Sunshine finds something weird.

"Okay, so I was going through my videos, getting ready to post one, and.." she pauses and sighs, brushing her hair back through the cold, outside wind. "Right in the middle of all of them.. there was this video of, of my mom."

Sunshine looks around. "I don't — just watch."

The video glitches to her mother sitting at the living room table, running her finger down a book page. She looks relatively normal then lifts her head. "I don't know." She pauses. "Hang on."

Did Sunshine mention that no one else is in the room?

Kat slowly flips through some of the pages, eyes hardened and glued to the words. She leans back and blows out, shoulders tensing. "What about — no, hang on, just a second, I'll think of it."

She rests on a page and tilts her chin upward, blinking oddly. "Okay." She slowly nods to the empty seat as if she's taking in information. "Okay," she says with finality, understanding. Kat then squints. "You think that'll work?"

Another page flips and she rests her cheek on her hand with a sigh, seemingly listening to someone tell her something. "Okay." She nods and the camera splutters, reeling as Kat looks at the camera, eyes darkening. It goes black.

Sunshine looks at the screen, a little defeated and confused. "Yeah, I'm not exactly.. sure what to, make of that."
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"So I'm supposed to be meeting.. Bailey.." She's standing outside, gray clouds melting above her head, wind blowing through her hair and buzzing over the camera. "At this park," she continues. "And I think I.. see him."

Sunshine begins walking forward, raising a brow. "I hope that's not him." In the distance, sitting criss-cross on one of the pale green wooden tables, is who she's praying isn't Bailey. "But anyways. I don't know. He's gonna talk to me for a little while.. a little first pre-meeting thing. So this should be.. interesting. Get ready to have fun, kids."

She turns the camera around and faces the man. His hands are facing upwards on his curled in knees, back straight and eyes diverted forward. He's wearing a green striped shirt, black pants and black boots. He has shining black hair wiping over his forehead, and a noticeable beard and moustache wraps around his chin. A pair of amber sunglasses hangs from his collar, swinging over the buttons of his shirt.

He's completely still.

"Are you.. Bailey?" When Sunshine speaks, he turns his head, face neutral.

"In some circles." He dips his head, showing the tattoo on his neck. "I prefer to be called LeMaster."

Sunshine snorts loudly and leans forward, not even trying to hide her amusement. She then holds her tongue at his glare. "LeMaster. Right."

"You laugh at me?"

"No," she says, smothering a giggle, "of course not. No."

"Only the fool laughs at a master."

"Oh. Then no, I wasn't.. laughing."

He nods slowly and returns to staring forward.

"So." She bites her lip. "Right. Ready to, get, started?"

He almost looks annoyed and shakes his head lightly. "What? What do you want?"

"Well, I thought you were a —"

"Shhh shh shh shh." His voice draws in to a soft echo and he curls his fingers, twirling them around in front of his body. "Listen to the birds chirp. What do you hear?"

A pause. "Chirp...ing?"

"Secrets. Of ancient past."

"Secrets... is that what I'm.. hearing."

Bailey — no, LeMaster — breathes in and closes his eyes as if he's trying to control his temper. "They're there for those who listen." He pulls his hand to his ear, listening.

"Oh."

He puts his hands together and dips his head. "Namaste."

"Right. Nama..ste.."

He turns his palms upwards to his knees and reverts to his original position. A sigh. "What do you want?"

"Well I thought you were an expert. On.. paranormal and.. cult activity."

"It is true. What do you seek of me."

"Well I'm.. being.. haunted." LeMaster looks at her. "And uhh.. by probably more than one ghost and, and I think that, y'know, you may be able to help me..?" She pulls out the picture of the bagged father and daughter. "Here's a.. photo."

He twirls his hands forward and holds the paper out in front of him. LeMaster inspects it before looking up, unamused. "Is this a joke."

"No?"

He blinks with displeasure. "Is this photoshopped."

"Of course not!"

"This is real."

"Yeah."

He tilts his head and his eyes flicker back to the photo. The man licks two fingers and presses them to his forehead, closing his eyes. He slides the fingers down his chest and breathes in, then out loudly. "I will look in to it."

"Right." He stares at her. "Okay."

LeMaster circles his hand around his body. "Please exit my space."

"Oh. Okay, well, thank you." He flicks his hand foreward. "LeMaster."

"LeMaster."

"LeMaster. Thanks." Sunshine turns and begins to walk away, shaking her head. "That wasn't weird at all. We'll be getting back to him apparently." She smiles in an uncomfortable sort of way and gives a thumbs up.

What a day.
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"So I haven't seen Creepy Lady in a while, as you all know," Sunshine begins, standing with the kitchen behind her. "And... now, out of the blue, she's back — I've seen her twice today, in fact. So.. I'm not, sure, but you guys — I mean, I would've told you if she came back, and she hasn't, and now she's back, and... usually means.. something's wrong."

Things have been fine for over three months. Why does she have to come now?

Sunshine sighe. "According to.. the past. So. I don't know."

Maybe if Creepy Lady comes around again, Sunshine will confront her.

