Chapter 51

• Somewhere between his shower and now, Bastian had come to the realization that he may have mis stepped with Nova. He wasn’t sure what to do about it.
• He stood in the chamber of souls looking at all the pods on the one wall. Thousands of souls filled them, he knew it wasn’t for long. The cycle of filling them for a short time to be reborn was never-ending.
• The one he’d retrieved today was a scene he’d seen countless times in his life. Loved ones gathered around a human body as it was taking its last breaths, the emotions were always a mix of grief, sadness, and strength. The strength they tried to show the one fading always intrigued him. They knew they were dying; wouldn’t they want to see puddles of tears over their passing? Today it was the woman’s husband that had mesmerized Bastian, almost to the point of missing his cue to take the soul. He’d also come close to touching one of the family members and his presence being revealed. Wouldn’t that have created a whole new mess of problems? The husband held her hand, his face close to hers. How old were they? Sixties, maybe older? He never bothered with ages much because age had no bearing on the life cycle of a soul. This man talked to her endlessly, telling her their lives had transcended miracles and been more than anyone could ever ask for. He had spoken of finding her in the next life and for her to rest up because it was going to be another great adventure. Bastian had felt twinges of pain as he listened in, knowing that the chances of two souls connecting in more than one life were such a minute percentage of a minute percentage that it was impossible really, yet it had touched him that this man reassured his love right until the last breath in her body.