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voice. A few others have caught glimpses of me in reflections, or felt my presence, but nothing more.
Linda s brow furrowed. Why me? Why am I the only one who can hear you? There s nothing special
about me. I m not a psychic or a medium.
Aren t you? You never have flashes of insight that you can t seem to explain? You have never heard
voices from the beyond?
She paused and pressed a finger to her lower lip, thinking. Well, I used to see and hear a lot of strange
things. But that was a long time ago. I was just a child. As I got older, people told me the things I saw
weren t real, so I ignored them, and eventually they went away. Since then, I ve convinced myself that I
was hallucinating, but now I wonder. And I guess sometimes my hunches do turn out to be right. But
then, lots of people get hunches.
These strange things you saw as a child, what were they? Were they benevolent, or cruel?
Some of them were friendly. There was a little girl I used to play with when I was five or six. She said
her name was Christina. She was my best friend& except she didn t really exist. No one else could see
or hear her. I think my parents just assumed I had an imaginary friend, like a lot of kids my age.
Sometimes she looked like a girl, with blonde hair and a little blue dress, and sometimes she was just a
sort of soft, white light, but she always made me feel safe and happy. She paused. There were others.
Some were very scary. There were these dark, man-like shapes without faces that just followed me
around and seemed to stare at me. And sometimes, I would hear voices whispering to me when I lay in
bed at night. I could never quite understand what they were saying, but it seemed important. Like they
wanted help, except I didn t know what to do for them. Eventually, I couldn t take it anymore. I said,
Go away, all of you. Just go away. And weirdly enough, they did. I was about nine or ten at the time,
and after that, I stopped seeing and hearing things. She shivered. It s been a long time since I ve even
thought about this.
You are a seer, as I first thought, said Gregory.
A seer? Oh, no. I can t see the future or anything.
No one can see the future with certainty. But perhaps with training, you could see into worlds beyond
this one, or send your soul from your body. Had you been born in another time, in another place,
perhaps you would have been sent to a wise woman to learn control of your gift.
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Or maybe I would have been burned at the stake, she murmured. That happened in your time, didn t
it?
Unfortunately, yes. I had to be cautious when I learned the arts, knowing what might happen to me if
the wrong people found out what I was doing.
Linda rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. I m still trying to wrap my head around the idea
that I m talking to a five-hundred-year-old ghost -- spirit, whatever.
He chuckled. Either works, I suppose.
Is there any way for you to come back to life?
I doubt it. Fate has handed me my punishment. I sought too much power. I trespassed in the realm of
God, and now, for that, I am forbidden to pass through the gates into the world beyond.
Okay, so you made some mistakes. But after half a millennium, I think you ve learned your lesson.
Even so, if there is any way to escape my sentence, I have not found it. And I ve had a long time to
look. I think I have no choice but to resign myself to my fate.
His voice was so calm, yet it held a deep, profound sadness. It was almost unbearable. She shook her
head. I can t accept that. Theremust be a way. Thinking of you stuck like this forever& it just& breaks
my heart.
Linda felt a light touch on her cheek, warm breath on her ear. Please, said Gregory, do not trouble
yourself over my fate. I never meant to cause you distress. An invisible hand smoothed her hair.
The gesture was so unexpectedly tender, she felt tears welling in her eyes. I wish I could help you, she
whispered.
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