“The death of a child isn’t something any parent should go through,” Sorrow said. “I want you both to realize that most marriages don’t survive this kind of trauma. You’re both amazing individuals working hard to be there for each other. Your daughter would be proud.”
The wife’s eyes teared up, but she smiled at the same time. “Yes, that’s nice to think about.”
Everyone stood up and the husband and Sorrow shook hands. The wife ignored Sorrow’s outstretched hand and hugged him. The couple's dark skin was a sharp contrast to my brother’s paleness. Despite their exhausted appearance, they both looked healthier than Sorrow. We wraiths might have muscular physiques, but we looked like we were dying of tuberculosis.
It was one of the reasons I always wore my hood up. I hated being asked if I was sick or had albinism. Why was it anyone’s business but my own? I hated how nosy some humans could be. Those humans were so determined to pester me that they were able to ignore the discomfort I caused them.
Sorrow was my opposite. People were drawn to him, and he enjoyed their company and didn’t mind their questions.
He’d been created some time in the 1600s. It was hard to trace where some wraiths came from, but we thought Sorrow might’ve been the result of the slave trade. He fed off depressionand sadness. He drew it from humans and helped them cope with whatever caused the issue. He’d told me once that the despair of people who’d lost someone close to them was the most nutritious to him. Before he’d gone to school to become a licensed therapist, he’d been a priest, counseling anyone who sought him out. This shift in career suited him.
Out of all the wraiths, he was the most approachable and understanding, which was why I sought him out.
“We’ll see you next week, right?” the husband asked.
Sorrow nodded his head. “I’ll schedule for the same day and time. Remember the exercises if either of you start to feel overwhelmed. Most importantly, practice grace with each other.”
They chatted for a few minutes before Sorrow gently moved them out of the office. There was no one else in the room beyond. They were probably his last clients for the day.
Once they were gone, he shut the door and turned to me with a frown.
“Vie, get a fucking cell phone and call instead of showing up while I’min session! An old-fashioned landline doesn’t count as a phone anymore.”
The wordsin sessionwere shouted. He tended to be the calmest of all my brothers, so this outburst was a surprise. It was an indicator that he was truly upset at my arrival. Normally I’d simply leave and not seek him out for another ten years, but my need was urgent.
I shifted into my corporeal form. “I have to speak to you.”
His expression shifted from rage to confusion. “You need to speak to me? About what?”
“Something’s happened,” I said, unsure where to start.
“Has another wraith appeared?” he asked. It was a good guess. We weren’t born often and when one of us appeared, it was important we found him and taught him how to exist inthe human world. Especially now that almost everyone carried around phones with cameras and access to social media.
“Not that I know of,” I answered. “It’s about me. I’ve met someone.”
He stared at me, confused. “You met someone?”
I nodded. “Her name is Willow, and she’s perfect.”
“A human?”
“A human, yes. She was about to be attacked by some men, and I ate them in front of her. She smells good! Not like humans normally smell good to me because they're evil. I don’t want to consume her, I want to…” I searched for the right word. “I want to know her in every way possible. But now I have a problem. What if I’ve lost her forever?”
Sorrow was staring at me with an open mouth. He was like Pain, rarely at a loss for words. His continued silence was annoying.
“Say something!” I demanded.
Sorrow collapsed into his therapist’s chair and kept staring at me. “You’re in love with a human?”
I scoffed. “Love. That word isn’t enough. Humans fall in and out of love all the time. They declare their love for all kinds of things that aren’t even alive, like gold or money. Love doesn’t begin to describe what I feel for Willow. She is my everything, and I’d be with her right now if I hadn’t ruined it!”
“You should write for TV,” Sorrow said, relaxing back in his chair. “All this drama is wasted on me.”
I paced in front of him, unable to remain still. “This isn’t funny.”
“Not for you, but it’s amusing from where I’m sitting,” Sorrow retorted. “Start from where you met her and tell me everything.”
The words flowed from me as I described seeing her trying to lock her shop door. I skipped over eating the men, Sorrow was well aware of how I fed. I took my time to give every detail ofkneeling on the other side of the door. Handing her my hoodie. Her dark eyes watching me. I did my best to describe how all her different emotions smelled.
