Page 5 of Something Like Daybreak
“I’ll get us there in no time,” Jace said. He conjured up a small two-seater airplane, upgraded his uniform to that of a pilot, and before long they were flying through the Astral Wilds together, the endless skies around them filled with swirling lights, bursts of spontaneous music, clouds of wandering emotion, and other effects that went beyond mere words. Victor was unusually quiet as they traveled, only perking up when a small island appeared in a sea below them.
“Do you see those fires burning down there?” Jace asked, bringing the plane lower so that a small primitive village could be seen in the moonlight. “We’re about to land on the island ofFlores in Indonesia. Over fifty thousand years before we were born, it was the home of homo floresiensis. They weren’t so different from us homo sapiens, except they were smaller. A little over half our size. Believe it or not, they used to hunt pygmy elephants for food.”
“And that’s dinner?” Victor asked.
“No, thankfully. We’re visiting a village that came later, but there are still souls of the hobbits—as some enjoy calling them—who reside there. I thought you might find their culture interesting, since they lived so close to nature.”
“It’s exactly the sort of thing I would like,” Victor said with a drawn-out sigh.
“Then why don’t you sound happier?”
“I’m in an odd mood,” Victor replied. “How about, I don’t know… A sports bar.”
“Asportsbar?” Jace repeated incredulously, the airplane shaking in response. “Are you serious?”
Victor nodded. “Why not?”
Jace shook his head. “Okay.”
He turned the plane around, thinking of The Tavern, a German-themed sports bar in Austin. They landed outside a long building with a green roof and exposed wooden beams that crisscrossed the white exterior walls. Once inside, they were greeted by the original owner, who delighted in keeping his business going in this world. He ushered them to a table while talking excitedly about how the bar was haunted by a ghost named Emily. He even pointed her out, but of course she looked like anyone else. It was all very strange, but nowhere near as bizarre as sitting down with Victor to look at a menu. They never did anything like that in life. Or in death.
“What year do you think that’s from?” Victor asked, nodding at a television that was broadcasting a baseball game in black and white.
Jace wasn’t sure if he meant the boxy TV or the footage itself. “I’m not sure.”
“Oh. Do you know anything about wine? Maybe I’ll try that. Or one of those fancy drinks with a swirly straw and chunks of fruit speared with a plastic sword.”
“Is there an exorcist in the house?” Jace said, glancing around at the other patrons. “I think my boyfriend is possessed. Which is weird, considering that he doesn’t have a body.”
Victor laughed. “I’m fine. I’m just dipping my toe in.”
“Into what exactly?”
They were interrupted by the owner, who asked for their orders. Jace opted for a pale ale. Victor ended up getting a cocktail so frivolous that it came with a paper umbrella and a sparkler that had to burn out before he could remove it. Watching what appeared to be a biker sip from an alcoholic smoothie was disconcerting.
“What’s going on?” Jace asked.
Victor shoved the drink aside and sighed. “I’ve been in a rut ever since I died. Before then really. People say you can’t take it with you when you go, and that might be true when it comes to possessions, but the rest of it carries over.”
Jace swallowed, remembering who Victor had been shortly before he took his own life. “Are you struggling mentally?”
“Not with voices or anything. That was a physical illness, part of my body’s chemistry. My problem is a bit more… philosophical.”
Jace exhaled in relief.Thiswas comfortable territory. Victor was always riding the wave of an existential crisis. “What’s up? Maybe I can help you work through it.”
“It’ll take more than thinking this time,” Victor said. “That’s the problem really. When I was still alive, I recoiled from modern life, turning my back on a system that was harming the natural world I valued so much. Perhaps that was my firstmistake. I failed to recognize thatIam part of the natural world along with the rest of humanity. And now that I see it all from a distance… What’s the point of living, do you think? Why do we incarnate into a physical form when we have absolutely everything we could desire here?”
Jace tilted his head while thinking about it. “Ben often says that it’s the difference between hearing the plot of a movie and actually living through it.”
“Exactly! People don’t cry when you tell them the sad end of a story, but if they read every word, or like you said, actuallyexperiencethose events, it has a lasting effect.”
“We can catch a movie after this if you want,” Jace teased.
Victor smiled and shook his head. “It’ll take more than that. We haven’t changed much since dying, have we?”
“Oh, I don’t know. We’ve learned more, had a few adventures—”
“And spent decades watching over the living, waiting for them to join us here.”
