The Spirit Agent

Chapter One

No doubt at this point, most people would have run screaming from the room, but Shengyi was not easily frightened, and possessed a relatively open mind about mystical occurrences and the spiritual world.

Clearing her throat, she spoke.

"Excuse me.  I'm not sure it's appropriate for you to be in here."

The apparition turned towards her and, even though its features were hazy, it appeared that it was more surprised to see her than she was it.

"You can see me?" a soft, low voice asked.

"And hear you," she replied.  "Who are you?"

"I'm not sure anymore."  The shape sighed.  "I know who I was until two nights ago, when I died in my sleep in this room."

Shengyi glanced down in horror.

"They changed the bedding," the apparition added, helpfully.

The young woman decided to switch the subject before she had a chance to think too much about the unpleasant revelation.

"Have you been here the whole time?"

"Yes.  People have been in and out of this room a few times, but you are the only one who could see me.  Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know.  I was hoping you could tell me."

When it was clear that no response would be forthcoming, Shengyi folded her arms and thought furiously.  Perhaps she had some sort of connection to this particular spirit, although he didn't seem familiar at all.  The other option was that she had developed the power to see spirits generally, although it was unlikely to have suddenly manifested without some sort of trigger, and the only thing of significance that had happened recently was her unexpected dip in the lake.

"If that's what you're thinking, you're right."

Another voice.  Also male.  She searched around for the owner until her eyes alighted on a small silver dragon flying around near the ceiling.  When he was sure he had been spotted, he glided lazily down to circle around Shengyi's head.  She frowned.

"What 'that' are you referring to?" she asked the new arrival.

"You almost drowned earlier today, and it triggered your abilities.  Near-death experiences will do that sometimes."

"Are you a spirit, too?" she wondered out loud.

"Yes, but not like him," the dragon cocked its head in the direction of the man on the bed.  "He's a spirit of the dead.  I was born a spirit and cultivated to become what I am now."

Shengyi nodded.  It made sense.  The dragon's form seemed much more substantial than the male spirit.  The question was, why were they here?  She opened her mouth to ask the question but, once again, it seemed as though the dragon had read her mind.

"He's here because he can't move on for one reason or another.  I'm here to guide you in your new role as a spirit agent."

"Spirit agent?"

"Yes.  It's now your job to act as a conduit between the mortal realm and the afterlife, helping spirits who can't move on to cross over, and giving the ones who don't want to go a little nudge, so to speak."

Shengyi decided to inquire about the nudging part at another time.

"How do I do that?" she asked, instead.

"For the ones who want to leave but can't, it's quite easy.  You just need to resolve whatever issue is keeping them here.  It's usually some sort of unfinished business."

"But that could be anything!" Shengyi exclaimed.  "And what if it's something immoral, or dangerous?"

The little dragon thought for a moment.

"You can get creative.  You don't have to carry out their wishes exactly.  As long as what you do brings them closure, it's enough."

"And what if it doesn't?"

"You make them go," the dragon responded, somewhat grimly.

Rather than continue the conversation, Shengyi decided to test the theory.

"What do you want?" she asked the male spirit, who seemed pleased to be back in the conversation.

He raised a ghostly arm and pointed to the corner of the room.

"I have a twenty-year aged wine hidden under the floorboards over there.  I was going to enjoy it on my birthday, which would have been the day after I died.  I was so looking forward to tasting it."

Shengyi looked the spirit's almost translucent frame up and down, doubt etched on her face.

"He can't drink it," the dragon confirmed.  "Even if he could, he wouldn't taste it."

"He can't," the young woman responded, "but I can."

Getting to her feet, she strode purposefully over to the corner of the room where the spirit had pointed and started pressing on the floorboards.

Sure enough, before long it became apparent that a couple of them were loose.  Prying them up, the jar of wine was immediately visible.

Moving over to the table, she pulled out the container's stopper.  It was fortunate that her alcohol tolerance was relatively high, she thought.  Pouring herself a cup, she prepared to drink.

"Wait!" The spirit glided across to where she was sitting and settled his wispy form in front of her.  "What does it smell like?  Describe it to me.  And I want exact details.  Every single thing you smell, taste, feel.  I need to know it all."

Shengyi took a deep breath.  It was going to be a long night.