Existence 02 - Predestined

began fanning herself with her hand, “Dear Lord, have mercy, I think I may swoon.”
    Dank’s hand covered mine and he squeezed. “I’ll meet you inside. I’m going to take these to your locker.”
    He was always so good about giving me time with Miranda. I nodded, not even caring that I had a goofy grin on my face.
    Miranda slid her sunglasses up and rested them on top of her head. Her curls were styled perfectly which I knew from experience took her hours to do. The girl slept in rollers like it was 1980 or something. Her brown eyes twinkled as she watched my boyfriend’s butt as he made his way inside the school.
    “That is one fine piece of--”
    “Miranda!” I shoved her with a grin because of course she was right. But still she didn’t have to say it out loud.
    “Jealous much?” she teased.
    I only rolled my eyes.
    Miranda’s gaze drifted over to Leif’s empty parking space. I couldn’t explain to Miranda about Leif. She didn’t even know I saw dead people, or as Dank liked to put it, ‘wandering souls’. Until Dank, I’d had to live with my secret.
    “I wonder where he is?”
    When Leif had gone missing Dank and I decided to lay low with our relationship. It wasn’t until just last week we’d started being out in the open with it. When the authorities and Leif’s parents had questioned me I had told both of them that Leif and I had just broken up. That it was his decision. Which wasn’t a total lie; he did vanish without a trace. That’s is a form of breaking things off. At first his parents called on a daily basis to ask me if I’d heard from him. They stopped after Leif called and assured them he was fine. Apparently, he’d said he needed time away to deal with some issues. Strangely after that call his parents had seemed to be completely at ease with his disappearance. They no longer came around. I’d even seen his mother in the grocery store last week and she’d smiled brightly at me as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Kids at school were slowly doing the same thing. No one brought him up much anymore. It was... weird.
    “So, did you study for that trig test?” Miranda asked smiling, as if she hadn’t just been worrying about Leif. Again.. weird.
    “Yep. Until late last night.”
    Miranda groaned and flipped her hair over her shoulder. It was one of her dramatic mannerisms that made me laugh.
    “If I fail my parents are going to lock me away in the attic for life. You’ll have to come slip me food under the door.”
    “I doubt it will be all that bad. Besides you did study, right?”
    She rolled her eyes over and glanced at me, “A little. Yeah.”
    “You watched Pretty Little Liars last night didn’t you?”
    With a deep sigh that caused her shoulders to move up and down she replied, “Yep. Last week’s show and this week’s. I can’t help it. I have a thing for Caleb.”
    Grabbing her arm, I pull her inside. “Come on. To the library. We have thirty minutes and you’re not going to get locked up in an attic for life.”
    Miranda beamed at me, “I love you.”
    “Ditto.”
    Hopefully, the library ghost would be somewhere else today. The soul who always wandered around in there was distracting.

    Dank

    I watched as Pagan led Miranda up to the library. She’d be busy for awhile and I had somewhere I needed to be. There was a soul I didn’t want to leave waiting for me. I needed to be there for this one’s actual death. Once Pagan entered the library and I knew she was safe for the time being, I left.

    Before Pagan, I hadn’t understood love. Before Pagan, taking souls had been easy. Now, I knew emotion. I knew pain and the feeling of loss and it made my purpose harder. Especially with the young ones. Even though I knew they’d get another life soon enough I understood their family’s pain as they lost someone they held dear. Because although the soul of that child would return it wouldn’t be the same. They wouldn’t know the child they loved was once again with them when the soul returned in a new life.
    “It’s time, isn’t it?” the little boy looked up at me as I entered his hospital room. I’d been to talk to him before. Several times actually. I wanted him to understand he would be dying soon but that if he followed my directions then he’d be given another life. His soul would live on. This life would just end. His bottom lip quivered as he stared up at me.
    “Yeah, it’s time.”
    “Will it hurt?”
    I shook my head, “I