Alice had plenty of time to think on the way back. She knew what she wanted to achieve, so figuring out how to get there wasn’t that hard. She wanted to be good, whatever that meant. She wanted to help people, to change the world. But to do that, she needed knowledge. Where should she begin? What should be the first thing to change?

  During the long hours on the train, she imagined people who might need her help. Maybe she could heal. Maybe she could tell the future, or work with the police? That idea stuck with her. She also wanted to banish evil spirits, help lost souls cross to the other side. That seemed important too, but she had no idea how she was supposed to do it. She’d never dealt with things like that before. Then again, her energy field was strong, so it probably wouldn’t be too hard.

  At home, they greeted her warmly, bombarding her with questions. She answered reluctantly, vaguely. She skipped the part about the fat owner entirely. She just didn’t have the strength to talk about it. Still, she had a feeling they already knew. No, not the details, but they could sense something was wrong. She didn’t want them digging any deeper, so she focused on the spirit attack instead. She was relieved to see the worry on their faces. Good. The trick had worked.

  “Dear God, what a miracle you made it out alive,” Helena said, squeezing the girl’s hand. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if anything had happened to you.”

  “I’m fine,” Alice replied, forcing a smile. “It was hard, but I got through it. I just don’t understand why I didn’t sense him earlier…”

  “I think I know why,” Gregory said after a moment’s thought. “You’ve been seeing ghosts since you were a child, haven’t you?”

  “Yes. That’s why it’s so strange to me.”

  “They never tried to hurt you or scare you, right?”

  “No, but…”

  “That’s because they wanted you to see them. You have a gift, and it’s easy to sense. I knew you could see me the second you walked into that bunker. Others probably feel it too, that’s why they come to you. They want your help. Or maybe just someone to talk to. That spirit didn’t want to be seen. He was too weak to attack you right away. He needed time to prepare. That’s why he hid.”

  “But…”

  “Alice…” Walery began thoughtfully. “Not everything in this world is good or safe. Some souls don’t want to return to God. You can’t force them to take the path to salvation. Don’t dwell on it. Don’t ask questions. It won’t change anything. If anything, it’ll draw them to you.”

  “But I…”

  “Alice!” Walery snapped, silencing her.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Alice went to her room, feeling strangely shut out. She knew it was silly. She shouldn’t even be thinking that way, but the feeling was stronger than reason. She sat on her bed, ready to reflect on everything that had happened, when she heard a soft knock at the door.

  “Come in, Gregory,” she said, hugging a pillow to her chest.

  “I came to talk about the spirit.”

  Alice looked at him in surprise as he stepped into the room.

  “I’m listening.”

  “I think I know what the real problem is,” he said, sitting beside her. “Alice, up until now, the spirits you’ve seen were people stuck in this world. They didn’t mean you harm. They just couldn’t find their way to Heaven. Like me. Or Helena. Or Walery. We don’t see you as a threat.”

  “So you reveal yourselves on purpose, is that it?”

  Alice didn’t bother hiding her irritation. She felt like a child being lectured on something obvious. Gregory was repeating exactly what she’d just heard in the kitchen, as if she were too dim to get it the first time.

  “Alice, that’s not what I meant. Each of us produces a specific kind of energy field…”

  “Aura. I know what that is. I can…”

  She was genuinely angry now, not even trying to hide it. All she wanted was for this stupid conversation to be over so she could lie down. When Gregory interrupted her, she saw for the first time that he, too, could get irritated.

  “If you don’t want to hear it, I won’t say it. Ask Him instead. Clearly, I’m too stupid to understand it myself,” he said, getting up from the bed and heading toward the door.

  He stopped only when he heard a quiet voice behind him.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

  “It’s fine. I won’t bore you,” he said, returning to the subject, though it was clear her words had hurt him. “Up until now, you’ve only come into contact with one specific type of energy, within a certain frequency range. That spirit was different, iIt produced a different kind of energy. That’s probably why you didn’t sense it in time. It’s just my stupid theory. I have nothing else to add, so… have a nice day.”

  He walked out, ignoring her half-hearted attempt to stop him. Growing up was one thing, but basic decency should always come first… even if one of the people involved was less human now than they were in life. Alice stood for a moment in front of the closed door, wondering whether she should go and apologize again… or just let it go. In the end, she decided she didn’t feel guilty enough to keep saying sorry. Instead, she went back to thinking about what Gregory had said. What if he was right? What would that mean? Would it really matter? The questions kept multiplying in her head, but no answers came.

  She sat down at her vanity and stared into the mirror. The face looking back at her didn’t belong to a child anymore, but it didn’t feel like hers, either. It was someone else’s face. Someone unfamiliar. A girl she didn’t know. No, not with those traces of childish arrogance, that ridiculous stubbornness, and those eyes that still didn’t understand the world.

  “Who are you?” she whispered to her reflection, feeling the sting of tears. “This isn’t me.”

  She watched the tears fall. She’d been crying a lot lately. Was it just hormones? Or maybe she really wasn’t strong enough? It felt like everything was going wrong, like it had been going wrong for years. And whenever she thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse… well, life had a way of proving her wrong. Over and over.

  “Hey… I’m sorry,” she whispered, thinking of the Not-a-Doctor. “Can you hear me at all? It’s me, Alice… Please. Show yourself.”

  Silence answered her. Nothing changed. The strange sense of someone being nearby never returned. She waited a while longer, but eventually she realized it was pointless. And then, she truly broke down.