The ghost scoffed and leaned over the table, swiftly pulling the bookmark out of the woman's reach.
"Who said you could touch it?" he muttered, a frown creasing his brow.
The young woman let out a soft gasp, thinking she had accidentally flicked the bookmark across the table. She quickly reached out to fix it, but the ghost shot her a look so intense it would have made a lesser soul turn to ash.
"It's alright," Kant picked up the bookmark before Gabriel could add to the list of people he had haunted inside the cult.
The young woman nodded and laughed nervously. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and pointed at her bookmark. "Mine's that one."
Some of the old ladies turned to glance where she pointed, admiring her work. It had red flowers glued on, kisses drawn with markers and white ribbon bows on the corners.
"My, that's youthful," one of the older ladies commented.
"Youthful and flirty. It reminds me of the notes I passed to my crush back in middle school. Those were the days," another lady added, chuckling as she passed by.
The ghost remained unimpressed, his lips pursed into a thin line as he inspected her work. "Yeah, it looks like a teenage girl made it."
Kant scratched his brow, getting a sense that the ghost was dissatisfied with something, but he wasn't able to pinpoint what it was.
As the young woman accepted the compliments and turned back to Kant, she leaned in slightly, lowering her voice to a whisper.
"By the way... Is it true that you died and came back to life? We all saw you lose consciousness during the Main Prayer, and then I heard the nurses talking..."
They were interrupted as the woman with the short bob went around collecting the used materials, stopping next to them. "Did you all have a good time?" she asked cheerfully.
Sandra's eyes flicked to Kant's bookmark, then to Kant, and her smile widened. "Are you an artist? I've seen many wonderful crafts, but this one has a certain... professional touch."
Gabriel smiled proudly, glancing at Kant as if waiting for acknowledgement.
"I'm Emily, by the way," the young woman extended her hand to shake Kant's.
Kant didn't even manage to react to her introduction before a roll of ribbon was thrown out of the basket of materials, the spool landing on the table with a clang.
Gabriel had seemingly decided to play catch with it. Kant's eyebrow twitched. Was it so hard to stay still for five minutes? Just a few more ghostly activity around him, and people would start suspecting Kant.
He turned to glare at the ghost, but Gabriel shrugged innocently, acting like he was not the cause of the noise. The ghost was picking at his fingernails apathetically.
Emily's hand fell limply back down, never receiving the handshake.
Meanwhile, Sandra, who was collecting the materials, simply picked the roll back up and placed it back in the basket. "Oh, boy. It must have rolled out."
Kant glanced back to Emily. Actually, this was a great chance to stir up some gossip.
"You're right, I died for a while," he put on a sincere act. "I even saw my dead body from an outer perspective."
Emily leaned in, fascinated. "Really? What else?"
Kant recalled the chaotic scene of being slapped back to his body by Gabriel, then waking up to the vibrant blue eyes locked onto his. He shook off the strange feeling and cleared his throat.
"I saw a tunnel with a white light," Kant lied, webbing the story like a spider. "But as I walked halfway through it, our Leader's voice called out to me, so I turned around and ran back. Then I woke up."
Emily clasped her hands together as if in prayer. "Wow... So it's true? People can actually come back to life? I can't believe it..." She quickly waved her hands. "N-Not that I doubt our Leader! It's just..."
"Miraculous," Kant continued in a soft voice, playing the part of a mystical survivor. "It's truly an unbelievable experience."
He cringed internally, but Emily looked intrigued. She would likely tell others about it as soon as she left the book club area. The rumor was going to reach Victor Hale in no time.
"You are so lucky," Emily marveled, her excitement growing. "It's like you were the chosen one! Have you perhaps met our Leader personally?"
"Not yet. I believe patience is a virtue. I'll wait until our Leader is ready to speak to me," Kant said, picking up her bookmark and giving it to her, hoping she would run to talk about it as soon as possible.
"I'm sure he's just as amazed as I am!" Emily's face lit up as if she'd just been handed the key to the greatest secret in the cult. She clutched her bookmark tightly. "Can I tell the others about it?"
"Of course. Everyone should know it's possible," Kant noted, still in his holy pretense.
Emily waved goodbye eagerly, practically bouncing on her toes as she hurried to the main hall. Before she even reached the door, she stopped to whisper to one of the older women, who immediately gasped and covered her mouth, eyes turning to Kant in wonder.
