Poor kid, I thought.
She reminded me a little bit of Shae, right then. The two of them looked a little bit alike around the eyes. Big old doe-eyes, on the verge of buggish. Almost the same color too; a reddish shade of dark brown that reminded her of cherrywood. But that was where the similarity ended. Shae had been hard around the edges; there was nothing the world could throw at him that he didn't think he could take. Of course, I knew better, but it never made a difference, did it?
I was going to make a difference this time if it killed me (again.) So I pulled the kid up to her feet and we got going. One of the nice things about this place is that while you were here, you couldn't die, so not a lot of forethought was necessary. I took the bag because I couldn't bear to leave it behind, not because I needed it. I had taken it with me everywhere I went in life, why should that change in death?
"Where we goin'?" The kid asked after we had been walking for a while. Her eyes were still a bit red, but otherwise she looked as if nothing had happened.
"South," I said, "like I said, there's supposed to be some witch-doctor down there, people say she can get people back home. Jorge was right, odds are it's just a rumor, but I'm running out of time, so there's no sense in waiting around."
"What you mean, runnin' out of time?" she asked, looking up at me blankly.
"Yeah," I said. "We're here because we're transforming into some animals, right?"
"I dunno. I guess so?"
"Well, once we're done changing, we go away."
"Where d'we go?"
"Hell if I know." I shrugged. "I always believed in reincarnation, so I like to think that that's what happens. I guess there's no way of knowing for sure, though." We were silent. "Where are you from, Addie?"
"All over, she said." Her voice was still a bit shaky. "Mos'ly the swamp, down in Louisiana, though. Spent a lotta time in New Orleans."
"City girl, huh?"
"Maybe a little. Where you from?"
"Colorado." Addie gave a bark of laughter.
"So just 'bout the opposite, from me, then."
"Cities are the same everywhere, and I was never too far from one."
"Not New Orleans." Addie insisted, a soft smile on her face. "She's a real spirit, you know? A real damn prize at night, too. Loud and in your face, like a man possessed." She laughed again. "Jeez, listen to me. I really do sound like some city girl, don't I?"
"Just a little." I was smiling too.
"Forget I said that. I'm jus' a tiny bit homesick, I guess."
"It gets easier," I promised. We had come to a stop while we were talking. We were headed in the same direction I had first brought her from, and I could see the basin of the lake from here. I thought it best to keep my thoughts of home to myself. "We've got to stop in Korrhburg on the way to this witch doctor. That's a city of a decent size. Maybe you'll feel better when we're there."
"Maybe."
YOU ARE READING
Songbirds After Dark
ParanormalNo one knows what happens after you die. Sure, everyone's got a theory, but who knows? Kiera Morris does, and quite frankly she's had quite enough of the afterlife. Everyone around her seems to be resigned to their fate, but she doesn't want to be r...