500 2

It’s far too early and city feels far too calm with barely anyone and I wonder how long will it even be for me to even decide that I have learnt all their faces and we walk into a store as the selkie just follows me idly and I realize that he’s still barefoot, but we already cause ruckus by being new rather than being barefoot as some people slightly raise their eyes and I wonder why are there even products which could be slightly aimed towards us and I just grab bare essentials for no good reason, even if I had done it, as Jack seems to ponder on the alcohol section. 

He grabs some beers and I just raise my eyebrow at him, of course I have to pay. We pay and leave the store with the young shop assistants and there’s nothing really in town to do, it’s as if I should be biking already and we do two circles around to see where the hospital is and Jack just glances at the huge pond. 

Where even is the sea? I look around just to see houses with weird statues and then Jack points at the house which has a hairdresser sign.

“I need a haircut.” He mutters, pulling a long strand of hair. His hair isn’t that long and it looks like it just needs a brush and he just glares at my disapproving look. “If you’re not fucking giving my skin back, at least groom me.”

I just follow him into the small barbers, as I hear his smirk and I wonder how will he even get a haircut while barefoot and I look at the scattered press which all has the same, regardless of what’s supposed to be inside a few months ago, all is about war and frankly we seemed to be under the illusion that we are alright, but we won’t be at least for a very long while. We both call out until a man exits the room behind the counter and he falls far too light. His brown eyes fall on mine and I quickly look away.

He’s far too light.

“What can I do for you?” He asks both of us, his hands leaning against the counter and I watch his bright t-shirt and scissors and a brush sticking out of everything, including the black apron. 

“Where’s the sea here?” The barber smirks and Jack just rolls his eyes, pointing at his hair and the barber approaches the selkie, as the barber thinks for a while, maybe he sees it as a pick up line as he winks at me and motions for Jack to sit in the chair and he does, putting his feet on the wall and the barber just makes a weird noise, as he listens to what says about his hair. 

I watch the barber as he cuts the selkie’s hair and I close my eyes, sighing as I quickly let myself dissolve, just to feel and the barber only feels lighter, far lighter, he seems far too soft and I quickly start noticing how hard the presence around is and I feel something peek over my shoulder, I turn my head backwards-

“You alright?” I quickly close it and open my eyes. I hastily nod as Jack just narrows his eyes at me and I look back at the barber, who holds his gaze on me and then back to the selkie’s hair. He pushes his lips together, starting off the back of Jack’s head. “What do you work as?”

“I used to work as a medium.” I say carefully, but it comes out before I can even catch it and the barber looks at me from the mirror, a bit impressed and nods, chopping a significant amount of Jack’s hair. I try to avoid Jack’s gaze as we seem to have started developing intolerance towards each other just because I’m not sure what should I even be doing with his skin. 

“Really?” The barber asks as he goes up to Jack’s fringe. I try to look at him with my eyes opened, but he still seems the same, lighter and nothing is around him, neither is anything really paying attention to him as I start seeing shapes and some take human form, some don’t. “How does that work?”

I keep my silence and the barber just turns around. How about you tell me why the fuck are you so light and why are all at peace, while I get observed? I don’t say that outloud and Jack just keeps checking himself out in the mirror, as his fringe is being cut. 

“...There’s like... a gate if you must, you just lift it up in your mind and then it’s as if your subconscious shows you what actually is there, naked to the eye. So that way I would just see the spirits of the dead people would pay me to talk with.” I say, my hand under my chin, as I would watch the two men and Nick would nod again slowly and keep watching me back. I feel a bit uncomfortable talking about it as I just cross my legs and arms, quickly muttering a fast prayer in my head. 

“Which prayer do you use?” And the barber looks back at me. I instantly stand up and look for my cigarettes as he just watches me exit the premises without speaking, I quickly light a cigarette and lift the lid, feeling the breeze and I slowly start hearing noises and conversations and a light head ache comes to greet me as I turn around. He even looks lighter, a bit even transparent. 

Fuck.

“Which prayer do I use? Why the fuck would you ask that?” I ask myself outloud, looking back. 

Prayer.

I breathe out the smoke. He should know something then. Maybe toyed with ouija boards. 

I walk in and with any song even if old memories were wired upon it, new can bond and then new thoughts and new attachments fold, as if there is something else, as if love can be given somehow else and I feel something on the back of my neck and I just head back as the barber just focuses on the door which opens and hastily closes. But the barber makes sure that I focus on him as he keeps his eye contact firm. 

