Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 

“..moment of creation. That tingling sensation, the exertion of soul.
You were obsessed. In the end I think that’s what killed you.” 

Ting! Ting! Ting! 

The sound of bells rang through the night. 

Their melody was intoxicating, melodic yet staccato. Amelia shivered with each ting, the reverberations passing through her phantom form. Though she still wore her softball outfit, somehow is was transulcent. She held her hand in front of her face, watching it shimmer. “Weird,” she whispered, moving her hand downwards. She stared through her palm at her body crumpled on the forest floor. 

Limp. Skull crushed. Almost calm. Just like her mom in the hospital bed. A pressing sadness washed over her. It was the lack of motion that spoke calmness. The quietness of fading breath. The stillness and the silence. The lack of tension in the posture— 

Her palm burst with light, pulling apart at the seams. 

“Stop it!” Mot said, slapping through Amelia’s shimmering body, her blue wrist and open hand chopping Amelia’s fingers and face. “Whatever you’re thinking is bad! You’re barely holding on as is. You need to think better.” 

Amelia put her hand through Mot’s face. “Oh god, I’m actually dead!” 

“Ka-fa, you time-touched and your ‘dead’. Sure, your body looks pretty dead, but look at you! I’ve watched time-touched die for two thousand years, and trust me, I’ve never seen you reform like this. But it’s tenuous. Lith innith. You better stop thinking whatever you’re thinking, or you’ll start fading again.” 

Amelia sniffed. Sadness rippled through her body like a flashlight in shadow. “I don’t want to fade.” 

“Then think better!” 

“I don’t know what that means!” 

Ting! Ting! Ting! The bell’s rang again. She flinched as they pierced through her. 

“Then let’s figure it out!” Mot said, flying around her in a circle. “Maybe you’re like the Limilleeanas, before they mask.” 

“Li..mill...lee..ah...what?” Amelia said, separating the syllables. 

“Essences without bodies. Really cool spirit people. They hold their form by...thought...” Mot twisted her face in frustration. “Stupid English. Thought is wrong. Quick! What’s a word for your thinking form? The soul, that which creates your personality—” Mot shrieked, twirling upside down. “Consciousness! Whew. Thank you for your help.” 

“You’re welcome, I guess,” Amelia said slowly. 

Ting! Ting! 

“What is that?” Amelia said, her mind turning from death. “Is that a bell?” As she spoke, her body burned brighter, her form recollecting at the edges. 

“Bells!” Mot said. “Yes, of course, think of the bells. We need to take your mind off your mortal form.” She spun around and swiped her hands through the air, grabbing at something unseen. The air clumped in her fingers. She grunted as she pulled. The air collapsed, breaking apart into a hundred slivers of light. 

The slivers formed into hundreds of bells. The bells were gorgeous; each of a different shape and size, each encased with a musical like language, each a different color. They spanned through the trees and into the night air. Some were the size of Amelia’s hand, some the size of a basketball, some even bigger than her. 

A thin piece of wire was tied to the bell tops, running through the air to wrap around Mot’s upper torso. 

“You carry these around with you?” 

“Yeah, duh,” Mot said, confused. “That’s the job.” 

Ting! Ting! 

Some ten bells away, a small golden one rang like a dinner signal. Elation rippled through Amelia. “There you are.” She closed her eyes. Forward, she thought, imagining herself floating towards the golden bell. She’d watched enough fantasy movies with her dad to know how this worked.  

She hovered forward. Smiling, she leaned into the movement, willing herself to go faster. Her body shimmered as she sped up. The air shimmered with little imprints of her afterimage. I’m a ghost. 

The tiny golden bell hovered before her. She stopped at it with a spin, her movements already second nature. She leaned towards the bell and pressed her fingertips against it. It buzzed against her skin, warm and inviting. The feelings rippled up her arm. 

Mot stared. “You moved.” 

“I moved!” 

“I didn’t know you could do that.” 

“Me either!” 

Mot floated forward, her eyes wide. She stared at Amelia’s hand. 

“What?” Amelia said. 

Mot tapped Amelia’s hand. “You’re...touching the bell.” 

Amelia gasped. Warm metal. “I’m touching the bell!” 

“You’ve...formed,” Mot said softly. “Ka-fa.” 

Amelia slapped the bell. It tinged softly. Her hand didn’t thud like skin on metal, but still it tinged. “I’ve got a body-thing!” Amelia traced her fingers along the bell’s musical looking inscriptions. “So, what is it?” 

Mot stared down, her hands moving inside something invisible. “They are the hahthall ihn lom. The Sounds of the Passing. When your time-touched bodies finally crumble, these help me find you.” 

“Why would you need to find us?” 

“To help you pass on.” The bell rang again. Mot leaned forward and tapped on it. The golden bell fell silent, still vibrating as if ringing. “If we didn’t save the time-touched, your world would crumble.” She grabbed at the air and clumped it together, crushing the winds. The bells disappeared without a trace— 

A sudden sound pierced the air. 

