Read Where All Souls Meet Online
Authors: S. E. Campbell
Where All Souls Meet (18 page)
A grin crossed her face. She didn't care what form she took, as long as she could talk to her dad. As long as she could hug him. She saw him weave through the crowd and grow pale as he spotted her. Even though he was a mess, even though she could smell the stench of sour clothes and sweat, she didn't care. Finally, after all this time, she would get to talk to him. She had never understood how much he'd done for her until she went to Purgatory.
"Dad," Eden said.
"Eden," he said, and then he gazed down at himself. "Am I hallucinating? Am I dead?"
"
Dad,"
Eden said again, louder this time.
She could no longer contain her enthusiasm as she leapt over the grass and flew at her dad. Only milliseconds before she reached him did she stop to wonder whether she would pass right through him, but her worries were short lived. Despite the fact she was a spirit, God had made her just as solid as her Dad was. Maybe God had known how much she wanted to hug her dad.
"Eden," Osier said, touching her cheek as tears drizzled down his face. "You're dead. This isn't happening."
"I got to come back just for a little while, Dad," Eden said. "I don't know how long I have here, but you've got to listen. You aren't dead and this isn't a hallucination. It's real. All of it is real."
"But you're dead," he repeated, still holding her cheek. He kept a firm hand on her waist as if afraid letting her go might allow her to drift away.
"I was allowed to come back," Eden said. "Come with me away from these people. I have to tell you some things."
Her dad still appeared dazed as Eden led him between some gravestones. There was a bench with room for two put up in memory of a person. On top of it, there was the name, Annie Dorsel. Eden led her dad over to the bench and sat on the right side, and her dad sat to her left. He continued to hold her hand even as he sat down.
"Eden," her dad said, as if it was all he could say now.
"It's okay, Dad," Eden said, "but you have got to
stop drinking
. You've destroyed yourself. I watched you after I fell down the stairs, and I saw what happened to you. You died right along with me, and that isn't right. I can't go to heaven unless I know you'll be happy. Promise me you'll stop drinking. Promise me."
"It's the only thing to make the memories go away," her dad said. "You died, and then everything got so bad, so fast. There was darkness. Darkness everywhere."
"The darkness won't come back," Eden said. "It's why you've got to get your life back."
"How can I when I killed you?" More tears poured down his face. "I couldn't even look in the mirror after what happened. And now I'm hallucinating you here too."
"I'm not a hallucination," Eden said. She paused and then felt the heat of the cross in her pocket. "I have something to prove it. It'll stick with you long after I leave. You'll know I was truly here and I love you."
Eden pulled out the cross from her pocket and handed it to her dad. Shocked, her dad stared at the cross and held it up to the light.
"Impossible," her dad said. "It's warm. And this⦠this is what we argued about. This is what made meâ¦"
The glazed look in her dad's eyes made her realize she was losing him. Eden reached forward and grabbed his hands, holding them against her small chest so he could feel her heart.
"Dad, you didn't kill me," Eden said. "I fell down the stairs. It was meant to happen. It was my time to go. You had nothing to do with it. You have got to stop blaming yourself for my death. I never blamed you, not for one single second."
"But if it wasn't for me, you would still be here." His hand trembled.
Eden reached out and hugged him, patting his back. It made her heart ache to see such sadness in his eyes, but she knew this was as close as she could come to taking it away.
"Dad," Eden said, "I would have died no matter where I was. I love you. And I'm going to heaven now. I will be waiting for you when you get there. Who knows? Maybe I'll even get to watch over you when you're doing your tasks."
All of the sudden, her soul began to feel light again. She felt her dad's hands slip through her sides. When she gazed down, she realized her newfound solidity was fading. A sad smile crossed her face as she glanced at her dad again.
"I have to go now, I think," Eden said. "God's calling me back. But remember what I said. Don't drink anymore. Live."
"Eden, I'm sorry I wasn't a better father to you," her dad said. "I wish I hadn't worked so much. I wish I hadn'tâ"
Eden put her hand to his lips and shook her head. "I love you, Dad. Until we meet again."
"I love you too, Eden." He reached out to touch her cheek but his hand passed right through.
The golden light fluttered down on her head, and she realized her dad could no longer see her. He tried to hug her, but his hands passed right through her soul. As she watched, he fell to his knees, grasped the cross which still remained in his fists, lifted it toward the sky, and began to sob.
****
Eden sat on the bench awhile longer, and out of nowhere, Natalia appeared where her dad had been sitting.
"This was hard for you," Natalia said. It was not a question.
"Yes," Eden said.
"He'll be fine, you know," Natalia said. "We can see things you can't. He's going to stop drinking. He's going to remember. Someday, he'll meet you in heaven."
"Really?" Eden asked.
"I know for certain," Natalia said. "Now come with me. Your friends have been refusing to go to heaven without you. I think they have suffered enough, waiting for you. They even tried to accompany the warrior angels to the fight in hell."
Natalia stood up and offered her hand, and Eden took it. Eden gazed at her feet.
"Is it truly over, Natalia?" Eden asked.
"For you, yes," Natalia said. "You will live all eternity in a place where there is only love and peace. For a good soul, is it not all you could want? This is why some must go to hell and some must go to heaven. You choose what you want. If you want violence and discord, you go to a place where those things reign. If you want peace and love, you will get your wish as well. So let us go."
Eden gazed upward and nodded. She was filled with warmth, but she was not surprised when she blinked and was in Purgatory once more. This time, though, she was in the city of Gabriel. The repaired Gabriel where the sun shown down on the houses, there was no demonic throne in the middle of the road, and souls milled around in hopes to accomplish their tasks. One thing was different, though.
