Where All Souls Meet (5 page)

****

Eden lingered in a black world, hovering.
I've almost done it. I found the fourth soul. I'm always in this place before I go into their world. Now I even know where my mom is.
As she gazed down, her spirit gained speed until her world became a blur. When she reached the bottom, she knew what would happen — she would see the world where Edward had lived and would know and love the person he had once loved.

The person he loved enough to break the Blood Stone's curse.

When she entered the white light, she found herself standing in Edward's body. He was so thin that his pants bagged around him, even though they were small. He was also extremely short, unlike in Purgatory, where he was tall. It led her to believe that maybe he was a child.

He stood in the middle of a desolate street lined with palm trees. A man paced at a street corner with a basket of bruised apples at his side. A yellowing, crumbled newspaper lay on the ground that read October 1931. When Edward walked by, the man offered him an apple with desperation on his gaunt face. Still Edward moved faster, hands in his pockets. He walked by a shop window filled with dust-covered clothing on the inside. His reflection showed he was young, maybe eight years old, and painfully skinny. In Purgatory, he appeared to be in his early thirties.

I hope Mrs. Durson lets me work today.
His lips tightened.
If she doesn't, there won't be anything to eat tonight.
In response to his thought, his stomach rumbled and pinched.

He came to a large, two-story white house at the end of the street. There was a broken-down swing on the front porch, and the windows were visibly dirty. It had the appearance of a once beautiful house gone to seed.

After crossing the street he approached the front door and knocked on it. A moment later, a tired voice said, "Come in."

Grimacing, he pushed open the door and was assaulted by a sour stench. He went around a corner and saw a thin old woman with grey hair sitting in a chair. The whole room was dusty and had little furniture despite its size.
I cannot believe how empty her home appears now.

"I'm glad you came, boy," Mrs. Durson said. "I need to take my bath. Can't do it on my own and ever since the maid left…"

"I'll help, Ma'am," he said.

"Good," Mrs. Durson said. "You're such a nice boy. Soon, you won't have to take care of me at all. My nephew is coming. He promised he would. I told him all about you and about how kind you are toward me."

His stomach sunk.
Caring for her is how I earn food for my family. What will I do when she's gone?

"Where do you live, boy?" Mrs. Durson asked.

She had never asked about his home before. He was hesitant to respond because he pictured his small tent with his emaciated mom, dad, and sister.

"In a Hooverville, Ma'am," he said.

"The one on the other side of the river?" she probed.

"Yes, Ma'am," he said.

"And who do you live with?" Mrs. Durson cocked her head.

"My parents and sister," he said. "Why?"

Ignoring the question, Mrs. Durson frowned in the direction of the bath.

"Come on, boy, we haven't got all day," she said, as if it had been he who had been making the idle conversation.

He went to Mrs. Durson and gently eased her to her feet. Once she stood up, she shivered as if it was cold, though the summer sun poured in through the window.
I don't think Mrs. Durson is going to last much longer.

With a sigh, he helped her to a room in the back with a claw-foot bathtub and a small, dirty sink.

"All right, Mrs. Durson," he said. "I'll get the water started and be right back."

Just as Edward turned around to exit the bathroom, Eden was ripped from Edward's body and felt as though she had been physically thrown backward. She hovered in a world of darkness, a place between one memory and the next. All around her was darkness and at the end of the darkness was yet another disk of light. Soon Eden was propelled quickly toward the light again; she shut her eyes to try to escape the blinding flash seconds before she made it home.

She was back in Edward's body. He stood in front of a tent which bulged in the middle and had a camp fire in front of it. It was a Hooverville, a set of shanties set up for the people who had lost their homes and had nowhere else to go. There were two women sitting on logs in front of the fire, and both of them looked up when he approached.

Mom and Meg sure look boney.
He glanced down at the coins clenched in his skeletal fist. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

"Eddy," his mom said when she saw him approach. Her smile brightened, which only made her face, which was skeletal enough for the bones of her skull to show, appear even more grotesque. "Did you bring us anything?"

He reached forward and extended his hand to her. He dropped the coins into her outstretched palm and she gazed at those pennies as if she had never seen anything so glorious in her entire life.

"We can get some bread with this," his mom said. "Meg, you stay here with Eddy and make sure nobody steals what we have left. I'll be right back."

His mom turned around and walked away from him. He sat down by Meg and stared into the fire. Meg grasped her dress between her fingers.

"Did you get any money?" he asked.

"Some," she said.

"Did Mom ask where you got it from?" he asked.

