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A gentle hum vibrates in the air, calm and tranquil, almost as still as the water that spanned every direction.
A gentle, yet not disturbing smell of pine and pond, plants and flora was carried along the wind, reaching all who wandered here.
Though not wandering, one object occupied the atmosphere, yet they were so in-touch with the surrounding nature you’d barely be able to tell it wasn’t empty. Even their humming blended in with the environment.
Candle sat cross-legged on the docks, though not the most comfortable spot, she wished to connect to the water. And what’s closer to the water than right above it?
She’s been here once or twice, yet never long enough to meditate. The rest of the season three competitors had arrived back at the main island only a few days ago, so she hadn’t gotten much chance to feel the scenery around her. She was aiming to get better in touch with it, so she could work in harmony with the new change.
Her closed eyes gave way for her mind to open, and she focused. She listened to the swaying water hit the wooden poles of the dock, and the geese just a few feet away flapping their wings, and the little baby geese that followed. She could tell they were smaller since the sound was lighter.
Despite the peace, Candle felt a strange sense of concern. Of worry. There was something wrong here, yet she couldn’t pinpoint it. It was in the water. Something lurking deep within. Not an entity, not a spirit… regret.
Pain. Sorrow. A hint of anger. Confusion and deep, deep, hidden feelings. It wasn’t good.
She wonders why this aura is here in the first place. She wonders where it came from. As far as she knew, there weren’t any deaths that occurred here. No lingering emotions from those with an unsatisfied passing.
If this were from someone or something alive, how come it was so deep in the water? So deep that you couldn’t find it, unless you paid close attention. It worried her.
Yet, this was oddly familiar somehow. It gave off an energy she could recognize but couldn’t pinpoint. Did she know the source? Was it an older spirit she had communicated with? Maybe it’s someone she’d sensed in passing.
The waters had intrigued, yet scared Candle. She considered performing a cleanse around the pond. She’ll find some time in the week, maybe.
Suddenly, the energy, though always there, lunged at her, its aura ever stronger than it had been before.
It came from behind her.
She opened her eyes and turned to find the source, only to see Suitcase standing near the start of the docks, staring right at Candle in slight confusion.
She understood the source now. Oh, her poor soul.
She calls out the shorter one’s name, beckoning her to where she sat. Suitcase didn’t respond, still staring, seemingly at nothing.
A moment of hesitation. Candle called her name again.
Suitcase blinked and shook her head lightly, as if she’d just regained consciousness. She looked Candle in the eye and mouthed, ‘me?’.
Candle nodded, humming to herself. She turned back to the water, listening carefully to the wooden boards creak and tap as the small luggage walked to where she sat. She didn’t have to look to know she sat next to her as the energy was much stronger than before now.
“What are you doing out here so late in the day?” Candle asks her, folding her hands in her lap.
Suitcase raises an eyebrow. Did Candle really just want to make small talk with her? She can’t remember the last time she’s had any sort of pleasant conversation.
She’s never talked to Candle before now, really. They acknowledged each other in the hallways of the hotel, and she’s heard enough about the psychic girl from the other objects. Not that they told her, but she was rather good at eavesdropping.
And admittedly, Candle intimidated her. She was known as a healer, a metaphysical object who could peer into anyone’s spirit and analyze them. She held various readings in her hotel room, fortune-telling, aura readings, palm readings… All the objects that have gone said she was scarily accurate at what she did. Suitcase never went. She knew her spirit was… fucked up, to put it lightly; she didn’t want to expose herself to anyone.
Oh, right. She probably needs to respond to this fortune-teller.
“I just go here sometimes. It’s nice.” A faint smile makes its way to Suitcase’s face as she looks out towards the lake. Seeing the reflection in the water, she notices its near sunset.
“I see.” Candle chimes, voice as soft as ever. “Do you come often?”
Suitcase stares at the water below. “Uh… yeah! I guess this is kind of my spot… it's away from everyone. It’s peaceful.” She watches her reflection distort as a light wind carries past.
“Ah, sorry if I was intruding. There’s a full moon tonight. I wanted to experience it.” Candle explains.
“I-It’s alright! Really, uhm…” Suitcase wasn’t sure if she was lying. “I mean, it’s not like I own the docks. I didn’t make them. I’ve just claimed this place as mine… I don’t have the right to kick anyone out, which I wouldn’t do, anyways…”
Candle hummed and nodded in response, “If you ever wish for me to leave, there’s no harm in it, my dear.” She turned to the sunset and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She realizes the overwhelming negative aura has calmed a little.
Suitcase didn’t respond to it, but appreciated the sentiment. It was kind of nice having someone around, even if it's someone she didn’t really know. Candle felt like an almost blank slate to her. She had no past of messing up with her, she’s never let her down or made her feel upset (as far as she knows). For once, sitting next to someone wasn’t extremely awkward, there was no tension in the air; she had nothing to stress over. And that felt nice.
“This…” Candle started, hesitant if she should inquire on the curiosity plaguing her mind, “..may be intrusive, and you have no obligation to respond to me if you so please.”
Suitcase gulped, intrusive questions never ended up well.
“..Are you familiar with this lake? I know you wander here often, as you’ve told me, but… is there something more to this place to you? Often objects don’t find such comfort in one place unless it has had some impact on their life.”
And just like that, a sense of dread filled the poor luggage. There was a lot she could recall here. That time in bucket brigade when she almost drowned, her talk with Knife, her talks with… Baseball. The negative associations seemed to overpower the positive.
“It’s… complicated,” was all she could respond with.
“Have you any connection with the water?” Candle asked further.
“The water..?” Suitcase tore her gaze away from her reflection and looked back at Candle, who was now looking back at her.
