Lucia Espinosa:

Lucia is on her way home from the shops when I return to her. I spot the old psychic woman, Laurie, across the road, which reminds me of my conversation with Mike. Might as well get some questions answered now, while I’m here.

Lucia,

Lucia inhales sharply in surprise, almost tripping over as she stops suddenly. She slowly breathes out when she realises it’s me and pulls her phone out of her pocket before continuing on. “Hey, Jesse,” she says, holding the phone up to her ear so any onlookers don’t think she’s talking to herself.

I was wondering if we could speak to Laurie? I have some questions about how she was able to help you hear me.

“Huh. I’ve been curious about that too, actually.” Lucia slows her pace, looking over at Laurie. Laurie looks back, sensing Lucia’s gaze, and smiles. Lucia hesitates for a moment, before steeling herself and walking over to Laurie.

“Hi, Laurie, I was wondering if you could answer some questions I had?” Lucia talks quietly, not able to hold Laurie’s gaze.

“Of course, my dear. Why don’t you come in for some coffee?” Laurie happily offers, leading Lucia inside her house.

The house is nice, clean, normal. I’m almost surprised to see how normal the house looks, until Laurie leads Lucia into the living room. Various crystal balls are scattered about cabinets and shelves, several decks of tarot cards are spread out on coffee tables, boxes of candles and incense are stacked in front of bookcases, astrology charts are hung up on the walls with dreamcatchers and windchimes. Now this is what I was expecting.

“Take a seat, dear, I’ll be right in with some coffee and then I will answer all I can.” Laurie gestures towards an armchair covered in brightly coloured quilts and embroidered pillows. Lucia takes a seat, looking around the room, trying to take everything in.

After a couple of minutes, Laurie comes back with two full mugs which she places on the coffee table in front of them, before taking a seat in an armchair beside Lucia. “Right then, my dear. I expect you’ve got questions.”

“Yes. How did you know about…” Lucia struggles to find the right word, instead gesturing to her heart.

Laurie is quiet for a moment, thinking how best to explain. “Every now and then, a person dies with too big an attachment to their previous life. They leave behind shadows of their former selves. Usually, these shadows are attached to places, or objects. This is the first time I’ve seen a shadow attach themselves to a person. I hope everything with your shadow is ok? You didn’t seem to be in any trouble from it, but you can never be too sure with these things.”

“Oh, yes, I’m fine. The ghost, the shadow, my heart used to belong to them. They were unable to communicate, but whatever you did a few days ago, allowed me to not only see the shadow, but also hear them.”

“Fascinating! I’ve never been able to hear the shadows, only see them!”

Have you always been able to see shadows?

A short time elapses with no one saying anything, until Lucia repeats my question.

“No, not always. When I was a child, 10 years old, I was in an accident. I was clinically dead for nearly 30 minutes, but they brought me back. I was in an out of comas for several months after that. Seven months after my initial accident, I finally started to get better. It was after that I started to see shadows. I didn’t know what they were at first, went to so many eye doctors thinking I was seeing things. They attributed it to an after effect of my accident. It was when I was about 15 that I finally realised what the shadows were.”

What happens to the shadows? I ask, and Lucia repeats my question.

“They linger for a while, some longer than others. In some areas, such as cemeteries or a place where a tragedy occurred, you can get mass congregations of shadows. Many people feel the difference in atmosphere when there are that many shadows. I’m sure you’ve felt it, that quiet stillness. The shadows shrink over time, and wither away, almost as if the people who they used to be finally lose themselves and pass on.” Laurie gets a hazy look in her eyes as she speaks, looking into the distance as if remembering all the shadows she’s seen.

I can’t help but wonder when I will finally wither away.

Mike Greene:

When I return to Mike, he’s in the guestroom at Major Peter’s house, half-heartedly flicking through a pamphlet on ‘When to seek Therapy’.

Mike. I alert him to my arrival.

Mike jumps slightly, before grumpily saying, “Took you long enough. Where were you, anyway?”

Helping the other recipients of my organs.

“Others?”

You thought you were the only one?

“Hey, until a few hours ago I thought you were a psychotic break I was having, gimme a break.” Mike grumbles, running his hand over his face. “Hell, I’m still not entirely sure you’re not a psychotic break.”

Do you still want to know about the psychic I told you about before?

When I mention Laurie, Mike looks up eagerly. “Yes, anything you can tell me.”

She can see the shadows of people who died before their time, those who felt they still had much to accomplish in their life. She can’t talk to them or hear them. These shadows usually attach themselves to places or objects.

Mike nods, absorbing this information. “How come you can talk then? You said this psychic did something that allowed you to talk?”

No, she allowed another of my recipients to also see my shadow. I think that also allowed her and the rest of you recipients to also hear me, but only because I’m attached to you. Or at least, I’m still attached to my organs.

“I can’t see you.”

Try looking in the mirror.

Mike heaves himself out of bed, and heads into the ensuite to look in the mirror. He stares for a long time, squinting, trying to see something in his reflection. After a while, he sighs. “Nah, I can’t see shit.” He heads back into the main room and sits back down on the end of the bed.

I wait for a while, thinking. Mike seemed desperate to find out more about ghosts and psychics. He seemed hopeful at the thought of being able to communicate with the dead. Maybe if he tells me why, I can understand him better, and help him more effectively.

Why are you so keen to talk to ghosts?

Mike is silent, not wanting to answer. Stubborn bastard.

I’m sure I’ll find out eventually. It’s not like I can tell anyone else.

“No? I thought you had other organ recipients that could now hear you too.”

Shoot, he had me there.

