A Death Displaced by Andrew Butcher

was gorgeous, and he wasn’t sure what her intentions for seeking him out were. I’m calm, I’m focused, I’m calm, I’m focused.
    After being passed the orange juice, he walked over and sat across from Juliet in a warm and dimly lit corner. There were not many people in the pub, so they were distanced enough to allow private conversation.
    ‘So how did you know my name and workplace?’
    Juliet didn’t reply immediately, then came out with, ‘Your mother told me.’
    His heart pulled in on itself, inflicting a jolt of pain. Then it moved on to rapidly thud in his chest. ‘She’s alive? Do you know where she is?’ His voice came out weak, fragile.
    Juliet frowned and fidgeted. ‘Why do you think she’s alive?’
    ‘She disappeared eight years ago, but you’ve spoken with her, haven’t you? When did you speak with her?’ He felt hopeful, maybe? He wasn’t sure.
    ‘I’ve gone about this in the wrong order.’ Shaking her head, she told him, ‘I’m sorry. Your mother’s not alive … I thought you knew that.’ She winced and avoided eye contact.
    Emptiness grew inside of him; until right now, he hadn’t realised how much he’d hoped his mum was still alive and about to walk back into his life.
    Maybe he was more like his dad than he originally thought.
    But now he knew she was dead. He didn’t exactly feel sad; it had been almost nine years after all, so he’d grieved already. But maybe later he’d be upset, when he had time to process it all. He actually sensed some relief in finally knowing her fate, followed by guilt for feeling that relief.
    ‘How do you know she’s dead?’
    ‘Look, I’ll tell you what’s been happening to me since the day you pulled me out the way of the car. Just listen to what I have to say. I feel embarrassed enough coming here as it is, and I won’t be surprised if you think I’m crazy. But I’m not. I tried to ignore what was happening to me, but I couldn’t.’ She gave a stern look.
    ‘Okay, I’ll listen to you.’ Intuitively, he sensed he could trust her; she seemed honestly annoyed to be in the position she was in, to have to talk to him.
    For a moment she gazed past him, at an empty table a few metres away, and Nick turned to see what had caught her attention. Nothing was there.
    ‘Are you alright?’
    ‘Yes, fine.’ Her attention snapped back to him. ‘I was just thinking about something.’
    ‘Okay. Tell me what you were going to say.’
    ‘When the car came towards me, I felt it hit me … I really felt it throw me over the edge, and I hit the ground, but when I opened my eyes I was alive. You saved me, but I felt different. On the way home I started seeing things: blurs, shadows, figures … strange things that don’t make sense. For the next few days I continued to see these things. I thought I was in shock maybe, but at one point it became too much. I heard something say help me in my kitchen, but nobody was there.’
    Nick listened to her and tried to gather where she was going with it. He believed what she said, because he’d had a vision of the future. If that was possible, then maybe this was too.
    She continued. ‘I booked an appointment with Tamara Trewin, you probably know who she is … the medium that lives in Willow?’ Nick nodded, knowing of the woman she referred to. ‘I described to her about the car incident, and she did something with her hands, feeling the energy off of me I think. When she was done she told me that I was displaced.’
    ‘Displaced? What did she mean?’
    ‘I haven’t finished yet. She told me that it was my fate to die and that when you saved me I was physically saved, but my soul died,or I spiritually died ... something like that.’ Juliet looked down at her hands as if she was ashamed to say these things aloud. ‘She said that I’m anchored in two worlds: this world and the Otherworld.’
    Now Nick could see where she was headed with the tale. He almost didn’t want to listen.
    ‘Tamara told me I