Your Happiness (Jarl X HerWhisper)

[Deleted]

Name: Charles Frost
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Appearance: Charles is a stout man with neat brown hair and a trimmed beard. He is usually well dressed, being a businessman first and foremost. His face is usually serious, or even angry in appearance, making him seem unapproachable.

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

(Nice! I'll start it once I get out of the shower)

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

It was a warm spring morning in the heart of Tokyo, the busiest city in all of Japan. The sky was a gentle blue, and the Sakura blossoms were blown lazily off the trees with every gentle breeze.

Sachiko sighed as she wandered through her favorite park in all of Tokyo, completely invisible to those around her. She had just helped a young girl obtain her happiness by making her parents cease their constant fighting, acting like true adults and making up. She knew the little girl was in good hands now, and would be for as long as she lived.

Sachi loved helping people, but at the same time, she longed for it all to be over. She had died before her true time, and as a punishment she was forced to wander for eternity, giving people the happiness she had never been able to obtain for herself. She sat on am empty bench and watched the pigeons scoot on by, the feeling of emptiness growing inside of her evermore.

[Deleted]

Charles had been awake since before the sun rose. By the time most people were getting up, he was fully ready to take on another day at the office. He was in charge of the research and development division for a successful technology company. The only thing he thought about lately was the kaizen enabled AI module that was being developed to help run warehouses. It needed to work perfectly, because everything he did had to work perfectly.

He quickly brushed off small flowers as he passed under a tree. He didn't want to look like a fool covered in blossoms when he arrived at work.

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

As Sachi sat there, wallowing in her own misery, she felt that familiar feeling again and looked up. It was her own empty soul connecting with another, one that longed for something more out of their life. She sighed as she stood, following the pull of this weak and unhappy soul, eventually ending up behind the owner. She watched Charles silently as she followed him, not yet letting him see her.

[Deleted]

Charles decided to treat himself to a special breakfast to celebrate the ongoing success of his AI module. Normally he made his own eggs and toast in his apartment, but not this morning. He would get off the metro one stop early and head to Bills for coffee, hotcakes glazed in honey butter, and a fresh banana. He liked Bills because it was a little bit more familiar than the other Japanese places, serving some more western style dishes. He had been in Japan for 12 years and still did not feel quite at home there.

He crammed in to the subway car and stood near the door. He glared at an older woman who was smiling at him from her seat, chasing away her good nature with his stern eyes.

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

Sachi stood behind him, peering over his shoulder at everyone around him. She noticed the old woman and Charles' reaction to hee kind smile, and became aware of the fact that this man was extremely bitter. She did not know why, but as she traveled along with him, observing every part of his morning, she was sure she would soon find out.

[Deleted]

The subway car was too cramped, but it always was. Charles was happy to get off sooner than usual. He glanced at the old woman, thinking maybe he should be nicer, but she avoided his eyes. "ah, bugger off" he thought to himself. He stepped out of the car and walked up towards the street. He looked forward to work, it seemed to satisfy him more than most things, and he felt content with that. As he neared Bills, he could smell the freshly brewed coffee and the hot cakes. He had time to sit and enjoy the meal, and thought about sitting in the back corner where he usually did to avoid listening to the busy sounds outside.

Bills was packed today, and there seemed to be nowhere to sit. Charles scanned the cafe until he saw a single seat, right up front by a window. His brow furrowed and his jaw tensed up, his typical response when something doesn't go his way. His brow had wrinkles from how often he unintentionally made this expression.

He waved at the server and sat at the table. Although this was his favorite place to have breakfast, he was no kinder to the staff than he was to anyone else. His order was short and to the point, ignoring any small talk or pleasantries. He asked for exactly what he wanted, nothing more and nothing less. For him, social interactions were a bit of an inconvenience, and dispensing with them quickly was always his goal.

He sighed as the server left with his order, nodding when told it would be a few minutes. He decided to check his email as people busily shuffled by on the other side of the window. After a few moments, he felt the unpleasant sensation of eyes watching him. He looked up and around until he noticed that a little girl was standing outside looking right at him. She was dressed in her school uniform, holding her mothers hand. Her mother and father were looking up at the menu posted outside and debating whether or not to come in.

Charles hoped they would move on, already wishing for there to be less people in the cafe as it was. The little girl kept staring at him as her parents talked. He tried to muster up a smile, but his eyes remained stern, making him look uncomfortable rather than polite. Her gaze was unbroken.

He began noticing the details of the family standing outside, wondering who they were, how they got to be together, and where they were all going. He couldn't understand what it was like to be part of a group like that, having been alone most of his life. He felt something he did not understand, and decided to push it all down, turning his back to the window angrily. As he did this, the server was placing his coffee on the table, and his shoulder knocked it out of his hand.

