodore has been doing—treating the spirit as if she is real and studying whether it affects your ability to see her.
And should you be inclined to leave your little mountaintop for another visit, my good friend has also extended an invitation to you and yours for an event he is holding in a few month’s time.
It will be an exclusive party of those with like-minds and interests such as ours, and it might be a good resource for your questions should you not manage to answer them before then.
Regardless, he invites you and bids you bring your spirit if able, as he is rather interested in her experience and in meeting her.
I, on the other hand, shall be much less polite about it and demand your presence, or I shall lay siege upon your mountaintop and drag you out myself.
My loving regards,
Jonas
P.s.
I suppose I should not be surprised that you wrote me instead of Father, despite his more extensive knowledge on things regarding the occult and supernatural.
He would so love to hear from you, you know.
I’ve only just arrived back home and the silence here is unsettling.
Like he is mourning your loss without ever knowing why you’ve left.
I know you are not ready to discuss things with him yet, but please, Azi, at least write to him to let him know you are alright.
He misses you.
We all do.