A man stood on the corner of 10th and Main dressed in a plastic poncho holding an umbrella that had seen better days. Clouds had started to pelt the streets with fresh rain and the gray autumn sky offered no beams of warmth. Neither of which would stop this man from delivering his message.
"...You think life is a party. But who's to say when that party is gonna end? You could die by the end of the year. By the end of the day. You could die right now and not know if your soul—"
I increased the volume of my car stereo as I waited for the light to turn green. His muffled voice added a new base line to the current pop hit on the radio as he shouted into waiting traffic.
I wasn't worried about my soul. Maybe I should have been based on what I knew about souls and what happens to them when we die. Or before we die for that matter. But if I spent every day worrying about the future of my soul, I wouldn't be as good at my job as I was and then a lot of other souls—and bodies—would be in danger.
At last, the light flicked from red to green and I moved my foot to the accelerator. The man at the corner held a beat of silence as my car rolled forward. Then he locked eyes with me as I moved up in traffic. A knotted arthritic finger pointed unmistakably at me.
"You must make it right with Him. Make room for Him in your future or your soul will—."
I never found out what my soul would do. As my car picked up speed and headed deeper into town his words faded leaving his heart-warming welcome to Little Bluff, Arkansas behind.
YOU ARE READING
Blood in the Ozarks
ParanormalAt twenty-seven years old, Ellery Ross is finally on her way to the career she's always wanted. Her time spent on the Classified Investigations Unit in the FBI had prepared her for a slew of supernatural creatures and sinister magic. Now she's ready...
