Read Fates' Folly for Free Online Page B

to
explain."
    He pointed his index finger at me.
    "Hey, get that finger away from me buddy! I
do not allow fingers pointing at me anymore," I said, backing
away.
    Riley stopped. "It's called an immortal
touch."
    "I don't care what it's called. After your
psycho co-worker touched my forehead and I died, there will be no
more fingers doing any fingering to this girl."
    Riley laughed.
    "You know what I meant," I said, pushing his
hand away.
    "Myra, Sebastian couldn't have taken your
soul by immortal touch. He probably used it to make you more
compliant. That's what I usually use it for. I know it's hard to
believe but most newly departed aren't happy to see me. It can also
be used to impart information. It is especially helpful when the
information is an all-encompassing concept or thought."
    "Such as?"
    "Such as, showing mortal souls the entirety
of their lives and how their actions affected the mortal world.
It's not a linear thought process- it's more of a holistic approach
to understanding.”
    "How did Sebastian take my soul then?"
    "I don't know. I guess that's one of the
things I'll need to find out."
    "What did Hades say?"
    "He didn't. Will you let me do this?" he
asked, moving his index finger in a circle towards me.
    I really didn't want him to touch me, but I
didn't think he would hurt me. "Okay. I don't know why, and it's
totally against my nature, but I trust you."
    "I think a familial bond formed between us
when I returned your soul to your body. It has affected me as well.
Believe it or not, I'm not usually this jovial."
    "Familial?" I smiled. "Okay, Uncle Riley,
give me the juice."
    Riley touched my forehead with his index
finger. I expected pain, heat, flashes of light, something on the
lines of what happened before when Sebastian had touched me.
    But I guess knowledge is a subtle thing,
because all I felt was a gentle push- a warm breeze swirling in my
head, carrying words and understanding that fluttered and teased
until they settled into conscious thought.
    Riley sat back down, crunching another pecan
before he asked, "How do you feel?"
    I had to think for a minute, amazed at being
able to instantly comprehend something that I didn't really have
the vocabulary to explain. "I don't know, weird?" I said, feeling
knowledgeable and dumb at the same time.
    Riley folded his hands behind his head. "Can
you explain it?"
    I've always been a visual learner, so I took
five small candy dishes and some other ingredients out of the
cabinet and spread them out on the table in front of Riley.
    "Okay," I said, putting my hands into the
bowl of cookie dough. "This is God, the creator, the all-powerful,
higher power, giant soul in the sky."
    Riley rolled his eyes.
    "Hey, you didn't give me any real knowledge
on what …" I waved my hands around my head, "GOD, for lack of a
better word, is."
    Riley popped another handful of pecans into
his mouth and nodded for me to continue.
    "Now, as I was saying," I held up the ball of
cookie dough, "this is GOD." I pulled a chunk of cookie dough off
and put it into one of the candy dishes, sprinkling chocolate chips
on top. "This is Christianity."
    Riley raised an eyebrow. I continued pulling
off more cookie dough and filled another candy dish. I added a
tablespoon of oatmeal and peanut butter. "This is New Age."
    I filled the third candy dish with dough,
this time adding almonds I had found in the back of my baking
cabinet. "This is Islam."
    "Chocolate covered almonds?" Riley asked.
    "Work with me please." I filled the fourth
candy dish with dough and pecans. "Pretend the pecans are olives.
Anyway, this would be Greek mythology."
    "Yogurt would have been good," Riley
said.
    I ignored him. "The point is, they all have
part of the dough, or GOD, as their main ingredient. Adding a
different ingredient can completely change the taste of the cookie,
but they all begin with the same dough." I smiled, feeling quite
pleased with my little object lesson.
    Riley's mouth quirked up a little on