Now, I work in a relatively small town, pretty far from any major city, so I'm not taking on any newsworthy cases, and my clients aren't usually offering me the big bucks for my services. So, you can imagine my surprise when, yesterday morning, a client walked in carrying two heavy-looking sacks, sat down in front of me, and opened one of the sacks to reveal money. A lot of it.
Even more surprising was the fact the client was a young girl, who couldn't have been more than seventeen. Now, you can understand why I was already more than a bit skeptical, then she told me she was immortal and needed my help in changing that.
No sooner than I had awkwardly laughed, she interrupted me and made my jaw drop.
"I was Tommy O'Malley. Mr. O'Malley to you, back when I taught you mathematics for a few years in the early nineteen-eighties."
I was a bit confused now. I did have a Mr. O'Malley teaching me back when I was a teenager, I remember him mostly for being strict and for excessively mean. I noticed that the teenage girl had the same blonde hair and green eyes that he had. Perhaps they were relatives and this was some sort of prank? That would be a bit strange though, considering that I had heard about Mr. O Malley's death a little under a month ago.
I was trying to rationalize this in my head, but her next statement blindsided me.
"Near the end of the school year, your first year at the school, I kept you behind and yelled at you, saying you wouldn't be half the lawyer that your father was if you kept skipping classes and failing tests. You then started crying."
Wow. Yeah, I suppose Mr. O'Malley was a mean old man, but I can't see him telling that charming tale to his granddaughter so she could play a prank on me, not least after he was dead for almost a month. Now, I wasn't really convinced that old Mr. O'Malley had reincarnated as this teenage girl, but I definitely wanted to know more.
"OK, let's say you're immortal. Why are you here?"
"I was given this curse in the summer of 1641. I was only in my twenties, perhaps my early-thirties, yet I had fallen ill. I was coughing up blood for over a week and I knew I hadn't long left. One night, I sat down by a river feeling sorry for myself."
Now, this teenage girl had just told me that she's been around since the 17th century, but something about the sincerity and regret in what she spoke about had me drawn in. I've never been one to deny the existence of the supernatural, but I was still wary, so I let her continue speaking.
"I was lamenting that I had done nothing and my life was being cut short before my hair had gone completely gray. I had no wife, no children, and I was far from wealthy. Then I spotted him. Across the river, a man wearing rags, humming a tune, until he looked up at me."
The young girls tone of voice was one of anger, of hate, but her eyes looked fearful.
"He asked me what had me in such a foul mood on such a fine night. I grumbled that it was very apparent I was dying, and that was when he grinned, a terrible, wretched smile. He stepped across the river, and the water froze under his feet, and a cold chill went up my spine."
"He offered you immortality?" I asked, in response to her silence.
"I asked him what the cost was, to which he told me that I would find out, should I accept his offer."
"And what was the cost?" I found myself whispering.
"After I shook his hand and he walked into the forest, I expected for my sickness to go away, but I began coughing up even more blood, until I died, a little under three days later. But I awoke, feeling healthier than I had in weeks. I got out of bed, walked to a river flowing past outside, and found that the reflection I saw wasn't my own."
"And who's was it?"
"Mary. A girl I had shared a brief romance with when I was younger, but she was married off and moved to another part of the country with a richer man. My consciousness had replaced hers, and I had to resume her life. It was a miracle I wasn't thrown into a sanitorium by her husband for acting strangely, but he wasn't very attentive, let alone present most of the time."
"That's lucky, I think."
"Then I died for a second time a decade later from pneumonia, and awoke in the body of Mary's, or my, son. Then, forty years later, I died for a third time, waking up in the body of his, or my, son, twenty years later in the body of his, or my best friend. I was reincarnating as the people I cared about most. Whatever I made a deal with had played a cruel trick on me. This brand of immortality is worse than death"
"Got more than you bargained for, there." I mumbled, still trying to figure out if I believed her or not. On one hand, the whole idea was crazy. On the other hand, I was pretty convinced, plus she had a sack of money.
