What Following Brings

Rebecca Schmidt pressed her hand against the window and
her palm
passed right through. She let out a low moan
of remorse as
it
happened
because it was a sign of what would o
ccur if she actually stepped through the
doors of the jewelry story to grab one of the sparkling golden
necklaces
on
display
. She was a ghost now. Dead.

“
You should
go back to Zemiothstai, you know,
”
a man said from behind her. His name was Henry, and he was a fellow ghost. She had
talked to him
at a local club and he had followed her ever since.
She didn
'
t know the reason why.
As a ghost, she couldn
'
t give him anything.

With a sigh, Rebecca stepped away from the window and
looked
down the street. The air had
an
eerie feel
ing today. She wasn
'
t sure why, but she knew she didn
'
t like it.

“
Rebecca?
”
Henry tried again.
“
Didn
'
t you hear me? We should go back to Zemiothstai.
”

“
Go to purgatory?
”
Rebecca finally snapped.
“
I think not. The place is filled with the sour stench of rotten eggs, and everybody there is so rude. Why are you following me, anyway? Shouldn
'
t you be looking up skirts at the club?
”

Henry reached toward her
and grabbed
her hand
. She
paused.

“
I never wanted to go to purgatory before I met you,
”
Henry said.
“
I always thought it was easier
staying
on earth
.
How
are we supposed to complete our tasks and go to heaven if we
'
re over here messing around? It
'
ll never happen that way.
”

Rebecca wrinkled her nose at the thought of Saint Peter, the man who gave tasks for souls to go to heaven. The man had had the indecen
cy to say she was selfish when she had come to purgatory. Her? Selfish? Never.

“
What was your task, anyway?
”
Henry asked, when Rebecca did not respond.
“
Maybe I can help
you fix your mistakes
. I bet if we go to heaven together, it
'
ll be real nice.
”

“
My task…
”
Rebecca frowned and stared str
aight ahead.

A flash of her daughter Eden
'
s face filled her vision
. She
thought of their final moments together.

Rebecca stood in her old bedroom in California
,
packing her things. Her heart raced in fear she would get caught by her husband
—
soon to be ex
—
Osier. She had met a man, a great one this time. He was the type of person who would give her everything she ever wan
ted.
He
even had a yacht, a mansion, and a swimming pool. She would be rich and wouldn
'
t have to worry again.

That was when she heard the sound of footsteps and
gazed
up, horrified. Was it Osier? If it was, then she was in trouble. Instead she saw her daughter, Eden
, hovering at the doorway
. That made her feel sick.
I deliberately b
ribed her with a concert
ticket
,
Rebecca thought
.
What is she doing here?
She whipped around so fast she knocked one of her suitcases off the bed, but she was too horrified to bother to check which one.

“
Eden,
”
Rebecca said, stuttering
.
“
What
are you doing? You are supposed to be at the concert.
”

“
I didn
'
t go to the concert. I was outside the whole
time.
”
Eden
'
s eyes were massive with hurt as she gazed at her.

“
You were?
”
Rebecca said,
shuddering
.
“
Why would you do that? Everything is fine.
”

She couldn
'
t stand the
pained, panicked
look on Eden
'
s face, even though she knew Eden would be better off here with her dad.
The two of them had always shared an annoying bond.
Her new boyfriend was a partier, not the type of man
who
wanted a child hanging around
.

“
Why are you packing, Mom, if everything is fine?
”
Eden asked.

“
I was…
I…
”
She
opened and shut her mouth several times, trying to figure out an excuse. Eden had always been too smart for her own good.

Rebecca saw Eden
'
s eyes narrow and her face contort
in rage
. Normally, she was calm and rational. Quiet. A little
too quiet for Rebecca
'
s taste,
as she
could never tell what she was thinking.

“
You were going to abandon me,
”
Eden yelled.
“
You were going to leave me here.
”

So lying won
'
t work after all,
Rebecca thought, stunned Eden had yelled at her.
Maybe if she used reason, Eden would understand.
“
You would be much better off with your father. He can take care of you.
”

“
You are so full of it.
”
Eden grabbed bed sheets in her hand and balled
them
in her fist.
“
Admit it. You are just too selfish—
”

“
Eden, come on.
”

“
—and too immature to bring me along.
”
Eden
'
s eyes narrowed.
“
You were always like that. You
'
ve always made it perfectly clear you
'
ve never wanted me. Well, guess what? Maybe I don
'
t want you either.
”

The air in the room grew cold. Sharp p
ain filled her heart because of the truth behind Eden
'
s
heated
words. Rebecca seized the suitcase on the bed and forced the top down with a loud thud.
Whipping around, she headed for the stairs.
Eden followed her
, fists balled at her sides
,
while
shaking with anger.

Rebecca was determined to not let Eden change her mind. Not this time. She had given up so many good years, probably the best of her life, after Osier had convinced her to keep Eden and marry him
after
she got pregnant at eighteen
. As
much as she loved her daughter, a big part of her felt anger whenever she
gazed
at her face.
She could have been a big name model, and what did she give
her career
up for? A quiet, average looking daughter who got straight Cs.

As Rebecca began her journey down the flight
of stairs
, she felt Eden
'
s eyes drilling into her back. Rebecca seized the front door and opened it, desperate to get out before Eden said anything more.

“
I hate you
!
”
Eden yelled.
“
I hope you die.
”

Rebecca
shuddered at the words
, stepped outside, and shut the door with
a
click. As she lingered at the
threshold
for a moment longer, she gripped her chest which felt abnormally hot
.
I thought I didn
'
t care,
Rebecca
realized
,
but that was
so hard.
She shoo
k her head, seized her suitcase
, and headed for the car before she let the pain truly sink in.

But when she was in the car and the empty space
in the passenger seat next to her
made her eyes fill with tears
,
her daughter
'
s absence
was all she could think about.

“
Rebecca, Rebecca,
”
Henry said, drawing her back from the memories.
For the first time, she was grateful for Henry. She didn
'
t want to remember any more of that awful,
awful
day.

“
What?
”
Rebecca asked, raising an eyebrow.

“
What was your task?
”
Henry asked, not to be deterred.

“
It
'
s none of your business,
”
Rebecca said.
My task was to find my daughter and apologize.

But the pain
which
filled her at the thought of Eden
'
s face was more than she could
handle
.
S
he didn
'
t think she had the courage to
stare
Eden
in the eye
,
to
see the anger and betrayal
which
was rightfully deserved.
How
could she talk to Eden anyway? She was still alive, unlike her. Souls could not talk to the living. She had tried.

Rebecca shook her head and stepped forward.
No, I can
'
t go look for her. I can
'
t.