WATTYS 2023 SHORTLIST
Cara, a troubled college dropout, finds herself slowly falling for a handsome stranger - who turns out to be Death incarnate. But the arrival of a mysterious being puts Death's home for lost souls and his very existence at risk...
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Later that afternoon, after an exhausting session of planning for the Halloween Festival with Mem while she simultaneously managed a bustling shift at the Nest, she drives me back to Death's house along with my bounty from Gary's store. I'm half-inclined to invite her inside before I remember that she's not able to cross the threshold of the old house.
"Thanks for the productive day! I'll see you soon!" She calls through the window of Baby Blue before she backs onto the dirt road. I wave and force as convincing a smile as I can onto my face, the bags of cleaning supplies piled around my feet.
As harmless as most of the spirits here seem to be, there's still something unsettling about spending too much time around them. It almost makes me forget that I'm not one of them, that I'm alive, that I have an entire life waiting for me. The question is, do I want that life anymore? I still don't know.
And I suppose that's what makes me a lost soul.
Groaning under the weight of my many grocery bags, I stumble onto the front porch and barely make it into the dusty foyer without spilling everything onto the floor. I finally manage to transfer everything onto the crushed velvet sofa, half expecting Sarah to appear before my eyes and laugh in my sweaty, tomato-red face.
But Sarah doesn't appear. Instead, I hear a barking laugh from behind the kitchen door, which is soon followed by the lingering scent of fresh food. Biting my lip, I cross over to the door and peer inside.
All of the spirits are seated at the kitchen table – except for Louis, of course, who must be too busy reading to care much for conversation – with half-eaten sandwiches in front of them. Death occupies his usual seat at the head of the table, and I don't miss the way his eyes brighten when he sees me, distracted from whatever conversation I'd just interrupted. Beside him, Sarah puckers her lips and rolls her eyes.
"Cara! Where were you?" Lisa shoves back from the table and throws her arms around my waist in an invasive hug that makes my bowels feel like they were transported to Antarctica. I gasp as she passes all the way through me, and then the little girl twists her mouth apologetically. "Sorry. I keep forgetting."
"That's okay," I splutter, still catching my breath. "I ran into town early this morning to pick up some cleaning supplies."
"How did you sleep last night?" Sarah asks sweetly. My gaze swivels to hers, and the malice hidden behind her innocent facade sends my pulse racing with fury. She wants me to cave in, to run to Death and tell him that I can't handle staying here another night with his unruly residents. She wants me to be afraid. And even if I might be, I can't show it.
So I stare her down and say, in an even bubblier tone, "Wonderfully! Thanks for asking!"
Her gaze sharpens the slightest bit, but not enough for anyone else to notice. Fierce pride surges through me. I won this battle. If it weren't for the fact that I'm a completely mature adult, I would stick out my tongue.
