Souls in a Thrift Shop [closed]

Walking into the thrift shop, Bridget looked around. She held her stuffed bunny tight in her arms and was on the hunt for the toy section, in which she would most likely find some plushies to add to her collection. Letting out a small yawn, she made her way to the back of the building, looking at all the antiques and things that people brought in. It was weird how so many old things were in a store that was in a town made up of mostly highschool students and younger people. Looking down to Rex, she gave a small smile. "Don't worry, I'm not going to replace you," she didn't want him to think that she was searching for new stuffed animals because she didn't love him, and although he didn't have anyway to communicate back to her, she knew that some way, some how, he could hear here.

Not paying attention, she bumped into someone and stumbled backwards, almost dropping Rex. "Hey!" she snapped, holding her rabbit even tighter and looking up to see who it was that she'd run into.

America was very different from what she had been used to, even after being in the country for a few months by now. The air was much more crisp and fresh, a cool breeze in the purified land. Much more than that, it was less humid - no waves of heat were smashing into her flesh and skin in most sporadic moments, and the beads of sweat came less often to the point of being almost nonexistent; it was very cold though. Someone had mentioned that it was 'autumn' or 'fall', and with her limited English vocabulary, she could only associate it with the bitter chills sinking down her spine, and how much her teeth kept chattering, arms holding her sides and rubbing them in an attempt to keep some internal heat. Her dull navy coat hadn't had much use before coming, but now, she found herself wearing it every single day. Mommy wouldn't want her getting sick because getting sick meant salvaging the money to buy expensive red spherical objects that everyone told her was candy, only it wasn't as tasty at all. If she didn't have a fever, then they didn't have to waste money.

That was how it worked in her homeland, the place she had lived in for all of her life up until recently. She wasn't sure what the new place she was living in was called - just that it was in the land of the free that everyone at home always praised and wanted to move to because it was where they could live much more fanciful and luxurious lives, stripping away the bad that was associated with being in Vietnam. They said it wasn't as bad as before though, that they were much better off than many years ago, but it wasn't enough. Hopefully it kept improving...

The bell jingled as her tiny hands pushed the door open. A very petite girl walked in after it, glancing around with peculiar, blue - almost silver - eyes, pupils as light and dainty as snow. Her fingers gripped the strap on her backpack, hair teasingly bobbing and petting around her neck. She kept her mouth in a slight 'o' shape, inhaling the artificially pleasant air. It was a very unfamiliar setting, and she could only feel a tiny bit queasy at the prospect of not knowing where everything was so she could navigate around properly. But that was what her friends were for.

It wasn't like home, though. Everything they spoke was of the foreign tongue, so she could only rely on the one who never left her and kept following her around. A friend she could actually see the sketchy and blueprint-like figure of. Anything else was just pitch black. They were kind of funny looking, but so were the rest of them. She was told they didn't look anything like her at all.

Wandering aimlessly around, the loose change in her pockets tinkled together in sweet melodies. It wasn't her money - the caretakers had given it to her. Get something for herself, something along those lines. She didn't know enough to translate it properly, but that was her friend said. But she didn't really have anything she wanted... The adults had recommended coming into this shop to try and buy a toy to play with, yet that didn't seem right. Toys were something that could be outdated over time and lose interest in - a very bad investment of money. Daddy always said that it wasn't worth it.

People bought things based on appeal and physical value. Never was and never will be something important for her.

”Chú ý!”

The warning came too late. A startled noise left her throat as she stumbled back into a shelf, knocking over some of the plushes as they spilled onto the floor. Managing to catch herself with her hands, her face turned towards the source of the new voice.

”Hey!” The girl said. Her voice was cute and pleasant to listen to, but that wasn’t the point. It was an accident, and she had angered someone already…

Slowly rising, dusting off her pants, she spoke softly. ”Ah, xin lỗi niêu, Chị.” Wait a minute, that wasn’t right. A gentle stir and urging.

”Tiếng Anh-Mỹ, em.”

