Fallen by Laury Falter Read Free Book Online

“You’re observant. More than I gave you credit for. ”
    I didn’t respond immediately because m y mind had caught his words clearly and I was a little taken a back by them . T hat was a statement someone made when they’d known you long enough to make that kind of conclusion. If what he said was true, he’d met me less than a minute ago and already he’d judged me to be observa nt. Unless I had met him before… which was a possibility considering how many people I’d met on the road.
    “Do I know you?” I asked, instantly thinking back to all the places I’d been ; clearly realizing that not one face in my memory resembled this man’s.
    He gave me a peculiar stare. It looked as if he were trying to determine whether I was joking with him. “No , but we do run in similar circles.”
    The hair on the back of my neck reacted to what he said . “Really? What circles?”
    His b road smile wavered and I got the impression he wasn’t being entirely honest with me. “Eh…Enough about me.” H e waved me off. “T ell me how this works , ” he said , leaning toward me with resolute interest .
    In reaction I leaned away, not wanting him that close. He noticed – I could tell by the disruption to his frozen grin – but he didn’t adjust his posture. Uncomfortable with our interaction, I launched into my typical spiel. “Well, I take your message , de liver it, you return for proof-”
    “No…no,” he stopped me abruptly, his smile remaining stationary, unnerving me further. “ How do you actually…do it?”
    I took a moment to clear my throat, reminding myself that this was a fairly common question asked by my customers. However, this one appeared to take the question more seriously than usual. I began to feel as if he was researching me , and I considered ending his session.
    As if he read my thoughts, he said suddenly, “I don’ t mean to scare ya.” He allowed his artificial smile to fall. “I’m not so good with…humans.”
    The fact he called people “humans” made his admission that much more exaggerated , and despite my reaction to him, I actually felt sorry for him.
    “Me neither,” I said suddenly and then became embarrassed to have divulged that discomfort to a complete stranger, even if he had done it first.
    “You too?” He seemed to feel slight ly more relaxed at my acknowledgement and by affect more…human.
    “Ever since I was younger and found my…gift. It set me apart from everyone else .”
He nodded sincerely. “You are definitely unique.”
    I felt there was a hidden meaning behind his comment , but I wanted to veer away from me as the topic of conversation. “ So, back to the business of delivering your message…”
    “ A h, yes, that…”
    “Yes …that, ” I replied a little too abruptly .
    He didn’t seem to notice . “ Where were we? I believe you were about to tell me the ways you use to find the dead .”
    “Right,” I agreed , a little uncomfortable with his stark choice of words . “ There are ways to find your loved one s who have passed-”
    “What ways?” he demanded, his smile returning to soften his assertiveness .
    “Um…why is it you ask?”
    “Curious,” he replied and when he saw that wasn’t a good enough reason, he added, “I’d like to make sure you’re not a phony , t hat my money will be well spent.”
    His focus on our conversation still unnerved me , but I had to admit his rationale seemed consistent with other customers’ needs for confirmation , so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
    “Well, while I’m sure there is more than one way, I only use one in particular method . In the afterlife, with your loved one ’ s name and their place of death I’m able to easily locate them.”
    He sat silent for a moment, staring. “ Name…place of death , eh?”
    “That’s right,” I said , not sure whether he believed m e. “ And i f your loved one had a common name, such as John Smith, I ask for the date too…to help