Pieces of Hope by Carolyn Carter Read Free Book Online Page B

boys about my age—seated at an adjacent
booth and donning tall hats and three-piece suits, possibly from the early
1900’s—were engaged in a lively conversation in rapid-fire French, and I
understood every word they were saying. Even so, given my recent introduction
to Spanish, this wasn’t such a surprise.
    The
biggest one was yet to come.
    It had
taken me several minutes to notice, but then again, hadn’t I had one heck of a
morning? Or maybe, since it applied to everyone in the place, it was easier to
miss. But either way, once I finally focused, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I
blinked a couple of times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating, and still my mind
couldn’t process it.
    It was
like gazing into the faces of Angels while staring directly into the sun. Two
things I probably wasn’t supposed to do for very long for fear of going blind.
But I didn’t have the strength to turn away, nor did I wish to. And since I’d
never been in the presence of such unearthly beauty, staring at them
open-mouthed seemed perfectly appropriate.
    Oh, and
they were all so young! The oldest person couldn’t have been more than thirty,
and most were in their teens or younger. I suspected they were bodiless, like
me—whatever that meant—but I didn’t get a feeling of tragedy or sadness coming
from them. Quite the opposite. Everyone seemed very happy to be here, much the
way I felt before a long-awaited trip.
    “It
takes your new eyes a while to adjust,” Creesie said,
drawing my focus back to her. She looked off into the distance, starry-eyed.
“Who would have guessed such beauty existed in the world? Truth is it was
always there, we just couldn’t see it until now.” She popped the last bite of
Snickers into her mouth, then paused to lick her fingers. “Human eyes aren’t
accustomed to seeing beyond the physical. Looking into one’s soul takes a bit
of practice, you see.”  
    I gazed
openly at her, and, after a few seconds, Creesie began to shimmer in the same way that I’d seen Angels depicted in paintings.
Her features were exquisite, but it was her eyes that cast a spell around me.
Kindness and compassion drifted out of them and into mine. “Souls,” she said.
“You’re seeing the beauty of our souls. It can be mind-boggling for new
arrivals, but you’ll adjust fairly quickly.”
    I
couldn’t imagine such a thing. Adjust? Not in a million years.
    Creesie popped a single finger into the air and Cat arrived
promptly with another steaming cup of coffee, simultaneously clearing our
table. I fussed with the edge of the red and white checked tablecloth hoping to
distract myself from gaping. Suddenly my eyes went wide as I realized the
horrible truth.
    “Souls?”
I choked, staring at her in disbelief. “So, I—I’m dead?”  
    Creesie laughed heartily. “Oh, heavens no!”
    She sure
did throw the word heaven around a lot. It made me a little paranoid. I wished
she would quit doing that. No sooner had I thought this than Creesie tilted her head again to look at me for another
long moment. It seemed disturbingly impossible, but I suspected she was reading
my mind.  
    “It’s
not meant to be a literal thing,” Creesie confirmed.
“But visitors like yourself often take it that way.”
    “I’m
just visiting?” My hands were still shaking, but my heart had leveled off.  
    “Absolutely.” Creesie leaned against the window, stretching her
short legs across the seat. “But I should tell you, you’re more the exception
than the rule. Most of the folks you see around here are what you might call .
. . permanent residents.”
    I
gulped. “You mean they’re all dead?”   
    “Well,
yes,” she said, as if this were no big deal. “But don’t trouble yourself about
it. They’re still very busy people.” She sipped from her cup and the steam
swirled up and around her head, forming small, perfect circles. “Lots of
changes start to happen after that big event. Some faster than