Alice in Between

Chapter 3: The Bag of Souls

"So it's settled, then. Eddie, are you sure you want to do this?" Amy asked. Eddie nodded. "Alright, I'll see you." Amy crushed Eddie in a hug, tears rolling down her face.

Eddie and I started out their door and in their way.

"How do you collect these souls?" Eddie asked.

"I've got a bag." I took out a dark purple velvet bag. It was wriggling and squirming because of all the things trapped inside.

"So, how do we know when people die?" Eddie inquired.

"I can sense it."

"I thought that human souls faded away. Why are we collecting them, then?"

"It's so that they don't end up as wanderers, like me."

"What's a wanderer?"

"Pretty much a spirit. They get stuck in between life and death and have to live the rest of their lives in some sort of torturing eternity. It's like a curse."

"What's your curse?"

"Collecting souls."

"You seem to enjoy it, though."

"But it's a big responsibility. If I mess this up, the world will lose it's balance. Wanderers also usually have to express themselves. If all these souls came back to life," I pointed to the bag, "then the world would be full of screams and thumps in the night. Living people would have to hear constant noise. Not to mention the poltergeistsic wanderers. Whew, they are a challenge to keep in your house. You'd have to constantly replace the broken dishes and Windows." I blew out a sigh.

"How does your bag hold the souls? And that many of them?" Eddie kicked a pebble with his dusty shoe.

"It's bigger on the inside, the bag is. The souls will eventually fade away, though. Not all of them are hundreds of years old."

"How long ago did you die?"

"About 200 years."

"Why don't you speak like you came from 200 years ago?"

"It's not like I took a time machine straight here. I've adapted and caught up on the modern times."

"Good for you."

"Thanks."