Balance

Chapter 4

4

            Eleanor’s body shook with fear. With wide eyes, she stared at the already fading streaks on her skin. She wondered how it was possible, when the skin on her body was nothing more than an illusion. It protected no bones, blood or organs. It only looked and felt like skin to The Heaven’s inhabitants. She had never been anything but empty space to all mortals.

            All mortals but that one boy.

            Her mind was spinning. In an attempt to calm herself, she lied down on the cool sand. Some of the tall wisps of grass that sprouted from the sand were crushed beneath the Sister’s back. Her curly brown hair acted as a sort of pillow as she rested on the soft earth. She thought of the boy and his bright crimson eyes, the way he had looked at her, saw her, spoke to her, touched her—

Eleanor shook her head, ridding the image of him from her mind. As that thought left, another one surfaced: her soul-keeping box wasn’t with her. It had fallen to the floor when the boy grabbed her. She closed her eyes tightly in strain, knotting her fingers through her hair and pulling fiercely. She knew that she had to go back and fetch the box, sometime. Her whole day’s work was kept safely inside its golden hinges, and Death would not be pleased if Eleanor told him she had lost the small wooden chest. Eleanor had the feeling that it was not a good idea to mention any of the night’s events to Life or Death.

What if that boy tampered with her work? What if he found a way to release the souls or—or worse, what if he found a way to stash more inside? She would be lucky if her superiors allowed her near another soul again. They would probably send her straight to Higher Heavens, and then attend to cleaning up her mess themselves.

A feeling of weariness overcame her. Her eyelids grew leaden, and her thoughts were turning to mush. Working spirits like Eleanor did need sleep, but it had been so long since her last rest, she had forgotten slumber was even an option. The amount of time since she’d slept added to the stress of the night’s events had taken its toll on Eleanor. Any motion she would have made to retrieve her wooden chest were now unthinkable with her sluggish mind and body. Soon, she was lulled to a deep rest as she lied under the Heavens’ synthetic moon and stars.

…

Eleanor slowly came to her senses as the authentic sun filtered through her eyelids. She was aware of balmy gusts of wind and the gritty sand under her cheek and between her fingernails. Eleanor opened her eyes, and slowly sat up. Grainy sand-grass mixture mingled in her hair and in the folds of her clothes. The Sister stood up and gently shook her dress until most of the sand had fallen to her bare feet.

The air was warm, and the fake sun felt good on her body. She was rejuvenated and sure that more rest was not necessary for a long while. The events of last night slowly fed into memory while the last dregs of sleep were tossed from her. Once more, she searched her gown and the space about her, hoping her box would magically appear by her side. When it didn’t, she addressed what little options she had. Would she rather confront Life or Death and tell what happened, or go and get her small wooden chest on her own? Eleanor knew which to choose before she had even considered it. With her previous day’s collection and job on the line, the only choice was to confront the boy and retrieve her box. She sighed, casting her gaze toward the way she came. It wouldn’t be a long trek to the boy’s town, but it would be a taut one.

She walked out of the lands and past where the sky met the Heavens. Eleanor gently floated to her destination, passing large green pastures and thriving towns. The large morning sun shone particularly bright that day, not a cloud in the sky to shade it. Knotweed, West Virginia was a well-sized town nestled in a veil of woodland and cracked gray asphalt. Eleanor had only ever made a few trips to the town, and was apprehensive toward finding one boy out of unknown area. Even with the doubtful odds of finding him, any thoughts of turning back had been abolished at this point. Eleanor would only return to The Heavens if she had a chest full of souls in hand.