Souls in Peril (55 page)

“Thank you, sweetheart. We
’
ve missed you,
too.” His mother smiled. “We
’
re proud of you. You worked hard to help JD. No matter the odds, you didn
’
t give up on him.”

“
E
ven at the canal
’
s edge.” His dad sat down on the bed next to him. “Not even Gabriel thought you could stop him. Very impressive work, Max.” His dad beamed proudly.

“It was a team effort. If Em and Jeff hadn
’
t befriended him, and if Coach hadn
’
t stepped in at the end, I don
’
t think I could have stopped him.” Max looked at his mom. “Do you think he
’
ll be alright now?”

“Gabriel believes so. JD hasn
’
t had hope in many years, son. You gave him that.”

“
We all
gave him that,” Max corrected.
“But
I failed Izzy.” Max closed his eyes to the memory of
her
.

“No, sweetheart. You didn
’
t fail her.
Remember before you left
,
Gabriel warned that you can
’
t force someone into taking the help that
’
s offered
?
That poor child. She was so disheartened.” His mom teared up again. “But she
’
s here now, and they
’
re helping her.”

“She
’
s here? Can I see her?” Max jumped up, heading for the door of the white room.

“Not now. Remember, son.
You
’
re not JD anymore. She knows you only as Max
. She thinks of you as one of the . . .” His father didn
’
t say it, but Max knew. Izzy thought of Max Sánchez as another mean kid at school. Someone who referred to her and JD as
The Ten.
A bully.

“I was such an idiot. Why did I have to be so stupid?” Max hung his head in shame.

His mother gave him a hug. “Come. We want to show you something.”

As he walked toward the door, he remembered something Gabe told him. “Dad, Gabriel said I wasn
’
t allowed to see you guys. Something about the living not being able to leave the holding cells. So why are you here?”

“You
’
re time on earth is up. It was actually up two weeks ago, but you were doing so well with JD, Gabe asked if we thought you
’
d mind staying a little longer to keep working with him,” his dad
explained
. “We told him we didn
’
t think you
’
d mind. Were we wrong?”

“No. Not at all,” Max assured them. “So I
’
m . . . dead?”

“We call it
crossed over
here. As you can see, you are very much alive.” His mother playfully pinched his cheek.

“How did I . . . crossover?” Max looked down at his body. It
seemed
the same to him.

“Originally, you were supposed to be in a coma from the accident for six weeks before crossing over,” his mother
said
.

Max grimaced. Six weeks in a coma? Yuck. His dad reached for the doorknob and
pulled it open
.

Max
’
s jaw fell. He stepped out onto the rich green grass, eyeing the vivid colors of the vegetation all around. The lush, thick trees filled with not only leaves, but flowers of every kind and color. Bold red and orange birds flew in and out of the branches. There was so much to see, Max could scarcely take it all in. Every turn of his head brought a new image, each more beautiful than the last.
Billowy white clouds, crystal clear waterfalls, and animals. So many animals. Some he recognized , some not so much.

“This is . . .”
Max stalled, searching his mind for the right word to describe all he could barely take in.

“Paradise,” his dad
finished
, leading him to a lake of crystal blue water. Max drank in the fresh, clean air, heavily scented with
roses
from a nearby bush. Max slipped off his shoes and dipped his feet in the refreshing water. His parents joined him
,
and they spent the afternoon at the shore
’
s edge sharing memories of a life that seemed forever ago.

“Max. Good to see you.” Gabe stood next to him, clipboard in hand. “I
’
d like to speak to you alone
,
if I may.”

“No problem,” said his father as they all stood. “Sofia
’
s
wanted
to pet the lions again anyway. We
’
ll see you in a bit, son.”

Pet the lions? I
’
m definitely going to like it here.

“Well done with Jayden, Max. He
’
s coming along. Carl and his family are working miracles with him.” Gabe smiled.

Max wiggled his toes, impressed with the velvety texture of the grass under his feet. “Already? He just got there yesterday afternoon.”

“Max, you
’
ve been here almost two weeks now, earth time,” Gabe informed him.

“But if feels like only a few hours.”

“Time has no relevance here.”

“I guess not.” Max shook his head in amazement.

“You did such a superb job with JD, we
’
d like to offer you an opportunity to join the
Souls in Peril
team,” Gabe said. “Not all the assignments will be as difficult as JD
’
s, but some will.”

“What kind of assignments? What would I be doing?” He scooped up his shoes, not wanting to put them back on yet. The grass felt too good.