She took a deep breath, focusing carefully to annunciate the phrases properly, hoping that her thick accent didn’t shine through and it was easy to understand. ”Linh mean sorry, Chị.” The words rolled off her tongue awkwardly, but she kept smiling anyway.

Bridget regained her bearings and looked at the girl who was only a little short than she. The girl had hair cut to her shoulders, petite build, and a baby face like no other. Clearly from another country, she thought to herself. At first, when the girl spoke, it sounded like gibberish and Bridget wondered if she was messing with her, but soon enough the words sounded more like an actual language than something a challenged person would say. The girl she's bumped into soon attempted to speak English, though it was obvious that she was having some troubles.

Letting out a sigh, Bridget rolled her eyes. Yeah, the girl had run into her, but she couldn't be mad, the girl barely knew English! Resituating Rex in her arms, she scratched the side of her head feeling somewhat bad for snapping at this person even thought feeling guilt was extremely rare for Bridget.

"Uh," the girl started to say but stopped herself. Could this girl even understand English? "Lihn, right? Uh, sorry for bumping into you," she mumbled, not used to apologizing for petty things like this. Looking just bellow the girl's feet was the bin of stuffed animals that she was looking for, dumped on the floor and plushies scattered everywhere. Shoulders slumped and a frown across her face, she felt bad for the little things. Being treated as if they were nothing more than skins filled with stuffing, but to her, they had souls, even if it wasn't visible to humans. They could see, feel, hear things, but were eternally trapped inside plush little bodies, forever silenced.

Her head tilted to the side in confusion, eyes blinking a little bit incredulously, mouth agape. The words were much more like jargon than anything that could make sense. Linh sunk her teeth into the bottom of her lip, brows furrowing as she tried to translate everything in her mind to make something of it. Maybe she was thinking too much of it really, the only thing that mattered was that the phrase 'sorry' was there. That was a word she could comprehend and one she knew the meaning of very well. Mother always said that it was a way of pardoning oneself and expressing guilt or remorse when they did a bad thing. Softly, she shook her head, a more pleasant smile etching across her features. "It okei. Not bad." To say that she wasn't proud of herself for being able to translate everything back and forth would be a lie. Sure, it was probably wrong, but what else could she do?

A shiver ran down her spine.

"Em, có một ma ngay đó," her friend said. She eyed the empty space curiously before taking a whiff of the cool air into her lungs once again. Carefully, she reached one hand towards where the other girl was, her fingers making contact with the velvet-y texture of a plush. That was where it was coming from. She pinched one of the plush's arms between her fingers, holding it up to her nose. It smelled of lavender and dandelion, the sort of fresh out of the laundry and dryer's sort of scent, as though it were in perfect top condition. The other girl must be taking really good care of it.

Linh didn't let go quite yet. "Toy is nice." She was certain something was inside of stuffed animal. "Is ah-live?"

Watching as the girl reached for Rex, everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Was this person trying to steal her stuffed bunny? Or maybe she was going to set it aflame? Panicked thoughts ran through Bridget's mind as she barely breathed. For some odd reason, she stayed put unlike most cases where she'd usually snap at the person. Closing an eye as Linh reached for the plushy, she held Rex tighter than ever before.

Silence.

Opening her winced eyes, she looked down to the stuffed rabbit who was still safely tucked in her arms. Letting out a breath of relief, Bridget looked to the girl who'd made a comment about Rex. "Well, I wouldn't call him a toy, he's like my best friend," she replied in a relaxed voice, looking back down to the plush rabbit with a soft smile. "And alive? I wouldn't say he's necessarily alive, but between you and me, I believe that inside every stuffed animal secretly has a soul, but there's no escape from being eternally silenced," she added in a whisper. Bridget had never shared anything of the sorts with anyone, but this girl seemed pretty chill and keen on stuffed animals, so maybe she could trust her.

Realizing how stupid she must have sounded, Bridget's face turned flushed from embarrassment. Idiot! Now I look like a totally loony! Looking from Linh back down to Rex, the smile she once held turned into her usual frown. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that. I know it's a pretty dumb theory."

