03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
Post by Nadine Cartier on Mar 31, 2021 1:59:15 GMT
“Difficult, but manageable.” That was Nadine’s go-to response whenever prying people asked her questions that she didn’t want to answer.
How is your father’s condition? Difficult, but manageable. And taking over as Councilwoman? Surely that was an adjustment. Difficult, but manageable. And a divorce, I heard, it must have been devastating. Difficult, but manageable.
The questions circled in Nadine’s head like a whirlwind. She always felt that people were trying to catch a glimpse at the woman behind the curtain. In their minds, she figured, Nadine was a woman who put up a good front. That beneath the surface lurked a deep well of despair. Regret for the life she could have had, heartbreak for her divorce from the woman she loved, and sorrow for the unwinding of her father’s mind. They wanted to know how she held it all in. Kept herself together.
Nadine had always known that she didn’t feel things the way that ordinary people did. To her, it seemed like everyone else was a churning sea, joys and sorrows coming in waves, tossed from one to the next. But her heart was like a still black lake. Emotions came in drops - some big, some small - rippling the surface. Nadine would watch the small waves roll towards her, observing them, but numb to their icy touch. Grace, her ex-wife, used to call it her clarity. Said that it was one of the things that she loved about Nadine - her ability to see herself and the world without the filter of her own emotions. But, back then, Grace thought it was something she did intentionally. She didn't understand that Nadine was wired differently. Permanently.
Nadine stood up from her desk and stepped across the hall. The room there was really a spruced up storage room. There were an a sundry of miscellaneous items, holiday decorations and the like, as well as an old, banged up piano on wheels that the community choral group used at their evening rehearsals in the town hall. In the dim light, Nadine looked at its chipped ivory keys with something akin to love. Drawn to it, she slipped onto the bench seat. Though it was a little short for a woman of her stature, she could still reach the pedals without having to scrunch up too much.
Nadine’s hands perched above the keys. There is a divine, almost transcendental moment before a pianist plays the first note in a quiet room. Concert hall, spare room - it doesn’t matter. It is a moment of held breath more mesmerizing than any sensation she’d ever known. Releasing her breath, Nadine began to play. It was Chopin - Nocturne No.20 in C-Sharp Minor. Her long practiced fingers moved effortlessly across the keys. She closed her eyes and immersed herself in the music, feeling each note vibrating in her soul. The questions were gone, the swirling had ceased. The black lake in her heart was sparkling and alive.
Just as the music had reached its peak, a noise came from behind her. Nadine startled and misplaced her fingers, breaking the spell. She turned, half-annoyed, half feeling vulnerable and exposed. What could this person possibly want?
Post by Waylon Sanders on Apr 16, 2021 14:12:52 GMT
Waylon hadn't seen his sister a lot since her return, not that he didn't have the time or whereabouts but because he had been avoiding her. She was emotionally draining for a person as cold as she was, not in the sense of cold-hearted bitch Waylon would say but just cold. He told Cathy down at the station he was going to a wake jokingly, climbed into his cruiser from the 80s and made the haul to the one place he knew exactly where she would be.
His oldest son had dropped off a fruit basket the day before for 'Dads Icebreaker'. It rolled a few times during turns on the trip, but the wrapping had kept the fruit from rolling out even after Waylon would reset its position. Many people said good morning sheriff as he walked across the parking lot, his cowboy boots echoing on the pavement, he would tip his hat. Flash a smile. Everyone seemed to love Waylon, the department respected him, and he wasn't doing so bad in the dating scene.
The receptionist didn't have to tell Waylon where to find his sister's office, "I bet that's Beethoven," he said with utmost confidence as he winked at the receptionist before interrupting Nadine Cartier vigorously.
"Nadine, I always loved when you hammered out Beethoven as a kid," he offered the basket, "You got time for lunch with brother?"
Post by Nadine Cartier on Apr 16, 2021 16:13:46 GMT
Of all the people in the world Nadine would have wanted to walk through the door at that moment, Waylon Sanders was one of the last on the list. The imperfection of the last discordant notes from the piano crawled under her skin, adding to her annoyance. Furthermore, she could hear a coquettish giggle coming from her receptionist down the hall, which she could only imagine was Waylon’s doing. The aspects of her brother’s personality that were nauseating to her were the same ones that endeared him to other people. Admittedly, she supposed on some level she was respectfully aware that he had an ease and a warmth about him that she would never, ever be able to emulate.
Nadine swallowed her desire to correct his Beethoven remark. To most people, classical music was a giant dust bin where you could toss everything. Must have been written by one of those dead guys, might as well be Beethoven. But no matter. Not something she was going to get into.
Still coming out of her surprise, it took a moment for Nadine to unpack his question. She reached out her hand to accept the rather mistreated fruit basket. It had obviously not done well in transit, but at least the wrapping remained intact. She sighed. They’d have to do a little bit better than that for lunch, she thought. Especially with her father ill, Nadine had been intending to make a little bit more of an effort on the family front - she’d just ever gotten around to it. Things were always busy, and the whole family-togetherness side of things was very much out of her comfort zone. Oh well, no time like the present.
“That would be fine. We can order in.” Nadine said with characteristic flatness. She closed the lid to the piano keys and stood up, side stepping her brother to leave the room. Very aware of the difficulties of navigating a man’s world, Nadine always felt that her height made her intimidating - which suited her just fine. In heels she edged her brother out by about an inch, which gave her a minor flash of satisfaction. Assuming Waylon would follow, she stepped into reception, giving the still giddy receptionist a stern glare. She was a decent enough receptionist - ditzy, but pleasant to look at. Even though Nadine was a good ten years older than she was and they worked together and (as far as she knew) she was straight, Nadine had to admit she wasn't above making a play for her. Truth be told that was most of the reason she had kept her around. But she was beginning to rethink that now.
“If you’re not too...occupied, we’re going to have lunch in. I’ll have that seasonal salad if they still have it. And the sheriff…” Nadine raised her eyebrows, making her point. “I'm sure you'll be happy to take care of him. Get him whatever he’d like. We’ll be in my office.” Nadine turned for her office to set it up for lunch. She always kept her office immaculately clean, but Nadine always liked to make sure everything was set before she let anyone take too close of a look. Since becoming Councilwoman, she’d been able to substantially increase the town’s financial resources - raising her salary along with it. Depending on what documents were out...let’s just say, some people wouldn’t necessarily agree with her legally gray methods. Nobody ever wants to see how the sausage gets made. Pulling up a chair for Waylon, Nadine sat down and waited for her brother to join her.