she tossed her phone back into her purse. Really, she thought, this job shouldn’t be so difficult. “What does it change? You’ve been doing this for way too long, and nothing is different because of what you’re doing here.” She crossed her legs and waited for a response. Nancy stared back with wide eyes.
“You just showed me that safety has gotten a lot better since I’ve been here,” she replied. “I have made a difference. None of those improvements would have been made if I wasn’t scaring the drivers all the time.”
Karen sighed. This was not going the way that she thought it would. She needed to switch tactics, but she was at a loss. She glanced down the street to where Fate and Fortune had left together. Her thoughts drifted back to Fortune and whether or not karma could reveal a way to release herself from serving Fate. She was at a loss for what to do next. She stared up at the sky for a moment and felt the sun’s warmth before changing the subject.
“Do you believe in karma?” Karen asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m just curious about what you believe. Are you religious? Do you have faith in anything?”
“I believe in a lot of things, and because of this I have a duty.”
“What makes you think that you’re the person who should be doing this particular job?”
“I was here when he died!”
“And you’re still here,” Karen said in a calmer tone. “But the little boy is not.” She waited a few moments and then asked, “What was his name? Was he your child?”
Nancy’s shoulders bobbed up and down as she started to weep.
“No, he wasn’t mine,” Nancy replied in between her sobs. “I’d never seen him before. I was just here when it happened. His name was Bobby, but I only know that from hearing his friend call his name when it happened.”
Karen put her arm around Nancy’s shoulders and let the ghost weep for a long time. At least one bus came and went without Nancy throwing a fit. When the bus stopped Karen waved it on with her free hand as Nancy’s slimy tears oozed down the shoulder of her best blouse. She waited until Nancy was calm enough to talk.
“I know it’s a terrible thing to see a child die,” Karen said. “I have a child of my own, and it breaks my heart to think about losing him.” Karen recalled her relationship with Claude and how she had been over protective of him for so long and how much Claude resented it. Nancy’s attitude would certainly suffocate a child like Claude. “I’m willing to bet,” Karen continued, “that if Bobby thought that warning buses for eternity was a good idea that he would be here.”
“He’s just a child. He wouldn’t know.”
“Yes, but he’s a child who has been somewhere and seen things that you haven’t. If you want to understand what happened and the best way to resolve it, don’t you think you should talk with Bobby about it?”
“The boy?” Nancy asked as if she’d never thought about him before. “You think he knows something?”
“Yes. This accident brought you together. Maybe you don’t believe in an afterlife, but perhaps Bobby appreciates what you did when you tried to save him and he could be waiting to thank you for trying to save him.”
“The boy.” Nancy’s voice was soft as she pondered the idea.
“Bobby may be just fine. He may be with his mother again. We don’t know because we’re here.” Karen pointed down at the bench.
“I don’t know,” Nancy said. “I thought I had it all figured out. I thought this was where I was supposed to be. I thought I died here for a reason.”
“What about your own children?” Karen asked. “Where are they?”
“I don’t know,” Nancy replied. “I lost track of them after I died.”
“They may be waiting for you, also.”
“They couldn’t.”
“We don’t know,” Karen insisted with a shrug. “I don’t think it’s healthy to be stuck in one place for too long.”
Nancy watched another bus come and go. Her
“You just showed me that safety has gotten a lot better since I’ve been here,” she replied. “I have made a difference. None of those improvements would have been made if I wasn’t scaring the drivers all the time.”
Karen sighed. This was not going the way that she thought it would. She needed to switch tactics, but she was at a loss. She glanced down the street to where Fate and Fortune had left together. Her thoughts drifted back to Fortune and whether or not karma could reveal a way to release herself from serving Fate. She was at a loss for what to do next. She stared up at the sky for a moment and felt the sun’s warmth before changing the subject.
“Do you believe in karma?” Karen asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m just curious about what you believe. Are you religious? Do you have faith in anything?”
“I believe in a lot of things, and because of this I have a duty.”
“What makes you think that you’re the person who should be doing this particular job?”
“I was here when he died!”
“And you’re still here,” Karen said in a calmer tone. “But the little boy is not.” She waited a few moments and then asked, “What was his name? Was he your child?”
Nancy’s shoulders bobbed up and down as she started to weep.
“No, he wasn’t mine,” Nancy replied in between her sobs. “I’d never seen him before. I was just here when it happened. His name was Bobby, but I only know that from hearing his friend call his name when it happened.”
Karen put her arm around Nancy’s shoulders and let the ghost weep for a long time. At least one bus came and went without Nancy throwing a fit. When the bus stopped Karen waved it on with her free hand as Nancy’s slimy tears oozed down the shoulder of her best blouse. She waited until Nancy was calm enough to talk.
“I know it’s a terrible thing to see a child die,” Karen said. “I have a child of my own, and it breaks my heart to think about losing him.” Karen recalled her relationship with Claude and how she had been over protective of him for so long and how much Claude resented it. Nancy’s attitude would certainly suffocate a child like Claude. “I’m willing to bet,” Karen continued, “that if Bobby thought that warning buses for eternity was a good idea that he would be here.”
“He’s just a child. He wouldn’t know.”
“Yes, but he’s a child who has been somewhere and seen things that you haven’t. If you want to understand what happened and the best way to resolve it, don’t you think you should talk with Bobby about it?”
“The boy?” Nancy asked as if she’d never thought about him before. “You think he knows something?”
“Yes. This accident brought you together. Maybe you don’t believe in an afterlife, but perhaps Bobby appreciates what you did when you tried to save him and he could be waiting to thank you for trying to save him.”
“The boy.” Nancy’s voice was soft as she pondered the idea.
“Bobby may be just fine. He may be with his mother again. We don’t know because we’re here.” Karen pointed down at the bench.
“I don’t know,” Nancy said. “I thought I had it all figured out. I thought this was where I was supposed to be. I thought I died here for a reason.”
“What about your own children?” Karen asked. “Where are they?”
“I don’t know,” Nancy replied. “I lost track of them after I died.”
“They may be waiting for you, also.”
“They couldn’t.”
“We don’t know,” Karen insisted with a shrug. “I don’t think it’s healthy to be stuck in one place for too long.”
Nancy watched another bus come and go. Her
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