Linh liked listening to other people talk and watch how their mouths moved when forming the shapes of the words. Papa always said that was the best way to learn more than one language, by trying to mimic how everything is formed out instead of trying to reflect the sounds back. How that worked, she wasn't sure, but if her parents told her so, it must be true. They never lied to her. So she had paid close attention to other people when they talked before. Yet, she wasn't quite sure what to make of it when her vision was eternally obscured to the dances of the shadows. Her eyes glanced where she believed the other girl was, hearing and catching every phonetic sound possible, but all it did was make her head ache.

Nothing made sense and her friend didn't know what to make of it either. There were a few key words she could catch though, such as 'friend' or 'soul'. She knew what those meant, and she knew how to translate them to her native tongue. Of course, her brain also recognized the word 'silence' from hearing the Daycare keepers always telling everyone to shush and asking for silence; the room always grew still and quiet, so it made a bit sense on what it meant in the end. Within a few moments, she let go of the plush's arm, looking up towards the older person she was with, eyes as wide as saucers. Everyone always said that it was good to speak her mind but at the same time to be mindful of what other people wanted to hear; it was too confusing to decide which to go with.

"No sorry. It kei," she responded, keeping her gaze trained in the general vicinity where the girl claimed her best friend was. She knew something was there, though. A sixth sense. Linh didn't think someone else could tell that there really was a soul inside. "You friend has soul. Linh know fo' shoo."

Before her senior could say anything to deny it, Linh hastily added on, as though it was to prove her validity. "My powah say so."

Well, I guess I'm not the only crazy one here. Listening to the girl, she honestly has almost no idea what she was talking about. On top of not really being able to understand Linh's mumbles, she claimed that her plushy had a soul? Rex, alive? That was madness! As much as she wanted to believe it, there was no way that a stuffed rabbit could have a soul, right?

"Uh, I think you might be mistaken..." Bridget started but was cut off by the girl quickly fitting something else in. So, did her power have something to do with plsuhies or souls? Bridget would never know. Looking from Rex and back to Linh, she titled her head in a curious sort of way. "So, uh, what do you mean?" She wished it were true that Rex had a soul of sorts, and part of her hoped that this stranger wasn't just crazy.

For a few moments, Linh only gave the other girl a blank stare, unable to really comprehend what she was saying. Mi-steak in? My steak in? Did she want to eat some meat? Mean? Wasn't mean the sort of word that people said to bullies? Did she say something wrong? She took a deep breath, her cheeks puffed up, fingers clutching the straps to her backpack even tighter. "Not mean." Wasn't that too much of an accusation, considering she just told the older girl what would've reaffirmed what she wanted to be true. Speaking English was hard; Vietnamese was so much easier. Even so, America was supposed to be worth it. As much as she wanted to go back home, she shouldn't.

Another voice interrupted her thoughts, one that was exclusive solely to her hearing. "Sự dịch sai rồi." Eh? She got it wrong? Her friend continued to whisper in her ear, and Linh nodded several times in understanding, as though an epiphany had reached her. "Ah! Sowwy." She immediately bowed her head, hands folded in front of her. "Engli not good."

"Uhm. You has soul with you." Linh continued, more softly than before. How to explain it? There were a lot of souls everywhere. Apparently, Rosebury had a graveyard nearby too. But this specific one had a personal connection... "Anh...? Bruh... Uhm..." Her eyes closed, a focused and concentrated look sliding over her features. She had to say it right. How was it pronounced again? How was the mouth supposed to form that shape?

She mumbled a few trials under her breath, her friend telling her that it wasn't good enough quite yet until, after several moments, she finally got a nod of approval. "Brother."

Okay, now Bridget was positive that this girl was crazy. Her brother? That was impossible, he'd died in a car crash, there was no way that he could possibly be here in the same room with them, much less as a soul. Shaking the thoughts away, she looked to the girl with a raised brow. "Uh, yeah. I think you're mistaken," she half laughed in a disbelieving tone. She'd like to think that he brother was here, but every thought of him made her want to puke. They'd been so inseparable, two peas in a pod and now... he was gone and never coming back. Her big brother, the nicest person in the world was gone and she had no one left except Rex, but maybe it was for the best. Didn't everything happen for a reason? Maybe him getting squashed like bug but a drunkard was meant to be.

