***SOPHIA'S POINT OF VIEW***
"What'd you say?"
"What'd you say!"
"Where do we start?" I asked, dumb founded.
"You go first."
"Okay, SO ....well, I'm an Outcast. The boy you saw, that's part of it. I can communicate with the dead, I can help them get to the light. I can also make them materialize so they can touch things and change clothing and eat food, not that they get hungry. Whatever happened in the parking lot, has never happened before. Then again, I haven't ever been in a situation where the living and the deceased have touched me at the same time."
"That's so cool!"
I laughed, "Thanks, I guess. Maybe I'm the missing link between full communication with the living and the dead."
"Wait, so the boy I saw died?" When I nodded he shuddered."You don't need to answer this but can you," He rubbed the back of his neck. "Can you see my dad?"
"Yeah, I can." My voice grew hoarse. I had imagined this conversation hundreds of times and the emotion in his voice was over powering.
"Has he gone to the light?" When I shook my head tears brimmed in his eyes and over flowed making dots on his jeans.
I held his hand," Hey, no no no, sweetie, don't cry," I swallowed the lump in my throat. "He's been offered the light, he's just waiting."
"For what?! What could he be waiting for? Why can't he be happy in God's arms like every ones been telling me for the past two years of my life?!" He was angry and up set and seeing him cry was now jerking tears of my own. I scooted closer to him and wrapped him in a hug. He cried on my shoulder.
Before us stood his father with deep sorrow in his eyes. "Can I talk to my boy?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't think now's the right time."
"Is he here? Is my dad here?" Sam asked wiping his eyes.
I nodded looking him deep in the eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this, right now? If you're not ready, we can do it later."
He nodded, I didn't know what that meant. My eyes shifted to his father, Sam's eyes followed. All he could see is the street, what I could see was the man who raised him.
"Tell him that this can wait," John spoke quietly. He pulled out the hanky he always kept in his pocket and wiped his eyes and his nose. He folded it back and put it in his pocket. "Tell him that I love him and his mother and sister very much, and I didn't mean to make him upset. Tell him I have good reason, that I'll tell him all about it when the time is right."
I took Sam's hand in mine and caressed it with my thumb. "You're dad wants me to tell you something, is that okay?" He nodded staring at the ground as I relaid the message.
"We miss you dad, we really do."
John put his hands in his pockets and nodded thanking me and disappearing.
After a few minutes Sam collected himself and apologized. "No apology necessary." I gave a hug him that seemed to last forever.
"So!" Dawn said awkwardly from behind the wall. "Can I come out yet? I mean I hate ruining moments but I wanna know stuff too!"
"What are you talking about? You love ruining moments." I said.
Sam seemed a little less confused. "We can try your theory now if you want, with your dead friend."
"Woah, dead, ouch man! That hurt! And I can't possibly be THAT dad, I'm the life of the party." Of course Sam couldn't hear anything he was saying. Dawn sat next to me on the swinging porch chair," Come on let's try it! It'd be fun!"
