Chapter 3

Carina's POV

"Hello," she smiled as her warm green eyes stared right back at me. BACK. AT. ME?.

She could see me, and that was far more terrifying than it was reassuring.

Panicked I scampered to sit up from my pitiful position sprawled on the floor to a less pitiful position sitting on my butt scooting back, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

A silent minute passed of me just watching her, waiting for her to make her move, to make any move at all, to reaffirm my suspicions that she could actually see me or simply steal my soul, because that was the most logical explanation.

Why not?

With the day I had, this would be the cherry on the cake.

"It's rude to stare."

"Heck!.." I jumped at the sudden sound of her voice cutting through our silent staring competition. She finds my frenzy entertaining, seeing how she chuckled lightly, shaking her head, her green eyes glowing with amusement.

"You can see me?" It was a dumb question to ask at this point, but I wanted to hear it—to hear another human being acknowledge me, if she was even human at all.

"I can do more than just see you." She starts slowly walking towards me, closer and closer, closing the distance I "For starters, you, I can hear you, I can feel presence, feel your emotions, your regrets, your strength, you're quite resilient" She finishes coming to stand in front of me, towering over my small frame in her black 4 inch heels

I feel a small ounce of relief? Getting a good look at her, she looked familiar: her dark skin, her round eyes, her full lips, her perfectly carved eyebrows, and her long black braided hair under the black Breton hat she wore with every step she took I felt trapped under the weight of her gaze, fear gripped me like a vice till she finally came into view near the window illuminated by the ring of moonlight did I feel a small ounce of relief

"It's you..." I whispered as realization sunk in. Her face lit you with that same soft smile she had this morning. She dropped to her knees, her white dress bunching at her side. Her outfit was nothing like the one she was wearing this morning. In contrast to her uniform, she was wearing a white shirt dress with a large black belt going around her waist, a long golden chain hanging between her bossom, bright red lips, and a single emerald ring. "You look good for a police officer." I blurted, and she laughed, using the back of her hand to cover her mouth, desperately trying to stifle her laughter.

"Do you always joke in these circumstances?" She asks, wiping away a stray tear from her right eye with the back of her hand.

"I'm not sure, my soul has never been outside my body before." My reply was snide, but who could blame me after everything I've been through in the last 24 hours?

"Fair enough," she says, putting her hand out to me, "my name is Felicia Leblanc." She stops, waiting for me to reply, eyeing her hand, which was right in front of me.

I look at her hand skeptically, unsure whether to trust her or not. Every fiber of me desperately wanted to suspect this woman, to run from this woman, but right now I didn't have many options. I reach out to shake her hand, only for my hand to pass right through hers.

Of course it did. What was I expecting? I'm dead!!

Somehow, having her in front of me, talking to me, and looking at me—even if it was just for a split second—made me forget that worrying fact.

Even though I failed, she still kept her hand out as if waiting for me to try again, urging me to try again, so I did. I made a grab for her hand over and over and over again, and each time my hand passed right through it, I wasn't sure if I kept trying because the weight of her gaze was stifling or if maybe a part of me so desperately wanted to cling to life,life, hoping that I hadn't lost all connection to this mortal plain.

"Fascinating..." she finally says, taking her hand back, bringing it up to her face, turning it front to back, and staring at it as if it were some awe-inspiring puzzle.

She soon found whatever she was looking for, and as another cold, calculated smile made its way to her lips, she turned to me and asked, "Miss Williams, do you believe in magic?"

"Huh?" thrown off by such a random question, what the heck kind of conversation starter was that?

She doesn't respond to my confusion; instead, she says a simple "Follow me," rising to her feet and walking towards the entrance of the diner. My brain was in a lag; it took me a few seconds to process what she said, but once I did, I scampered to my feet while she was already at the door.

"Are you ready?" She asks over her shoulder, glancing at me from the side of her eyes.

"Ready for what?" I ask but receive no reply as she pushes open the door, walking out into the night, disappearing in thin air. I quickly run after her, careful not to lose her, but the moment my hand touched the open door, I froze.

Hesitation

Turning back to look at the empty diner, a perfect reflection of myself, I thought, What am I doing? Was I seriously going to follow this random woman that I was meeting for the first time? Was I doing the right thing?

"Are you coming?" I hear her words ringing through my head, feeling determination well inside me at the realization that this might be the only chance I had. I run my hand over the door, lovingly making a promise to myself then and there that I would come back. I refuse to lose like this.

I walk out the door, letting it close shut behind me as I walk through the threshold, stepping one foot out of my diner. I stepped the other foot into a busy street jam packed with people shuffling to and fro, a large crowd as far as the eye could see, the smell of herbs and freshly stewed gumbo filling the air, and people humming in tune to the soft sound of jazz.

