Maya Catches Up With Alma
{{ | date=07/12/2018 | time=13:00 EST | summary=Maya checks on Alma and they talk about the gate and spirit worlds. | cast=
| place_name=1257 Lansing Street | place_desc=Alma lives in a Detroit Bungalow with her niece. The small front yard has native landscaping friendly to insects and birds. Front steps lead up to a large covered porch supported by four columns with bases wrapped in bricks. Planters line the porch railing. There is a wooden porch swing with a small outdoor table. | log=Maya rings at a sensible afternoon-ish hour, her number coming up as unlisted.
Alma answers the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey," Maya says, sounding a little tentative. "Um, it's me. I was wondering if we could get together and talk some?"
"Sure, do you want to meet at Berneckis, your place, my place? I don't think you've ever really been in my place for any length of time. I could make something for you. maybe."
"How about I bring over some muffins or cookies or something?" Maya suggests. "Then you don't hafta do anything."
It's sometime in the afternoon when Maya reaches Alma's house. When Maya offered to bring cookies or muffins, Alma said that would be fine, but she was already planning to make some pozole for people and Maya would be welcome to enjoy it. When Maya shows up, Alma answers the door with an apron on that has some smears and is powdered from some escaped spice. "Hi, come in. I just realized, I could have invited your sooner. I feel dumb. Well, now's your chance to relax here rather than just dash off after helping me find Maria." She smiles. "I really appreciated that. I didn't know many people at the time." She waves Maya in. Make yourself at home.
Maya's wearing an easygoing knit tank and wrap pants with full legs, in some sort of ethnic print. She looks comfortable, if a little flushed from the heat. And tired, always tired these days. Her smile is genuine, though, touched with only a little awkwardness. She comes in quickly, hefting a cloth grocery bag. "It's totally okay. I kind of can't invite *anyone* to my place, so... I wouldn't mind either way." She looks around, breathing in and studying the space with all of its hints about Alma. "Smells amazing."
Kitchen's over here. You can sit near me while I cook, or just relax anywhere really. I'm making pozole. I'm not an expert, but I can do good enough that families don't spit it out." She's reached the step where she is shredding the pork. The pot that had the pork has been strained out to use as a broth. Alma looks tired too. She's been looking that way a lot lately. She did manage to get some sleep last night. "Rest and time helped me get better. so I didn't need to come back to your place for help (previously). Which is good, conserve your energy." She looks over at Maya, "You look tired. You ok?"
Maya hitches a shoulder, and sets the grocery bag down on the counter. "Just a lot going on," she says, ducking her head as she takes out re-usable containers and a loaf wrapped in wax paper. "First zucchini bread of the year," she says, looking over and offering a little half-smile.
"Oh nice!" Alma is happy about the bread. "I like that stuff." She
pulls out a board and a breadknife and takes the liberty of cutting off a
couple of slices. "Want any lime and cucumber water? It's what I've been
drinking" She tops off her glass from the pitcher on the counter that has
some slices of lime and cucombers floating in it. Now shes back to prepping
the soup. The meat is set aside, and she has blended chilies, onions, and
various herbs and spices. She is pressing the pureed concoction in to a pan.
"I haven't determined more about the gate yet. Do you know Emma? She is an astrophycist at Wayne State? She knows about stuff like this and is going to use some equipment to view the gate from far away (previously). I /guess/ it might lead to the land of the dead, why else would an angry ghost come out of it. But I'd like to get some confermation of that." She looks thoughtful, "Do you know anything about setting up a gate to span worlds? I am wondering if I could look back in time to when it was happening and see any of hte people who did this."
Maya tips her head. "So... it was a ghost and not a regular spirit? Wait, right, of course-- you were looking at the lower world..." She frowns to herself, thinking.
"Yeah, I was looking for ghosts and couldn't find any, so I had that letter to burn. It was meant to call the ghost of a powerful person, but the only thing left was the formless anger. Do you know if that Easter of Dead maybe got to that ghost before it found me? It may have just been dead so long that the anger is all that it was able to express, that happens. Do you know much about that kind of stuff? None is looking around for the anchors that guest has so they can uproot him."
Chewing on one side of her lower lip, Maya says, "I don't know ghosts all the well... I mean, I mostly journey on the living side of the veil. I know that in the spirit world, if I'm remembering right? That thing looked... weird, somehow." She winces. "I haven't been able to go back and look at it. But I will. And maybe I can ask, if anything around there is... sentient enough to even give me any information."
"Can you ask on this side instead? Maybe that thing travels around
across layers. I don't know how many therre are. but you say, the living
world, and then the world where the dead are and I don't know what else.
My mentor texted me in all caps not to cross over. You are way more of an expert in this than I am, but the advice might apply to everyone? I'm going to try and learn some protection ritual from things like that to help people who look over or maybe even cross." }}
