Soul Fire

has friends to while away the hours with, Javier is adamant that he adores his afterlife. Though just occasionally I’ve wondered
whether he protests too much. Whether he’s repeating the same line over and over because he’s desperate to convince himself it’s true.
    Every Guest here died before their time. Can there honestly be such a thing as no regrets ?
    I let my eyes wander along the Beach. It’s so beautiful. If you could live in the moment, and be certain you’d never be lonely, maybe eternity could be bearable.
    Then I see them: Meggie and Tim.
    They’re not touching, they’re not even speaking, but their faces are turned to each other and they seem unaware of anything else. Exactly how I feel when I’m with Danny.
    Enraptured.
    I can’t take my eyes off them. I don’t see the violence, the waste of life that their deaths involved. I see peace and contentment and tenderness. My instincts were right: Tim
couldn’t have killed Meggie. This is how they’ll while away their eternity. Together. The scene is perfect, too perfect to spoil.
    But I know I have to. I get up and wave a goodbye to Javier and Gretchen.
    I take a few steps towards my sister and Tim, but they don’t stir. Have I become invisible? Perhaps the Beach is playing tricks again. Another step. And another.
    My sister sees me at last, and she acknowledges me with the briefest of nods, which I take as permission to interrupt.
    Now I’m so close that Tim should have noticed me, but still he gazes at Meggie.
    ‘Tim, I know this will come as a shock . . .’ I whisper, and it strikes me that I sound exactly like my sister. He stares, as though he’s trying to work out how she spoke
without moving her lips. Then he turns his head towards me, and his jaw drops.
    Meggie reaches out to grab his hand. ‘It’s OK, Tim. Alice isn’t dead. She’s . . . not really here. Or, she is, but . . .’ The complications of the Beach are too
much for her.
    ‘I’m a Visitor,’ I say, trying to keep my voice reassuring. ‘I am still alive in the real world but I can come here, too. Because of the bond between me and Meggie. I
know it sounds weird, but . . . well, it is weird, actually. But wonderful, too.’
    That’s probably enough. I’ll leave my sister to explain the rest when she thinks he’s ready. If anyone can ever be ready for that.
    The struggle to understand shows on Tim’s face, but after a few seconds, he shakes his head. ‘I can’t make sense of any of this.’
    Meggie laughs gently. ‘It’s hardly surprising, my love. Don’t try to reason. Just be glad we’re together.’
    When she says that, I feel like someone’s kicked me. She means the two of them. Don’t I matter to her anymore?
    But then Meggie turns. ‘Tim, me and my baby sister Florrie. Like the old days.’
    I’m about to tell her off for giving away her awful nickname for me, when I realise Tim is too shocked to have heard. She budges up so there’s room for me on the blanket. As I sit
down, I brush against Tim’s arm, and we both jump. He feels too real.
    There’s so much I want to ask him.
    His eyes meet mine and I can tell he’s waiting for those questions. There’s a steadiness in his gaze, as though he wants me to know the truth.
    Meggie sees it too. ‘Alice can’t askyou anything about . . . well, what happened to you or me, Tim. If she does, she’ll be banned. I will never see her again. So we need to be
careful. But you can tell her things, when you’re ready.’
    ‘I didn’t . . .’ he begins. ‘I didn’t kill her, Alice. I didn’t. And I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here, either. I shouldn’t be here,
I shouldn’t—’ But then he breaks down. Tears roll down his cheeks, but he looks angry, not sad.
    Meggie leans forward, and holds him. ‘Shh. Don’t try to explain now, baby. We have so much time. So much. I promise you. The three of us. We’ll talk when the moment is
right.’
    I try not to cry out with frustration. They might have forever, but I don’t. And I desperately need answers. But Meggie’s right, I won’t get them now.
    I pull away from the screen. I’d forgotten I was at Lewis’s place. Mum will be sending out a search party if I don’t get home soon. I scramble up from the sand, kiss my sister
lightly on the cheek – her breath a whisper on my skin – and she thanks me with her eyes.
    Tim doesn’t even notice me go.

13
    When I get home, Mum’s been baking; the whole house is steamy with