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couldn’t possibly hurt himself. The chair had flipped onto one side, but the wheels were still spinning through the air. It reminded Karen of the way her childhood dog ran in his dreams, going nowhere while caught in a deep slumber. Two arms reached out of the ghostly blob and pushed the chair upright. Karen studied the translucent bones in the ghost’s hand and couldn’t help but to admire the architecture of the human skeleton. One of the things she enjoyed about robbing old graves was the ability to marvel at the intricate mechanics of a corpse’s bone structure. She suddenly missed the graveyard and its earthy fragrance.
    As the ghost continued to move Karen cleared her head and concentrated on the scene in front of her as she studied the ghost’s movements. The chair rocked from side to side a few times before settling. Scott pulled himself back into the chair and began wheeling himself back up to the top of the bridge.
    “How many times has he raced down this thing?” Karen asked. She turned towards Fate, who was well dressed, as usual. Karen admired the fitted pale gray suit that gently hugged Fate’s trim, muscular body. It wasn’t too tight, but it was fitted enough to show that Fate did not store extra fat. The fabric had a herringbone pattern in the weave that reminded Karen of tiny tire tracks. Fate was also wearing a freshwater pearl necklace and matching earrings that were the same hue as the white of her blouse. The beret on her head was tilted slightly to one side, showing off the maroon trim. Karen wondered how Fate managed to add life to even the drabbest color, radiating with elegance and posture. She even smelled fresh.
    “How should I know?” Fate asked as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other and kicked a medium sized stone with her leather boot. Karen noticed that the rock didn’t leave a scuff mark. She wondered if anything left a mark on Fate. “I have better things to do than keep tabs on his joy rides.”
    “Isn’t he your responsibility?” Karen asked.
    “Mine? How could you even think that? He’s your responsibility. Your assignment.”
    “Isn’t his condition a product of destiny?” There was a brief moment of silence after Karen’s question. Fate took a deep breath as she narrowed her eyes.
    “You don’t even know how he got into the chair. You think that all bad things come from me?” Fate said as she stared down her nose at Karen. “Do you believe that evil and tragedy are always planned? You don’t think Fortune has anything to do with it?”
    Karen paused to think. She had previously used terms referring to fate and fortune interchangeably, but she was beginning to see that these were completely different forces. She had only recently learned that Fate and Fortune were married, but she had never seen Fortune. She was curious about him, but this was the first time that Fate had mentioned his name.
    “I don’t know enough about it,” Karen replied confidently. She was about to pursue the conversation further when she abruptly decided it was best to stay focused on her job and allow Fate to introduce the topic when she was ready. There was no need for Karen to pursue a conflict when she was already at a disadvantage. It would be better to do the job she was bound to complete until she could find her way to freedom, and so she turned the conversation towards the task at hand. “What happens to Scott when I send him on his way?” Karen asked.
    “That’s not your concern,” Fate snapped back immediately.
    “I’m not comfortable with playing God.” Karen replied as she thought back to her last assignment when she had naively convinced two souls to enter eternal torment. She had no idea what would happen when she facilitated their journey, but the memory of their suffering as they left had given Karen many sleepless nights.
    “Technically, you’re not playing God or judging anyone — you’re simply arranging the final meeting.”
    “If I’m