“So which prayer do you use?” He’s slowly starting to finish it off and it’s weird to see Jack with such trimmed hair and I quickly glance at him, feeling something weird jerk in my stomach and my neck only feels like the wound expands and before I look back I just look again at the barber, as if he’s holding me down. 

“The basic one.” I mutter, now slowly rubbing the back of my neck. Before the pain hits me fully, the barber hastily snips and turns towards me, his eyes still focusing on whatever is behind the door. 

“Use it for your own good.” I quickly glance back, but I already start saying a prayer out loud and neither do I want to open a channel to see, so I just leave it there, but the pain remains on the back of my neck and I don’t question far too much until I reach the ending, quickly glancing back at the barber. 

Jack’s done and he just asks for a cigarette as he exits the premises and I just pay with my card, waiting for the transaction to complete. I hold my silence and I open the channel, feeling a bit too bizarre and the sting still evident in the back of my neck and I glance back at the barber. 

“It’ll pass. I hope.” He says quietly. I glance back as Jack is there alone with his new short haircut and smoking slowly. The barber chews on his bottom lip before motioning with his hand for me to turn around. I narrow my eyes instead and tha barber rolls my eyes. 

“I think we need a proper introduction then, Mr. Medium.” He holds a pause. “What do you think am I?”

I just hold my silence and shrug, opening the channel just to see him be a bit transparent and his colours a bit brighter and that’s when the barber shrugs and smirks. Now it’s my turn to just stare at him blankly and wonder and then I just shake my head. 

“No... idea whatsoever?” He tilts his head to the side, pouting a bit and then just sighing, hands on hips. “Really, no idea? You fucking said the prayer and no idea?” 

I look at him.

“...You’re in physical form, it’s blinding, if that’s what you’re asking.” I say pulling my lips with my fingers, getting anxious that I honestly have no idea, I always have no idea, I just let it be and here he is, asking me what I see and how can I even know when I’ve never seen anything as transparent. He just laughs a bit too lightly. 

“That is true, Mr. Medium.” He puts his hand on my shoulder and I focus on his bracelets, but he still seems to be hiding himself from me. “Believe in the Greater Good, Mr. Medium?”

I tug on my lip harder, watching him. I just shake my head from side to side, then I give a confused shake.

“All I know is that I’m a medium. That’s all.” I mutter. 

“Really? No hope?” The barber clicks his tongue. He looks outside. And stands on his tiptoes and smirks. “You disappoint me.”

I ignore his wink.

“Anyway, give the selkie back its skin, that’s your message, Mr. Medium, from me.” And that’s when it dawns on me. I blink a few times. He waves at me and pushes the door open behind the counter but I catch him by the wrist. He looks at me confused. “You’re fine. I’m telling you. All went away. You did the prayer, I was here. He can’t come in. We... stay neutral from each other. World is at war, yet we respect each other’s spaces, something humans can’t seem to do.”

He sighs and slowly shakes my hand off his wrist, but I grasp it again and he just looks at me confused, muttering a what and I just hold him tighter. 

“I’m the opposite, what do you want me to tell you?” He doesn’t get annoyed, but rather amused, confused and he keeps looking at me, now fiddling with his hair, which seems to be pretty well kept in place, but then he’s a barber he wakes up and can do it with both eyes closed. 

“I’m sorry... I never thought, well, it’s ridiculous of me to say, but I never thought any of you existed, which is ridiculous to say, but yeah. I’m sorry.” I stretch my hand to him and he just shakes it, smiling lightly.

“Ok, Mr. Medium, I see I’m your first ever Angel in human form. Give the selkie back it’s skin, I’m serious.” He walks up to the window and taps on the glass right where Jack is. “That... selkie is not someone you should’ve meddled with.”

He watches my scared eyes as I start pulling my bottom lip again. The barber shakes his head. 

“No, not that there’s anything wrong... just, be careful and give it back eventually, yeah?” He squeezes my shoulder and I just watch him, trying to concentrate and the angel smirks and for a small fragment the room is lit a bit and I get a glimpse of his folded feathers and he lets go of my shoulder and the room is back to usual. “I know, looks cliche, I’m not as exciting as a selkie.”

We both pause.