"So why'd you come to me? And why's it worth that big stash of cash?" I asked.
"Last I was Tommy O'Malley. I'd been Tommy O'Malley since he was a toddler. I'd got a good teaching job, but stupidly I had a kid. I abandoned him before he turned five. I foolishly hoped I could save him from the consequences of my wish. So I became a recluse. Only showing up to work."
"Were you being a mean old fella in case you'd wind up getting attached to any of us?" I laughed, but stopped after the young girl glared at me, and I swear it was the same glare Mr. O'Malley would give us when we talked in class.
She continued "But, then in 2008, my son came to see me. I don't know how he didn't hate me, but he said he wanted his kids to meet their grandpa. I should've turned him down, but I had gotten lonely, and little Kelly melted my heart."
I realized where this was going, and let her continue.
"Three weeks ago, Tommy O'Malley, that is to say, me, died in his sleep. I woke up as Kelly at around two in the morning, and ran to the edge of town crying. Then I saw him again. The man who granted my wish. I began swearing like a sailor at him, then he spoke."
"Immortality not all as you imagined it? That's alright. Meet me one month from now, at the river we first met. I can take back your wish, but it'll cost you."
Kelly stared at the floor and said "I'm can't let him have my soul, but my immortality needs to end, otherwise I might end up reincarnating as one of Tommy's grandchildren, or my siblings, I suppose."
I understood. I had to raise my daughter all by myself, I wouldn't be able to stand the thought of her soul being kicked out of her body. Still, Kelly was asking a lot of me.
I responded "You think my time at law school will help you cut a better deal with some demon? I'm a little out of my depth in that regard."
She opened the second sack to reveal books, scrolls, some printed documents and sharply said "These are some recorded instances of a guy who sounds like my curse-giver. Learn what you can, and remember, I'm paying you a pretty big portion of the money I earned as Tommy. Meet me tomorrow night."
With that, she left, carrying the money bag. I'm in my fifties now, I shouldn't be buying this, but somehow I was convinced, whether it be by the apparent sincerity of Kelly, or Mr. O'Malley, or whoever, or the money, I quickly turned my attention to the documents she had.
Let me tell you, these seemed more like fairy tales and urban legends, but I couldn't stop reading. All the tales originate from the same region, and involve our boy taking advantage of those who are on the verge of death. It always takes the form of a man with long black hair, wearing rags, with glassy eyes and an unnerving grin. Seriously, there was a real creepy old drawing of him included.
Before I knew it, it was dark outside. I read the last document, containing the coordinates, as well as a note saying to be there tomorrow at midnight.
I tried to sleep, but I kept seeing that old timey drawing of a blind young man with a sinister smile. The day went quickly, and soon I left to visit the destination. I was starting to believe this more and more, but the pay was better than what I was used to, so I arrived, and found Kelly with the money.
"Did you figure anything out?" she whispered.
"I've a hunch that the people whose bodies you hijacked, it has their souls now."
Tears began falling from Kelly's eyes, but they suddenly widened. I heard a humming from across the river, and it sent a shiver down my spine. A man in rags, with long hair began crossing the river.
"Did you find another way?" Kelly frantically asked.
"I'm sorry, but for the sake of your family, I think you'll have to let it take your soul."
"There's another way. I'm so sorry." she sobbed, then the blind young man put its hand on her shoulder.
I watched in horror as the life left her body immediately, yet she had a smile on her face, as she began to turn to dust and blow away in the wind.
"Shame. A soul that's been around for a few hundred years would've satisfied me greatly. But, I'm nothing if not patient, and I suppose you're an investment. How's it feel to be immortal, pal?"
"No. No. Oh no." I stuttered as I ran back to my car, hearing the young blind man chuckling quietly.
That was last night. I've been coughing up blood all day. I worry for my daughter's soul.
Comments