Karma had just discovered this bookshop. Why hadn't she noticed it before? Why had she been so dense as to not see this beautious haven? Why?... But all questions were laid to rest once she entered. Rows upon rows of books... This is what she had always dreamed of! And they weren't expensive, either...

Letting her hand trail upon the shelves for awhile, Karma stopped and pulled out a random book from amidst it's fellow books. She didn't bother looking at the title, merely flipping pages until she stopped and looked down and read aloud; "To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night and day. Thou cans't not then be false to any man." Ah, she knew this! Hamlet! And that was Ophelia's father speaking to her brother... Oh happy day! Karma was lost to the books, not noticing any of the other customers.

James, who had been nearby, smiled. Shakespeare always made him smile.

"I myself like the quote 'Now, by my mother's son, and that's myself, It shall be moon, or star, or what I list, Or ere I journey to your father's house. Go on, and fetch our horses back again. Evermore cross'd and cross'd; nothing but cross'd!' Hamlet, however, is a classic."

Today he had on his jingly pants, a pair of - what else? - black jeans with countless loops, two chains, and what looked like keys dangling from them. His shirt was a bit large on him, plain plack with a white collar. His tragedy mask charm was in its customary place around his neck.

"I'm James," he offered. "Sorry for intruding like that. It's not often that one finds a person so happy to find Shakespeare."

Karma awoke from her trance suddenly as the voice spoke. Still holding the book open in one palm she said, "I'm Karma." She performed a slight half-bow. "And I'm happy to be aquainted with another who delights in Shakespeare so! There was little to intrude upon, merely one of my daydreams of acting in this play..."

Karma blinked, realising she was rambling and flushed slightly. Shakespeare was a lifelong passion, dream and inspiration. Not often did she meet someone else who appeared interested in the subject. She found herself tracing the pages with a finger and stopped immediately -- she had many little habits when slightly embarrased, each one more odd than the next. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure's mine," James replied, surprised to find someone so proper in such a setting. He had an urge to kiss her hand, a left over remnant from his upbringing. He resisted, however; people these days thought it was weird.

Absently, he grabbed the charm at his neck, letting the weight of his hand pull on it. "Have you lived around here long?" James found himself asking people that a lot. Granted, the city was large, but he'd lived here for a long time. He had at least seen most of the residents.

She smiled prettily at his return in properness. "Well, yes I have. A while, at least. Funny that I've never seen you before. I know this is a large city and all, but..." she trailed off for lack of a better ending.

"How long have you lived here?" she asked. Karma knew no limits when it came to outward bluntness. Then, of course, she felt awful afterwards. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so forward!" She blushed and executed another half bow. She hurriedly shut the book, then opened it again, running her fingers across the pages absently.

"No, no, it's fine. I've lived here for..." Then he hesitated a moment, almost as if thinking of a proper response, continuing with "a long time." A smile to show no hard feelings.

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing. A wonder I've never seen you before." He rubbed a hand over his face, like he was wiping it of confusion. "But we have met now, haven't we?"

((Blar, weak.))

((Mine too, no worries! Oh boy! First one-liner!))



Karma smiled slightly, still a bit nervous. "I suppose we have... So, um, do you work around here?" She glanced at James' face. A shock of recognition. Where... she could have sworn she'd met him before... Ah, deja-vu... Karma decided not speak of that until the sensation passed properly.

"Not recently, no. I've been out of work for quite a while now." Yes, a long time. He was comfortably well off, however. That's the thing about money: if you know what to do, it just keeps on coming.

"Nowadays, I just spend my time wandering around town, sight seeing, as it were. Something new everyday.

"That would be fun... I haven't actually ever looked at the city. Not gone 'sightseeing', if you will. Perhaps I should look at the city some more..."

Karma shivered. The strange blast from her memory had shaken her more than she'd let on. Why did he strike such a familiarity?

"Yes, the city can be beautiful at the right time of day. Morning, especially, or sunset if you're feeling brave. I hear there has been a recent spat of killings, unfortuantely."

Noticing the shiver, James frowned. "Are you cold?" He felt comfortable, but then again some people were just naturally cold.

Karma frowned. Killing? She had known about that, but that brought Ruby to mind again. How many more people would be slaughtered?

"I... I think I'm fine, thank you," Karma replied politely. "I'm sure the city's beauteous. Perhaps I should walk around at evening a bit more. Perhaps it'll inspire me to write better." Another shiver. What the hell! Damn deja-vu!

