Read Desperately Seeking Heaven for Free Online

the power of thought. Look at this,’ he said, sounding unnecessarily excited.
    ‘Abracadabra!’ He waved his arms in the air with a dramatic flourish before disappearing into thin air and reappearing over the other side of the patio area, squeezed between two fat ladies enjoying a morning croissant. He gave me a little wave, before repeating his magic chant.
    ‘That’s pretty cool, isn’t it?’ He popped up again beside me. ‘Obviously I don’t need to say “Abracadabra” but I think it brings a certain “je ne sais quoi” to the overall effect, don’t you?’
    ‘Very clever,’ I said, feeling secretly impressed and annoyed all at the same time. I still wasn’t entirely convinced I wasn’t having hallucinations. ‘How did you know where to find me though?’
    ‘I didn’t. I was just thinking about you. It was pretty lonely cooped up in that flat of yours and I was wondering when you’d be back and then suddenly whoosh and I was here.’ He laughed, obviously reliving the moment.
    ‘God, that is pretty freaky, but I suppose it has its benefits. Saves all that hassle of getting on buses and tubes,’ I joked.
    ‘Yeah,’ he said, pulling a sad face. ‘The only downside is you have to be dead to qualify for the perk. Might be a bit of a drastic move just to avoid the rush-hour traffic. Mind if I help myself to one of these biscuits?’
    I watched as he greedily devoured not one, but the three remaining biscuits on the plate, the man on the next table spluttering over his coffee as the biscuits evaporated into thin air.
    ‘Mmm, lovely,’ I said, smiling sweetly, making exaggerated chewing motions in an attempt to cover up Jimmy’s greediness, before twisting my chair and turning my back on the man sitting beside us.
    ‘That’s seriously weird,’ I said to Jimmy, watching him as if I’d never seen someone eating before.
    ‘Huh?’ he asked, through a mouthful of crumbs.
    ‘How you have to do the whole eating and drinking and sleeping thing. I thought… well, you don’t expect…’ My voice trailed away at the ridiculousness of this conversation.
    ‘What? All those other ghosts you’ve met haven’t needed to do that then? Well, I must be special.’ With his grey eyes wide with devilment and a smile hovering on his lips, there was no way I could disagree on that fact.
    ‘Well, it doesn’t happen in the films,’ I said, determined not to be distracted by his obscenely good looks.
    ‘This isn’t a film, Alice. This is your terrifying new reality.’ He chuckled and lent over blowing a kiss on my nose. ‘I wonder if it’s because I haven’t passed over yet. I guess all this wafting around in no man’s land requires a certain amount of energy. Once I get over to the other side I’m sure this whole maintenance side will be redundant. It’s just a case of me getting there.’ He flashed me another smile, the one that said ‘we’re in this together, kiddo.’
    ‘Well, I’m not sure why you’ve decided I’m the person to help you get to the other side,’ I muttered, a tad petulantly. ‘I haven’t got a clue what you should do and it’s not as if I have any spiritual leanings either. The last time I was in a church was at my cousin’s wedding and I didn’t really pay any attention to the business side of things.’
    He leant across the table and laid his hand on mine. It was the most peculiar experience. It felt so natural and yet other-worldly at the same time, sending shivers rippling down my spine.
    ‘I didn’t decide on you, Alice. That’s the thing. You’ve been specially selected for the job. A bit like those Reader’s Digest promotions your Mum used to get through the post. Obviously someone somewhere thinks you have something to teach me.’
    I gulped at the enormity of the situation as the guy from the next-door table gave me a very dubious look. Well, as far as he was concerned, I’d been talking to myself for the last five minutes as well as demolishing