Somebody Told Me {Carl}

[elliedocter]

Ellie had decided, on Kevin's arrival to her flat, and her constant obession with Carl that she had had to get a grip, she had done her best in all of her ambitions to keep Carl off her mind, but it seemed only to heighten them, particularly her new job, working late shifts at a coffee shop in town.

It was a very good distraction, and the coffee was brilliant and who knew that steamed milk really made a difference to drinks - but that was of course off topic.

The fact was, slowly but surely, Ellie was trying to learn to live. She still had Carl's photo's everywhere, and the beautiful landscape she'd painted of their childhood home at Paradise falls, his hat still hung on her bedpost and his glasses on her bedside table.

But slowly and surely, as much as she could, she was trying to wean the pain of losing her best friend.

This particular night, she had planned to cook dinner on her own, as she had most nights. Shere was being really good to her, so she assumed he might be over tomorrow - but now she was alone unaware that she had more of a problem with physical ghosts then her own inner demons tonight.

[carlfredricksen]

It was getting to be Ellie’s birthday, and that was exactly why Carl decided he simply had to give this communication thing one more try. Besides…he couldn’t avoid her anymore. He was supposed to be there for her, and if that meant he could only play guardian angel, so be it. But he was beginning to realize he simply couldn’t give up, couldn’t accept the idea that he would have to completely leave her behind. He had managed to communicate with people, after all. Ellie was people. She was more than just that, of course, at least in his eyes…but what kind of world would it be if the fact that she was so, so, so special would make it impossible for him to make contact?

Well…the kind of world that forced him to die of a heart attack in her arms, he supposed…but he really hoped that world was willing to cut him a break, just today. And if not him, at least Ellie? It was far too close to her birthday to completely deny her a means of hope, right? She hadn’t been the same since he died. Hadn’t even thought of Paradise Falls, and had been spending all the more time with Shere Kahn…

No, he could not think of that right now. In fact, it was looking like it was actually making his hands even less solid, and tying this balloon to a stick was hard enough as it was! It was one thing to hold onto a book, after all, but this? He had to focus on the task at hand, probably…this being a ghost thing just had to be torturous, didn’t it? Since taking a deep breath to clear his mind was pretty much useless, Carl would have to make do without it, and he fixed his gaze onto the string of the balloon, as if he were willing that to remain solid instead of his own hands.

Eventually, he succeeded and with a little smile, he slipped into Ellie’s house and let go of the balloon and stick, letting it float around as she entered. He could only hope that this would work.

[elliedocter]

Ellie had begun to cook, or at least, prepare some meat from the fridge when she saw the balloon and the stick tied together coming towards her. If this had been a normal day, had this been a day a few months ago, she would know that Carl has snuck into her home, she could picture it - rushing around the flat to probably find him reading a book on her bed with a sheepish wave.

This time, Ellie didn't know how to react, she dropped the knife on the counter, using it as her rock to lean up against as she kept staring wide eyed at the balloon. It was even the right colour, it was tied with a windsor note, every sign of Carl was screaming at her to pay attention, and her mind could only scream that she couldn't take it.

"Who's there? Why are doing this!?" she snapped, at last. Her mind concluded that someone was playing a very sick joke, because the truth was probably much harder to accept.