Rachel answered her phone, barely checking to see who was calling. The call ended up being a FaceTime with Akiko..
"Hey girl, just calling to tell you about a deal I scored with an independent film producer. Looks like my film's are gonna go to higher places!" Akiko seemed ecstatic, but kept her usual confident demeanor as she spoke, which always made it clear to whoever was around her that this kind of amazing turn out was always going to happen for her, when she spoke about her work. Of course the attitude she always held up first to everyone whenever she spoke, also helped everyone to understand that nothing less than success was meant for her.
"I'm putting this news out no matter if people are still awake, or not!" She continued. "So.. What the heck is up with your face?" Akiko asked, after stopping to actually take a look at Rachel for a moment, while slightly squinting.
Rachel who had been looking back and forth from her mirror to her phone, had her hand on the side of her neck, trying to soothe her anxiety. She had heard what Akiko had said, but the reality of what the words that she had spoken brought, were completely lost to Rachel at the moment.
"Huh?" Rachel responded back, while looking at her mirror.
"Oh man, did you not listen to anything I just said?" Akiko said from the phone, temporarily forgetting about Rachel's condition.
"Oh sorry, I.." Rachel tried to answer, finally looking at Akiko through her phone.
"Akiko do you remember those Nightmares I used to have about Mr. Tophat and the carnival, when I first got here and met you guys?" Rachel asked Akiko.
"Yeah, and than we helped you take him and the carnival out." Akiko recalled.
"Well, Iv'e been having them again."
"What, the same nightmares? Why, he's gone."
"I know but.. I don't know, something's wrong. I'm having the nightmares again, visions have returned, and I'm seeing things that all remind me of him again." Rachel finally admitted.
"Of Mr. Tophat?" Akiko said, now back to being more concerned about Rachel, than her news.
"Yeah. I thought maybe that I was just stressed about school, but something else is happening."
"Okay, that's it!" Akiko said loudly. "You know what? We need to all have a reunion. We've all been away from each other for awhile now, and now crazy stuff is happening again!"
Despite being grateful to hear it, Rachel couldn't help feeling guilty about pulling her friends into her troubles.
"Akiko that doesn't need to happen, really." Rachel protested.
"No, too late, already going to send out invitations.. HEY! Put that back I'm still using it for production!" Akiko cried out to a stage hand, as she ignored Rachel's protest. Turning back to Rachel after yelling at the stage hand, Akiko finished up by saying, "Expect to hear from us soon, I gotta go take care of some things here and go tell Graham, I'll probably run into him out of his classes later, as I do."
"Alright." Rachel said, giving in to Akiko's stubbornness. There really wasn't any stopping her most of the the time, when she had an idea.
"Okay cool, see ya." Akiko left off, as she hung up.
As Rachel's phone screen went black, she looked around her room and felt nothing but uncomfortable at the quietness and strong loneliness she felt now. She dialed a number on her phone and steadied herself, to keep from sounding panicked.
"Hi, Mom." Rachel said, trying to sound like her usual self as the phone picked up on the other end.
"Oh hi, sweetie." Rachel's mom said happily. "What's going on, how were classes today?"
"Fine, better." Rachel lied. "Hey Mom, can I sleep over at the house tonight?"
"Oh.. Sure honey, is everything ok?" Rachel's mom asked in a concerned voice.
"Everything's fine. I just miss being home, I just want a kind of get away for tonight. Let's make dinner together, or something."
"Oh good, I was just about to start fixing something for dinner. Do you want me to pick you up?"
"Sure, if you could. It would save me some expense for a ride." Rachel said, half-heartedly throwing in as much of a normal, little playful laugh at the end, as she could muster.
"Alright sweetie, be there in half an hour, see you soon.."
After Rachel's mom hung up, Rachel went to her closet and pulled out a large duffel bag. She started to pull some clothes off of hangers and into the duffel bag, hardly caring about which clothes went in. She moved out of the closet after, putting the bag on the floor outside and under her desk, and ran her arms over the desk top, which held her now seemingly image free mirror on it. She kept her head down trying not to look back into the mirror, as she swept her hairbrush, small amount of make-up, and a small pouch containing toiletries like her toothbrush and toothpaste into the bag with her clothing. She left her back pack with her school and notebooks, and folders inside, on the ground near her bed and shut off the light to her dorm room, locking it as she left. Rachel went from her room on the second floor, to the first floor of the building she was in at the college. She leaned on the wall near the doors to go outside, watching the street just past the sidewalk for the sight of her mother's car, as other students that shared the residence with Rachel in the building came to settle down for the evening. As soon as Rachel saw her mother's car outside she went out to her quickly, happy to see any other familiar face that she had known for awhile that could be around her, that didn't belong to anyone she should fear.
