Page 25 of Starrily (Perks of Being #2)

Chapter 25

T wo days later, Raleigh and Callie picked up Shanna and headed to the Guidrys for the final verdict. Raleigh hoped whatever ritual they’d cooked up could be done immediately; he hadn’t had more episodes since, but he was looking forward to being free. He even whistled as they drove to the house, though Callie, this time, didn’t join him in singing.

Phoebe invited them in and led them to the living room, where Penny and Iris leaned over Shanna’s book.

“Good morning, ladies,” Raleigh greeted. “Are we ready to turn this man fully material?”

“About that,” Phoebe said. “We have a small problem.”

Callie tensed next to him. No reason to worry yet. Maybe it was just a delay with the ritual?

“What’s the problem?” she asked, her voice tightly controlled.

Penny lifted her eyes from the book, giving them an apologetic glance. “We tried to figure out a ritual, or a combination of two, that would return Simon’s soul to his body and, simultaneously, give Raleigh his own body back. Both issues are connected to the same thing—a body and soul mismatch. Raleigh’s soul doesn’t belong in Simon’s body, which is now weakening it and threatening to take them both. Simon’s soul in the locket is no better off—honestly, it’s a miracle it’s held on for this long.”

“I’ve been taking good care of it,” Shanna said.

“I’m sure you did, child,” Iris said. “But care or not, it’s something we gotta fix immediately.”

“But you said there was a problem,” Callie spoke up.

“Yes,” Penny responded. “It’s the ritual. Shanna attempted to resurrect Simon into his own body. But it’s been too long for Raleigh. We’d need a new body for him.”

“We have to become grave diggers?” Raleigh asked.

“No, no. There is a ritual that creates a body—turns a ghost material. We’d extract your soul from the current body, then give it back its physical form.”

He had no clue how that worked, but it sounded painful.

“This is insane,” Callie said.

“What it is and what it ain’t don’t matter,” Iris said. “Because we can’t do it.”

“Why not?” Raleigh asked.

Penny sighed. “The ritual is highly specific. Right place, right time, a bunch of ingredients. Duplicating all circumstances of your death. From what Iris learned about it, we’d have to wait for months to attempt it.”

That wasn’t ideal, but at least it was something. Right?

“In the meantime, we’d lose Simon,” Penny continued.

Shanna whimpered and covered her mouth.

“Couldn’t you do the same for Simon?” Callie asked.

“The problem isn’t his body, it’s his soul,” Iris said. “That thing is holding on by a thread. And once it’s gone, ain’t no resurrection that’s gonna bring him back.”

Callie put her hand to her forehead and leaned on the back of the sofa. “Then what?”

“I’m going to lose Simon?” Shanna said.

“Hold on, now,” Phoebe said. “We cooked up something else.”

Raleigh released a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Good . They could still fix it.

“We’ll combine two rituals,” Penny said. “We’d never done anything like this before, but as they say, necessity is the mother of experimentation.”

“Invention,” Callie corrected.

Unaffected by that, Penny went on, “We’ll perform the ritual we meant to perform for Simon—bonding his soul back to his body once the body’s been freed. For you, Raleigh, we’ll do a modification of the ritual. But it being experimental, we can’t guarantee its success.”

Raleigh swallowed a lump in his throat. “And what happens if it goes wrong?”

“You’ll die.”

“Then we’re not doing it,” Callie said. “Find something else.”

“And if it succeeds, everything is fine?” Raleigh asked.

Penny shared a look with Iris. “To an extent. It would get you a body back. You’d be stable. No more turning into a ghost. But … you’d lose memories of the years you spent in Simon’s body. Very likely.”

“Very likely,” he quietly repeated.

Callie didn’t say anything. She looked at the floor and slowly shook her head.

“I’m sorry,” Penny said, and it hit him.

He was going to die. One way or another. Either completely, gone forever; or he’d lose memories of all of this. Everything he’d done as Simon. Maybe he wasn’t the business genius Simon had been, but it’s been fun. He’d finally, truly lived. And if he survived, he wouldn’t remember a thing.

He wouldn’t remember Callie.

“There’s nothing that can be done for him?” Shanna asked.

“Sorry, honey,” Phoebe said. “This is our best chance of saving both.”

“But I don’t c—” Callie cut herself off, glancing at Shanna.

Raleigh moved to her and hugged her. “It’s fine,” he said. “It is the best way.” Strangely, he wanted to … laugh? The verdict felt absurd. He was given a second chance of life—and now, he was going to die. Again. He never thought it would come so soon.

He didn’t want to die. God, he didn’t want to. Despite everything he’d done in the past few years, it still didn’t feel enough. He had so much more to experience. He wanted a life with Callie.

But he wasn’t going to get it.

Shanna shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, staring at the floor. He could guess her thoughts. She didn’t think this was fair, either—but she loved Simon, and wanted to save him. And in the end, he might not have known the man, but he did steal a portion of his life. It wasn’t Raleigh’s fault, but that didn’t matter. He had to do the right thing—give that life back.

“Let’s do it,” he said.

