Asher looked around, taking in as much as he could. “It won’t work the same way as when they’re alive. They’re not fighting for space or food or territory here, they’re just existing. Here, everything fits and works. This is not the physical plane you’re used to, this is the spiritual plane.”
“Would all the dogs, cats, birds … all the pets be here somewhere?” The light fairy had said they were, but I hadn’t really paid attention to her then. Seeing the animals was … a lot.
Asher nodded. “Could there be a peaceful afterlife without our most loyal companions?”
“Absolutely not,” I said with resolve, thinking about the few animals I’d loved in my life. A small mangy dog I’d fed from my own meagre portions. Tom. He’d been brown and white, his fur matted, and one leg damaged so he always limped. He’d been my only friend for three years, but then, one day … he just stopped coming around.
I’d cried for weeks, because I’d never known such unconditional love. I’d never known any love. But Tom, he got me through more than one tough day.
Then there was a tortoiseshell cat that arrived in my life a few years later. Mystique. She was not as friendly as Tom, or as cuddly, but she was loyal. She always came back to me. Until she didn’t.
It was a harsh world, and I figured that both died on the very streets they lived. They’d been gifts wrapped in matted fur, giving me so much love and joy.
Knowing they might be here somewhere had my heart hurting and soaring in unison. A small glimpse of what Asher might have been feeling before.
Our bubble rose to the surface, blue water around us and aquamarine skies above. More lands came into view as we were released onto a small island. There were lots of islands scattered about, andso much water. It spanned as far as the eye could see; everything looked like a beach paradise.
“How is it that they haven’t noticed we’re alive?” I asked, looking around. There wasn’t another “soul” in sight.
“Because this land sees only your energy … your soul.”
The disembodied voice came from somewhere above us, like a narrator to our story.
“The vessel is not important. It is all that dies. The soul … lives forever.”
The voice faded and I blinked at Asher.
“Ask it another question,” he suggested, looking around. He was tense, but no one would know that unless they were in our mate bond. His face was calm and confident.
“Where are all the other souls that are part of this land?”
The energy returned.“They are here. This specific island is yours for the rest of your peaceful afterlife, but if you seek the energy of others, please, step off your land and you will be rewarded.”
This was just getting weird, and we didn’t have time to indulge no “voice in the sky,” but I also couldn’t stop from wondering who else would be here in this land.
“We should step off,” I decided.
Asher looked at me a like I might have fallen and hit my head too hard, but he didn’t argue. He was learning to trust my instincts, just as I was, and right now my power was urging me to find the others. He stayed close, watching my back, as we walked to the edge of the island. The water looked so damn inviting, but I ignored the call.
“Our afterlife narrator said to step off,” I said with a shrug, and I did just that.
My foot remained steady on top of the water, like it was solid ground. “Can I not enter the water?”
A small surge of energy and the voice was back. “You can if you want to. We know your wants. We respond to them.”
“This narrator is pretty useful,” Asher remarked in a dry tone. “I mean, who wouldn’t want an all-knowing Google in the sky.”
I thought up the millions of questions I’d want answered, wishing there was time to voice them all. Stepping again, we all but glided across the surface of the water, moving to the next island. The second I tried to enter it, though, a gentle force repelled me back.
Underworld Google was back.“You cannot enter private property without permission. Please have the inhabitants add you to their accepted list. Otherwise, please make your way to the central meeting place for interaction.”
The central meeting place.
“That’s what we need,” I murmured. “A meeting place.”
The water lit up beneath my feet, a glowing path that dotted its way in the opposite direction of this island. “Looks like it wants us to follow,” Asher noted, both of us staring at the golden glow.
Original magic was everywhere, even here apparently.