Where the hell was I?

I look around the sea of people walking right through me. I was swamped; every step I took only sunk me further into the crowd. I begin to panic. Was I set up? What was going on? How do I get out of here?

A sharp whistle cuts through the crowd, ringing right inside my head. "Over here," it whispers in my mind, my head snapping instinctively in the direction it was calling me.

There she was, in the center of the crowd, the people parting for her like the red sea, making her stand out even more. The moment our eyes met, she turned and started walking down the street.

Bloody hell!!

I chased after her, running through the crowd, passing stranger after stranger, till I finally caught up with her black and white looming figure as if she stepped out of an 18th-century French caricature.

"WHERE AM I?" I demand standing in front of her in an attempt to force her to stop, but instead she walks through me, never once halting her stride; she does it with a smile.

Rude!

I catch up to her again, silently glaring daggers at the side of her head, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Where am I?" I repeat myself, and this time she answers.

"New Orleans!" she says in the calmest voice possible, as if we weren't in New York seconds ago!

How did I get to New Orleans? I've never been to New Orleans! I don't know anyone in New Orleans.

"WHY AM I IN NEW ORLEANS?" I began to panic. On the verge of ripping my hair out, she held a perfectly manicured red finger to my face, wagging in disapproval.

"That's not how it works; I ask a question, then you ask a question; I answer your question, but you never answer mine." My eyebrows furrowed. What question was she talking about? She never asked me a question.

I wracked my brain for the question she might be talking about. It took a hot minute, but it finally hit me, my eyes going wide in realization. "You finally remember my question?"

I nodded my head. "You asked if I believed in magic."

"Yes, I did." In silence, as we continued our walk down the bustling streets of New Orleans, my head trained to the ground, trying to process what was going on. "Well, do you?" she asked, halting so abruptly that I tripped. She looked at me, and the playful nature she had had since the moment we met vanished completely as she repeated, "Do you believe in magic?"

"I don't know" was my honest answer. I never really thought about the possibility of magic; to me, it was just something that existed in fairytales. I'm sure, being in my position, it would be stupid to refute the existence of magic, but I still wasn't sure. A part of me still refuses to believe this is happening right now, so in all honesty, I didn't know.

I stare at the ground in frustration, frustrated at myself, my life, this odd woman, and this entire situation. I hear her heave a heavy sigh, no doubt in annoyance. She can join the club! She takes two steps forward, coming to stand in front of me.

I knew what came after it, so I braced myself, preparing for the flurry of insults and complaints about my attitude and all the degradation. Thankfully, I didn't have a body anymore, so she couldn't hit me. I was ready for it, but it never came. Instead, she placed two fingers under my chin, stopping right below them, grazing me but not actually touching me, and yet somehow she managed to nudge my head up to look her in the face. Her face wasn't angry, tired, or even frustrated; quite the opposite. She had a very big, very eager smile, which I found rather alarming.

She holds my gaze for a few seconds before saying, "Look around."

I wasn't sure what she was asking of me. Ever since I met her, she has been nothing but an enigma. I knew nothing about her, but so far all her instructions have been literal, so I took that chance and looked around. My world shattered.

The streets sparkled, tiny lights like wisps race through the sky dashing from place to place jumping around leaving trails of sparkling dust in their wake, small animals I had never seen before were flying through the sky, a bird of so many colors was perched on the roof of a building peering down at the world beneath it, in these very streets were creatures I would have never dreamed, a cat like creature save for the crocked bend of its tail hung off the neck of one of the ongoers and a bird as tall as me walked elegantly with it's beak turned up along side another pedestrian, this world of light existed and yet so many walked pass it with their heads down unfazed by this beauty even when it came right in front of them

Was the world always this bright? Did it always have this much color? Too deeply entraced, I missed the moment. Felicia came to my side, leaning forward and whispering in my ear, "Do you believe in magic?"

My head whips to face her so fast, catching her with a jester's grin on her face as she watches me marvel at the sight unfolding before my very eyes. I felt a range of emotions in that single moment: giddy at this new world, embarrassment of having been caught gawking like a kid in a candy store, and fear, fear of what walking into this world meant for me.

Satisfied with my silence, Felicia begins walking again. "We're almost there," she urges, and she continues down the streets, turning down an intersection and cutting into a new avenue. All the while, I followed behind her, quietly marveling at the small creatures that were scampering at my feet. They were adorable, what even were they?

"We're here!" She announces, stopping in front of a large domineering building forcing me to crane my head far back just so I could get a full view of it's entirety.

"Bloody hell"