Predestined by Abbi Glines

could drag her away
from. Her writing, not so much.
    “Hey sweetheart, did you enjoy
eating over at Miranda’s?”
    I sank down beside her and grabbed
a handful of popcorn wondering if I’d be able to actually eat it
after the scare I’d just had. I needed to be careful how I sounded.
If Mom heard even the slightest unease in my voice she’d perk up
and begin grilling me with questions until I caved and told her
everything. Focusing on keeping my tone casual and unaffected I
replied, “Yep, we had boiled shrimp, corn on the cob and salad. The
salad had raspberries, pecans, and goat cheese in it. It was
surprisingly good. Even with the sweet dressing.”
    “Oh, that sounds yummy. I might
have to call and get that recipe.”
    “You’ll love it. Right up your
alley in the healthy weird foods category.”
    Mom chuckled and nibbled on the
handful of popcorn in her hand. I wasn’t sure how to bring this up.
Did I just say, “Hey Mom, remember when I was dying and you took me
to that Voodoo doctor?” I had a feeling she would balk if I
approached it directly like that. But it had to be true.
    I turned my attention to the
television and watched the crime scene of a strangled girl as the
CSI crew did their thing. I popped one kernel into my mouth and
managed to chew it up. The butter felt heavy on my sensitive
stomach so I decided I better not try anymore.
    “What’s bothering you
Pagan?”
    I glanced over at Mom and she was
studying me instead of the television. Figures she would pick up on
my mood. The woman was impossible to hide a problem
from.
    “Um... I was just thinking
about...” I paused and debated if I should even say anything. Did I
really want to know this? I took in my mom’s puckered eyebrows as
she frowned at me waiting on me to finish. Her dark hair was tucked
behind her ears and she was free of any makeup. I could see her
concern and love glowing in her eyes. I knew why she’d done it. But
I still needed to hear her explain. Maybe something she knew would
help Dank end this. “You remember when I was sick as a kid,” I
began and watched as her frown deepened and she gave me a short
nod.
    “Well, I was dying. I remember
that. And well... I had this dream. More like a memory. I was in an
old shack and you were there too. There was this old lady.” I
stopped as the panic began to flicker in her eyes. It was true. I
didn’t need to explain anymore. She knew exactly what I had
dreamed.
    “It was real, wasn’t it? You took
me to a Voodoo doctor and she... or he healed me.”
    Mom swallowed hard and shook her
head almost frantically, “Oh, god,” she murmured looking down at
her hand that had dropped the popcorn it had been holding. Had she
really never expected me to remember?
    “What did you promise them, Mom?
What was their payment for healing me?”
    Mom set the bowl on the coffee
table in front of us and stood up. I sat there calmer than I
actually felt as she began to pace back and forth in front of the
television.
    “Ohgod ohgod ohgod,” she chanted
under her breath. Now I was beginning to panic. This wasn’t the
reaction I’d expected. My cool, calm, collected mother had never
had a breakdown on me.
    “Tell me, Mom,” I
demanded.
    She ran both her hands through her
short hair and then rested them on her pajama clad hips. The flying
pink pigs on her flannel bottoms were so happy and carefree and so
incredibly out of place on the woman wearing them. I began to
wonder if she was going to have some sort of panic attack the way
her breathing had quickened.
    “I didn’t know what else to do,”
she whispered in a broken sob and wrapped her arms around her waist
as if she needed to hold herself together.
    “I understand that. What I need to
know is what was the payment they required?”
    Mom finally focused her grief
stricken eyes on me, “Why’re you asking me this? Has someone... has
something... contacted you?”
    Explaining that my boyfriend was
Death and that a soul transporter