Paul Kohler - The Borrowed Souls, A Novel

As I finished cleaning up the spilled coffee, I retook my seat and motioned for Penny to join me. “That’s understandable, Penny. I remember experiencing days just like that after my wife… you know.”

Penny accepted the offer to join me and smiled discreetly. “So, do you live around here or are you stalking me?” she asked.

“Neither. I collect books. It’s a crazy, expensive addiction. A friend of mine told me about this place, and I figured I couldn’t pass it up.”

Penny smiled again and looked at me with a strange, sideways glance. “You know, it’s funny. I know you said that you’ve been to the community center before, but I just… I don’t know. I think we’ve seen each other someplace else. I just can’t put my finger on it.”

Panicked, I said, “That doesn’t surprise me. I’m told that I have a very recognizable face. You would not believe how often people tell me that they remember seeing me from someplace else.”

“Nice cover, Jack,” Hauser said. “Now, change the subject before she thinks about it more. Buy her a cup of coffee.”

“I’m sorry, where are my manners? Can I get you something? Maybe a cup of coffee… that’s not spilled all over my lap?” I asked.

Penny giggled. “That would be great, thanks. House coffee with cream, please.”

I excused myself and bought two more coffees quickly. I sat down again, and we both sipped awkwardly at our hot drinks.

“So, Penny, seeing as I was here first, I think it’s you that is stalking me,” I said teasingly.

“Don’t you wish, perv,” Penny said dryly. “Actually, I live nearby and coming here takes my mind off of… things.”

“This place certainly is wonderful,” I said. “What with the vast book selection in all genres.”

Penny nodded. “Yeah, there’s that. But then when I get to the family and parenting section, I usually lose it.”

“Yikes, I’m sorry. Change of subject?” I asked.

“No, it’s all right. Like we said the other day, it’s sometimes good to talk about things.”

“Okay then, tell me about yourself.”

“What do you want to know? Am I single? Do I enjoy long walks on the beach? Do I like the sound of rain?” she said sarcastically.

“No, nothing like that. Tell me about your family, about your parents. Do you have sisters or brothers?”

“I had a brother, but he died a few years ago,” Penny said, her voice dropping. “I don’t know my real parents. I’ve been in foster homes for as long as I can remember,” she said, her mood dropping even further.

Well, crap, I thought.

“Have you tried to track down your real parents?” I asked.

“I tried several months ago, right after I got pregnant. But it was a lost cause. Nobody had any paperwork on how I even entered the foster care system.”

“I really don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but I’m sorry, Penny.”

“It’s all right. It’s not your fault. I just seem to have been dealt an unlucky hand in life, or so it seems sometimes.”

“Can I ask about the father of your child? Is he around?”

“Ha, funny story,” Penny said sardonically. “The father of my child was my very last foster father.”

“Holy hell, Jack. Change the subject quick,” Hauser said.

Ignoring Hauser momentarily, I pushed further. “I’m curious. Did you still live with your foster parents when that happened?”

“No, I thought they were actually good people all along. I’d been living on my own for a few years by then, but I still stayed in contact with them. Having dinner with them occasionally, holidays and weekends and such. Then something changed. Theodore, my foster father, just snapped one day and forced himself on me, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.”

“Oh, Penny. Did you report him to the police?”

“No. He told me if I said anything he would hunt me down and kill me.”

My blood began to boil with each additional detail Penny told me, thinking about the injustices of collecting the good souls while assholes like Theodore continued to live.

“You know, the police could have protected you,” I said, walking gingerly through the conversation, remembering how volatile her personality was from our last meeting.

“Yeah, I know that now, but back then I was pretty scared. Now I don’t really care what happens to my life.”

“Penny, all life is precious. You’re a very special young woman, and you have a lot to offer this world.”

“Is that your expert opinion? After what? Having a few brief conversations with me?” she asked angrily.

Drastically wanting to lighten the mood, I felt a joke here would help. “I don’t know, Penny. If you weren’t here, who would help me every time I spilled something on myself?”

Penny gave me a ghost of a smile. “I don’t know; I think you’d manage okay.”

I leaned back and looked around the coffee shop as I tried to think of another humorous anecdote, when Hauser spoke up.

“Look up now, Jack. Enoch is standing at the second-floor balcony!”

“I see him,” I said, raising my sight, focusing on Enoch’s face just as Hauser spoke.

“I’m sorry, what?” Penny said. “You see who?”

Crap, I thought. “I, um, was just visualizing myself spilling my next hot beverage,” I said.

“Excuse yourself, Jack. We need to move on this, and I mean now,” Hauser said as he disappeared from my side.

Suddenly, my vision blurred. The entire room faded in and out of darkness. An uncontrollable whirling sensation overcame me, and I felt as if the room was about to turn on its side. Just as panic was about to take over, all of my senses returned just as quickly as they’d begun to skew.

“I’m sorry, Penny, but I need to go the men’s room and check my… legs. I may have actually burned myself with that coffee spill,” I said, standing and walking toward the back of the bookstore until I was out of sight. The moment I was clear I vanished from the main floor and reappeared on the second floor right next to Enoch Gant.

I dropped my coin into my lap and was brought back to the present. Wilson was staring at me expectantly.

“Why did you stop?” he asked. “Is there something wrong?”

“No, I just… wanted to see if that dizziness was part of the flash back or if it might somehow be connected with my injury,” I said as I caressed the tender mass on the back of my head.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Jack. I didn’t experience any unsteadiness from my point of view. Can you explain it?” Wilson said, worry lines spreading across his face. He leaned forward.

“I don’t know. It felt kind of like when we travel and everything blacks out. But it was different somehow. It almost felt as if I’d had too much to drink and was about to pass out.”

Wilson leaned back in his chair and seemed to contemplate something as I explained the account. “I suppose it might be a carryover from the effects of caffeine on your system.”

“But you said you didn’t notice it from your point of view. Aren’t you seeing things as I am? I’ve only used the coin a few times since getting it from you.”

“You’re partly correct, Jack. I am seeing what you see, but not to the full extent. Because these are your memories and feelings, not everything translates the same way to me,” Wilson said. “It’s either that or your head trauma is causing interference somehow. Do you feel dizzy right now?”

I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I stood and walked around for a few moments. “No, I feel surprisingly well. My headache is even gone,” I said, delighted.

“Just to be safe, I think we should give your mind a short break before going back in. Just try and remember where you were when you left.”