Page 108 of Malice

He nods as his smile grows. “I know. That was amazing.”

Crash sniffs and wipes at his eyes, even though I see no evidence of actual crying. “That was beautiful. I’ve never witnessed one before.”

When I turn to look at Jocelyn, she’s definitely crying. “Magic is so cool.”

“Definitely.”

“Well, I’ll be going,” Farnsworth says. He pauses though, gazing off into the distance. “Do you mind a quick visit, Aster? I believe there’s a little girl you made a promise to.”

“Absolutely,” Aster says.

Farnsworth blinks out of view, but before I can even ask what that’s about, he returns, clutching the hand of a bubbly childwith curly blonde pigtails. She’s wearing a frilly pink dress, like a doll.

“Abigail!” Aster walks over to her and kneels. “You came to visit.”

She nods, reaching out to touch his face. “Happy.”

“I am, yeah. Very happy.” He looks over his shoulder at Jocelyn. “She came to meet Otto.”

Jocelyn puts Otto down, smiling as the fluffball prances over to greet the child.

“Is she…” Jocelyn bites her bottom lip. “Is she dead?”

Farnsworth nods. “Sadly, yes, but she’s well taken care of, and she’s very fond of Aster. She’s not fond of many.”

Abigail giggles, falling back in the grass as Otto licks her face. We watch them play together and even Farnsworth seems to smile. Kind of. Good to know animals can interact with the spirit world so directly.

“Otto reminds me so much of a dog I had growing up,” Crash says. “I wish I could see my parents.”

“Why can’t you?” Jocelyn asks.

Crash shrugs. “It’s not that I can’t, it’s just that it doesn’t help anyone. They can’t see me or hear me, and I can’t tell them I’m okay.”

“I could tell them,” Aster says. “I could visit them.”

“No,” Farnsworth says. “A Soul Chaser is not a messenger. You have to be careful with that. Not that Crash would take advantage, but if other spirits learned you would do that, you’d get a constant barrage of requests and you wouldn’t be able to do your job.”

“Oh. Sorry, man.”

“Could I do it?” Jocelyn asks. “I’m not a Soul Chaser. I’m a medium. I guess. I could visit them.”

Crash’s face lights up but he looks at Farnsworth. “Could she? Just to tell them that I’m okay and I’m happy? Please, Farnsworth? I won’t ask for anything ever again.”

Farnsworth’s expression softens. “I have no jurisdiction over the living. She doesn’t need my permission.”

Crash launches into the air, spinning around before landing gently. “Thank you,” he says to my sister.

“I’m happy to help.”

“Come along, Abigail,” Farnsworth says.

She pops her bottom lip. “Doggie.”

He reaches down and pats her head. “You can’t stay here, darling. You know that.”

Her lip trembles like she’s on the verge of tears. “Doggie.”

“Hey, Abigail,” Aster says, kneeling again. “As long as Farnsworth says it’s okay, you can come back sometime and visit Otto. How does that sound?”

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