"Hey Sweetie, how are you?" Asked Rachel's mom again when she got into the car and shut the door quickly. "Are you sure your going to be okay with not being at school for tonight? No classes going on too early for tomorrow?"
"No, none happening too early at all, only a couple of classes close to the evening tomorrow," Rachel lied again.
"Really."
"Please Mom, I just need a small break at home. School will be fine."
"Alright then.." Rachel's mom pulled out of the school grounds and onto the street going home.
When they got to the house, Rachel got through the door and breathed in a huge breath. It was nice to smell the usual scent of her home. For awhile now her mom had begun to hang lace baggies of light scented leaf and flower combinations around the house. It smelled of a nice, open tea shop, or cafe. It felt nice, warm, cozy, and safe. Even though Rachel had been visited by Mr. Tophat before here, it had been years ago, and so Rachel put the thought of that happening again out of her mind quickly and went to go put her bag up in her old room, as her mom went to pull some supplies together to start to get dinner ready. Upstairs Rachel put her bag on her old bed, and immediately pulled a blanket out of the closet that was across from the foot of her bed, and threw it over her old body length mirror. She went to her duffle bag and unzipped it to unload her things, and found her gaze slowly look up to the ceiling. Between the mirror and her old ceiling, both things that were now connected to HIM being around her, Rachel began to feel uneasy again. She picked up her bag and left her room, going down the hallway to a guest room in the house that was never used. She opened the door and put her bag on the floor of the room before striping the bed of an old sheet that had been covering it. She went back to her room and to her closet, taking out some sheets, a pillow, and another blanket. She went back to the guest room and dressed the guest bed with her cleaner sheets and pillow. It was nothing but an old bed with a somewhat torn old mattress on top of springs, but it would do for the night. She put some of her things from her bag on top of an old dresser her mom kept in the room, just in case she needed it one day, and went back downstairs. Before she had gotten to the steps, Rachel had made sure to close the door to her old room as she passed it, looking in quickly to also make sure that her window was closed.
Downstairs her mom was already starting the cooking. "Everything okay up there?" She asked Rachel.
"Yeah, just thought I'd change the sheets in my bed for tonight." Rachel told her.
"Oh sorry, I have been keeping up with dusting around the house, including your room, but I haven't changed out your bed sheets for awhile.."
"It's okay, I got it." Rachel told her mom reassuringly.
Rachel and her mom made dinner and when they were done eating and talking about small things together, Rachel said she would do the dishes so her mom could get ready for bed.
"Are you sure honey?"
"Sure Mom Iv'e been waiting to hear from some friends, it's not too late, and there's not very many dishes to do anyway."
"Oh alright, I'll see you in the morning then. Sleep tight." Rachel's mom gave her a kiss on the cheek and went upstairs.
Even though she also didn't mind helping to clean up, doing the dishes was mainly an excuse for something to do to help keep Rachel busy, and help her stay up longer. Rachel didn't want to sleep for too long that night. She didn't trust her mind to be clear of any bizzare thoughts, or dreams while she slept. The less amount of sleep she got and only needed for now, the better. Rachel was in fact though expecting to find at least one message, or two on her phone from any of her group of friends. She made sure to check on that at least once before heading upstairs to bed as well, after she finished the dishes. Upstairs Rachel stepped quietly going past her mom's room to not wake her, and was quiet as she got ready for bed in the bathroom, brushing her teeth and washing her face. Rachel went to the end of the hall and opened the door to the guest room, slowly closing the door behind her as she went in, making sure not to let the knob on the door make too much noise as it clicked into place after being let go. She changed into her bed clothes and was about to climb into bed, when Rachel heard a small sound. It sounded as soft as a small rustle of leaves outside, but sounded like it carried a word.
"Rachel.."
Rachel clutched the blanket in her hand that she was pulling back from the bed. She thought for a moment that her mind was being paranoid. The sound was nothing more than like thinking that maybe an alarm was going off somewhere far outside, than realizing that it was just one of your ears that had been softly ringing. That was until the sound happened again, and a little more clearly this time.
"..Rraacheeell.." A voice softly rang out.