“You
’
d be helping others as difficult choices are put before them. Choices that could be devastating if they choose unwisely. Again, we can
’
t force, we can only guide.
And beg,
”
he said with a wink.
Gabe led him toward
an
astonishingly beautiful
building
up on a hill
. “You worked a miracle with JD. We didn
’
t expect you to succeed. We hoped you would, but truly, you were his last hope. You have a gift, Max.”

“I think I learned more about myself than anything,” Max admitted.

“As is of
ten the case when we help other
s
,” Gabe
said with a nod
. “That
’
s the beauty of it
.
I
n the end it is often yourself that grows the most. So
I
’
m assuming that
this
is
something you might enjoy
doing
?”

Max thought for a moment. As hard as it had been to help JD, there was no mistaking the feeling of
joy he felt
seeing
JD grow stronger.

“Yes. I
’
d
like to join the team.” Max grinned.

“I knew you
’
d say that. I
’
ll introduce you to everyone.” Gabe held a hand out to the building they
’
d been walking toward.

Max stepped on the stone path in front of the building, passing
a
lilac bush.
T
he scent drew him in, flooding him with memories
of Em. They were her favorite flower.

Max stopped. “I didn
’
t get to say goodbye
to Em
.” He fingered the deep purple blooms. “I know not everyone gets to say goodbye to their loved ones. I just kinda hoped . . .”
He rubbed the pain in his chest,
and
bur
ied
his face in the flower
,
inhaling
deeply.

Gabe glanced around before taking him by the arm. “This is between you and me. Understand? You can
’
t tell anyone I let you see her again.”

“Yes.” Max tried not to get excited, but the effort was in vain. He was over-the-top excited.

Gabe led him to the side of the building. “Hold my hand.” Max laid his hand in Gabe
’
s. Gabe raised his other hand and snapped his fingers. Instantly, they were back on earth. But Max had no idea where. “You
really
need to teach me that snapping trick,” he said, looking around.

A huge tree, the largest one Max had ever seen, stood boldly, majestically, in front of him with its green lobed leaves and mammoth branches shooting out from the rotund trunk. Some of the limbs swooped down to rest on the ground as if the
y
were too heavy to stay aloft.

The Angel Oak.

And sitting under the heavenly tree? A beautiful blond
angel
.
Em. It must be spring break. She finally made her trip to the Angel Oak.
Max ran to her, dropping down beside her on his knees. She was asleep. Dried tears stained her soft cheeks, and in her arms she held a picture of him.
Max leaned in to kiss her lips one last time
but
felt nothing.

“You no longer have a body, Max,” Gabe said gently.
” You can no longer touch the living.”
Max nodded and sat back on his feet.

“Max,” she cried out softly in her sleep, pain twisted on her face.

“Gabe, she
’
s hurting.”

“I know.” He put his hand on Max
’
s shoulder. “Talk to her. She
’
ll think it
’
s a dream.
”

“I love you, Em.”

Her sky-blue eyes popped open and she soared into his arms. Thanks to Gabe
’
s hand on his shoulder he could actually feel her. “Oh, Max. I
’
ve missed you so badly.” Max wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

“I
’
ve missed you too, Em.” He ran his hand over her silky hair, twisting a few strands around his fingers.

“Please
,
don
’
t leave me. I can
’
t do this without you.” Her plea cut Max to his core.

“You have to let me go, Em. You have to move on. Dwelling on the past is not a good thing.” Each word killed him a little, but it had to be said. She had to let him go. “You
’
re so much stronger than you think. You
’
re like this tree, Em
.
P
owerful
.
S
trong
.
”
H
e touched her hair
again.
“
B
eautiful.”

She shook her head and tightened her grip.

“Em, you have to live our dreams now. Remember all our plans? We want
ed
to go to college, start a family. We were going to hike Kilimanjaro together.
” She shook her head.
“
You once told me you want
ed
to
write things that will make a difference in people
’
s lives. You wanted to be like this tree.
” He picked up an acorn, placing it in her hand. “Here, plant this. When you see
it growing in your yard
, think of me.
When you enjoy its shade on a hot summer
’
s day, remember me. When your grandchildren are climbing in its branches, see me there.
Th
is
way
we can still grow old together, Em, with our very own
Angel Oak
.

“It
’
s so hard.”
Her voice chocked as she
gazed
into his eyes. “I
’
m afraid I
’
ll forget you. I don
’
t want to forget you.”

“Em, that won
’
t happen. If you even try, I
’
ll haunt you until you remember me again.” She laughed. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “Pack up the pictures, Em, except for maybe the one with you in the pink spotted swimming suit when our families went to Ocean City last summer. I like that picture.”