Secret Heart: Other Realm, Frost Family Series, Book 3

Lock 17

A week went by, during which Willow suffered no other deaths, thankfully. She made sure to follow the instructions of Dr. Clemith closely. It made both of them more than a little uncomfortable, but Willow sat down on her bed while Kazuo snapped his fingers. Five minutes later, a knock came from downstairs. Kazuo went to greet the visitor. Willow could hear the soft murmur of their voices as Kazuo showed the man up the stairs. A minute more and the two were standing in her doorway. The man was about forty, with light brown hair and sad, hazel eyes. He was looking around him in a daze. His eyes alighted on Willow's form in the bed.

"Sir, I thought you said you knew a way for me to...fix my problem," the man murmured.

Kazuo, standing behind him, nodded firmly. He placed his hand on the man's shoulder. "I do. Here," he pushed the man further forward, until he was standing right in front of where Willow was sitting on the bed. "This girl here can help you. All you have to do is agree to kiss her," Kazuo explained in a quiet voice.

Willow raised a brow at her dad. "Is he okay with this?" she asked, just as quietly.

Kazuo nodded. "I searched and he was the closest soul who was planning to commit suicide. He had roughly...three more days before his clock ran out and he took the gun in his closet..."

The man turned his head to Kazuo. "H-how did you know about the g-gun?"

Willow cleared her throat. "What's your name? Mine's Willow Chester," she held her hand out to him.

The man blinked, still looking a little dazed and very confused. "M-me? I'm Matthew Franz."

Willow nodded, committing the name to memory. She'd write down his name in her book after this. "So you've been very depressed, lately then, Matthew?" she questioned him gently.

He nodded slowly as Kazuo began to silently back out of the room, giving them some privacy. "Y-yes..."

Willow reached out her hand, touching Matthew's right arm. "Why are you wanting to die?"

He sucked in a deep breath, staring down at her with an expression very close to a young, scared child. Kazuo summoning the man's soul had forced the filter of his emotions to fade. He was left incredibly emotionally vulnerable. "B-because...I-I...I killed my family," he sobbed. "I knew I shouldn't have been driving when I was that tired...But it was only five miles. I-I thought I could go five miles...And now they're gone! My son, my grandson, my wife!" He sobbed harder, half shouting in his emotional pain. "I killed them!"

Willow grabbed hold of him a little tighter. While he'd been talking, she was slowly coaxing his body to sit down on the bed with her. Now she cupped his face in her hands. "Shh," she soothed, brushing back some of his hair from his temple. "Shh, sweetie. It's okay. I want you to know that your family doesn't blame you at all. In fact, you can go and meet them very soon. All you have to do is kiss me," she murmured.

He blinked. "S-soon? I can see them..." He shook his head slightly. "N-no...I can't kiss you. I love my wife...I'd never cheat on her," he swallowed.

Willow smiled gently. "I know, Matthew. She knows too. I won't ask for anything more. Just kiss me and I'll take you to where your family is."

He swallowed harder, hazel eyes filled with hope. "Y-you promise?" he asked in a tiny voice, looking completely vulnerable.

She nodded. "I swear, Matthew."

He sucked in a long breath, staring into her eyes. After almost a full minute, he nodded. "A-alright. Being kissed seems a lot better than being shot in the h-head," he tried to joke. But his expression was too intense and his voice too shaky to manage it. Slowly, he leaned his head closer, pressing his lips to hers.