A few hours later, she's ready to go outside and talk to her mom about the ghost situation. She opens the sliding back door and pads in to the yard, smiling at her mother. She's sitting in one of the chairs, magazine in hand.

"Hey mom!" Sunshine greets.

Kat hardly looks up. "Hey."

She hesitates but sits down on the steps, deciding to start first. "I was just, uh, wondering if.. I mean like, you know, how's it goin' and everything?"

Her mother looks up. "Why do you have the camera on." Her voice isn't like normal, though. Not curious or interested, or even playfully annoyed. No. She actually sounds like the camera is disturbing her.

"Oh, I'm just.." Sunshine trails off, unsure of what to say. "Filmin' me. You know. Sometimes I put up videos that are just random."

Kat crosses her arms and closes her eyes, pressing her forehead like she's in pain. She says something in a mutter that Sunshine can't quite understand.

"Um, so," she continues, "how do you feel about all this.. ghost stuff, you know?"

She scratches her cheek. "What —" Kat looks up and looks even more irritated. "I don't wanna be on camera."

"I mean, do you — do you feel like we should move? The lease is up, in like a month.."

Kat rolls her eyes. "No, I don't think it's a big deal, I like it here."

"You like it here — Mom." Sunshine grits her teeth as her mother continues idly turning the pages of the magazine. "Mom, you don't have to lie to the camera."

She aggressively drops the edges of the book. "Turn the camera off," she sighs in exasperation.

"So — these ghosts, you know?"

Kat shakes her head. "I don't think we have ghosts."

Sunshine's mouth falls with shock and confusion. They don't — they don't what now? Has her mother not been present for the past half year? Is she not remembering all of the shit that happened to them? The door scratches? The knife cut? The bloody bathroom? Even the EVPs recorded at the hotel two months ago?!

"All right, well, mmm." She's holding back her anger and stands, clapping her hands. "Good talk."

"Don't post that," Kat calls as she walks away.

"I won't." Sunshine turns the camera to herself as she makes her way inside. "See what I mean?"
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Two days later, Sunshine is.. pondering.

"I was just.. walking in the hallway," she says, padding around in the backyard, brows furrowed, "on the stairs, and I hear this really... clear voice. Like, as if you were talking to me, it — it said 'Don't trust her.' And I didn't have my camera on me, I was walking down the stairs."

She looks annoyed and shrugs her shoulders. "It's not like I was, you know, filming me walkin' down the stairs." Sunshine sighs. "So, I.. sat in the stairwell for a little while and waited — with my camera on — but I didn't hear anything else."

Sunshine scratches her nose, concern written all over her face. "But I, I don't know what that means, like.. I haven't — it was just there, I haven't heard voices as clear as that. So that really.. concerned me a bit. But I mean like, who do you think it is, do you think it's Creepy Lady? Could be one of, of the ghosts? I mean it was right here." She raises her hand to the side of her face. "Maybe it's something I don't even know yet. I don't.."

A heavy breath leaves her lips. "What do you guys think?"
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It's around 1:00 in the morning when something wakes Sunshine up. She quickly throws the covers over her head and whips the camera out, slightly reassured by the familiar blinking red light.

"You guys remember how I said I would film everything?" Her face is dark and pale under the sheets, cheeks illuminating with a ruby glow. "Yeah. Something's happening. Clearly I'm filming."

She holds her breath, turning her head a little. "I heard a noise." Sunshine freezes when footsteps trickle in to her ears. She can hear her door click, like someone is trying to pry it open, and she closes her eyes, listening intently.

A deep growl rumbles through the room. "There it was," she whispers, trying to hold on to her bravery before it inevitably crumbles away. Out of the little streaks of light shining in under the covers, Sunshine can tell that a dark shadow passes by. The snarl is closer now; almost inches away from her body. She's shaking.

"I should find out what it is." Should she? Is that actually a good idea? No, probably not, but she has to face her fear of ghosts and the dark sooner than later. "Okay. I got this, I can do it." Sunshine closes her eyes and curls her fingers around the camera.

She lifts herself from the tangle of linen and shines the soft yellow flashlight over the room. The growl chokes her to a momentary freeze, and her heart strangles in her chest, desperately trying to leap out. The glow flickers over a dark shape and Sunshine holds back a gasp, beginning to shake.

But it's — it has human hands. Familiar ones at that. And as Sunshine looks up the person's gray and white striped shirt and auburn hair, Sunshine realizes who it is.

Her mother.

Kat's face is blank and dry with any sort of emotion. Her eyes are dark and far-away. It's — it's scary, truly, it is. "Mom?" She blinks but doesn't look toward her daughter. "Mom!" A horrible, horrible feeling spreads through her limbs like ice. "Mom?" Sunshine's voice quivers.

Her mother blinks a few times in a row then slowly looks around, brows presses together in a confused expression. Kat pauses then turns, stepping out of the room.

"Mommy! Mom.."

What the hell is happening?

LE MASTER IS FINALLY HERE I'M LITERALLY SCREAMING

ughhhh i LOVE this creepy mama and it only gets worse from here. stay tuned folks

oh the medium is arriving soon too :)