“No!” Callie objected.

“If we don’t, we’ll both die.”

Callie shook her head, pursing his lips. “There are always other solutions. There have to be. Can you break the connection between the souls? Make it so that Simon’s doesn’t die? If we can stabilize him, we can find a way to fix Raleigh, and afterward—”

Penny gave her a sad smile. “Always the scientist.”

“It ain’t gonna work,” Iris said. “It’s gotta be done the way we said.”

“Then it will be,” Raleigh said.

Iris nodded.

“The day after tomorrow,” Phoebe said. “We have things to prepare.”

Two days. He had two days to live. At least, live the rest of this life.

Callie let out a choking sound and ran from the room.

***

Callie sat on the front porch, wearing out the faded wood with the heels of her shoes. The door behind her creaked open, and Mom came to sit next to her.

“It’s not fair,” Callie said.

“I know, baby.”

Callie continued to stare into the distance. The sun played amongst the treetops, and dragonflies buzzed down where the river weaved past the house, lazy and calm. It was a beautiful day outside—much too beautiful for how Callie felt on the inside.

“Go on, then,” Mom said. “Yell at me. Punch my arms. Do anything, whatever will help you.”

Up until this moment, Callie was convinced that would’ve been her reaction. A defense against the hurt. But that old hurt was almost entirely gone, to the point where Callie was wondering how much of it had even been real and how much she’d made up to protect herself against more pain.

“I’m going to lose him,” she sniffled. “Just like I lost Mila.”

“We all lose people we love. It’s a part of life.” Mom gently touched her shoulder.

“Why can’t you save him? Why couldn’t you save Mila?”

Mom picked a blade of grass and twirled it between her fingers. “What we do—your Nana’s readings, Phoebe contacting the other side, all of it—we do it only to bring more light and love into the world. We do it to make people happier, not to make them suffer. If a reading didn’t want to show Mila’s destiny, that’s how it was meant to be. And if her spirit didn’t want to be contacted, we have to respect it and not do anything by force.”

Callie lowered her gaze to the steps of the porch. A tear slid down her cheek, hitting and seeping into the wood.

“I know it might go against your creed,” Mom said. “But there are some questions we’ll never have the answers to.”

Callie breathed out and waited for the anger to come; for everything she’d never dealt with—her memories, her disappointments, her losses—to wash over her and burst out like a tsunami. But instead, she only felt weak. Exhausted from fighting, ignoring, denying. So she swayed into her mother’s arms and let her hold her and caress her hair.

“It’s all right, baby. It’s all right,” Mom cooed.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’ve nothing to be sorry for. You had to go your own way. Figures one of us would get tired of the ‘mumbo-jumbo’ eventually.”

Callie laughed softly. “I never answered your messages.”

“But you saw them, and that’s enough for me. I only needed to know that you knew we cared.”

Callie squeezed Mom’s hand. “I wish I could say a proper goodbye to Mila.”

“You still can.”

“But you said her spirit doesn’t want to be contacted.”

“That’s right.” Mom lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “But you can still go talk to her.”

***

The next day, Raleigh went to visit the Guidrys again, taking Shanna with him.

“Raleigh.” Phoebe opened the door. “I hate to disappoint you, but we’re not ready yet. You gotta give us time to get our mojos together.”

“That’s okay.” Raleigh shared a confirming glance with Shanna, then looked back at Phoebe. “You said you could talk to ghosts. Could you help me talk with Simon?”

Phoebe’s eyes widened.

“If you think it’s safe for Simon,” Shanna added.

“It shouldn’t hurt him, no. Alrighty then, get in, you two.” She led them to the living room and shouted to the top of the stairs, “I’m gonna need half an hour of peace and quiet down here.”

“Why?” Iris’s voice came from upstairs.

“I’m talking to ghosts.”

“Sure, you do your thing!”

Shanna looked at Raleigh with a hint of a smile and shrugged.

Phoebe swept some papers off the table and covered it in a deep purple velvet cloth. She lit candles and incense, similar to what Iris had done for Raleigh’s examination. Shanna gave her the locket, hesitating for a second; and then Phoebe sat on one side of the table, and Raleigh on the other.

“Won’t you sit, honey?” Phoebe said to Shanna.

“Oh, I … I’ll let you talk in private. Guy stuff and all that,” Shanna said. “I’ll see him soon enough any—” Her eyes met Raleigh’s, and she gave him an awkward smile.

“As you wish,” Phoebe said and turned to Raleigh. “Give me a moment. I need to focus.”

Shanna left the room. Raleigh sat still, afraid to even take too loud of a breath.

Phoebe clutched the locket in her hands and closed her eyes. For a minute, nothing happened. Then, even with the windows and doors shut, a gentle whoosh of wind passed Raleigh, and Phoebe opened her eyes once again.

She tilted her head, staring at Raleigh. “You have my body,” she said, her voice deeper, and somehow sounding like an echo.

It was the first time Raleigh had experienced something paranormal—save for his own problem—and the change in Phoebe’s behavior made him jump back and the chair screech. “Simon?”

