Coming to Redwater was an unreal experience. Raphael had been able to hear the voices of the dead for a long while now, but being here made them so much louder. One of them was much clearer than the others and drew him to this spot for one reason or another. He really wished he could actually talk to them if only to set some sort of boundaries.

“Oh sorry.” Raphael stepped back and out of the shot of the woman’s camera. The voice quieted down, only whispering one word over and over again. “Are you a tourist?”

“Tourist? Uh, yeah--sorta,” Charlotte answered, taking the picture as soon as the light came back. A perfect, picturesque shot of Redwater... home sweet home. Or, something like that. Charlotte rolled off her stomach and back on to her feet, stretching her legs and turning to face the stranger. “Work’s slowed down and my passport was burning a hole in my pocket.”

Gray had grown up in this town and yet, things felt so different since he’d left three years ago. Not the town itself, Redwater never changed, but he had. Subtly but enough to feel it. 

He was walking, lost in his thoughts as he crossed the street. He stopped, his eyes glancing over the familiar places. Memories, a lot of them good. It took him a few moments to realise that the girl was talking to him. “Oh… shit. Sorry. I was in my own little world then.” He stepped back. “That’s some fancy camera. Cool. I took a lot of photos while I travelled.”

“S’okay, man,” Charlotte listened as the stranger apologized and moved on to the camera. Twisting the focus ever so slightly, the view of the flowers in the foreground of her shot sharpened to the point of juuust right. She clicked the button three times; satisfied with her work, Charlotte rolled off her stomach and stood up. “My trusty Nikon, never go anywhere without it. Where’d you travel to?”

“I’ve heard of it.” She noted the difference in the girl’s accent, she definitely wasn’t from around here. “I think around here you’d get laughed out of town, my mom used to like that sort of stuff. How i got stuck with a name like Celeste.” She rambled on, not knowing whether the girl was totally listening. She didn’t want to overwhelm her. “Big family then?” 

Charlotte listened the Celeste’s rambling, her smile growing more fond as she went on. "Celeste is a pretty name, though. It’s unique. Which is kinda nice--especially when you have a big Italian family. Makes ya stand out. Unlike Charlotte, which is my name, and not at all memorable.”

“Thank god I’m not the only one,” she laughed gently. “I know that. I guess, why I say it out loud. I know it’s not helping anything. I know they mean well.”

“You’re definitely not the only one. I used to hide out at my best friend’s house all the time... not that his parents were much better, but still.” Charlotte grimaced and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “They always think they mean well, but... sometimes it’s not always the case.”

“You know when you just can’t face dinner with your parents so you keep saying that you’re working… even when you’re not. That’s me right now.” She pressed her lips together. “I’m just avoiding. A lot.”

“Trust me, I know the feeling.” Charlotte couldn’t help but chuckle, relating all too well to the situation. “But avoiding’s only gonna get you so far, though. And there’s only so much pretend over-time you can work.”

As she looked through her viewfinder and zeroed in on her next shot, a person-shaped shadow darkened her scene. She waited a moment to see if they’d move on their own, but...

“’Scuse me, could you step back a bit? You’re kinda standing in my light.”

Cel raised a brow, able to tell she’d caught the girl off guard. But she seemed to be interested in the conversation nonetheless. “Yeah? Rose Quartz…” She mused, before looking back at the woman. “Hey, can’t blame a girl for dreaming right? Are you a collector?” She asked, holding the stone out to her. 

“No--not so much, but a lot of my aunts are really into that New Age-y, spiritual stuff. You know, the power of rocks and crystals and all that.” Charlotte answered, accepting the stone and eyeing it casually. A small smile tugged at her lips. “They all had a hand in raising me, and Aunt Maeve decided that was Very Important to teach us.”

Celeste ran a hand through her hair, kneeling down and picking up a rock off the ground. She started to dust it off lightly with her fingers. “You know it’s not that rare to find gemstones here? But they wash up all… covered in clay. When i was a kid i found this pink one. I kept it for years calling it my amethyst. No idea what it actually was though.” She laughed gently, looking over at the fellow walker who she could sense behind her. 

“Uh...” Pinned by the other woman’s stare, Charlotte slowed her pace to a halt. Shrugging, she approached. “I’m no geologist, but it might’ve been a rose quartz. Those are pink. Amethysts are more purple, I think.”