Ghosted (gxgxgxg)

Chapter 19

The Jade Dragon Incense and Spirituality store was tucked in between the dim sum restaurant that the girls were hoping to be eating at later and a nail salon that looked like it had some amazing designs. When the girls walked in, a little bell rang with a little tinkle over the door, and they were assaulted by a wide range of scents that were fighting for dominance like tongues in a romance novel.

The shop was a riot of colors, with red and gold everywhere, and sprinkles of blue and green mixed in to give everything a kaleidoscope effect. Rows of bulk incense, essential oils, self-help books, self-hypnosis focuses, and anything that might help you think clearly were arranged in seemingly no order all around the store.

Talia and Elise had never been happier to have Hana in their lives than they were now because she was hopefully going to do all the talking for them to ensure they got what they needed and knew how to use it. Otherwise, they might be wasting their time. A kindly looking, stocky older man with a wispy beard and bald head sat behind a counter and gave a toothy smile at the girls when they walked in.

"Welcome to the Jade Dragon!" he called out as they stared around in amazement.

"Thank you!" Elise said with a wave. She was bubbling over with excitement. Would any of this stuff work? She had no idea, but she was willing to risk almost anything to find out!

"My Chinese is from Malaysia, so it isn't like traditional Chinese. But I will talk to him!" Hana promised, and they moved in a group over to the counter to help answer any questions.

To an impartial observer, it was probably a very funny conversation. At first, he didn't believe the story, and Hana had to reiterate that it was true, and that Talia and Elise wanted to join their souls with the two ghosts in their house. He thought about that for a while. And then asked for time to think about a solution.

While the girls wandered around the store, the shop owner made a phone call, and was whispering rapidly to whoever he was talking to. Hopefully, it was someone that knew how to do what they needed! That didn't seem likely though, as this couldn't be too common. Hana had moved closer to him as he talked, and then asked what was happening, and he fired off a rapid fire answer that had her nodding.

"He might have a solution," she explained to the others. "But needs another man with crystals."

"Crystals?" Talia asked. Looking around, she didn't see any of them, just incense and oils and such, so maybe they were getting some brought here?

Elise just shrugged. It wasn't like they were experts on this, it was all pure guesswork and hoping that it worked. All they could do was wait and hope that whatever solution they offered was something that stood a chance of achieving their goal. Sure, they might be wasting their time, but they had to try! The only issue that they had was that the store was surprisingly busy, and they were constantly having to move out of people's way because the aisleways were very narrow in the cramped store.

But finally, a tall man who looked as though he may be from India walked quickly into the shop while breathing heavily. He rushed over to the shopkeeper, and Hana slipped closer to listen in before frowning because they were talking Hindi, and she couldn't understand it. After a period of discussion, the shopkeeper gestured at the girls and motioned them over.

The Indian man looked them over with a raised brow. "You look to bind two souls to a body?" He intoned in a deep voice.

Talia nodded quickly. "Yes sir. We'd like that very much."

He shook his head somberly. "That is extremely dangerous. Spirits are not to be trifled with!"

"Or have sex with!" snickered Mira.