A Soul's Journey

Chapter Eight

The voice came from a distance.

It kept repeating Von's name like a sound wave signal sent in the air. He rose and followed the voice like a dog searching something through its nose. It came from a familiar place, a graveyard.

He stood among the tombs under a huge acacia tree. He saw many moving things hovering over the numerous graves.

"Do you enjoy the sight, Von?"

The unexpected voice made him take a step backward.

Danilo laughed uncontrollably. "You frighten easily."

"No, you just surprised me." Von went into the open, showing a dismayed face. "How could I enjoy it? It is a nauseating sight," referring to the floating shadowy bodies he was witnessing. He cupped his mouth and coughed.

"You are overreacting. What you saw were just another component of our physical body. Others call it a vital body. They just hover over their dense body in the grave and disintegrate simultaneously with it. If you don't want to see yours, let someone cremate your body. But remember that cremation must be done not earlier than three days after your death so you won't feel the painful heat..."

"I don't need your lecture...not at this time," Von cut in. "Why did you call me?"

"Relax my friend."

"How could I when you pulled me away from my sweetheart?"

"I'm sorry to be a nuisance but you are free to leave if you want to."

But he couldn't and would not because he wanted to know more on how to get even with his killer. "I'm sorry; I was just too emotional with my situation," Von sighed.

The shadow seemed to smile. He nodded.

Von meant business. He didn't like to waste the time. Anytime soon, Danilo might leave again so he must immediately extract the information he wanted to know. "Danilo, I was puzzled, how did you kill someone when you were already dead?"

"You know, I don't exist in the physical world anymore because I have no more body...just like you. So, I let someone did the job for me."

"How?" His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Not too fast, just relax my friend. I'm here to tell you how as long as you are listening."

Von's face couldn't deny that he was in a hurry to know everything he wanted to know.

"Okay, I'm listening."

"I followed the guy wherever he went, day and night. I noticed that he and her wife quarrel often when he got drunk. So every time her wife was angry, I feed her thoughts with mine. I told her to keep a knife and stab him when she was attacked. I did it several times until finally the chance came. The killer came home drunk. He pushed the door and shouted at his wife. I dictated to her to go and get the knife under their bed. Her husband followed her to further hurt her ego. But he was met by a series of stabs."

Von couldn't imagine that it could really happen but he thought of the welfare of the wife instead. "What happened to his wife after stabbing him?"

"When she regained her mind, she felt sorry and wondered how it happened. She knew she did not have the courage to do it. Anyway, she wasn't imprisoned because it was ruled as self-defense."

"It's too brutal."

"You mean the stabbing?"

"No, the way you did it."

"The shadow laughed aloud. I want revenge and I have to do it at all costs. Do you think I was the only one doing it?"

"Is it the rule in this world of ours?"

"It's not but some are doing it especially those who wanted vengeance. That's why I don't believe in the capital punishment of death."

"You mean the death penalty?"

The shadow nodded again. "The authorities thought that by death penalty they can protect the society from the menace of these criminals. Unknown to them they are just making things worse because in this purgatorial world we exist, these executed souls can influence the living with unstable mind."

Von thought about his killer. This guy must be drinking with his addict companions. I can carry it out with those addict drinking mates of the killer. Nothing would deter me from bringing out the plan.

Danilo thought Von was still listening. "So it is better to imprison the criminals instead of killing them because their souls remained in their bodies in the prison cell and they cannot influence the souls of the living."

"Is mere whispering to the living do the job?"

"Find it yourself, Von." There was Danilo's familiar laughter and his usual exit.

Von kicked the air in disgust. Why this guy leaves with my hanging question always unanswered?

The information wasn't complete but good enough because he now had the clue.

The urge for vengeance became stronger but again he must put it aside this time to attend his funeral.

But he was in for another surprise.