"The Blood Stone chapel is gone," Eden said.
"Yes," Natalia said, smiling. There was only a pile of rubble remaining. "The test is over. God didn't want the chapel in Gabriel anymore, so He had it removed. But there is something else you should see."
Natalia held tight to Eden's hand and led her down the street where souls stared at her and whispered. Eden did not know whether they talked about her or the fact she was being led by a one-winged angel. They came to a stop down the road where a group of people could be seen. Several people sat on the ground and one paced back and forth in front of them. Eden recognized them at once and released Natalia's hand.
"Yuri," Eden yelled, her heart filled with joy. "Mom, Thema, Adanna, Aaron, Edward. You're all okay."
There were shrieks of joy from her friends and those who sat leapt to their feet. Yuri, who had been pacing, was the first to reach her, and he pulled her into a tight hug. She embraced him, shutting her eyes and inhaling his sweet smell. She hadn't realized how much she had missed him until this moment.
"I was supposed to take care of you," he said. "I was supposed to follow you, but I couldn't find a way and⦠andâ¦"
"You couldn't have found a physical route to reach me," Eden said. "It's okay. I'mâ"
"Quit hogging her," Thema said, pushing Yuri out of the way and hugging her tightly.
A second later, Adanna embraced her from behind. Suddenly, everybody hugged her and laughed except for her mom, who hovered at the outside of the circle. When her friends finally let her go, Eden gazed at her mom, surprised she hadn't hugged her.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Eden asked softly.
"Youâ¦" Rebecca stared at her with big eyes. "You're amazing and I⦠I'm
so
sorry. For everything. I mean it."
"Oh, Mom." Eden held her arms open. "I love you."
Rebecca raced to Eden, opened her arms, and hugged her back, tangling her hand in her hair while gripping her tighter with the other.
"I am so glad you are my daughter, Eden," Rebecca said. "So, so glad."
As Eden buried her head into her mom's shoulder, she realized those were the words she had wanted to hear all along.
"I think it's time for you to go to heaven now," Natalia said, beaming at them.
Eden and her mom stepped apart. Everybody exchanged glances.
"But⦠but what does it mean for us?" Eden asked. "Will we all arrive together? What will happen?"
"I don't want to be away from Eden," Yuri said.
"And I want to be with my sister," Thema said.
"Heaven is a place filled with ultimate love." With a knowing smile, Natalia gazed at them all. "It is the place where all souls meet. You will never be apart again."
And then Eden felt warmth, smelled the flowers, and heard the sound of familiar angels' voices in her ears. As she was lifted from the ground hand in hand with her friends, she stared upward and realized that finally, she was going to be truly home because she could be with those she loved. Forever.
THE END
Stephanie Campbell
had her first book published at the age of seventeen. Now, at twenty, she is still wacking away at her computer, one day at a time. When she isn't reading or writing, she likes to dance, take karate lessons, and run. After all, you never know when you're about to be sucked into another world.
Chapter One
There were no heart-wrenching last words. No grieving parent or friend clutched her hand and begged her to hold on for just a little longer. Addy's death was quick⦠effortless. She stared at the mangled mess in front of her, a pile of twisted metal that was once her car. Addy had no desire to investigate the overturned vehicle. Coming face-to-face with her own corpse was not necessary. She knew her time on earth had passed.
Instead, Addy focused her attention on the figure walking toward her. His gait suggested he was not of this world. Despite the tragedy in her relatively short life, she was able to hold onto one important belief: good people go to heaven. If a self-serving path was chosen, one's visitor in the hereafter would resemble something very different from the being in front of her now.
Her angelic collector smiled as he approached. He took her hand and led her down the winding road that eventually overlooked the massive Atlantic Ocean. His touch was gentle and surprisingly familiar.
With the ocean laid out before her, he finally spoke. His tone was soothing, reminiscent of a parent calming his child after a scary dream. “Addy, are you ready to come with me?”
Addy glanced back at the smoking wreckage only a quarter of a mile down the road and then looked at the perfect creature before her. All the stories that she had heard as a child were true. There was a heaven, and this man and the overwhelming feeling of peace he invoked were proof.
And as much as she wanted to say yes, Addy couldn't dismiss, even in death, that something was tugging at her heart to stay. The visitor stared at her lovingly, his green eyes searching her own. “So, that is what you want?” he asked.
She could only stare at him. Without uttering a word, the being seemed to read her thoughts and feel Addy's apprehension to leave her world. “You know what I want?” she asked, hoping that he could reveal what might cause her to want to stay and forfeit heaven for the time being.
“Yes⦠and you will too in time.”
“What⦠what do you mean?” she asked, clearly becoming agitated by his cryptic responses.
“Something still ties you to this world. And when the time is right, when you are truly ready, I will come for you once again.”
“I don't understand. What ties me here?” she asked with a sudden sense of urgency. Addy could feel that their time together was coming to an end.
“Be patient, Addy. You will not have to wait too long.”
She took a deep breath as she entertained several theories in her head.
What on earth could possibly make me want to give up heaven, even temporarily?
“Addy, don't analyze this one. It will come to you,” he answered gently.
She closed her eyes as he leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. When she opened them again, the Atlantic no longer dominated her view. The stillness in the air was replaced with a familiar sound. A warm liquid was dripping from her forehead as she lay wedged between the steering wheel and what was once the driver's seat. In the distance she heard the approaching wail of numerous sirens. The number of emergency vehicles en route suggested that Addy's car accident was probably the only thing happening in the sleepy shore town tonight.