Chapter 104: Freeing Clara (1)
"Hi, I am Riku Sakamoto. You must be Clara Robinson. Nice to meet you."
Clara’s ethereal form shimmered, her luminous eyes widening as Riku addressed her directly. Her trail of thoughts seemed to abruptly get cut off, as she extended her ethereal hand towards Riku’s hand.
"You... you can see me? And hear me?" Her voice was a soft, astonished whisper in Riku’s mind, tinged with disbelief. "But how? Mortals can’t..."
"Indeed, I can, Lady Clara," Riku said gently, his voice calm. "I can see and hear you. We came here to lay your husband to rest beside you."
Lila, who had been watching Riku speak to what, for her, was empty air, looked utterly bewildered. "Riku? Who are you talking to?" She glanced nervously at the tombstone, then back at him. "Is... is it the ghost you mentioned?"
Elara, too, looked confused, though a strange, almost electric feeling prickled at the edges of her senses. She couldn’t see or hear anything, but standing so close to her mother’s grave, with Riku acting this way, a deep, inexplicable yearning stirred within her. "Clara? Riku are you talking to my mother?"
Clara’s spirit drifted closer to Elara, her translucent hand reaching out as if to touch her daughter’s cheek, though it passed right through. "My sweet Elara... she cannot see me?"
"Not yet, Lady Clara," Riku said. "But we can fix that." He turned to the girls. "Elara, your mother... Clara, she’s here. Her spirit is right beside you." Elara gasped, her eyes darting around, searching. "Mother? Really?" Lila looked from Riku to the empty space near the tombstone, a mixture of awe and trepidation on her face.
"Let me help you see her," Riku stated.