Coffee spilled all over the table, his phone, and his pants. The whole thing startled him, and the pain from the hot coffee on his lap infuriated him. He looked at the server, saying "Fackin ell!" loudly, and for a moment the poor man thought it was the last thing he would experience. The server tried to dab the coffee with a napkin, but Charles slapped his hand away and went to the restroom to clean himself up, demanding a new coffee as he stormed off.

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

Sachi had followed him the whole way there, deciding to sit across from him in the empty seat. She watched the little girl quietly, her expression softening as she did so. Sachiko had always had a soft spot for children, having two daughters of her own all those years ago. She hadn't seen them since 1921, a year before her death, due to her husband tearing them away from her. Well, this wasn't entirely true... She had seen them the day before her death, but she didn't wish to remember it. It was not a pleasant memory for her.

Sachi was suddenly thrown out of her reminiscing by the coffee spill and Charles angrily storming into the restroom. She chuckled and decided not to follow him, knowing when to allow privacy and when not to, regardless of if he would know about her being there or not.

[Deleted]

In the restroom, Charles did his best to clean himself up. He was angry beyond measure, and knew he was too angry for the situation. He had that sort of self awareness where he could question his behavior for the most part. He tried to calm himself down as the sound of his own voice yelling at the server echoed in his mind. He would apologize and sit down, and try to have the meal in peace. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and his own angry face and he knew something was wrong. Why was he so angry all the time? Why wasn't he happy with everything he had? The company he worked for loved him, he was good at his work, and he had plenty of wealth, but it all left him feeling empty anyway.

He decided he was being irrational and again pushed his thoughts down. He regained composure and walked back out to his seat. He passed the family that was standing outside before and grimaced his fake smile at the little girl, who still did not break her watch of him.

At his table, the new coffee and his meal was already waiting, along with a note saying it would be on the house for his inconvenience. He felt a hint of guilt, knowing his reaction was uncalled for. He decided he would talk to the manager and insist on paying when he apologized.

The rest of the meal went on uneventfully, save for the almost constant stare from the little girl. He didn't know what it was about kids, but they always seemed to be interested in him, and he never knew quite how to act. He left a big tip on the table, and walked out of the cafe. The manager should have trained their servers to announce when they were bringing something to the customer, he thought to himself, justifying his decision.

It would be a short walk to the huge corporate office building in which he would complete his project. His office was on the 30th floor, overlooking the city. This window seat was one he had worked very hard for. He entered the building and waved his access card at the security officer. They knew who he was and waved him in.

The elevator ride up was always a source of aggravation for Charles. There was always someone who didn't know what floor to choose, or who politely held the door for some slow git, or who insisted on talking to him, or some variation of stupidity that kept the ride from being a smooth one. He walked up to the elevators, and as usual, there was a large crowd gathered, waiting to get on. He knew that a good percentage were just lazy tossers going up one or to floors, and thought it was ironic that by about the 12th floor, he was usually only accompanied by two or three other employees.

The elevator doors opened, and the people all crammed in. Charles tried to get in, but the car was full and the doors closed. He found himself alone as the other elevators also filled up. Moments later, one opened, and it was completely empty. "Well this is nice" he said to himself. He stepped in and firmly pressed the big 30 on the panel.

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

As Sachi followed him into the elevator, a mischevious thought entered her mind. She liked to give people little scares from time to time to make her afterlife more interesting, and what better target was there other than the man she was currently following? As the elevator began to move, she appeared beside him in the blink if an eye, remaining silent as she slowly turned her head to look at him.

[Deleted]

Charles was smiling smugly, wondering how he could be so lucky to get the elevator to himself. He was already passing the 10th story without stopping. As he was thinking about his great luck with the free meal and the personal elevator ride, he noticed something in the corner of his eye.

There was someone in the elevator with him, and they were standing right by him! How had he not noticed this person before? He looked to his right and his mind went blank, as if his brain had been reset. The person next to him was a woman. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. His eyes were drawn to the blue and white that she wore, which strangely seemed to be the only color she had at first.

He was hesitant, almost afraid to, but could not resist looking into her eyes. When he did, he saw that she was looking deeply into his eyes, and he felt as if she could see right through him, into his deepest thoughts. He lost all sense of time and movement, allowing himself to drink her image in deeply. He felt as if he would never get enough of her.

When he was able to tear his eyes away from hers, he followed the gentle curve of her face, noticing how pale she was. She almost looked like a black and white picture from long ago, yet she stood right there beside him. He saw her cracked lips and immediately wished he could offer her water. He felt a deep sadness that he had nothing to offer her there in the elevator. He looked up, almost falling into her eyes again, to look at her hair. It was beautiful and shined like silk. He saw the great care that went into it, imagining how much time and effort was spent to keep it so healthy. His mind was wandering all over the place, drunk on the sights and feelings he was experiencing all at once.

