My Soul Keeper by Ker Dukey

God, maybe he has a girlfriend.
    “Simone, are you listening?”
    “I’m sorry, what?” I look to Jacob.
    “I was saying that my mom wants to start our vacation early. She thinks I should try recuperating at the lake house. I won’t be back to school now, which means I won’t be taking you to the prom. I’m really sorry. I had so many plans for you and for the prom. I just-”
    I cut him off. “Don’t be stupid, Jacob. I think you should just worry about getting better. That’s all that matters. When are you being released?”
    “Next couple of days.”
    “Okay. Well, I’ll be back tomorrow, then. Do you need anything before I go?”
    He gestures to his water jug and smiles. I laugh as I pick it up and leave the room, heading to the kitchen. It’s empty, which is a good thing as the nurses tell me off for coming in here. I go to the sink and fill the jug. I turn off the tap and exit, nearly colliding with a doctor. His pale green eyes mesmerise me; they’re so much like Gabrielle’s.
    “Sorry,” I croak.
    “Please. It was my clumsiness.”
    He smiles and moves around me. I smile back and continue on to Jacob’s room, but when I look over my shoulder. I see him standing there, watching me.
    “Everything okay, Simone?” Jacob asks.
    I realise I’m just standing in his doorway, looking down the hall. “Fine.” I pour him some fresh water before saying goodbye.

“I love the ocean.”
    I smile as I approach Maliki on the beach. “Me too. It’s so peaceful yet underneath its surface, there’s a whole world.”
    “Hmm, just like the skyline.” Maliki grins and hands me a guardian book. I look to him with confusion, “Its Gabrielle’s. I… let’s say ‘borrowed’ it. She’s not in there, Shamar.”
    “What? How can that be?”
    “It’s unheard of. All guardians’ Destined are written here. I must admit, I was intrigued by this. So I went to see the girl for myself.”
    “And?”
    “And you’re right. Her soul is so bright. I’ve never seen anything like it. She’s very beautiful.”
    “Yes, she is. So why wouldn’t she be in here?” I hold up the book tapping it.
    “I can only assume that she is special and that her destiny is of great importance and the course comes from the Almighty himself.”
    “But if that’s the case, then why Gabrielle?”
    He turns to me and takes her book. “Exactly, Shamar. That’s what I don’t understand. If this Destined is of such high importance, then a guardian like Gabrielle would surely not be used. I need time to look into it further.”
    “Thank you, Maliki, for doing this.”
    He lays his hand on my shoulder in understanding. I stay and watch the ocean with him for a little while longer.
    I appear in her room, walking closer to her bed where she’s sleeping. She sighs and cuddles deeper into her covers. Her phone starts to play Thirty Seconds to Mars’, The Kill I smile at her good taste. A perk of not being seen means I can see concerts from the stage, not the crowd and, although I’m not human, I still love music, movies, coffee, Mississippi mud pie, Simone... Shit, Simone? God, can I even love?
    She reaches over and kills the sound. A smile spreads across her face as she speaks. “You’re back.”
    I freeze, and then look around the room. It’s empty except for us two, but she can’t see me.
    “Please don’t leave me again,” she whispers into the air.
    I notice she’s wearing my jacket as she gets up from her bed and a warm heat burns in my chest. I go and check on Junior while Simone gets dressed. I need to take back Junior’s soul in a week and it pains me. I still don’t understand why she needs to feel this grief, but there’s nothing I can do. This is my youngest soul; its life force is eight weeks and if I left it longer, the soul would lose its light, either becoming trapped, which is worse than death, or turn dark. Leaving behind a trapped soul in a body making it comatose or a body with a dark soul is not an