“What’s going on?” Simon said through Phoebe’s mouth.

“Holy shit. I thought it’d be more … indirect.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Uh, hi. I’m Raleigh, and I accidentally ended up in your body. Long story.”

“I was driving. I swerved off the road. I don’t remember …”

Oh, boy. “A quick recap, then.” Raleigh explained their deaths, Shanna’s resurrection, and how he ended up in Simon’s body.

“You ate what ?”

“Seriously? You, too?” Raleigh said. “It’s a specialty in Japan. Plenty of people eat it. It’s not like I was signing my death sentence, eating it—”

“And yet, here we are.”

Raleigh frowned. Fine, point taken . “Are all ghosts grumpy?”

“I’m not grumpy, but I would like to get to the point.”

“Fair. Tomorrow, we’re doing a ritual that will save you. As for me … possibly, not so much.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” If a voice could embody an empty corporate Wishing You The Best card, that would be it.

To be fair, it was hard to judge someone’s emotions when that someone was being filtered through another person. And also a ghost.

Raleigh continued, “Since I spent some time in your body and people thought I was you, I wanted to clear up some things … and ask for a favor.”

“Go on.”

“You remember Everett?”

“My financial adviser. CFO of my company.”

“That’s him. We’re funding a few projects, and before I left to fix this ghost thing, we may have had a disagreement. I don’t know how it’ll work with this switch-up of ours, but it’ll be either Everett or you in charge of those grants.”

“I expect so.”

Ghosts apparently weren’t talkative, either. “I want to continue that funding. And I want to make sure Everett doesn’t cheat his way out of the contract.”

“What is the funding for?”

“Several science projects. Including one by Callie—she’s the niece of the woman you’re possessing.”

Phoebe tilted her head to the other side, her eyes fixed on Raleigh—attentive, focused, piercing. As if he was being studied by a hunter.

“Do you have a pen and a piece of paper?” Phoebe—Simon—said then.

Raleigh fetched some and put it in front of Phoebe, who started scribbling rapidly.

“You should ensure these clauses are in the contract,” Simon said. “You’ll need to cancel the current contract, then sign the new one.” He led with some more questions, which Raleigh answered to the best of his abilities, answering about potential ways Everett could circumvent the contract, cancellation clauses, and other. “You’ll also want to change it from continuous into one-time payment; that way, she gets everything she needs, and you’re done.” One thing Shanna had said about Simon was true—he was clever. Raleigh could only imagine the team he and Everett used to make.

“And have it signed by you and the representative at QueLabs as soon as you can.” Simon deposited the pen and slid the paper across the table. “Anything else?”

Now came the awkward part. But he had to get this cleared up, too. “One more thing. It’s about Callie.”

***

Callie kneeled on the riverbank, digging her fingers into the mixture of grass, leaves, and mud. The river lay silent, with only an occasional rippling of the surface. It looked so peaceful and inviting she could stay here for days. She’d wondered if the flashes of memory would come as she gazed upon it, but her fears may finally have been satisfied and lay as dormant as the river.

Or, if she was lucky, they were gone.

“Hey,” she said, looking at the grass, the river, the air above it. “I’m back.”

She could’ve gone to the town cemetery to talk to Mila. But that was only where her bones were buried. They were her remains—but they weren’t Mila. She left the world here . The energy that fueled her life changed into something else in this place; and maybe, some of it still stuck around. Maybe she was in the trees, the animals, the water. Maybe she’d hear Callie.

“I’m sorry I tried to forget you,” Callie said. “I’m sorry that for so many years, I denied everything about this place. And you, and myself. You would’ve hated to see who I’ve become.”

She picked up a small pebble and skipped it on the water. One, two, three—“Huh. See, I’ve still got it.”

The ripples spread out, and the water was calm once again.

“I won’t forget you. Ever again.” Her eyes burned, and she wiped them with her sleeve. “And I promise from now on, I’ll actually try to live.”

She sat back on her heels, closed her eyes, and listened. No ghost manifested, and no voice came, but the wind blew gently, and she felt peace.

“You know I loved you,” she said. “But there’s someone else I also love very much, and gosh, Mila, you would’ve loved him too. But he …” She blinked, chasing away a new onslaught of tears. “You might get to meet him tomorrow. If there’s such thing as tomorrow for you. You might get to meet him soon. If you do … say hi. Tell him his jokes are the worst.” A hiccup of laughter escaped her. “And tell him you’re my best friend. You’ll see. You two will get along great.”

She stayed by the river for a while more, drying her tears and making final amends with herself, until the sun began to set. Finally, she was ready. When she got back to the inn, she went to check Raleigh’s room—she didn’t know what she intended to do yet, but one way or another, this was their last night. Callie would hide no longer and live with no regrets—she’d enjoy it to the last second.

As she was about to knock on his door, she noticed a note attached to it. Meet me at the magnolia tree , it said.

The magnolia tree? There was only one prominent enough not to warrant additional detail—an old giant at the edge of town, a beloved spot from Callie’s childhood. But how did Raleigh know about it?

She caressed the note and smiled. She’d go ask him herself.