Somehow, miraculously, Andrew recovered and was ready to move on just from Ursula's pep talk. He shot a mournful look at his apartment and his eyes started watering at the picture of his family but he was ready to move on and rest.
Thankfully, Andrew was generally a good man and I put him to rest in Heaven as a blinding light filled the room and his soul vanished into the skies above.
"How did you do that?" I questioned Ursula, I was curious to how she managed to calm Andrew down.
"I don't know." She shrugged.
"But Andrew was hysterical, most souls wouldn't be able to calm down and accept his fate that fast..."
"Well, I guess he's the exception." She skipped ahead of me as I stared at her in disbelief.
This was fascinating, souls were impossible to console even the most brightest soul could have trouble listening to another one. This was the reason why souls were solitary beings.
We continued on my daily run of soul collecting and reaping and it definitely moved along faster with Ursula there as I realized that we had finished the run before the sky turned completely dark. It was a definite improvement but I couldn't figure out how Ursula was doing it.
The souls were usually inconsolable and would not listen to a word that came out of my mouth yet when Ursula spoke, it was like everyone was entranced and they would listen carefully to whatever she had to say.
In a way, she appeared to have possessed the essence of the pied piper in her words. The souls complying with whatever she wishes. This was certainly a most peculiar child.
"What now?" She whistled as we sat on a bench in the park.
"Well, I suppose we're done for the day and I guess we could get started on-" Before I could finish my sentence, she tugged on my sleeve and started smiling widely, ecstatic.
"What is it?" I furrowed my eyebrows as she pointed to an ice-cream stand near us. The words 'please' were repeated consistently and gave me a headache.
"Please.....pretty please with cherries and whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles and...marshmallows and gummy bears....and-"
"Alright! Alright! You can get your dessert..." I grumbled under my breath as she squealed happily and pounced on me, squeezing me tightly in a sort of embrace.
I gagged as the force of the little tornado gave me a tight hug. Hugs were a foreign subject to me, we did not receive hugs nor do we give hugs.
I awkwardly stood there, unsure of what to do as I felt her souls warmth and brightness flow through me.
"Oh oh thank you! You're the greatest mister!" That was when she let go of me and looked frustrated.
"What now?" I dusted my blazer and straightened my tie from the surprise attack, my ears pinking either from the cold or sudden act of affection I did not know.
"What's your name? I told you mine yet you didn't tell me yours..." She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"I don't have one." I said simply as we walked towards the ice-cream stand.
"Don't have one? What? Everyone has a name." She said insistently.
"Well I don't, I suppose you humans call me many names but I don't really have one that has been given to me by my creator." We were nearing the cart.
"That's weird." She made a face.
"No its not. Its just how it is."
"Yes it is, everyone has a name. My friend, Tommy has a name. His brother, Keaton has a name. My teacher Has a Name-I forgot what it is though..."
I chuckled slightly at her forgetfulness. The sound appearing strange coming out from my mouth.
"Hey! Mister you laughed! Oh you laughed!" She sounded so delighted that I instantly knit my features back into a scowl.
"No I didn't."
"Yes you did!"
"No I didn't! I didn't! It was a cough!"
"Liar liar! Pants on fire!" She sneered before jumping about happily as we arrived at the stand.
"Ooh! Mister ice-cream man, I would like....all the ice-cream please!" She said to the man as he didn't spare her one glance.
"He can't see you." I said as she frowned.
"Why? Is it because I'm little? Mommy says that once I grow older, I'll be tall and big and...oh.." She smiled sadly.
"Souls can't grow once they're dead." I said before pressing two fingers onto the ice-cream man's forehead, mumbling incantations under my breath as my eyes started glowing and my being withering away to dust that flows inside the man's eyes.
"Hey! Mister suit man! Where did you go?!" Ursula yelled as I shook myself slightly, adjusting to a solid body was not the most comfortable thing in the world.
"Ursula, what flavour did you say you wanted?" I said in the man's deep voice.
"Oh? Is that you mister suit man! I want one of...everything!" She cheered as I started adding flavours onto flavours until it was almost as tall as Ursula herself.
"Oh thank you! Wait...can I eat this?" She asked tentatively.
"Well, you can't eat it per say, I can make this into a form which you can absorb but it won't taste like anything and you won't gain anything from it." I explained as she looked disappointed but then a cheery smile replaced it on her face.
"Cool! I can absorb it like a flower absorbs sunlight! I learnt that in school where Mrs teacher madame would speak about-" Her words were a blur in my mind but I didn't mind.
There was something comforting about spending time with someone and talking to them. I hadn't had a companion to talk to since the early days of Adam and Eve, Justice didn't count as it was strictly business.
It was...nice having a person to talk to.