He started becoming aware of his reactions and realized he was not in control. Fear took over, and he tried to push it all down. He looked right at her with his stern expression.

"Where in the blazes did you come from?"

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

Sachi smiled softly, taking in his image before taking a small step back, disappearing again as she did so. She watched him still, wondering why he had waited so long to speak. Most people just scream instantly, standing there with their wide eyes and shaking bodies. Then it hit her: That's what he was missing. He was lonely. He had no one. She wanted to groan, but restrained from doing so. She had to prepare to possibly play cupid.

[Deleted]

Charles waited for her response, but was again completely entranced by a new and even more beautiful sight. The woman smiled at him, and all he could do was stand there, like a deer in the headlights. He knew he should smile back, and wanted to with all his heart, but he was too stunned to move. She moved away from him, and he struggled to see, as if the elevator was suddenly too dark. It took a moment for him to understand that she had actually vanished!

The loss of visual contact left an emptiness that somehow weighed on him. He couldn't understand why all of his emotions were at full force, and it scared him to be so affected. The sound of the dinging elevator as it passed floor after floor came rushing back in a roar, along with the other ambient noises of the elevator shaft. Was it always this loud? Charles knew he had to get a hold of himself because his work came first, and whatever he just experienced was not going to stop him from releasing the AI module ahead of schedule.

The 30th ding finally came, and the doors opened. Light flooded the elevator in a way that he had never really noticed before. The sounds and lights and colors all around him seemed more vibrant and full of life. He walked to his office and closed the door behind him, and took let out a breath he had no idea he was holding in.

He straightened his back and pushed out his chest as he took a deep breath, determined to continue his day. Sitting down at his desk, he ran his fingers along the authentication systems bio-metric screen and his computer came alive. There was an urgent message flashing on the monitor from the lab.

"Mr. Frost,

We have run into a slight problem during simulated tests with the kaizen coding. It isn't issuing work orders efficiently, which is causing a dip in productivity instead of improvement. Please take a look at the code attached and let me know what you think.

Best Wishes,
Kagaku Daichi"

Every time he got an email from Daichi, he would have to fight the urge to flip his desk over. He figured it was a simple problem with a loop increment, but he started the long task of reviewing each line of code and making changes. Before long, it was lunch time.

The office had a lunch service, and being the organized businessman that he was, he had already made lunch orders for the rest of the month. Today, he would be working through lunch, so he would have to pick it up from the break area later. It was late in the afternoon before he realized how hungry he was and decided to go get it.

He walked over to the break area and saw his bag of food from the local sushi place sitting alone on a tray. Everyone else had eaten, and the room was empty except for him. This, of course, was ideal for Charles. He needed a break from noise and from countless lines of code. He sat and snapped his chopsticks apart eagerly.

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

Sachi had sat on the other side of his desk all day, observing him, and even now she sat across from him as he ate his late lunch. She watched him carefully with her dark, chocolate colored eyes, wondering where to start with this one. He seemed to be a difficult person, so would he even listen to her? She longed to leave this one behind and find someone more deserving, but for some reason her soul was more strongly pulled to his. She had never felt it so strong before. About half way through his lunch, she sighed, deciding that it was time she revealed herself to him fully rather than trying to simply scare him.

She made sure to appear when he wasn't looking, trying to scare him less.

[Deleted]

Having eaten most of his lunch, the dread of going back into the code and searching for the mistakes same bloody Japanese programmer made in his beloved AI package made Charles slow down. He put down his chopsticks and looked at the bag the food came in. It was a simple bag with a minimalist style image of a fish, and a Shinto shrine. He started thinking about the woman he saw earlier, and already wondered if it had really happened. It was early in the day, and maybe he imagined it. The memory was a bit blurry now, and easier to dismiss, but he remembered the distinct feeling of it, and how real it was at the moment.

He no longer felt that the world was more vibrant and lively. It all seemed a bit grey again. He took another mouthful of sushi and looked around the room. When he finished that bite, he turned back to his plate and again noticed something just out of sight. He looked up and past the bag to see that the woman from before was sitting at his table.

A bit more guarded this time, he resisted the urge of falling into her beautiful brown eyes, and instead decided to speak first.

"That was some trick you pulled on me in the elevator, gave me quite a fright."