Meg shook her head and stared into the fire, her eyes sad. Up close, he noted she had blood on her skirt but he didn't dare ask what had happened.
I hope Meg's all right, though. Blood is bad.

A moment later he heard the sound of swearing and garbled talk. He saw his dad stagger down the path in torn clothes and a sweaty face.
I take it Dad was not able to find work again.
He shuddered at the thought and stared up into the swiftly darkening sky.

Eden was ripped away from the memory and pulled into the dark slide where she waited. She felt concerned for Edward. As she stared down at the disk below her, she wished she did not have to go back to see how the memory finished. With the former three souls, their endings had not been good. As she sped toward the disk, she knew she had no choice but to see. Before she knew it, she was back in Edward's body again.

He sat in front of another fire. A couple of dead fish sat in a pan on a log by his side. His mom and dad sat to his right, and Meg sat to his left. As usual, Meg was quiet and kept chewing her lip. There was a bruise along her right cheek. He could not stand to look at her.

As he stared into the trees, he heard footsteps and saw that a man stood at the edge of the campfire. He was tall with a full dark brown beard. He wore a suit, which was very different than the tattered clothes everyone else in the Hooverville wore.
What is somebody so rich doing here?
Edward frowned. His dad stood up and stared at the man.

"You are Edward, the boy who cares for my aunt?" the man asked, studying Edward's face.

"Y-yes sir," he said, uncertain. He realized the man must be Mrs. Durson's nephew.

"My aunt speaks highly of you," he said. "My name is Douglas Durson."

"Nice to meet you, sir," Edward said, still confused.
Why is he here? A man like this has too much money to be in Hooverville.

"I wish to speak to your father for a moment," Douglas said. "If you will permit me to."

"I'm Edward's father," replied his dad. The man ran his hand over his chestnut, grisly beard as his mahogany eyes narrowed nervously. "We can talk over there in the trees. Shouldn't be overheard."

Nodding, Douglas turned and walked toward the trees with Edward's dad behind him. Edward's heart thundered in his chest as he watched, and his mom let out a shaky breath beside him. His palms grew sweaty at the thought of what such a man could want with him.
Does he think I stole from his aunt or something
? Even while living in Hooverville, he would never steal. He was a moral person.

"Do you know what the man wants?" Meg asked.

"I don't know," Edward said.

"This worries me," his mom said, frowning into the fire.

Edward waited with bated breath until his dad came out of the trees with tears streaming down his face. Douglas had a half smile upon his lips, as if pleased but not sure if it was appropriate to show it. When he reached the camp, he gazed at Edward with a probing stare.

"What's going on, Tim?" Edward's mom asked, leaping to her feet.

"Mr. Durson wants to take Edward with him to aid old Mrs. Durson," his dad said. "He's willing to pay us. They want to take him back to New York."

"
What?
" Meg yelled. "No, Dad, don't do this to him. You can't sell him."

His mom shuddered and gazed at Douglas. "What do you wish for him to do?"

"I did not know my aunt had fallen into such despair that she had excused all of her servants. She told me the only servant she had was your son who took good care of her. I wish to make my aunt happy," Mr. Durson said. "The boy will be my aunt's caretaker in our household."

It felt as if the world had slowed down. Tears filled Edward's eyes as he stared at his family. He knew if he left them, he might not ever seen them again. New York was a long way from California. His sister had resorted to bad things in order to get money, and his dad had bad gambling habits. His mom grew thinner by the day.
But what if the money would stop them? What if my sister would no longer need to wander the streets and my dad wouldn't gamble?

"How much will you give my family?" Edward asked.

"Enough," Mr. Durson said.

Edward's dad revealed a fistful of bills and grimaced at Edward.

"How could you do it, Dad?" Meg asked, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You
sold
our brother. I would rather work until I bleed than let this to happen to him."

"He can still go back," Mr. Durson said stiffly. "I am not an unkind man. Edward, what do you say? Will you come with me and earn the money I gave your family?"

As he stood there, he noted his sister's sad face, his mom's thinness, and his dad's anger and frustration. He could stop it. He could be the answer. In order to save his family, he would give up his life for them. Being a servant was a small sacrifice to make to feed them.

"I'll do it," he said quietly.

Though his mom sobbed, he heard his dad sigh in relief. Edward knew as he stood there he had thought of his family first, so he had done the right thing.

Eden was ripped from Edward's body and remained in the "in-between" world. Everything around her was black, and this time, she went up instead of down. As she sped toward the light at a frightening pace, she extended her hand toward it, enveloped in the warmth.