Paul Kohler - The Borrowed Souls, A Novel

Hauser turned the book over and nodded. “What do you know? It is Darwin. Fantastically influential, wouldn’t you say?”

I nodded, although it had been many years since I’d actually seen a copy. “Yeah, sure.”

Hauser dropped the book on the bench between us and peered at me questioningly. “So? How’d it go?”

“Well, he’s not going to die in the next twenty-four hours.”

“No, what did you think of the adventure? Quite a ride, huh?”

I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, another new experience, that’s for sure.”

“That’s it? Boy, you’ve just come closer to time travel than any of the living population would believe, and all you can say is, ‘Yeah, sure’?”

“What do you want me to say? That it was a mind-blowing ride and that my life will be forever changed? Well, it was interesting jumping forward like that, but once we got to twenty-four hours ahead, things were just… weird. I could see Noah clearly, but everything else was kind of… kind of blurry. And all I could do was watch. I couldn’t interact or change anything.”

“Didn’t you play around with the time tracking? Tell me you did something,” Hauser said.

“Time what? I just thought it was a twenty-four hour advance glimpse and nothing more. You didn’t mention anything about controls.”

“Oh? It must have slipped my mind. Sorry ‘bout that,” Hauser said, dropping his chin slightly. “So, yeah. You can control a lot of what you see. You can only go forward twenty-four hours from your current time, but you can rewind and experience anything over again that is within the time window. I sometimes think of an hour ahead and then set it to a speed of five times normal. That way, I catch most everything that is happening, but I’m skipping most of the boring, monotonous stuff.”

“Wait, how do I do that?”

“When you start, just think of the time of day and you’re whisked off. Once there, just say or think the commands clearly. Like fast-forward or rewind. You can even pause it and move around a moment frozen in time.”

“Okay, now I understand your excitement. If I’d had that information to begin with, I think I might have stayed there longer.”

“Now you know. I’ll bet your mind will be blown on your next trip.”

I tilted my head from side to side but said nothing.

Hauser noticed, and asked, “What? Is all this boring you somehow? Wow, you’re a hard man to please.”

“No, I think you’re right. It will certainly be an improvement. But why would I want to pause a moment in the future if it’s always going to be just a blurred environment? Any way to clear that up?”

“I know what you’re talking about. The future you are seeing is an estimation of projected occurrences. Even though the information you are experiencing is almost inevitable, sometimes things don’t always occur as planned. So the images you see are a little fuzzy. The closer you get to the current time, the clearer everything will be. That is, unless there is an absolute certainty, you’ll see the blur.”

“So how does that work?” I asked. “Who is it that figures out what the window to the future entails?”

“Not sure. Don’t care. Listen, Jack. The rosary is merely a tool. It’s not a perfect tool, but it’s there to give assistance in situations like this.”

“But don’t you ever wonder? How is it that all of these tools get made? Is there some kind of top-secret R&D division of the afterlife?”

Hauser shrugged, his eyes rolling back momentarily. “All right, Jack. Here’s what I do know. There is somebody in the Sentinel that… creates these gadgets. How he does it is beyond me. I’m no scientist, and I’m not even sure science is what’s used to make them. I’m just happy that we all get a new device every now and then.”

“So you’ve met him? Or her?” I asked.

“Not formally. I was up… there for another matter and he was present. He’s an older gentleman, long gray hair, silver eyes, reminded me of Gandalf”—Hauser chuckled—”and we didn’t even speak. His stare was penetrating, and if it wasn’t for his smile, I would’ve thought he was a curmudgeonly old coot that was the right hand of death.”

I whistled quietly, feeling a little overwhelmed by the man’s description. As I replayed Hauser’s last words in my mind, something stood out.

“Up there?” I asked.

This time, Hauser’s eyes rolled all the way back before he answered. “Okay, champ. Q&A is over. For now. I think you need to be on task and stay near Noah—”

“But he’s not going to die right away, at least not in the next twenty-four hours.”

“Just because you have this new tool doesn’t mean that you can get lazy. You should still be near him and glean as much knowledge from him as possible. You never know when you might need certain information to assist you in his transition.”

“Like what he had for breakfast today? Or how long he was in the bathroom after breakfast?” I asked.

Clearly irritated at my sarcasm, Hauser stood up and shuffled from side to side as he appeared to be in deep contemplation.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I just don’t get all of this.”

“It’s okay, Jack. If you can believe this, when I was being trained, I may have been even more of a pain in the ass about the whole situation than you’re being now.” He stopped pacing and stood directly in front of me. “Take Wilson, for example. He obviously had the rosary with him, but he still was with you for the majority of your day. He knew what you would be going through and was there in your moment of need. Regardless of your outcome, don’t you think that his ability and knowledge of your past twenty-four hours would’ve helped your transition to the other side be more comfortable?”

Strangely, I hadn’t given Wilson a whole lot of consideration over the past few weeks, and now that Hauser pointed out how genuinely dedicated he was, I felt somewhat embarrassed for my attitude.

“I really am sorry, Hauser. I’m on it. I’ll stick with him and see this through.”

“Apology accepted, champ. Just let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you,” Hauser said as he looked at his pocket watch.

“Wait! Before you go, what can you tell me about animals? Noah and his family apparently got a puppy, and he’s able to see me. In fact he appears to have a strong dislike for my presence entirely.”

“Ah, yes. Animals can see and interact with us. In fact, I have a goldfish back… Never mind. Yes, animals are a challenge for us. Perhaps you should get a hold of some dog treats before you head back. Make a friend. A few tender morsels and he’ll certainly adjust his temperament toward you.”

A moment later, Hauser vanished.

I sat for a few moments longer, deciding which pet store I would visit before heading back to Noah’s. Once I had my plan, I vanished.

“Dad?”

“Yeah, kiddo,” Noah replied.

“I miss Bailey already,” Katie said before taking another lick of her melting ice cream cone.

“I know. I miss him too, but we’ll be able to pick him up from the vet’s office in an hour or so. He’s just getting a… checkup,” Noah said as he took a bite from his own ice cream.

“What’s a checkup?” Katie asked.

“It’s where the animal doctor checks to make sure that Bailey’s health is okay. They give him shots that keep him from getting sick. They’re also going to do a small operation on him… to make sure his insides are okay as well,” Noah said.

Katie listened, holding her ice cream with one hand and deftly gripping a giant red balloon with her other. The balloon and ice cream were an attempt to preoccupy Katie’s attention while her new puppy was getting fixed.