“Jamie.” I stretch my hand out to him as he just says Nick and shakes it back and I exit the premises with the backpack, wondering if I should’ve asked more but instead I just look at Jack, who seems to be observing everyone including the children across the road waiting for the bus to arrive and I wonder how come we all hold the illusion, but then what an illusion is to us is reality to the rest and it goes on in swirls. Jack doesn’t really pay much attention to me as we slowly start going back and I keep observing him, how he’s taller and much better built than I am and I wonder if he fucking came with those clothes, but doesn’t really look like it, I don’t think he’d be naked either. Maybe it comes in a pack, if I raid the skin properly I’ll find some shoes for him. 

“Thank you.” He says as I unchain our bikes and then I put the chain around his seat and he just sits back on his bike and I hold it down. The selkie just looks at me unamused. “It’s a joke, someone thought that’s how you do it... I just saw it, that’s all.”

I quiet down and he just rolls his eyes, but he gives out a small smile. 

-

I had binge written 500 back months ago when we lived in that apartment and I think it's surely one of those which maybe was even my favourite. Me and Callie keep recalling it and I've never been so far away from cities and we just had these small towns around and to bike to the nearest city was 12 km and we would nearly choose that all the time over the bus. I dunno, I really miss it and it was really interesting and it was very very beautiful. Also it was very very… crowded, you could feel presences but it was very peaceful, I would say unlike in 500, but yeah, I think I'll go deeper perhaps in the later chapters on it, so I'll keep my spoilers to myself and I'm not to fond sometimes on this topic, I get neck pains of course in the night, if speaking openly.

Anyway

The whole "where is the sea" is a gag between me and Callie, because I know that it goes somehow linked, but it's related to the story, specifically why was Jack in the river. 

I dunno, 500 is one of those stories which I love because I had given it a new personal touch, making it awfully supernatural and speaking of experiences I've had, I didn't meet a selkie though xD and I really ship the main couple of course xD it's also weird to post this chapter because I've quoted it randomly to Callie and vice versa "if you're not giving my skin back, at least groom me" xD

The small barbers was actually when I was getting the trim there, I just awfully liked the place and usually when places stick out I take them for myself and that's where I decided through laughter that Grimmy should be a barber there. The owner was fabulous and reminded me of Mark Mahoney in Lana del Rey's Shades of Cool and of course I recall while he was trimming me, we complained about housing in Stockholm. It was my usual "I don't do female cuts", "well, I always do it barbers and etc" thankfully he eased and was lovely. Well, now, Callie's my barber xD I have no idea why of all places I have troubles with cutting hair but now all is Callie xD 

I really enjoy pretty much taking everything I know and felt and giving it to Jamie in this story. 

Jamie being a medium comes from when once I was volunteering and I was talking to a medium of how I can fortune tell and they went "have you ever considered being a medium, you have the potential" and I have replied no. I remember I had told my mom and she told me to not mess with it. I don't, I had the freakiest things already, I think I've seen much more than I should've and etc, so enough for me. Basically the idea of the story was to make Jamie a medium from that small conversation I had years ago and I decided to go as if I would've been a medium, how I would feel it and pretty much letting my mind expand and recalling whenever I would have a channel open or yanked open for that matter. 

That's why I love reading stuff on it and like watching The Conjuring because they do things I've learnt over time even by intuition :)

I never really sat to think to describe how I feel it or how it actually is, I nearly asked Callie if she had that, but I wouldn't venture, because Callie has some gifts in her family, but I wouldn't venture and the fact that I can easily feel things, Callie starts noticing or will pay attention when I would feel something, even if you don't feel, you can if the presence is strong and if someone will point out, you eventually learn yourself. 

I'm orthodox so even if it's still under Christianity, Jamie would obviously say it in English and etc. I actually do mine in Russian, fun fact, I guess. 

Yeah, a lot of things through out the story are pretty much what I've felt, seen and etc. 

I had wondered because I myself have never met someone as in your face as Grimmy in this story, so I mused and researched a while and applied my own guesses really. 

Also, back when we had the fundraiser, I got asked to do a story about angels, so here is Grimmy. He's one of the main characters and yeah, that inspired me to put him here and I hope that was good, honestly:) thank you so much, it's been months, I know and yeah, thank you all who had helped back then

I'll keep quiet regarding Nick and Jamie's conversation, so yeah xD

About the bike and chain, it was some old tumblr photo I had seen and I had joked about it one day when me and Callie were putting the bikes in the town, so that's where the city comes from.

I just really love Jamie and Jack here, I ship them so much

I hope you enjoyed it and please tell me if you did, there's already a few chapters written and this is advent calendar :D

<3

Jamie