Paul Kohler - The Borrowed Souls, A Novel

The room fell silent. Several moments passed as I tried to find the right words to say, but I couldn’t piece together anything worth a shit. Was this fate’s way of throwing life in my face? Was this God’s plan to show me that if I hadn’t taken those pills, Cyndi may have been my very own form of Abigail? Assuming we could have made it past her infidelity.

“I… I’m not sure what to say, Raymond. I think you’re right, Abigail may very well have been your guardian angel.”

“That’s exactly what she was. After that day, Abby became my best friend. I did go to that dance that Friday night, and we danced all night long. Much to the chagrin of all the other boys in my class. Several months later, Abby became more than just my friend. I was convinced that she was my soulmate. Abigail Caldwell was my first and only true love,” Raymond said as he slumped sideways in his wheelchair.

Raymond’s strength was clearly draining rapidly. I knew his death was imminent, and I wondered if I should tell him anything about who I really was.

Before I could make a decision, Raymond leaned forward and tried to pull himself upright. His first attempt was a failure, his frail body falling back into his wheelchair. On his second attempt, he was able to use the guardrail on the side of the bed to assist him in standing. Once up, he shuffled his feet closer to Abigail’s bedside before he stopped. I knew what he was going to do, and there was nothing I could do to help. It was like a train wreck about to happen, and all I could do was watch.

He took several deep breaths before he lifted his leg up, sliding it on the edge of the bed. With his right hand, he reached across Abigail’s body and gripped the far handrail. In his awkward three-point stance, Raymond pushed off the ground with his left foot, while pulling himself up with his right hand.

Once fully on the bed, Raymond adjusted his position around his dead wife, their two bodies unified. He began to weep.

“Oh, Abby. Why have you left me? I’m not strong enough to live this life without you.” Raymond said ignoring the tears streaking down his cheek. “God, why couldn’t you have taken me and let my wife live? She had the kindest soul. You could’ve taken me and spared her life. She could have continued on to spread so much joy—the joy that she has given me for so many years. Why her?”

As I witnessed Raymond declaring his love for his wife and pleading to his God, I knew the moment was imminent. I slipped my hand into my pocket and gripped the wooden box in preparation.

“Raymond, there is—” I said, beginning to tell him why I was really there, when I was interrupted by the sound of a man clearing his throat.

I turned toward the sound and saw Hauser standing at the foot of the bed. He was dressed like a doctor, complete with a stethoscope slung around his neck. As he and I looked at each other, his eyes piercing, he shook his head discreetly. Understanding, I nodded and released my grip on the wooden box. I looked back at Raymond as he laid his head on his wife’s shoulder and began to shudder from his uncontrollable sobs.

Until that moment, I don’t think that I had ever witnessed true love so completely. Selfishly, I envied his love for Abigail. I only wished that the love Cyndi and I had had was just as true, before…

As I contemplated my horrific life choices, Raymond’s shuddering began to subside and his breathing began to slow. His eyes closed, and for a moment he looked like he was in total peace.

I glanced back at Hauser, who motioned for me to open the box. I quickly retrieved the box from my pocket and opened it, placing it on the edge of the bed. A few moments later, Raymond’s lips parted and his soul shot from his open mouth directly into the box, nearly tumbling it off the bed.

The sudden burst of Raymond’s soul made me jump. Startled, I stared across the bed at the box sitting on the edge. From behind me, I heard a faint chuckle. Turning, I saw Hauser quickly cover his mouth, silencing his outburst.

“You insensitive prick,” I said without thinking. “How can you think this tender, touching moment is funny?”

“Relax, Jack. I wasn’t laughing at the couple. I was laughing at you. You jumped nearly a foot in the air,” he said, laughing even louder.

“Oh, shut up,” I said, fighting back my own internal laughter.

“I have to say, Jack, your training will certainly go down in infamy. First you have to collect your own wife’s soul, and then this—such a beautiful display of love and dedication.”

“Don’t forget to mention that crazy gang fight that you dragged me to. That was pretty epic, you have to admit.”

“You know it, kid. It’s all going in my report for sure.”

“So I’m being graded on this?” I asked.

“Well, sort of. The Sentinel”—Hauser’s voice lowered—“they like to keep tabs on pretty much everything.”

I began to wonder if there was something more to our employers that Hauser wasn’t telling me. I made a mental note to bring it up later.

“I have to ask. When did you know that I would be collecting both of their souls? You did know, right?”

“Yeah, I kind of knew. The moment we walked back in and saw the husband sitting next to the bed, I could see a… faint aura around him. It’s nothing scientific by any means, but it’s just something that I’ve learned to sense through the years. I’m sure, with enough experience of your own, you’ll be able to pick up on certain things along the way as well.”

“So, including Wilson, I’ve now bagged seven souls. How am I doing?” I asked. “How am I really doing?”

“All in all, Jack, I think you’re right on par with the majority of my training candidates. There’s a few things that you could work on, but I think you have what it takes.”

“Wow, you make it sound like I’m auditioning for a job. Am I?”

“I’m not gonna lie to you, buddy. It’s true. Not everybody is cut out for this job. You are ahead of the curve, but don’t get cocky.”

I smiled before looking at Raymond and Abigail one last time. Satisfied that this was a job well done, I began to move toward the door.

“Um, aren’t we forgetting something?” Hauser asked.

I stopped and turned back toward the hospital bed where Raymond’s soul box was sitting.

“Oh, shit,” I exclaimed. I first grabbed the coin from the floor and slipped it into my pocket. Then I went for the box. Picking it up, I placed my lips around the extrication portal and inhaled deeply. The taste of Raymond’s soul reminded me of clover honey, with a hint of cinnamon. Once the flavor was gone, the box disappeared and was again replaced with a new one. Turning it over, I looked for the name of my next assignment but was slightly confused when there was none carved on the lid.

“Huh. It looks like I got a dud. There’s nothing on the box,” I said as I turned it toward Hauser.

Hauser leaned closely, scrutinizing every detail of the ornate wooden box. “Well, that’s not good.”

“So, you’ve seen a blank box before?”

Hauser whistled softly. “I have to say, Jack. I’m at a bit of a loss for words right now.”

“You? At a loss?” I chuckled and turned the box around in my hand to get a better look myself. As I did so, I began to see the faint outline of a name form right in front of me. “Wait a minute. I think there might be something here.”

Hauser stepped close and we both watched intently as a name etched into the box lid. As the moments passed, the name engraved deeper into the wood and started to became legible.

“Noah Clayton,” I read aloud.

As the name left my mouth, Hauser yanked the pocket watch from his trousers so quickly I expected the chain to snap.