“Yes. I happened to… feel something… from underneath the water’s surface. Something related to you.”
A shiver ran up Suitcase’s spine. Turns out everyone was right: she was scarily accurate at reading people. “S..something? There’s something in the water?” She stammered out, only repeating what had already been said. Maybe her so-called visions had been real. Maybe she wasn’t crazy.
“Not anything physical.” Candle waved off. “Just energy.”
“I…” She trailed off, staring back out to the lake. “...At one point, during a challenge… I uh.. had to get a bucket in the water. It fell out of Balloon’s hands. I was there for a while trying to find it… I almost drowned.” She wasn’t sure if she should mention the lake monster part.
Candle’s brow furrowed, but she quickly brought herself back to her relaxed demeanor. She could tell there was more to it. “You almost drowning… How did that happen?”
Suitcase froze. She’s never told anyone what really happened down there, not the full story at least. What was this, a therapy session? Why was Candle being so invasive?
“Oh, and again, there’s no need to tell me. I'm sorry if this is too far, I sometimes let my curiosity get the best of me.” She smiled gently, trying to lighten the mood.
“I.. don’t know… if I want to tell you.” It was suddenly hard for her to get words out. “And… maybe I should? You’re the expert at all this… weird, spiritual stuff.. so maybe you’d help me figure out what’s going on with… everything.” She took an uneasy breath.
“When I was in the water… something happened… I’m not sure what it was. I’m still not sure. It happened to me once before, w-when I was in the maze challenge for the show, just an episode before. I wandered away from my team, and my alliance, and I heard this… voice. I couldn’t recognize it. It was spouting weird rhymes at me, almost targeting me for my actions with the alliance. As it spoke, the maze walls, they- they started shrinking in on me. Maybe it was some messed-up trick by Mephone, he was tampering with traps for that challenge. But the moment Balloon walked in on me, all of it disappeared. Like it never happened!” She brought her legs closer to herself. “When I had to get the bucket during the next challenge, it was different, but it felt the same. I.. I heard that voice from before but it was all echo-y. I could barely distinguish what it was saying, and I could hear others' voices overlapping it as well. It… it was taunting me. When I found the bucket, I went to grab it and swim back to the surface but… something grabbed my foot. And suddenly I was stuck. There were some… I don’t know what they were… like… like dark kelp..! It wrapped itself around my leg and- and there were so many surrounding me and they were going to h-hurt me and-!” She paused suddenly, eyes widening. She realized she started rambling, and she could feel her eyes slightly water. She fumbled to apologize. “O-Oh geez, I’m so sorry- I don’t normally do this- I really… shouldn’t have said so much…”
She didn’t dare to look back at Candle. What would she think of her? There you go Suitcase, burning bridges everywhere you go. Even if not intentionally.
Candle only looked on in understanding and pity. “You need not apologize, Suitcase. It’s alright.”
Suitcase stayed quiet.
“So these experiences… have they happened any other time now?” Candle mused.
“A… A few times, since then.. It started when the competition started to put pressure on me, mostly when the alliance… started to fall in on itself. And it still happens even though we haven’t competed in a while.”
Candle took a moment to analyze this situation. “It seems you have a lot of inner turmoil within yourself, only better influenced by outside sources. Which, in this case, could mostly be your alliance. I believe that’s what’s causing these situations. Have you told anyone else about this?”
“Not fully… I don’t even know if whatever’s happening to me is even real or not…”
The two went into silence for a few seconds.
“Meditate with me, would you?” Candle suddenly asked.
Suitcase blinked, trying to figure out if she’d just heard her right. “Meditate..?”
Candle nodded, looking down at her. “It’s not a solution, but possibly a stabilizer. Just join me for tonight. You don’t have to do it anymore if you find it doesn’t work for you… Today’s been long, I’m sure. You deserve a break.”
Suitcase thought about it. She figured she didn’t have anything else to do but sit in her own sadness for the rest of the night, anyways. “Okay.”
Candle smiled, going back to her previous position, legs crossed and hands palm-up on her knees.
Suitcase stared at her, trying to figure out what she was doing. Did she have to copy her? She didn’t have arms.. was that part of the process?
“You’re worrying, dear.” Cande said suddenly. She kept her position. “It’s not as complicated as you think. Apologies, I should’ve explained it to you.”
“Yeah… please.” Suitcase muttered.
“Meditation is just a matter of finding a state of calm. Find a comfortable position, close your eyes, open your mind and breathe. You may copy me if you like, but there's no restrictions to it. Just find a state of tranquility. Listen to the world around you. Take in every sense, experience every emotion. Accept that what you are feeling is natural. Let the Earth wash away your worries.” Her voice was smooth as butter and a sense of comfort flowed with every word.
Suitcase had no choice but to follow. She crossed her legs like Candle, glad that she had some sort of direction. She looked out at the lake. The sun had now almost fully set, faint stars reflecting in the water. It was nice.
She closed her eyes. She listened as the lake hit the supports of the dock, the wood making a hollow tapping sound. She listened as the crickets slowly rose for the night to chirp. She imagined the animals in the surrounding forest getting themselves ready for bed. She imagined them keeping their children safe in bedding, curling around the little ones in warm protection and comfort.
And it was nice.
A little while later, a quiet vocalizalization awoke Candle from her dream-like –yet not asleep– state. She blinked her eyes open and turned to the luggage next to her, giggling quietly as she noticed the younger one’s light snoring.
She stood and picked up Suitcase as carefully as she could, trying not to disturb her slumber.
She walked back to Hotel OJ in the glow of the night, a resting Suitcase in her arms.