Back at home, Mishka thought about Myrtle's remarks about her singing again. "There's something about it that irritates her. What can it be?" Mishka asked herself as she dressed into pyjamas.
"There must be something unnerving about it because she can't really say that it's my voice that's too loud," Mishka muttered to herself as she brushed through her hair.
"Maybe it interferes with the power of her chants? Then Gillian and I should find out how Grandma's chants really work. What's the power behind them? Can it only be healing?" Mishka asked herself.
"Anyway, I had a talk with Gillian, now I must get her mother's opinion," Mishka told herself as she put out the light and snuggled into bed.
Mishka phoned Joan as soon as she arrived at her office the following morning.
"Hi, how nice to hear from you again. Gillian told me about the interesting party you're going to on Saturday," Joan remarked as soon as she answered Mishka's call.
"Oh, I'm actually at work now, so I was wondering if we could meet somewhere after work and discuss this?" Mishka asked. Her office door was closed but she did not feel free to discuss the upcoming ball on the phone.
"Well, come and see me at a piano recital at the city hall after work today. I will be busy there," Joan responded in an excited tone of voice.
"Oh that's wonderful, then it's gonna be a neutral venue for us both," Mishka responded with a sigh of relief.
"I wish that I can find someone to share this burden with me right here at work as well. It's all getting too heavy," she complained with her head resting on her hands for a few moments.
"Ah, wait. Josh and Gretchen are already a bit close to me since we did an outside recording assignment together," she told herself.
She picked up a pen and twisted it around a strand of her hair as she tried to think.
"Actually, in witchcraft any kind of symbolism has power, if I remember my facts from films properly. Even twisting one's hair like this could have a spiritual significance and an act like this alone could affect someone else in another place," she mumbled to herself in fascination as the thought occurred to her.
"So, I need to know if the sound or words of my song could be affecting some of Grandma's work if she is into the supernatural," Mishka whispered into the empty office.
"Let me call Josh. He might know something about this, but if he doesn't know, then there's always a chance that he knows someone who does," Mishka decided. She then dialled Josh's number.
***
"You mean that you're actually really gonna make a home movie about creepy stuff?" Josh asked with his eyes wide in surprise as he sat opposite Mishka in the small restaurant near their office building during lunch time.
"I'm serious about it because I realize that such things do exist," Mishka responded.
"So is it a documentary about real events, then?" Josh asked with a more serious look in his eyes.
"We're going to take real life events and turn them into a fantasy story," Mishka responded.
"Will there be music involved, since you're a singer?" Josh asked.
"Oh, there could be. I'm actually working on a song currently," Mishka responded with a quick smile.
"Great, now he's made an opening for me," Mishka thought with a sense of relief flowing through her.
"Oh, where are you gonna sing it?" Josh asked, his eyes popping from excitement.
"I'm going to have a private and confidential session at that same fashion house," Mishka responded as she focused her eyes on the steak and potatoes on her plate.
"That's gonna be awesome! Models walking to the sound of a live music performance. That's absolutely amazing," Josh responded as he took a sip from his apple juice.
"I've been wondering if you know anything about the sounds that witches make when they are busy with a spell?" Mishka asked, giving Josh a steady look. She did not want to alarm him.
"Well, it's like in the movies, I think. They all chant and sing, don't they?" Josh responded with a shrug.
"Alright, but can another sound cause their spell to lose its power?" Mishka asked as she began to eat.
"Well, any holy, sacred music. Church songs, for instance," Josh responded as he also began to eat.
"That makes sense, especially if the chants have evil intentions," Mishka responded with a nod.
"Now, what about a simple love song? Can that have the power to cause some witch to lose their focus? Can it interfere with their powers, perhaps?" she asked as she continued to keep her eyes on her food.
"According to me, love is as sacred as worship. So, it is the opposite of hatred as well, then it will clash with the spirit of someone who is filled with hatred or envy," Josh responded in a casual tone of voice.
"So, then should the good person carry on singing or playing love songs near that evil person?" Mishka asked, giving Josh a quick glance.
"Oh, they definitely should if they want to overpower the witch," Josh responded with a nod of confirmation.
"By the way, there's a lady back there who's just staring at us. She came into the restaurant after us, but she's staring as if she wants to meet us or as if she's interested in one of us," Josh added with his eyes steadily on his plate.
"Is she sitting behind us?" Mishka asked with a quick intake of breath.
"Yes, she's sitting in a corner, but I can see that she's only pretending to read her menu," Josh replied.
"How does she look?" What colour hair does she have?" Mishka asked with a curious frown.
"She's blonde and she has the look of someone who's either an obsessed fan or just a plain nutcase. It looks as if she only came here to look at us. And she doesn't work at our company, that's for sure," Josh replied with an irritated look on his face.
"She's blonde?" Mishka asked in shock.
"Yes, definitely," Josh replied as he glanced across Mishka's shoulder again.
"Then it must be that woman who's been following my car for the past few days. This means that she knows where I work. She's definitely stalking me then. If she was a journalist, she would have approached me by now," Mishka remarked with an angry flush spreading over her cheeks.
"Then we should tell your father about her immediately. Did you take her vehicle registration number?" Josh asked as he picked up his napkin to wipe his mouth.
"No, I haven't had a chance to do that yet because I only saw her close up once. I don't to drive too close to her," Mishka responded.
"But wait, if we go out of here before her I could recognize her vehicle and we can take the number then," she added as the idea struck her.
"Then we should definitely do that," Josh responded with a grunt. "Such people are so unpredictable. They should be dealt with very quickly. The police should question her about her strange behaviour," he added with an angry frown on his brow.
"We should be careful. If she's psychotic she might be very upset if we go to the police. She could then end up doing something dangerous, because she's provoked," Mishka responded as she also picked up a napkin and wiped the corners of her mouth.
"What if she's spying for someone else's sake? What if she's being paid to do this?" Josh asked with his eyes wide as the thought hit him.
"Then, I wonder who that could be because I'm not aware of having any enemies," Mishka responded with a shake of her curls.
"You never know with a lustrous life like yours. Even friends can be enemies in the background," Josh remarked as he looked straight at the girl in the corner.
"I wonder if she now thinks that the two of us are romantically involved?" Mishka asked with a frown as the idea occurred to her. The thought truly shocked her because it held so many implications, depending on who this stalker was.