Kant allowed himself a faint smile. The rumor would spread faster than wildfire.
He picked up his bookmark and the book he was given, and left to stroll through the small, secluded park right outside the building.
"What a way to twist the situation in your favor," Gabriel commented, stepping on his heels as usual. "Seems you're getting better with your words. Though you're lucky that girl was gullible."
Kant picked a bench farther away from the doors and windows, engulfed by spruce and pine.
There were a few other members getting their daily dose of fresh air within the fenced territory. Everyone was minding their own business.
"What was up with that?" Kant questioned the ghost, opening the book to pretend to read.
Gabriel sat down close by, crossing his legs with feigned indifference. "Up with what?"
"The ribbon? The sour face? The whole act?" Kant looked up at the ghost. "Something bothering you?"
"No idea what you're talking about. I'm acting the same as usual," the ghost shrugged, playing dumb.
Kant studied Gabriel's pout for a while before lowering his gaze to the page. "Sure."
They sat in silence for a while, listening to the quiet whispers of the wind. Every now and then, Gabriel let out a heavy sigh, uncrossing and crossing his legs restlessly.
"What if I just stay dead in the end?" The ghost plucked the bookmark from between the pages to play with it. "Then this whole cult thing would've been a useless struggle."
Gabriel seemed serious for once, with a deep look in his eyes as he stared into the distance. Kant followed his gaze thoughtfully. It was a bleak view of naked tree branches and gray skies.
"You..." Kant was scrambling for reassuring words once again.
Gabriel looked up at the sky. It looked like he was about to mumble something about the unfairness of afterlife, but instead his expression unfolded into a look of awe.
Kant raised his brow questioningly at first, then followed Gabriel's line of sight upwards.
Soft white flakes descended around them softly. They spun through the air in slow, swirling patterns, like a peaceful snow globe scene.
Gabriel's face unfolded with a laugh, his eyes widening as he followed each little flake drifting down the gray sky. "Look at that, it's the first snow!"
"I can see that."
"Then shut up and watch."
A baffled scoff left Kant. "You spoke first."
"And you were sarcastic first."
"I wasn't trying to be."
"Quiet down and just enjoy the moment," Gabriel waved.
Kant shook his head, crossing his arms and leaning the back of his head against the backrest next to the ghost.
The hushed atmosphere enveloped them, the sounds of the park fading into silence. But the peace was promptly broken by Gabriel abruptly jumping up, as if the bench had suddenly turned into a cactus.
"When I'm alive, let's have a snowball fight! And build a snowman—maybe two!"
Kant lifted his head to look at the ghost circle the bench in excitement, rambling on about future plans.
"Then we can go sightseeing somewhere with snowy trees or majestic mountains," Gabriel gestured with his hands, painting a picture of the scenery in the air.
He stopped on his tracks as another idea crossed his mind, so bright that his eyes momentarily flickered like stars. "And how about watching movies inside with hot chocolate? We could order takeout and snuggle under blankets."
The ghost had a playful smile, his spirits so high he was about to shoot up into space like a rocket at any moment.
Kant, on the other hand, felt like he was the one plummeting down to earth. He found it difficult to tear his eyes away from that undying smile.
As Gabriel continued daydreaming, Kant slowly raised his hand to catch a flake, then watched it melt against his skin, the intricate shape turning into a teensy drop of water.
The cold air carried a hint of sweetness, whispering promises similar to Gabriel's winter plans. It was dreamy, for sure. Kant yearned for the simplicity of a mundane life from time to time. But it was too much out of reach for someone like him.
"Hey, the book's getting wet," Gabriel pointed out.
Kant glanced down. A row of snowflakes had landed on the page, quickly melting and dampening both the pages and the bookmark. He picked up the bookmark and used the edge of a page to dry it.
Who cared if the book got wet? There were more printed copies of it. But there was only one copy of this bookmark.
After closing the book, he found the blue eyes following the bookmark as if it were a jingling cat toy.
The ghost seemed to be torn between asking Kant to bring it home and pretending to be too cool for it. In the end, he ended up getting distracted by the snow, and never asked.
Kant smirked, indulging Gabriel's contagious enthusiasm for a few more minutes before returning to a more focused space of mind. If everything went according to plan, the rumors would reach Victor Hale by tomorrow.