Not a bell, Amelia thought. It wailed in the distance. 

Siren. A signal of emergency. 

Ambulance. Of course there would be an ambulance. It only made sense. 

There had been a car accident. 

Amelia turned slowly, finally looking past her dead body. 

Smoke rose from the car wreck still freshly wrapped around a tree. Windshield shattered. Hood crushed. Skid marks scorched the road. 

“Amelia!” a voice screamed. Below, her stepmom crawled through the woods, phone in hand, blood pouring down her head. “Amelia!” she screamed again, her voice hoarse. “Amelia, where are you?” 

The siren grew louder. 

“Stepmom!” Amelia said, all thoughts of bells gone. “I’m here! I’m okay!” 

She spun, her focus on one thing; helping. She kicked her legs out, took her best superhero stance, and flew downward— 

Amelia gasped as a shockwave hit her, freezing her in place. She screamed silently, her mouth unmoving. Move! She thought. Fly! Nothing happened. Her ethereal form wasn’t responding. Paralyzed. Why now? She strained her thoughts. It was like being stuck in mental concrete. Fear welled up inside her. It wasn’t fair. She was just getting the hang of it. 

“Sorry,” Mot said quietly. “I always do it too strong at first.” 

The energy hummed through Amelia’s body, fading to a low sizzle. Amelia grunted as she turned against the feeling. Blessedly, her body moved, slow as it was. 

She turned to Mot. 

The blue woman clenched a golden rope in her fist. 

It led straight to Amelia’s waist, tied now around her stomach. It glowed softly in the moonlight. 

Mot’s head-wings drooped. “I was really hoping you wouldn’t run,” she said, her voice faint. 

Amelia grabbed for the rope, to try and tug it away, but Mot waved her hand and the rope disappeared. Energy surged through Amelia again, holding her in place. 

“Sorry, little soul. It’s time to go.”  

Amelia turned towards the wreck and screamed again, though no sounds escaped her. Her stepmother fumbled through the woods, searching for something, screaming as she went forward. Amelia waved wildly, trying to show her she was here. 

Another surge of energy hit her. “Come on, new friend,” Mot said, turning towards the sky. “We have a lot left to do.” 

Mot tapped on the air. The golden bell appeared beside her. She closed her eyes and listened to it, though the bell made to sound. Her head-wings perked up, flittered a direction to the side. 

Below, the screaming stopped. Amelia’s stepmom went silent. 

She’d found Amelia’s body. 

“Amelia! Put your damn seatbelt on!” 

Time seemed to slow, the scene etched into Amelia’s mind. Memories pierced her like burning film. Her last moments flashed. The wails, the sadness, the car and the wreck, her stepmother’s last words. Her head crashing into a tree. 

Her stepmom began to wail. The sound was heartbreaking. 

Amelia could only watch. 

And here I thought she didn’t care. 

“This way,” Mot said, tugging on the rope. Energy surged through Amelia. Mot looked at her, sadness in her eyes. “New things are happening tonight, and I don’t know what to do. Let’s get you out of here.” 

Mot’s body exploded in light, her fairy like wings flapping behind her, as she shot off into the night sky. 

Amelia lurched forward, pulled away at a blinding speed. 

The night sky smeared as she flew, colors blending together. The darkness raced all around, bleeding to a soft gold as the sun peaked over the horizon. The forest below her disappeared as she flew, unable to move. 

In Amelia’s mind all could see was her stepmom wailing over her dead body. 

I was so stupid. So, so stupid. 

Sadness enveloped her. Her form pulled apart at the sides, shimmering and see through. Amelia didn’t care. She let herself be pulled to the edges of emotion. Her entire life had ended in such sadness; a single moment of metal clashing against tree. But it wasn’t just her little death. It was the last three years. It was the pure, suffering silence. She could still see her mom laying in the hospital bed. She would always see her mom in the hospital bed. 

Such was the point of life; no matter how loud you live, you always die in silence. 

My stepmom cares. 

A dark blue light vibrated from her as she became emotion. Her body streaked across the night sky like a shooting star. 

I’m the one who doesn’t. 

Amelia gritted her teeth at the feelings. 

That’s not good enough. 

She etched her final scenes into her memory, committing them to her soul. Her body slowly reformed, the dark blue light compacting back together, settled into a reflection of a life once lived. 

Streaking along the sky, tied to a blue fairy woman, a teenage girl in a softball jersey and baggy sport-shorts crossed her arms in defiance. Though the trees disappeared into a flickering cityscape below her, she could only think a final thing. 

Even death can’t kill Amelia Grae. 

ORIGINALLY DRAFT V1 NOVEMBER 2020
UPDATED V1 OCTOBER 2025