A Day in the Death of Max

In The Land Of Odd

Ready? Good, it's been far too long. We'll get right to it. I reached up and took Violet's hand. She pulled me to my feet as I looked at the others. People of varying ages and ethnicities. I guess it didn't matter what religion you were, you ended up the same. Either moving on, or staying behind. "Max, ready for your lessons to begin?" I felt like her question was rhetorical so I kept my mouth shut and nodded. Releasing my hand she backed away.

"What is this place?" My eyes travelled around the room taking in all the people. "How long have you all been here?" Violet was dressed in a long grey gown from another era. Her hair was styled in a bun at the crown of her head. I looked at others and sighed. I was going to be here for a while. Violet started walking, the group gathered parted for her. How can I describe what I saw within the mirror? It was a reflection. Literally. The only difference is, what you see reflected is yourself. When I looked out that mirror, I saw the living. I followed behind Violet, the others falling in line behind us. "Where are we going?" My curiosity was finally piqued.

"Most of us have been here for a while. This is a parallel world. Rafe and Julian explained when you died you crossed over momentarily. You by rights should not be here. Your unfinished business was finished. We've been discussing it, and we think that it was your love for Shelly that brought you back." We ended up in another room, it looked very familiar. "Have a seat and we'll begin your lessons. Starting with how to defend yourself. Knowledge is power. " Violet went to the frame in this room and looked out. I followed her, not listening when she told me to sit. My eyes widened when I saw where we were. No wonder the room looked so familiar. Shelly. She stood in front of the mirror and combed her hair. Damn she was beautiful. I tore my eyes away and moved to sit on the chair. "Here, we can end up where we most want to be. Are you ready to listen now?" I nodded my head and kept my focus on the bed across from me.

Violet motioned to the bed indicating I should sit. Finally following her instructions I sat and took in what had happened so far. My mind was still trying to wrap around the fact that I'd cheated myself out of moving on. It didn't matter, I was still with Shelly, that's what really mattered right now. "You are aware that you can only be touched by Shelly. It's possible for you to alter your surroundings as well during extremely stressful situations." I looked up at her and nodded, remembering that I'd recently learned how to control myself enough to use a computer. "What I'm going to teach you today is how to deal with others of our kind. I have a couple of volunteers that are willing to be forced to cross over. Their handlers have either passed on or they're just tired of being here. Let's begin." Two younger guys entered the room and stood on either side of the mirror.

"Why would I need to fight with others like us? I thought the Shades dealt with that type of thing?" This was getting really confusing. I guess the look on my face was more telling than my words. Violet shook her head and smiled sadly. There was clearly more to this story than I had thought. She crossed the room and stood in front of the mirror, her hands behind her back. "If only that were the case, you wouldn't need to learn how to do this. No, the Shades only deal with the spirits that have done grievous wrong as soon as they pass on. They have no control over when one of us have shifted our beliefs. Trust me there have been quite a few." She began to pace as she spoke. Her movements were graceful, giving her an ethereal look. It did make sense, considering we were all ghosts of a sort.

"Listen close. Once one of us has chosen to start doing bad things it changes everything. Shades can be summoned by us that's common knowledge. I'm sure Rafe and Julian covered that." She paused to make sure I was paying attention then continued. "However, the Shades will also take us since we are wayward souls. We try to prevent that from happening so we've figured out how to deal with our own."

Looking up at her as she paced I rested my hands on my knees. The two guys moved forward coming to a stop not far from where I was sitting. This was getting stranger and stranger. Violet stopped behind one of the men and looked at me from over his shoulder before speaking again. "Remember when you first discovered you could move things in your surroundings? This works on the same principle. You just have to focus on the one you want gone then touch them." My eyes widened as the man in front of her just disappeared. Like he was never there. The calm look on his face before it happened was what shocked me most. Granted I was told that these two were wanting to move on, it doesn't help with watching the whole process. "The trick is to get close enough to touch them. It's worked every time, unfortunately it's able to be used on us as well. Now you try, Max."

I moved to the second man and focused. Concentrating all my anger, fear and love into my hands. I closed my eyes and touched him. The feeling that passed through me was indescribable. It was as if all of me was pushed to him. Once I opened my eyes he was gone. Just gone. Violet smiled and took a step towards me. Her gown billowed slightly when she stopped. I had done it. "It's that simple? They head over to the light?" Her expression changed slightly. Dreading what she was going to say next I sat back down on the bed as she sat beside me.

"If that's what they were meant for, yes. The ones you will be taking care of will not. They lost sight of their light long ago." She inhaled softly before going on. "The ones that you'll be sending on will likely end up in the darkness. This however is not your concern. If it's not done, there's no telling what would likely happen in the future." Placing her hand on mine in a comforting manner she tilted her head to the mirror. "You should go home, Max. Shelly has been calling for you. When you need to come back all you have to do is go through whatever mirror you are nearest to."

Getting up I sauntered over to the mirror and looked back at Violet. "Any mirror? So why did I have to go through at the library?" She laughed at that then appeared at my side. "It seemed the easiest way to get you to listen to us. You have three days to think on what you've learned. I need your answer within that time. Then we'll start really working." At that she pushed me back through the mirror.

I found myself in Shelly's arms, her lips on mine as I gained my bearings. My hands found their way to her back as she held me close. She pulled away from me and ran her fingers through my hair. I had missed her more than I cared to admit. She truly was my other half. There was no way I could leave her just yet. In that brief moment I had made my decision. I'd do it for her. I'd become the hero, for Shelly. With that, I'll leave our tale at an end for now.