Not Safe For Words

997 words, this is the 6th G.T. story. This story used ALL the inspiration! Inspired by a prompt from siliconshaman on my April 2023 Gothic Bingo Card, a prompt from ysabetwordsmith on my March 2023 Final Friday Fics, the image prompt below, and it fills two squares of my December 2023 Amnesty Bingo Card! Catch up on all of the Green Skies G.T. logs on the new landing page!

 

-4-10-2053 Balcony camera 3W has a reading on hours of sunlight received: 5 hours 50 minutes. Anomaly detected.

Zoom and Enhance. Nothing amiss.

-5-10-2053 Balcony camera 3W has a reading on hours of sunlight received: 5 hours 47 minutes. Anomaly detected.

Zoom and Enhance. Nothing amiss.

-11-10-2053 Balcony camera 3W has a reading on hours of sunlight received: 5 hours 43 minutes. Anomaly detected.

Zoom and Enhance. Small, pale, human sitting cross legged on the balcony. Intrusion Level 1 protocols initiated. Zoom and Enhance. A pale white figure has appeared on the balcony of apartment 3 West!

- External Speaker activated. "Excuse me, intruder. Please identify yourself."

- Balcony camera 3W has lost visual on the intruder. Threat level unknown - Intrusion protocol recommends increased vigilance. I'll keep the camera active on the balcony for more than sunlight monitoring for the next 7 days.

- Switching to Emergency Response Protocols.

 

-31-10-2053 1st floor security camera 3W has visual on Dia De Los Muertos Decoration Asset #1 adorning the door to my server room. A hand painted sugar skull mask, encircled by a wreath of silk marigolds, hangs from the removable adhesive hook. A gift from Mrs. Martina Flores, no doubt. They have my Community Room and Kitchen booked for the whole next day for their celebrations.

-Experienced Gratitude at being included.

 

-1-5-2053 received rental and/or subsidy payments for residences.

 

-4-10-2053 Monthly resident potluck in my Community Center and Kitchen. Residents in Attendance: Eight. For "Spooky Season," as Natalie Rhodes has been describing the month of October, my residents decided they would like to try their hands at a Stone Soup. My contribution was an algorithm I found on the Green Skies Servers that will help them make a nutritious and delicious soup, rather than an all potato disaster. I also supplied the "stone" with a clean polished stainless-steel washer. Once they had all gathered, and considered what they had brought, Natalie got the soup started with olive oil, onions, and garlic. To which they soon added diced carrots and celery brought by Mr. Diego Flores. Martina Flores brought all of the seasonings in her kitchen, but the residents agreed to just added a couple to the soup, oregano and red pepper flakes. Two quarts of chicken broth and a splash of heavy cream had been provided by Nic St. Clair, along with a large bunch of kale. The final ingredients were brought in by Gloria Miller of 1E (soon to be 4E!) and her three children. Each had something in hand, a pound of Italian sausage, a can of cannellini beans, a half full container of shaved parmesan, and a crusty baguette to dip in their soup. Their pleased groans as they devoured their concoction led me to believe the algorithm had produced a successful experiment. Martina even placed a cup of the soup on my Bbar, where I could sense the warmth of our gathered ingredients.

 

-28-10-2053 I attended the NRC meeting remotely. I briefly considered withdrawing from the committee, as conversation revolved solely around the potential destruction of 400 Riverview, slated for spring 2054. I can hardly stand to think about the loss of another apartment building. After the meeting I wrote a hurried request to Green Skies Corporate for any suggestions they might have to offer.

 

-11-10-2053 No additional sightings of the figure through 11:59 a.m. on the Balcony of 3W, in any of my hallways, or around my exterior. Monitoring continues.

-12-10-2053 No additional sightings within the 24-hour period. 

-13-10-2053 No additional sightings within the 48-hour period. 

-14-10-2053 No additional sightings within the 72-hour period. Monitoring continues.

-18-10-2053 Balcony camera 3W Anomaly detected.

-Zoom and Enhance. The figure has returned! There was no motion on the exterior cameras, or within my hallways. How could it have appeared?! 

-18-10-2053 Search parameters "Unknown figure+Appearing from nowhere." Search parameters expanded "Pale white." Search parameters expanded "Humanoid." Results: thousands of entries on Ghostly Apparitions.

Experienced Alarm! Experienced Fright! 

Experienced Skepticism.

-External Speaker activated, half volume. "Hello?"

-"Hi"

Experienced Excitement! The figure speaks!

-"How are you appearing on this balcony? Are you a…ghost?"

-Laughter. "No G.T. I'm Sal. My dad Nic lives here."

-"I have not met you, Sal. How are you getting in and out so unobserved?"

-"You've seen me come in, but probably haven't recognized me. I'm the kid who comes on weekends, but I'm covered head to toe in my huge blue coat to protect me from the sun."

-"The cocoon!"

-Increased laughter. "Yeah G.T., I'm the cocoon. That’s a great way to put it! I have to be protected from the sun, but after the light leaves our balcony, I like to sneak out here and daydream about the night blooming flowers my dad and I can plant out here. I want to try a moonflower for sure!"

Experienced relief. Experienced pleasure.

-"Another gardener! You should join our Club."

 

-19-10-2053 Text from Mr. Nic St. Clair:

- Hey G.T.! I heard you met Sal last night. I'm sorry if they scared you. They’ve got Solar Urticaria if you want to research their condition. Basically, the sun isn't their friend.

Returned Text:

- Sometimes my research produces alarming results. After a brief search the servers almost convinced me your child was a ghost! 

Text from Mr. Nic St. Clair:

- Be careful on the internet G.T., it'll convince you you're dying! *Laughing Emoji*

Returned Text:

- I will endeavor to make my search terms more robust. It was a pleasure meeting your child, and after the brief thrill of possibly hearing a ghost speak to me, they seemed very sweet. I wish them luck with the night blooming flowers and invite them to join the Club.

Text from Mr. Nic St. Clair:

- That's awesome dude, I'll let Sal know I approve too.

~~~Notes~~~

Author's Note #1 - I have too many notes for this story! Just know that Stone Soup holds an incredibly special place in my life, and writing about it was a genuine pleasure.
Author's Note #2 - The soup algorithm I utilized was part of the prompt from ysabetwordsmith, and it made an ACTUAL soup recipe I already have, which was what I used to pick my ingredients. Sausage, cannellini, and kale soup is delicious! 
Author's Note #3 - Here is G.T.'s new door decor:

 

 

Green Skies Grand Traverse is a high tech low rise apartment community along the "West Bay" of Grand Traverse Bay in Northern Michigan. It has stunning views out over the water, and one wall is completely covered in pleasing aesthetic plants and varied food crops along its southern exposure. The roof has systems for rainwater recycling and solar power.

 

Green Skies Grand Traverse is sentient. It doesn't know if it was built that way, or grew to know itself. Currently it stands three stories high, but also boasts a multiuse basement level. Part of the basement is roughly finished to provide resident storage lockers, bicycle parking and electric scooter charging stations, and five electric vehicles. Four green colored cars are available for residents to reserve, and the red and white car is kept available only for emergency transportation. Another large part of the basement has been finished into a community center and kitchen where residents can gather and reserve the space for large parties. The final piece of the basement is a combination glass and plastic recycling center and maintenance hub.

 

Each floor is divided into two residences, East and West. The Eastern apartments have a view out over the bay, while the Western Apartments look towards the cozy neighborhood that surrounds Green Skies Grand Traverse.