WATTYS 2023 SHORTLIST
Cara, a troubled college dropout, finds herself slowly falling for a handsome stranger - who turns out to be Death incarnate. But the arrival of a mysterious being puts Death's home for lost souls and his very existence at risk...
ओह! यह छवि हमारे सामग्री दिशानिर्देशों का पालन नहीं करती है। प्रकाशन जारी रखने के लिए, कृपया इसे हटा दें या कोई भिन्न छवि अपलोड करें।
I walk towards Sarah's closed door, hoping to collect my things and relocate to a new bedroom with as little interaction with her as possible, but I can't bring myself to knock.
Clearly, Sarah felt that I was threatening her space or peace or whatever, and it doesn't seem like showing up at her bedroom door is the right move to make.
But I do need my duffel bag.
Mentally torn, I stand listlessly in front of the door just as Lisa bounds down the stairs in a pair of blue jeans and a striped sweater. She stops short upon seeing me and her eyes widen.
"I wouldn't go in there if I were you. Sarah doesn't like anyone to go into her room. Especially humans. She's still mad at you."
"She was human once," I mumble under my breath. I throw up my hands in frustration. "This is ridiculous and immature. Look, my stuff is still in there. I don't want to bother her or steal her bed or whatever. I'm just trying to grab my bag so I can take it to a new room."
"Hmm." Lisa twists her lips to the side in thought before walking through the door. Through the door. My mouth falls open like a fish out of water, and a few seconds later Lisa steps back through it with my bag in hand. She drops it on the floor with a dull thud. "That was easy. She didn't even see me."
"Lisa, oh my god." I press my palm to my chest. "That was..."
"What?" Her hand flies up to one of her blonde curls, which she anxiously twirls around her fingers. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, that was awesome!" I grin, laughing. "You're like a little spy, or an escape artist."
Her warm eyes widen, glowing with wonder. "What's an excape artist?"
"An escape artist," I explain, "is someone who can get out of any trap that anybody puts them in."
"Like me," she says proudly, bouncing on her feet.
"Exactly like you." I nod, and I feel something soften inside of me for the sweet little girl. I pick up my bag and wink. "Hey, you know what? Nobody's given me the grand tour of the house, yet. Would you like to do the honors?"
"Oh, yes yes yes yes!" She screams, coaxing another laugh out of me. She tries to grab my hand to pull me along behind her, then she shudders when it passes through me.
"Sorry." I grimace. "I'll keep up, I promise."
"This way first, okay? You've already seen the kitchen..." Lisa leads me on a whirlwind tour of the first floor of the mansion, and I quickly realize with a sinking feeling that it's even more enormous than it appeared to be from the outside. As I survey a laundry room full of metal tubs for washing, a music room complete with a massive grand piano, and a neglected dining room that seems to be prepared for a visit from the royal family, the weight of this undertaking starts to settle upon my chest.