Pft, yeah right. Trying not to cry, she held Rex tight in her arms. Looking to Linh, her face held her usual bored look. Not having the happiness of her brother to make her smile, Bridget's only way to keep her from always breaking out in tears was being snappy to everyone around her, and so far it'd worked, even if she's made a few too many enemies. "I should get going..." she said softly looking down at the pile of stuffed animals that lay scattered all around her feet. Well, so much for getting more plushes today. "It was nice meeting you," she turned her gaze back to Linh and taking a step away. If this girl wanted to believe something about her brother, so be it. All Bridget knew was that she needed to get out of this place before she broke out in tears.

"Huh...?"

She was mistaken? That wasn't what her gift told her, though. Linh knew very well that there could be absolutely no way that she was wrong, but at the same time, she was always told not to question anyone that was older than her. They were wiser and more experienced, so they had the answers and that one day, she would be able to understand how they were thinking when she eventually reached that age. Her face contorted into a pout, the thin line that made her lips twisted into a tiny frown. It was kind of mean that the other girl was laughing though, wasn't it? Was it because she wasn't the same age that she couldn't be taken seriously? Or was it because she was a foreigner? No, that was silly. Mother always said that everyone in America was very nice and that it was the land of freedom, of equality.

'All men are created equal.' Everyone can be put on the same level here with the same chance for opportunity. That's what everyone in the neighborhood said. Coming to the United States was a blessing, a dream, an almost unattainable fantasy. A lot of her friends had moved out when she last saw them, saying that they were finally going and that her family had to follow too, when they could. Her father told her that they would get the chance as soon as possible. Her parents never lied. Linh knew that.  So that was why she kept waiting and waiting.

But now she was there all alone and had left her family behind. A sniffle interrupted her thoughts, the sense that someone had tightened their grip around something, the tense feeling in the air that mother could slip a knife through if it were a dense slab of beef.

Oh, the other girl was going already? Was that the right translation? Linh's frown only grew, the single step back echoing into her ears.

"W-wait...!" Her hand reached out in an unknown direction, her hearing being the only way to know which way the other girl was going based on the steps she made. Linh's eyes glanced towards her friend briefly and an affirmative nod told her what she had to do. A small, blue wisp of ether shined brightly at her fingertips, the sketch-like outline restoring her smile. Even though he was whispering gibberish that she couldn't really understand, Linh only replied back, "Go ah-head." And thus, he zipped away and towards the rightful place he wanted to be at. She knew she couldn't be wrong this time.

Taken by surprise when the girl reached for her, Bridget half stumbled backwards, accidentally stepping on a stuffed dog's head. I'm sorry! she wanted to cry out to the plushy but kept quiet, knowing she'd look like a lunatic if she randomly yelled, even though there was a purpose. Not that she could really explain what she'd be yelling about. Standing there and wondering what in the world was going on, she felt a soft, warm and fuzzy feeling as if there was a puppy in her arms, and for some reason she felt so much more... relaxed.

As if something had clicked into place, she felt happy, of all things. Looking to the girl, the pleasant feeling was gone and she raised a brow, somewhat skeptical. Had this person done something to her? Turning her gaze from Linh to Rex, she pulled the little rabbit closer to her. When Linh dismissed her, Bright took no time in waiting around. The thrift store staff could pick up the plushies and she'd just have to come back later and get some.

"Nice meeting you!" the girl hastily said, stepping away from her acquaintance, and turning around, Bridget made her way to the entrance. Opening the door, she stepped into the sunlight, squinting at the brightness. God, how much she hated the sun. Recapping what'd just happened, a small force hit her stomach as if someone had poked her. What the... Looking down to Rex, she wondered what it could've possibly been. The plush rabbit sat snugly in her arms, motionless as always. A bug? No, bugs weren't that big. Shrugging her shoulders, Bridget continued onward, making her way back to the school.

Hm, probably nothing.