Pulling Daisies
Young Thana was 9 years 43 weeks 2 days and 7 hours old the first time she saw the brother she didn't know that she had. It wasn't a significant meeting for either of them. Infact neither knew that the person they had just passed in the street was their own twin, or even that said twin existed at all. The two children simply passed each other, barely sparing a glance as they went on their way. The fact that they were both wearing bed sheets over their heads while they pretended to 'trick or treat' with others their own age was the only thing Thana noticed as she continued towards her destination. The longer you live with a secret like the one she kept, the easier it was to spot others keeping secrets. Turning back for a moment she watched as the other ghost stopped by a gate watching a young family walk down the path. Shrugging Thana turned away and forgot about the encounter entirely.
The next time the clueless siblings saw one another was nearly 20 years later. Thana was at work at the time pushing a corpse down the corridor. The guerny had a squeaky front wheel but she barely noticed. What she did notice however was that there were two men blocking the way in front of the head coroner's office. Stopping she tugged at her sleeves and high collar. When she was sure that she was covered as much as possible she cleared her throat before speaking.
"Excuse me."
The younger of the two looked in her direction nervously before stepping aside to let her pass.
"Oh, I'm Sorry."
That was the extent of their exchange and yet again neither realised who the other was.
From then on Thana saw the two men more often than she would have expected while she was at work, and her curiosity got the better of her. The fact that everytime she saw them, or the woman who sometimes accompanied them, outside of the head coroner's office led her to his door just after they left one day. Hesitantly she knocked on the open door and peered into the office.
"Mr Richardson? Do you have a moment?"
Later that night Thana found herself venturing out into the streets yet again. It didn't happen very often. But sometimes she needed to be around other people, especially when she had things to think about. Coroner Richardson hadn't had anything to say about the woman, or the younger man. But the other one, an Emerson Cod, was a private investigator who apparently had a bit of a reputation for solving unsolvable murders. She didn't interact with anyone as she walked. It was too risky. Even with all of the precautions she took she wouldn't risk it, especially while she was distracted.
That was when it happened. At 29 years 32 weeks 4 days and 6 hours old Thana accidently did something she hadn't done in a very long time. She killed a man.