Soul’s Crusade

“Their journeys are almost to an end.”

Searching her eyes, I notice they trail off into the empty, blue sky.

So I raise my head, imagining what is to come.

“I suppose it’ll snow soon. I wish there was something else the cold reminded us of. Aside from the Soul’s Crusade.”

My dark notes dissipate from the girl’s nudging of my arm. When I turn, I’m met with a feint smile that surpasses the sky. My body ignoring any intentions of averting my gaze.

“You think so, Ike? I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Then she pivots on her heels back to her view, interlocking her fingers behind her back as if to bare her chest to the souls we have yet to find.

But for me… I just want her to know what it feels like to hold my heart in her hands.

“Shall we move on? The rest shouldn’t be too far from the collective.”

I ask, shaking away the deep thoughts.

“We only have a few more spirits wandering about, correct?”

I pull out a small notepad from my back pocket and skim over the contents.

“We have Leah’s grandmother, Nathan’s father, Jack and Mr. Chandel’s wife, Vanessa. After we find their spirits, we’ll be prepared for their send off in the Soul’s Crusade.”

There’s a short pause, but a pause stretched enough to make me wonder what may have been going through her head in that moment. Though before I can read too far into it, she breaks the silence.

“Then I suppose we should be on our way. We’ll have to guide their spirits to the right path by tonight else they won’t be able to make it to the Soul’s Crusade.”

And so we did. Under a grim branch at the end of an abandoned road laid Nathan’s father, Jack. A solemn spirit, leaning against a tree who needn’t much more than a literal point in the right direction from the girl at my side. He rose up and followed her directions, walking toward the path the other spirits congregated onto.

On a ragged park bench near the ocean sat Leah’s grandmother. She patiently watched the waves collide until we approached her. Then, I consoled her for an hour as we reminisced over the grander days before she headed off to join the others.

Mrs. Chandel on the other hand is exactly where anyone would expect her.

“A beautifully lost soul…”

I hear the girl whisper as we observe the woman on top of Mr. Chandel’s roof.

She holds a round, tan hat with a blue ribbon wrapped around the base. Her hair seems to follow the wind’s motion as it flows. A long, white sundress that seems to fade into nothing towards the bottom, along with her body from her ankles and lower.

This is probably how Mr. Chandel sees her. I think to myself.

He’s not home right now and for some reason, I feel like it’d be best this way.

Cupping my mouth, I take a breath before calling up to her.

“Mrs. Chandel!”

Yet, as if expecting us already, she slowly turns her head from her starry-eyed gaze and illuminates a gentle smile.

Then, like a cool breeze, she takes off towards the other spirits.

It was a spectacle that I’ll never forget.

“Was she waiting for us?”

Without taking my eyes off the fading spirit, I nod.

“She must have been.”

There’s an eerie pause once more but I break the silence this time.

“Our job is finally done, huh?”

I notice that the light of day has already began it’s descent.

“We should rest up for tomorrow, Ike. The big day is ahead of us.”

Her voice sounds melancholy, like something’s been gnawing at her. Draining her. But I just don’t know what it could be.

Heeding her words I leave the matter alone, hoping that it’ll reveal itself more clearly in time.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

She nudges my arm with a smirk on her face before we turn away and depart down our separate paths home.

I didn’t get much sleep that night. How could I, honestly?

When I check around the house, I suppose my parents already made their way to the Oceanside. That’s the location of the Soul’s Crusade. So I decide I’ll meet up with everyone there.

The streets look like a ghost town. Not one sign of life in sight. Eerie in nature and even so, serene. The silence that fills the air is inviting as if any stragglers like me can tell where we must be. So I quicken my pace so I don’t miss anything.

You see, we’re a town of what you may call, Soul Whisperers. Spiritual beings that devote our culture to the ascension of souls. When people pass away, their souls don’t always understand where to go. So we Shepard them toward the path they should take to move onto their next life. For some reason, the environment around us being clear of almost all pollution allows for spirits to be more than visible, pretty much tangible. And as a result, the sky is beautiful.

After some time of walking, the beat of drums come into earshot. Then the crowd of people swaying in rhythm. But I can’t see my friend, she’s supposed to be here to say her words that’ll send everyone off.

My mind trails with concerns that something happened or she overslept. I weave through the crowd, eyes darting from side to side until I reach the front. A group of spirits, too many to count, sprinkle the sky in a beautiful array. Almost like an Aurora Borealis.

I’m almost too captivated, but instinctively I spin around to face the crowd.

Finally, smiling so warmly was her. As if she appeared out of thin air. She’s always had a way of doing that.

“I was looking everywhere for you.”

“Were you? I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, Ike.”

Her voice is gentle, yet clear through the sounds of music as she suddenly takes my hands.

As she speaks again, a tranquil energy seems to wave over me.

“The mind, body and soul are interconnected The mind seeks. The body creates. The soul breathes. This is how we live.”

Before I know it, my feet no longer touch the ground. And when I realize, I try to speak but my voice is gone.

Wait… How come you never told me? Was I… this whole time?

I try to hold onto her wrists but my hands slip through her.

I want to call out your name… what was it again?

I’m too far now to even see her face, slowly being surrounded by spirits high in the sky. Tears drip off my cheeks and some of the people I’m familiar with are able to touch my shoulders in consolation.

Then, we all hear the drums wane. Was this ascension? I don’t know what to think, but it’s too hard to think at all. I’m just, ‘here.’

And her voice? I can feel it deep within my chest, heavier than the drums.

“Colors… Colors…” she began to chant, her hands clasped in a prayer position.

“Souls of many others. Life can’t get no rougher.”

Tears began to fall and she tightened her grip, listening to the light drums and swaying motion of all the others behind her.

“Jagged edge may cut her…

Soldier, Father, Mother.

Right hand of God can usher.”

She unclasps her hands and holds one up to the sky, towards me in gesture.

“Let the light bleed,” her other hand stretches out as if to offer me a hug, face completely wet from her cries. The Aurora of us spanning a great length and rising. Mingling a spectrum of green and purple. Until moments pass, our spiritual forms dissipating into one collective. To finally ascend along with her parting words.

“A canvas full of lovers.”