The Sisters: The Curse of Gabriel's Gardens

The Goblin Thief

The snow in Gabriel's Gardens didn't last long, but its mere presence on Christmas day was enough. The following months were calm and peaceful, interrupted only by a few customers whose haunting was either fake or caused by a wandering ghost which could be easily sent to the other side. Alexis and Anna used it to strengthen their relationship, Diane was glad for a time to rest without any stressful events.

The end of April was coming; that meant the sisters' birthday, which was on April 30th, was close. The girls spent some time trying to find out something about their mother, but they weren't successful, mainly because they had no idea where to start.

They started to settle with the fact that the search was futile until they find some sort of pointer.

On the brighter side, their sisterhood got a brother. After the Christmas celebration, Augustus finally opened up a bit and gave up the image of a prickly nerd... well, mostly.

"Ah, I love spring," Diane said and opened the window to let in some fresh air. The temperatures were pleasantly warm, but the best thing about spring in Gardens were the flowers. The city was, despite its strictly modern nature, covered in large, beautiful flowerbeds which were the most prominent near the Angel Square and here in Serenity Square. Upon opening the window, the room filled with a pleasant, fresh smell.

"Wish I could say the same," Alexis muttered and blew her nose.

Diane tried hard to hold back laughter. "Allergy?"

"There's nothing funny about that," Alexis said.

The fair-haired girl looked miserable. Her eyes were red and swollen and her nose looked like the girl was drinking excessively. Even though Alexis also enjoyed the colorful spring time, she spent the first days after everything started to bloom with a runny nose and irritated eyes.

"I know. I'm sorry, sis. Did you take the pills?"

Alexis showed her a small box of loratadine pills she took to ease the symptoms. "I'm afraid I'm gonna be useless for the rest of the day," she said with a nasal voice.

"Day? I think that I wouldn't be able to count on you for the rest of the week," Diane said. "I hope you'll be feeling alright on our birthday!"

"I hope so," Alexis wailed. "The goddamn allergy already ruined my birthday more than once."

Dante rushed into the room; he was already almost a year old and looked less like a clumsy puppy. Alexis worked hard on him. He was already able to respond to some basic commands and Alexis wanted to train him as a ghost-hunter dog even though Diane had no idea how exactly she was going to do that.

The dog put his paws on Alexis' thighs and barked several times. He did it every time he wanted to be taken for a walk. Alexis patted his head and gave him a tired smile. "I can't right now, my boy," she said. "I'm glad I'm able to breathe at least."

Dante yowled, turned to Diane and wagged his tail.

The girl rolled her eyes. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

At that moment, their "business phone" started to ring. Alexis already trained Dante to fetch the phone as soon as it starts to ring; the dog bursted to the table, gently put the phone in his mouth and brought it to Alexis. The girl pointed to Diane. "Answer it, please," she said. "I sound like a zombie."

Diane answered the call and turned on the speakers. "Warren sisters, paranormal investigation," she announced. "If the ghost is ruining your day, we can help to scare it away. How can we help you?"