"Oh, you write?" he said, genuinly interested. Writers were always interesting people. He let go of the charm, running a hand forward over his hair to flatten it, then letting it slide down to scratch his face.

((HA! Got it more than two sentences! Had to make him scratch his face, but I got it!))

(lol! There! She's coming into power! ...needed SOME kind of plot twist...)



Now Karma began to feel truely cold. Something strange was happening to her... she felt the thoughts of a passing person as they walked by. "Oh... yeah... poems, plays, short stories. You name it, I write it..." she managed with a weak smile.

What was going on? The room was spinning... a bunch of images and blurry thoughts came to her mind... memories that weren't hers... Karma collapsed to her knees, no longer aware, not noticing Hamlet floating in mid air...

James was confused. People shouldn't do that.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her to her feet, giving her a light shake. "Karma? What's wrong?" he asked. He wasn't quite sure what to do. He had never met someone only to have them collapse on him soon afterward.

Whirling images... confusion... James' confusion. A misty fog seemed to hang over Karma's physical vision. People kept passing in and out of focus. She saw James' face. Worry and confusion.

"I'm sorry," she tried to whisper. Then she fainted, mercilessly put out of the strange torment.

(that should give you a bit to write about, eh?)

((Just a bit...))

Hm. Strange.

James set her down on the floor, moving quickly to the front of the store to get the attention of the clerk at the desk. "We have a sick person back here, she's fainted."

The old clerk hustled out from behind the desk, following James. "We were talking, and she started to look less and less ok. Finally, she just fainted." He didn't mention the apology. No need to add to the confusion.

After assessing the situation, the old man hustled back to the front to call someone. James wasn't sure who, but he didn't think she should be left alone in here. It seemed wrong, and improper. Couldn't have improper.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, James couldn't help but wonder if he'd set this off.

Stranger things had happened.

Karma momentarily stopped breathing before rejoining the world of reality. The voices and images had stopped, but she felt positively drained. She could barely move. She was freezing, shivers rocked her body and random intervals. Karma felt like just curling up in a ball and crying. She was so confused! She had barely any time to assess what was going on before she saw a group of shoppers around her. Not a single familiar face around in them. The she spotted James again.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly, attempting to will back the tears such simple words affected her with. Another shiver. She tried to move her arm. She raised it slightly before it dropped limply to her side. She was scared.

James knelt down, offering a helping hand up.

"There's no need to be sorry," he said kindly, a smile on his face. "You haven't done anything wrong."

"B-but I made you confused a-and worried..." Karma said, trying to grasp his hand and failing. "Is... is it j-just me, or is it really cold in here?" she asked, stuttering from chill and tears. "Oh b-boy, do I f-feel stu-stupid!"

"Confusion is fine, and I'm no stranger to worry," James replied, giving his hand as a support, hauling her up.

"Yes, it is a bit chilly in here," he lied, leading her to one of the window seats.

He made no comment on her stupidity, as he didn't know her too well. He didn't know what to say to that to help placate her.

Karma shuddered as she sat down. That had been the most frightful experience of a lifetime... she was suprised her hair hadn't turned white! And to do such a thing to an unsuspecting individual whom she had hardly even met... such things were awful. "Th-thank you, James." she said finally. He had, in the whole, been rather accepting that a near-stranger had collapsed and had levitated a book on Shakespeare into the air. She should be most grateful.

"Really, it's nothing." In reality, it was nothing. He'd seen strange things before. Of course, this was one of the stranger things of late, but nothing he couldn't take in stride.

Grabbing the book of Shakespeare, he turned to her with a questioning look. "Do you still want this? Or shall I put it back?"

Karma quickly seized the new subject. "Oh, yes... I still want that," she said, and picked herself up --wobbly-- and managed to take the book and make it a few steps towards the counter.

Karma turned back -- she could not just leave like this! "James, would you like to meet for coffee... or something sometime?" Oh Gods she was horrible at asking people to meet again!

"Certainly." He smiled, though he was wondering how well she could manage. She had just passed out, not to mention the levitation. "Next time I see you, we'll go for a cup of coffee. Ta."

With that he left. No phone number; wouldn't have mattered anyway as he didn't have a phone.

He'd see her again. Sometime.

((Eurgh... Ò_o))