Doctor-patient confidentiality? I was in med school before I died, but I’m pretty sure it still applies here. Ok, so I died before I started med school, but Mike doesn’t need to know that.

Mike laughs at my suggestion, but he hasn’t yet said he won’t tell me. His laughter dies down, and Mike lets out a sigh. “I dunno, ghostie. It’s a helluva lot to unpack. Another time, maybe, but not today.”

Alright. I can wait until you feel comfortable enough to tell me.

Joanna Yang:

I know Joanna wanted a quiet afternoon, but it’s my routine to check each of my recipients in order, so I return to Joanna regardless.

She’s watching a movie, a bowl of popcorn on her lap. Looking at the screen I see a leather-clad Jeff Goldblum and dinosaurs. Ooh, Jurassic Park! I love that movie!

Mind if I join you? I haven’t seen this movie since I was a little kid!

Joanna starts slightly, looking around as if trying to catch sight of me, before sighing slightly and saying “Yeah, sure. I’d offer you popcorn, but I don’t think you’re able to eat.”

No, I can’t eat, but thanks anyway.

I settle down to watch the movie with Joanna. It’s actually quite an enjoyable experience as we laugh and joke as the plot progresses, swapping dinosaur facts and movie trivia. Thinking back, I can’t remember the last time I relaxed and had fun with a friend like this, if I ever did. It’s nice, having someone you can just goof off with, no pressure for something more. It’s nice being able to relax without that nagging feeling that you haven’t done enough work, haven’t studied enough, haven’t earned the time off. Huh. Even in death I’m overworking myself.

Joanna looks thoughtful as the movie ends and the credits roll. “Back to work tomorrow, finally.”

You’re excited to be back at work?

“Yeah. I’ve always wanted to be a cop, ever since I was little. My mum was a cop. I idolised her, wanted to be just like her. She died protecting people, you know. I always told myself, that’s what I wanna do, protect people until my dying breath. If I’m not a cop, if I’m not out there, what if someone that I could have helped gets hurt?” Joanna sighs deeply, running her hand through her hair. “It’s my life to protect people, you know?”

I get it. All I ever wanted to do was help people. That’s why I was in med school. That’s why I’m so desperate to help my recipients now.

Joanna thinks for a moment, before hesitantly saying, “If you want to help people, and… if we do run into a dead end in catching Richard Wilkes… would you able to check in with him? He’s already killed once, who’s to say he won’t kill again? You can help us put away a killer, before anyone else loses their life.”

I stay quiet, not sure what to say. After a while, I tell Joanna, If you need help tracking him down, as a last resort… I’ll help.

Lena Bleu:

It’s late in the evening when I return to Lena. Despite the late hour, Lena is still awake, sitting amid a pile of blankets on the sofa with Georgia and Mack sitting next to her. They seem anxious, and Lena seems tired, but adamant to stay up. After a couple of minutes, the sound of a key in the door makes everyone look up with mixed apprehension and relief. Lena’s parents come in, looking tired after long days of work.

“Mom! Dad!” Lena gets up and rushes to give them hugs. From the short time I’ve been with Lena, I’ve noticed that her parents often don’t get home until after Lena’s already gone to bed.

“Sweetheart! What are you still doing up?” Lena’s mom gently chides her daughter with a smile, brushing Lena’s hair out of her eyes.

“She refused to go to bed until she’d talked to you both,” Georgia said, pulling herself out of her seat.

Lena’s parents looked between Georgia, Mack, Lena, and each other, quickly getting a sense of the serious air in the room. “Well, let’s make up some cups of coffee and sit down,” Lena’s dad suggests. Mack immediately volunteers to make the coffee, while Georgia fusses over Lena’s tired parents, setting them down on the sofa either side of Lena.

Mack comes back in with some steaming mugs, and places them in front of everyone. Even Lena has a mug, though I suspect it’s hot chocolate instead of coffee.

“Right then, what’s this all about sweetie?” Lena’s dad, Bill, asks.

Lena fiddles with the handle of her mug, suddenly shy and unsure. Her mom rubs her back, reassuringly, giving Lena the confidence she needs. Lena takes a deep breath, before saying “I want to go to school.”

A silence fills the room, as the adults take in this declaration.

“Sweetheart,” Bill starts saying, before Lena interrupts him.

“I know you’ve all been talking about it. But, this decision is about me, so please can I be included in the discussion?” Ooh, nice, using my argument.

The winning combination of a well-worded point and Lena’s puppy-dog eyes easily sways her parents, and they bring Lena in for a group hug.

“Oh sweetie! We’re sorry, of course we should have included you. It’s just, this is a big decision to make and there are lot of different factors to take in.” Lena’s mom, Maya, says as she holds her daughter.

“Listen, it’s late. Both me and your mom have the morning off the day after tomorrow, why don’t we have a proper discussion then, yeah?” Bill says, brushing Lena’s hair back. “And I promise you, we will take your opinion into account.” Lena nods, as Bill kisses her forehead.

“Come on sweetie, let’s get you to bed.” Maya helps Lena to her feet, and guides her towards her bedroom. “When did my little girl get so grown up, eh?” She hugs Lena, kissing her forehead as she wishes her goodnight.

Hopefully this will work out for Lena. If she can go to school, it’ll be a whole lot easier for her to make some friends and feel less lonely.

Watching Lena’s parents tuck her into bed, I find myself feeling jealous. Don’t get me wrong, I am so glad that Lena has such a loving family who would do anything for her, but seeing it reminds me all the more of what I didn’t have myself when I was growing up.

Oh, well. The past is the past.