Charlotte’s way. “Some of the souls travelling
through those other Stations can be nightmarishly frightening—even to us. We’re
highly sensitive to other people’s emotions. And if we’re in the vicinity of
even slightly tarnished souls—well, whatever horror they’re experiencing then
becomes our horror.”
Before I
could process that, Charlotte
said, “Of course, we can’t be harmed long-term, but we don’t like bumping into
them, even by accident.” Charlotte
paused, nodding as if she’d been told something that I couldn’t hear. “That’s
true,” she agreed, confirming my suspicions. “The selection of one’s Station is
never permanent. A person could move up—or sideways, as the case may be, and
alter their eternity in a good way.” She gave me a soulful look, rather long,
as though she were trying to impart a message. I stared back blankly. “It does
require an act of great selflessness. Say, risking your life for another.” She
took a slow breath. “Unfortunately, we hear that rarely happens.”
Rin was glaring at me with so much intensity that I
flinched a little. Why did I get the impression that she was mad at me? I
couldn’t tell if it was for something I’d already done, or something she feared
I might do.
“You
should be careful,” Rin said in an ominous tone.
“Temporary visitors have much more to worry about at those other Stations than
any of the dead do.”
Charlotte proceeded to
give Rin a chewing out in her head. For once, I
didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that. When she’d finished, she reached
up and smoothed the hair at her temples before turning back to me. “The
Stations keep everyone safer, Hope. This way the dead can travel trouble-free .
. . and temporary visitors,” she added with a bright smile, “can safely visit,
and then safely return home to their bodies.”
“Or
wherever they end up going . . .” Rin muttered. More
wordless glaring from Charlotte
followed, but I’d already decided to ignore Rin’s commentary.
“But I
don’t get it,” I admitted. “What could these other souls do to me?”
Charlotte placed her
slender hands on my shoulders. “You still have a body. We don’t. For some of
these souls, that’s the ultimate prize.” As the idea of that sunk in, the hair
on my arms stood up.
“It’s
difficult to wrap your brain around true evil, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t
out there, waiting to seize the right moment—” Rin’s tone was chilling. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to frighten me. Or if she
had my best interests at heart. Mixed emotions emanated from her. I got the
impression she couldn’t decide whether to hug me or hit me.
Charlotte’s lips started
moving fast, but silently, expressing her exasperation with Rin ,
no doubt. When she looked back at me, her face was soft again.
“Don’t
let Rin scare you, Hope. Most souls aren’t evil. It’s
just that there are some who wouldn’t be the least bit troubled by causing
others pain. In fact, they would take immense pleasure in it, even after death
. . .”
When she
paused, I could see how difficult it was for her to continue. She seemed to be
measuring her words carefully so as not to frighten me. If so, it wasn’t
working. My stomach was in knots.
“For the
truly evil, killing you, or . . . the equivalent in our world—stealing your
soul, would be like winning the lottery and earning eight gold medals at the
Olympics all on the same day.”
Rin’s face screwed up. “Dirty, nasty soul-suckers!”
I tried
to imagine what that entailed—the horror of it—then chose to dismiss that
image. The expressions on their faces led me to believe that this wasn’t the
time to press for further information. I was ashamed to look at them; I had the
vaguest sensation that I was about to do—or had already done—something
awful.
“Yeah,
that’s, uh . . .” My voice sounded strange in my ears. It was difficult to put
it into words.
through those other Stations can be nightmarishly frightening—even to us. We’re
highly sensitive to other people’s emotions. And if we’re in the vicinity of
even slightly tarnished souls—well, whatever horror they’re experiencing then
becomes our horror.”
Before I
could process that, Charlotte
said, “Of course, we can’t be harmed long-term, but we don’t like bumping into
them, even by accident.” Charlotte
paused, nodding as if she’d been told something that I couldn’t hear. “That’s
true,” she agreed, confirming my suspicions. “The selection of one’s Station is
never permanent. A person could move up—or sideways, as the case may be, and
alter their eternity in a good way.” She gave me a soulful look, rather long,
as though she were trying to impart a message. I stared back blankly. “It does
require an act of great selflessness. Say, risking your life for another.” She
took a slow breath. “Unfortunately, we hear that rarely happens.”
Rin was glaring at me with so much intensity that I
flinched a little. Why did I get the impression that she was mad at me? I
couldn’t tell if it was for something I’d already done, or something she feared
I might do.
“You
should be careful,” Rin said in an ominous tone.
“Temporary visitors have much more to worry about at those other Stations than
any of the dead do.”
Charlotte proceeded to
give Rin a chewing out in her head. For once, I
didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that. When she’d finished, she reached
up and smoothed the hair at her temples before turning back to me. “The
Stations keep everyone safer, Hope. This way the dead can travel trouble-free .
. . and temporary visitors,” she added with a bright smile, “can safely visit,
and then safely return home to their bodies.”
“Or
wherever they end up going . . .” Rin muttered. More
wordless glaring from Charlotte
followed, but I’d already decided to ignore Rin’s commentary.
“But I
don’t get it,” I admitted. “What could these other souls do to me?”
Charlotte placed her
slender hands on my shoulders. “You still have a body. We don’t. For some of
these souls, that’s the ultimate prize.” As the idea of that sunk in, the hair
on my arms stood up.
“It’s
difficult to wrap your brain around true evil, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t
out there, waiting to seize the right moment—” Rin’s tone was chilling. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to frighten me. Or if she
had my best interests at heart. Mixed emotions emanated from her. I got the
impression she couldn’t decide whether to hug me or hit me.
Charlotte’s lips started
moving fast, but silently, expressing her exasperation with Rin ,
no doubt. When she looked back at me, her face was soft again.
“Don’t
let Rin scare you, Hope. Most souls aren’t evil. It’s
just that there are some who wouldn’t be the least bit troubled by causing
others pain. In fact, they would take immense pleasure in it, even after death
. . .”
When she
paused, I could see how difficult it was for her to continue. She seemed to be
measuring her words carefully so as not to frighten me. If so, it wasn’t
working. My stomach was in knots.
“For the
truly evil, killing you, or . . . the equivalent in our world—stealing your
soul, would be like winning the lottery and earning eight gold medals at the
Olympics all on the same day.”
Rin’s face screwed up. “Dirty, nasty soul-suckers!”
I tried
to imagine what that entailed—the horror of it—then chose to dismiss that
image. The expressions on their faces led me to believe that this wasn’t the
time to press for further information. I was ashamed to look at them; I had the
vaguest sensation that I was about to do—or had already done—something
awful.
“Yeah,
that’s, uh . . .” My voice sounded strange in my ears. It was difficult to put
it into words.
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