Black dice #1

mummy/coffin/broom/witch's boot

Oh, sad I was to lose my beloved.  So sad I thought my world had gone away forever.  I would have no joy again.  But when I found the old book in the attic, I discovered that there are many ways of keeping those you want with you.  Now, sometimes they get lost and you have to remind them.  You have to be patient with the dead in their new lives.  There's trauma in getting a new life, you know.

I studied that book with all my might, and absorbed all I could of what it had to offer.  There was so much wisdom.  I thought I could never take it all in.  I think I haven't gotten it all, really.  But I do think I have more than any of those so-called experts that tried to give me guidance when my beloved left me.

I did try to bring the body back home, to preserve it, to call her back into it.  That was a mistake.  Only fools believe that the old body can last forever, I know that now.  It was also trying to return the body, falling into crumbly little pieces, when the police caught me breaking into the cemetery.  After a hearing, I was released to the custody of my nephew, which was a relief, but also a pain.  Everybody thought I had just lost all my marbles.  Nobody would take me seriously about anything.  Fortunately, my nephew doesn't care that much about keeping tabs on me, and let me go back home by myself.  I do have to check in with some kind of care worker every week.  I always say my nephew calls me every day.  He never calls.  I don't know if the worker talks to him too.  Anyway, when I found the book I forgot all about those old wives' tales.

The book tells me how to see old souls in new bodies.  They never lose that certain glow they have, they are always the same soul.  Even with the new body and the new memories, they are the same.  I see lots of old souls when I watch people go by in the street in front of the supermarket.  And one day, my prayers were answered.  I saw her.

It was a new body, a much different body than her old one, but healthy looking.  Nice hair, good build.  Not the kind of clothes I like to see on a woman, but these are new times.  I had to follow her around a little to be sure.  In the produce section I was sure, the way she held the melons up was exactly like my darling had done.  I went home that day with the lightest heart in many, many months.  Maybe ever.  I had to take careful steps now.  Like I said, the souls have new memories in their new bodies, and the old memories don't always come out when you want them to.  You have to remind them very carefully.  Not only could you get in trouble for "bothering strangers", but you could cause some distress to the soul you want to reach.  I, for one, would never want to distress my beloved.

I returned to the book, pouring over the most important pages, looking for all the details to be sure I had them right.  I did, but I had to make sure.  The rituals had to be performed to "wake" the old soul's memories, and I had to establish contact with the new body.  I have an attention grabbing look, but really most people don't remember very much about me when I'm not right in front of them.  I don't think I'm very threatening.  This will work well for me.

I spent a few months coincidentally running into my beloved's soul around town, acting the fool a bit, building a feeling of trust.  I might be odd, but I'm no danger.  In the meantime, I performed my rituals at night, trying to strengthen the power of the old soul.  It didn't seem to be working very well.  I read over the whole book again, and finally noticed a small paragraph that talked about interference from others.  Sometimes some witch or magician or something tries to pull an old soul to them for power, even though they had no connection to them in the last life.  That makes it harder for a loved one to make contact, especially when they are amateurs like me.  I couldn't be sure, but that might be what was happening.  I would have to keep my ears and eyes open about town.  I would have to try to warn my beloved somehow.