The Soul Catcher (Harry Styles)

03 - Freak Show

"Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it."

― Haruki Murakami

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"Why is the other world ... the afterworld called Shimmerland?" I asked once we were walking outside.

Instead of answering my question, George had one ready for me. "Can't you see?"

"See what?" I asked, looking around, trying to see what he saw.

And that was when I saw it. The plants, flowers and trees - that were basically everywhere - held that same shimmer the mist around the bridge had. I studied my surroundings in awe. Everything shimmered, there was a radiance everywhere. Even the buildings seemed to have that glow. I had no words to describe that little light that embraced every single thing, living or dead. Well, we really weren't alive either, right?

George took my silence as a confirmation and his thin lips displayed a smile.

"How old are you?" I asked him next. I surely had more important questions to ask, e.g. 'What are we going to do now?' but I opted for small talk.

"I died when I was 83 years old," George replied, avoiding the real intention of my question.

"And how many years is that ago?" I couldn't stop asking more questions, I was curious. After all, this was new to me. Oddly enough, I didn't have too many thoughts about my death. For now, I was a little overstrained with the here and now. My death would catch up with me soon enough, that was for sure.

"Time has a different meaning for us now, Harry," was all he mysteriously said.

"And what exactly does that mean?" I raised an eyebrow. He wasn't going to play any games with me. If I wanted an answer, I got one.

"We don't measure time. It's just now. For all you know, minutes or days could have passed on earth while you were talking to the Council. We don't even have clocks here," George explained.

The last statement made me look down at my watch. I haven't thought about it before. I mean, I had more important things on my mind than looking at my watch, but now that I did, I saw that the hands were standing still. The big one came to a standstill on the black number 11, the smaller one hung short before the number 6 and the smallest one yet pointed at the number 1.

"Great, I died at 5:55 pm. And 5 seconds. Nice numbers, I've always liked the 5," I sarcastically remarked.

This was a big joke. "Now, where are the cameras?" I could already hear voices screaming 'You just got Punk'd!'

"It is a lot to take in. Get some rest for now, I will find you when we have our first assignment." George's voice soothed me, but then the meaning behind his words sunk in.

"Get some rest? I've been awake for the last 40 hours or something and I'm not even tired," I stated.

"We don't necessarily need sleep but you can still put your mind in the state of dreaming," George explained and smiled understandingly at me.

"But where am I supposed to go?" This was all so confusing. Did I have my own place?

"Go find an estate agent. You can tell him what you desire and he will help you find a place." George never lost the gentleness in his voice. I probably reminded him of some lost child. Great, just great.

"This sounds too easy, it's as if I were still alive," I muttered. Then, a bit louder, I added, "and what do you mean with finding me for our first assignment? We're not going to catch some souls now?"