As they waited for their second helping of pancakes, Maria excused herself to go to the restroom. She’d had to piss like a racehorse ever since she’d speared Malakai with her grandfather’s sword. She still had a hard time believing that had happened. It was all a blur, a nightmarish blur, and as the clock ticked, it got further and further away, dissolving like nightmares often tend to upon awakening.
“Want us to come?” Tabby asked.
Oh, right, Maria remembered. Girls and their pack mentality when going to the bathroom. It was an aspect of womanhood she never fully understood, nor did she think she ever would.
“No, thanks. I can handle this one myself,” Maria said, smiling.
The bathroom was empty. It smelled fresh, as if it had recently been cleaned…thank God. Maria did her business and began to wash her hands.
She noted the black blood underneath her fingernails, and tried to scrub it clean. It would take a few manicures to clean them, she supposed. That or just ripping the whole fingernail off and letting it grow back in fresh. Yeah, that would probably be what she had to do, as gruesome as it sounded. No amount of Purell or hand soap could disinfect—
Something moved in the mirror. Instantly, as seamless as breathing, Maria went for the sword on her belt. An odd thought crossed her mind: What if someone walked in the restroom right now and saw you? How crazy you would look, Maria?
But she was past the point of crazy and way past the point of truly caring. Getting attacked by a giant spider tends to do that to you.
Maria spun around, the sword in hand.
Nothing.
“I need to sleep,” she said to herself. She sheathed the sword. “Seeing things and stuff. Not good.” Then she went back to washing her hands. She finished and turned to pump the paper towels free from the dispenser when she saw it again.
“Shit on a stick!” she cursed. “You’re going to give me a fucking heart attack.”
“I’m sorry,” the dead boy Duke said.
Maria noticed two things about him almost instantly: he was smiling, and the blood, the gashes, and the anguish on his face had begun to clear up. He no longer looked like a boy in soldier’s clothes. Now, he just looked like a regular kid.
“Can’t you give me a heads up or something? Don’t ghosts do that? You know, like, rattle chains or start whispering really creepy stuff. That way I’ll at least know it’s you.”
“No chains in the world in between,” Duke said. “Sorry.”
Maria shrugged. “Well, we need something.”
Duke shook his head. “No, not any longer.”
“What do you mean?” She tossed the wet paper towel into the trashcan and said, “Three points!” under her breath.
“Nice shot. I mean I will no longer have to contact you from this dreadful place. My time has come.”
Maria hadn’t thought her life could get any weirder than it had in the past couple days, but she was continuously being proven wrong. Pretty soon, she was just going to accept everything, no matter what. Couldn’t go wrong there.
“I mean, I’m moving on.”
“Like, from the Denny’s bathroom? I don’t blame you. It smells clean and it looks clean, but I’d bet you a million bucks, if we ran a black light over everything, we’d both vomit up our pancakes.”
“Pancakes?” Duke asked, cocking his head.
“Never mind. So you obviously didn’t mean you’re moving on from the Denny’s bathroom. This is the ladies’, by the way. I think it could be a crime for a boy to enter it. But hey, I just stabbed a giant spider to death, what the fuck do I know?”
Duke laughed. “Yes, that you did. And thank you so much, Maria.”
“Thank me? No, thank you. Wow, I never thought I’d be thanking a ghost kid. My life is seriously messed up.”
“No, your life is just beginning.”
“Eh, I’ve been here for nineteen years. These past couple days definitely take the cake, but I’m pretty sure I’ve peaked in the weirdness/excitement/fun department.”
“You’re on to Oriceran, Maria. The weirdness, excitement, and fun are all just starting.”
“I don’t know if I should be happy about that, or… You know what? Never mind. Gotta embrace the weird. I got a friend in Austin, Texas who always says that. Maybe it’s time I make it my own catchphrase. Although ‘Oh, what the fuck is that?’ is a very close second.”
Duke laughed again. It was a nice laugh, one without pain and fear. Maria was glad she was able to hear it, despite him being dead and all. “Yes, weird is not entirely a bad thing. You’ve grown up with Ignatius Mangood, so I’m assuming English is your second language.”
“What would be the first?” Maria asked.
“Weird,” Duke answered matter-of-factly.
“You got that right.” She smiled. She wished Duke was here, and not just a ghost between worlds. If he were, she would’ve hugged him. He was part of her tribe, too. “Now, where are you going?”
“I’m moving on.” Duke continued smiling. He seemed to glow now with a great light, almost angelic.
“Moving on, yeah, you said that. What the heck does it mean?”
“I’m free of the chains that bind me to the world in between because of you, Maria.”
“Me? How?”
“Because you were in need of guidance and I guided you. Not only did you exceed expectations, you blew them to smithereens.”
“So you get to go where?”
“A place called Heaven. Do you know of it on Earth?”
Maria nodded. Tears had begun to well up in the corners of her eyes. Were they tears of happiness? Sadness? Fear?
A combination of all those emotions.
“We do know of Heaven. It’s nice to know it exists. So what would have happened if I failed? Would you have never gotten out of the world in between?”
Duke shrugged. “You didn’t fail, so we will never know. I’m content with
