Book of Life by Abra Ebner Read Free Book Online Page A

exhausting how your mind works, but fascinating at the same time.” We began walking once more and she dropped the flowers to the ground.
    “I can relate to that,” I offered. Her shifting outlook on my future must be like the deaths I used to witness, always changing. My visions of death had stopped since I’d been here, but then again, I hadn’t been around too many people to know if it was a permanent change or not.
    “You can relate to that.” She nodded. “That’s why I like you, I suppose.” She looked to the river we were walking along, across to the side of the In-between. “I know you’re waiting here for Max, but I can assure you that he is not going to visit for a least a few days, if not weeks. You can’t stay here by the bank forever. It’s boring, quite frankly.”
    I was reluctant to believe her. “How can you be so sure if the future is always changing? And how can you tell if you can only see the futures of what’s right in front of you.”
    She giggled. “Because his arrival is part of your future and you’re right in front of me. One thing I’ve learned about Max the last few years is that he is very predictable. He picks a plan and sticks to it. He won’t be back for a while, trust me.”
    I sighed, feeling let down by that fact.
    “Don’t feel let down. He’s busy trying to fix things for you and you know that.”
    I had my thoughts blocked as best I could but still she was reading them. “How is it that you’re doing that?”
    She grabbed another handful of tall grass and pulled it out of the ground. “Because I’m good. Because I’ve been doing this for a very, very long time. As a prophet, naturally my seeing ability is stronger. It takes layers of potions, tricks and rings for you to block your thoughts from me.” She looked at the ring still on my hand, the ring Max had given me. It was a weak attempt at helping me block my thoughts from people like Greg, but it wasn’t perfect. “You may as well assume that I will always be listening to your thoughts. Prophets have to have exclusive rights to everyone’s minds in order to accurately foresee the future—tricks like that ring don’t work.” She giggled then. “Don’t worry, I’m used to people thinking I’m irritating.”
    She took the words right out of my mouth, thinking how I really did think she was irritating as I had a number of times before this.
    “It’s a curse I’m used to. Having someone always inside your thoughts would irritate me, too.” She was twisting the grass between her fingers, making rings of green until the blade broke and she dropped it to the ground. She sighed, looking happy and refreshed. “Come on. I’ll show you the city.”
    I stopped again and pressed my brows together. “City? What city?”
     
    STELLA:
     
    At last I reached a road that cut through the forest like a scar. The pavement was black, a glaring yellow line streaming down the middle that screamed human in a place so full of the natural. I looked in both directions, each identical. There was not a car or person in sight. I bit my lip, wondering which way I should go. I walked to the middle of the road, standing with my feet on the yellow lines. The pavement was wet, the sky overhead slightly overcast. I closed my eyes and spun until I almost fell down. Taking a minute to catch my balance, I finally opened my eyes, facing an unknown direction and ignoring the woods I’d just come from, afraid I’d recognize my path. I took a step forward, making my way to the shoulder and out of the middle of the road.
    Fate had gotten me this far, fate would take me the rest of the way just fine.
    I walked for a ways, only the occasional car passing until one slowly pulled up beside me. It was an old truck, puttering loudly, making it hard to ignore. I heard a window roll down, but I kept my eyes on the ground in front of me.
    “Hey.” A man’s voice snaked over the rumble of the engine.
    I disregarded his greeting, pulling the