Paul Kohler - The Borrowed Souls, A Novel

Fast forward a few hours, and I remembered standing on a raised brick platform surrounded by half a dozen bridesmaids and groomsmen. And then it had happened. I saw my beautiful bride-to-be being led down the aisle by her father, and my emotions would not stay in check. My eyes had filled with tears, but I had smiled from ear to ear. When I saw the pure joy in Cyndi’s face as she approached, I had cried openly.

I shuffled through a few more photographs, occasionally wiping my eyes. When I reached the end of the stack, I slipped them back into the envelope and returned them to the bookshelf.

I rambled aimlessly about the cabin for hours, contemplating the similarities between Cyndi and me, and Meghan and Dana. I tried to figure out exactly what caused infidelity. Was it boredom? Was it weakness? Something else? I had no answers, but I did know one thing: I knew, as sure as I knew anything in this world, Cyndi had in fact been my soulmate. If that woman could continue to haunt my soul several months after her own death, I knew there was a connection. I just wondered if there was a similar connection between Dana and Meghan.

Having lost track of time, I decided it was time to get back to my responsibilities. I wondered if Meghan had returned home to work things out with Dana or if she had run off to be with Luke.

A moment later, I disappeared from the cabin to get caught up on my marks’ locations.

When I arrived at Luke’s apartment, it was late morning and Luke was just sitting down for lunch. As I sat across from him, I wondered whether he was aware that Meghan was married, or if she was being equally deceitful with him. Hoping to glean something relevant from Luke’s future, I quickly donned the rosary. I thought ahead twenty-four hours, and a moment later the room around me faded to black.

When my vision returned, I stood at Luke’s bedside. I looked down at him and Meghan, their naked bodies intertwined, then glanced at the alarm clock next to the bed. It was almost noon. Having discovered that they were both still alive, I was about to release the rosary to avoid witnessing any more of their adulterous ways when Meghan spoke.

“Are you sure?” she said.

“Absolutely. It’s like I said last night, I’ve never felt for anyone else the way I feel about you right now. I love you, Meg, and I hope you feel the same.”

Meghan didn’t reply right away. She lay next to Luke, her head on his chest, and from where I stood, I could see tears beginning to fall across her cheek.

“I’m not sure what to think. When I’m with you, all I can think about is being with you. When I’m away from you, all I can think about is wanting to get back to you.”

“Meg, you’ve just described my world for the past month.”

“But is that really love? I remember those same feelings when Dana and I first met. Sure, they weren’t as deep as they are with you, but I still had them. They were real feelings for him, early on. But somehow, what you and I have is—”

“Different? I don’t know, Meg, but I think you might be my… my soulmate. I’ve never had such feelings for anyone else in my entire life.”

Meghan dried her eyes before she looked up at Luke. “How can you tell?”

“I don’t know, it just… feels right. It’s like I ache when you’re not around, and when you are here, I ache at the thought of you having to leave.”

“I don’t want you to ache,” Meghan said as she leaned in and kissed Luke’s chin, inching up to his lips.

Suddenly, a loud commotion echoed in from somewhere else in Luke’s apartment. Before either Meghan or Luke could move, a tall man burst through the bedroom door.

Meghan looked up and screamed in horror at the sight of her husband. He was holding his vintage Colt revolver, pointing it in their direction.

Luke moved toward the edge of the bed, but Dana pulled back the hammer of his pistol. “Don’t you move an inch,” he said sternly.

Luke froze, then slowly leaned back against the headboard.

“Dana, I can explain,” Meghan said. “I was going to tell you today.”

Dana’s eyes blazed red with anger as he pointed his pistol at Luke.

“Wait! It’s not his fault,” Meghan pleaded. “I was the—”

Bang, roared the gun.

“DANA! What’ve you done,” Meghan screamed as Luke’s body went limp.

“I’m ending this,” Dana said calmly.

“By k-k-killing him?” Meghan asked as she began to sob.

“Meghan, baby, you were supposed to be mine, and mine only.”

“But is that a reason t-to k-kill someone?” Meghan pleaded.

“Shut up! Just stop it. You are tainted now, and you mean nothing to me,” Dana said as he pulled the hammer back on his pistol and fired it at Meghan.

As if in slow motion, the bullet crawled through the air, spinning slightly, before penetrating Meghan’s bare chest, blood splattering across the sheets.

A split second later, Dana cocked his pistol again and pointed it at the side of his own head. I saw him squeeze the trigger, but then everything froze. There was no more gunfire, no more blood, no more death. Everything around me paused eternally. I released my grip on the rosary and was brought back to the present.

I still sat at the kitchen table, but Luke had moved into the living room and was napping on the couch. I looked at my watch and saw that it was just about two in the afternoon. Remembering my last trip ahead with the rosary, I figured that Meghan and Dana were just about to have their fight.

“You better wake up, buddy. Your girlfriend is going to be on her way shortly and she is going to be needing you, of that I am certain.”

Luke continued to slumber, not hearing my words.

Feeling overwhelmed with emotion, I needed time to think. I had about twenty-four hours to kill before it was time, and sticking around there served no purpose. A moment later I vanished.

I leaned back on my couch, propping my feet up on the armrest. The sun had just set, and the flicker of the fire caused shadows to dance across the floor. Coping with this latest soul collection had left me mentally exhausted and wanting to escape my own past once again. As I lay still and silent, I could feel my eyelids drooping, almost as if they were being pulled down by some unnatural force. But I resisted the temptation to sleep. Visions of Enoch Gant and his evil ways flashed through my mind. I would not give him the satisfaction of another mind-altering dream. I recalled Hauser’s advice and knew that just by relaxing quietly for a few hours, I could refresh my soul.

As I glanced at the stack of faded photographs on the coffee table, I had a sudden and strong desire to talk to Cyndi. Just one more time. It had been several months since I had caught her cheating, and I was still filled with more questions than answers. After collecting her soul, I’d thought I was ready to move on. Now I wasn’t so sure. Dealing with Meghan and Luke, I began to wonder if Cyndi was in fact my soulmate. Just yesterday my mind had been set on it. But now I wasn’t so sure.

“Where did we go wrong?” I asked aloud, hoping Cyndi could hear me, wherever she was in her afterlife. “Was it me? You?” I was pretty sure it wasn’t us, because when we were together it felt like we were best friends. If I just had something, anything to tell me what had gone wrong, I might be able to make changes. Changes for others.

And where the hell was Hauser? I looked around the small cabin, as if by that act I could make him appear. Since the day I had collected Calvin’s soul, I’d not seen hide nor hair of him, and that just wasn’t like him.

“Hauser? If you’re hiding behind the bookcase, listening to me ramble, I need your help. I…” I paused, wondering how I should phrase my mental state. “I’m lost and confused. I really have no reason to object to this current collection, but I’m having second thoughts, again. I see the love between Meghan and Luke, and I’m torn. I know that what Meghan is doing to Dana is wrong, but after seeing the ugly side of him, it really burns me up to see them get slaughtered like that. So carelessly. If I could just get them to… move on in life, nobody would have to die so, so tragically. I could really use your help and guidance on this one. Hell, I’m not even sure a change can be made, but—”