Page 64 of Prometheus Burning

Jamie smiled.

“Where do you want to take me?” I asked.

“Follow my lead.”

He didn’t give me a chance to think over my options. Instead, he gently reached for my hand once more and spun me around as if he were spinning me in a dance. I spun around once. Then twice. On the third spin, a rush of something magnetic surrounded us in a vortex. I collapsed into his arms and smelled his cologne—exactly like the musky fragrance he’d once worn during the homecoming we went to at Stony Point. Jamie wrapped me in a deep embrace.

Air whooshed in a whirlwind.

Our environment morphed entirely. The kitchen disintegrated away with the house. I held onto Jamie more tightly, a gasp escaping my lips.

“What the fuck,” I said, voice tight with fear of the unknown.

“Don’t be scared,” he murmured, his nose grazing mine. “I know how hard it is but… try to trust me.”

He planted a soft kiss against my forehead. I shut my eyes once more.

“Keep them closed for a second, okay?” he asked. “I’ll tell you when to open them.”

His lips remained against my forehead while he walked us backward. Wind touched my arms, and the smell of something earthy and muddy hit me.

I inhaled, limbs stiff, yet I instinctively understood that whatever was going on was completely safe and natural. I didn’t know how, I just knew. Warmth and love stayed with me as did this feeling of safety I had being around Jamie.

His arms engulfed me.

“Trust me,” Jamie repeated softly. The wind settled around us and he added, “Okay. Go ahead. Open your eyes.”

I opened, lifting my head upward. All around us, orange lanterns danced through the dark sky. I took step away from him, rocking back and forth as I did so, like I suddenly had sea legs, stumbling from lack of balance. Catching myself, I glanced downward and noticed the wooden planks and keel inside of a tiny row-boat.

Sea legs. No fucking wonder.

We were standing in a goddamn boat.

Sparkling water, reflecting the orange from the sky, surrounded us.

“What…” I jerked forward, the boat rocking more abruptly, drops of water splashing onto my skin. This time, I completely lost balance. I fell forward, right into Jamie’s chest. He caught me in his arms, then lowered us onto the boat, and we sat across from each other. The glow of the lanterns reflected in his eyes. He gripped both of my hands in his.

“Where are we?” I breathed, very much in awe.

“One of the benefits of being your—” He stopped himself mid-sentence, eyes widening in fear.

“My what?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

His expression relaxed.

“I mean, that is, being your spirit guide,” he said calmly. Though I could totally tell he was trying to recover from some sort of accidental slip. “Sorry. Don’t mind me. Just got caught up in the moment.”

“What do you mean, you got caught up in the moment?” My forehead crinkled. “You looked scared there for a second.”

He ignored me. “Anyway, one of the benefits of being your life coach, so to speak, is that I can take you to the spirit world anytime I want. To show you things. To help guide you.”

“Okay, well, I’m not sure how this could guide me. But this place sure is amazing.”

I wanted to argue with him, to ask him what it was he had meant to say before he cut himself off, but I let it go. I was far too overwhelmed with everything going on around me. Fine, it was one thing to accept that Jamie—a dead guy—had been coming to visit me. From my research back in the day, I remembered hearing about all kinds of after death sightings, so I could wrap my head around the idea of a spirit being in my presence.

But being here? That was quite another thing.

Is this where we all ended up once we died?

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