That was definitely a word, and it was definitely her name. Rachel looked around, turning to look quickly behind her, than to the door of the room. Nothing was around her. And nothing was in the room that anyone could hide in, or behind. Rachel moved away from the bed quickly, and looked underneath it, ready to run for the door to the room. But nothing was there under the bed, either. Than a new breath of fresh air entered her lungs. The scent was fresh and cooler than what she had been breathing in the house. Rachel got up from looking underneath the bed and looked over at a window with red drapes that was across the room from her. She didn't remember there ever being a window in this room. But than she had only been in this room once before today. But still, why hadn't she noticed it before, earlier? Rachel walked slowly over to the window and hesitated for a few seconds, before lifting her arm and sliding her fingers in between the middle of the curtains, to pull aside one of them to look outside. Rachel poked her head through and looked out the window.
Nothing but moonlight and soft yellow lights from the streetlights hit the ground outside, and the homes that were around the neighborhood. Nothing else past them in the darkness could be seen. Rachel started to slowly pull her head back away from the window, when a gold glimmer of something caught her eye. She moved her head back towards the window for a better look. As she stared the glimmer of gold focused into a shiny object, connected to a long stick. A man in a red suit top suddenly appeared in the window from behind Rachel, the flash of his quick appearing reflection startling Rachel back away from the window, and into something soft and solid right behind her. Rachel swirled around to see the palm of a black gloved hand being placed on her face. In shock and unable to scream, Rachel fell helplessly backwards and through the window behind her, as she was harshly shoved. As she started to fall towards the ground her eyes looking up above her, Rachel saw the man at the window looking down watching her falling beneath him, wearing a smile that made him seem triumphant of something. As she hit the ground instead of feeling the hard earth, Rachel saw herself fall through the soil before hitting something soft again with her back..
Rachel's eyes flew open, now looking straight up at the guest room's ceiling. Sweating and breathing fast, she sat up in bed trying to catch her breath. She turned her head and looked at the wall where the window was. Nothing was there now, except a blank wall. Rachel sat up and looked at her phone that had been laying next to her on the bed. When she checked the time, she had only been asleep for a few hours. All she could remember before the dream was laying in bed for awhile, before drifting off. Getting out of bed, Rachel leaned against the wall across from the one that had the window in it in the dream. She slid down the wall and sat down on the floor, not wanting to go back to bed to sleep, or to try and not look up at the ceiling, expecting to see HIM again. When at least seven am came around, Rachel got up off the floor and went to go shower and get dressed. She was out of the bathroom and downstairs before her mom got up and could see her coming out of the guest room at all. She started breakfast, getting herself into as much of a seemingly restful mood as she could bring about herself, so her mom wouldn't feel the need to ask questions about why she seemed so tired, and upset about something. When her mom came downstairs, Rachel picked up a plate with toast and eggs on it, along with putting on a forced, cheery smile.
"Hey mom, morning!" Rachel held up the plate, offering her mom a slice of toast.
"Morning, sweetie." Rachel's mom said, giving her a kiss on the cheek, and getting a piece of toast from the plate. She looked at Rachel for bit as she chewed on a piece of her toast. "Did you get enough sleep honey, you look tired.."
"Oh, I stayed up a little later than usual, just appreciating being home." Rachel came up with quickly, hoping to look believable.
"Ohhhhh." Rachel's mom said, giving her a hug. "I missed you being here, too. Maybe you can spend some longer time here soon, than just overnight.."
"Yeah, that would be great. Maybe when I get a long break in classes at school." Rachel replied.
After breakfast Rachel and her mom started to clean up the kitchen together, until the doorbell suddenly rang at the front door.
"I'll get it." Rachel said heading to the front door, as her mom looked confused about who it could be.
Rachel looked out the peep hole in the door and stepped back, not believing her eyes. She looked back up into the peep hole one more time, before going to reach for the door knob. When she opened the door and pulled it back, Akiko leaned against the door frame arms crossed, giving Rachel an irritated look. As Rachel looked over Akiko's shoulder for a moment after hearing some noise behind her, she saw Graham pulling on a small suitcase out of a taxi that was parked in front of the house. He was turning it this way and that way in the trunk, trying to pry it from some bags that it was lodged in between, the taxi driver looking somewhat annoyed as he watched Graham struggle with the luggage, looking up in the rear view mirror.
"Well?" Said Akiko, bringing Rachel's attention back to her. "Did you check your phone at all today? We went to your school after we got off the plane thinking you would at least be there when you didn't answer your phone, and that we could go check up on you before going to go see where to stay. We finally decided to come here after knocking on the door of your dorm room, and asking some people in your building if they had seen you."
"Sorry, I guess I left my phone upstairs." Rachel said, trying to look as apologetic as she felt.
Akiko rolled her eyes, uncrossed her arms, and than moved forward, giving Rachel a hello-friend hug. "Well, glad that you sound a little better than you did last night, even though you look kinda drained right now." She said after stepping back away from Rachel, looking at her again. "So you gonna let us in, or what?"