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

She grinned softly, shaking her head. "It wasn't a trick. I've been observing you all day. You're a very busy, bitter man. Why do you think that is?" She leaned in closer to him, close enough to feel his warm breath on her cold, dead skin. She got chills as she felt each breath and momentarily closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of warmth she hadn't felt in years. She snapped out of it quickly, opening her eyes to gaze into his again. If her heart was still active, it would ve beat extra fast in this moment, though she had no idea why. She shook her head slightly before sitting back in her chair again.

"Are you lonely, Charles?"

[Deleted]

Her movements fascinated him. He watched as she came closer, and tried to smell her. He felt a primal urge to be closer to her, while at the same time he felt like he would never get to feel her. He tried to understand what she meant when she said she had watched him all day. He knew he had been alone in his office and that the only way she could watch him was if she was in another building looking through his window. The thought seemed unlikely, but what else could she have meant? His thoughts were interrupted by her strange question.

She asked if he was lonely. Was he? He thought about the question. Did he want someone close to him? He often preferred to be alone, and actively worked to keep things that way. He started to question why he did that. If he was lonely, wouldn't he be trying to let people in closer? Why would he push them away? The thoughts were confusing, and he wanted to just push them out.

"What kind of a question is that? And what do you mean you observed me all day? Where is your access badge?"

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

Sachi only smiled further, shaking her head. "I don't need one. I go where I want when I want to. It's a gift, really." She stood, going over to the window to gaze down at the ground so far below. "You didn't answer my question. You avoided it. Why is that?" She looked back at him mischeviously.

[Deleted]

"I did not avoid the question, I simply asked a more prudent one. So how is it you can come and go as you please? And why do you dress so oddly?" Charles was indeed avoiding the question, but only because he had no answer, and because he was very curious about the beautiful creature before him.

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

"I dress oddly because these are the clothes I died in. I cannot wear anything else." She sat back down. "I'm a ghost. How do you think I can simply vanish then reappear whenever I Want? I've been dead since 1922."

[Deleted]

Charles stared at the woman silently. His eyes darted back and forth to each of hers. He wanted to keep a straight face, but before very long, his face began to contort into a crazy sort of strained smile. He slammed his hand down on the table and then began to laugh loudly. "Oh dear! Did you really think I would fall for that?" he said as he wiped tears from his eyes.

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

"I must admit, it is fun to see you smiling and laughing. Unfortunately, though, it is true. My name is Sachiko Abe." She held her hand out to him. "I've been dead for nearly one hundred years by now. You can call me Sachi."

[Deleted]

Charles stopped laughing, looking at the pale hand extended to him. He had felt that touching her would never happen, and now the chance was here. He wanted to touch her since the moment he saw her in the elevator. He reached out and held her hand gently. It was cold, but that didn't mean anything. She couldn't really be a ghost, so this was some kind of joke. He looked at her, letting himself get lost in her eyes again for a few moments. Sadness was all he felt, and some kind of longing.

He then spoke. "Why do you insist on trying to make a fool of me with your silly ghost story? Surely you know I am not someone with much patience for games."

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

"Would you like to see the exact tree I was hung from?" She asked as her grip on his hand tightened. "See my grave? What do.you want me to do to prove to you that I truly am dead?"

[Deleted]

Her eyes did not seem to lie, which worried Charles greatly. Was she insane? How did she even get in the building? He decided to be safe and humor her for a bit and maybe get her back outside. He was never very good at this kind of thing, but he decided to give it his best.

"Alright, I believe you, Sachiko was it? How would you like to go for a walk with me? I would like to get to know you better, and you can tell me all about your story."

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

She chuckled. "Tell you my story? Why would I do that? I am here to make you happy. Once that happens I leave and you never see me again. You don't need to know my story in order for me to do what I need to do." She stood. "If we are going on a walk, it is to get to know you."

[Deleted]

He stood when she did, considering what she had just said. Always one for testing weaknesses and logic, his first thought was "Well what if seeing you makes me happy?" He did not realize he actually said it out loud to Sachiko though.

[HerWhisperIsTheLucifer]

She blinked, furrowing her brow and tilting her head. "Well... I'm not sure. Why would seeing me make you happy?" She looked away to the side, beginning to absent mindedly tug at her kimono sleeve.

[Deleted]

"I am not saying that I personally feel happy when I see you.. I mean I am not saying I DON'T feel happy either. I was just speaking in general.." He was stumbling on his words like a nervous wreck. He felt like a teenager again, trying to talk his way out of a hole with a pretty girl back in secondary.

He did feel happy when he saw her, but he wasn't sure exactly why. Looking at her, he felt that he should be sad, and her story made it worse. He couldn't explain why he wanted to look at her as much as possible, or why he felt better when she was there. Maybe he was the one who was losing his mind.

He motioned towards the exit, waiting for Sachiko to acknowledge and start walking with him.