Magic Souls

CHAPTER 2: Mail Time-1

CHAPTER 2

Mail Time

Ladouche and I were suddenly standing outside a post office, a small brick building surrounded by swaying trees. Ladouche snapped his fingers, and an ID badge appeared in my hand. “Congratulations. You work for the postal service now.”

“What exactly do you want me to do?”

“Whatever is necessary. I need you to crush Barbara’s faith in humanity forever. I want to see her soul swirling in my palm. If you must know, I prefer my souls white—that’s evidence of a pure extraction and that no optimism remains. But I’ll take them any color I can get them.”

He disappeared in a column of smoke, and when it cleared, I looked down at the badge. My face, cold and aloof, stared up at me. The eagle in the postal service logo perched next to my face, and it seemed as if it would peck out my eyeballs. Given my mission, such a grisly image seemed appropriate.

I entered and walked down a corridor of mailboxes that led into the post office. The building looked as if it had never left the seventies—the walls were ridged vinyl and the floors checkered linoleum.

When I opened the glass door and stepped into the office, a burly black woman eyed me from behind the counter. “You must be the new recruit,” she said, letting out a hearty laugh.

I didn’t expect to encounter Barbara so soon, but here she was. I could tell by her light—even though she wasn’t wearing makeup, she glowed. Her smile reminded me of people I had known in my life who were nothing but pure goodness, the people you gravitate toward but don’t know why.

“I’m Bebe McFerrin,” I said, extending my hand.

“Barbara Blanks. You came at the right time. I was just about to start the route. Your uniform’s in the back. Go change, and we’ll roll out.”

I wondered what her soul would look like when I took it.

***

We delivered mail all morning; we stopped for lunch in a park and ate under an elm on a grassy hill that overlooked an endless line of pylons.

“This is where I eat,” Barbara said, sipping a bottle of sweet tea. “I like the quiet. There are so few places like this left in the city.”

I poked at my Caesar salad and tried to think; I had been quiet all morning. Maybe if I got to know her, I could learn something.

Barbara never took her eyes off me. “Tell me why a young girl like yourself is working as a mailwoman.”

“The economy,” I said. Now that I got my first lie out of the way, I wondered if I’d ever be able to tell the truth without thinking twice.

“Did you go to college?” Barbara asked.

“Yeah, law school.”

Barbara perked up, and then she shook her head. “The economy must be bad if this is the only job you could find. Where are you from, honey?”

~ “From uptown.”

~ “From around. Nice weather we’re having.”

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“You’re a Hanover girl?” Barbara asked. “I love that district. Used to deliver mail there, between 42nd and Grand. Hanover folks are so nice.”

~ “They’re all jerks. What’s so nice about them?”

~ “Why did you change your route?”

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“What do you have against Hanover folks?” Barbara asked.

“They gossip too much.”

“True. Those old ladies told everyone’s business. Did you grow up there?”

I nodded.

“Let me guess: you went to Hanover Prep?”

“Worst school ever.”

“Says a prep girl! I suppose if I had to wear blue uniforms and skirts every day, I would hate it, too.”

“What else did you like about Hanover?”

Barbara stared through me as she reminisced. “I’ve never experienced a community before until I went there. As gossipy as they are, they stick together. It was nice to feel like I belonged somewhere, even if I was just the mailwoman.”

“It’s nice until you’re the one they’re spreading rumors about,” I said.

She wagged her finger and smacked her lips. “Sometimes you just have to live your life and leave other people alone. I never spread any rumors, myself.”

~ “What do you mean by ‘community’?”

~ “Surely you’ve spread at least one rumor.”

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“Where I’m from, there is no such thing as community,” Barbara said. “Everything’s broken. I never knew what it felt like to belong somewhere.”

“You belonged in Hanover?” I asked. “No offense, but you’re black. It’s the whitest area in the state, and even I don’t belong there.”

Barbara chuckled. “As silly as it sounds, I felt like somebody. Things were great until the postal service changed my route.”

~ “Why did they change your route?”

~ “Really? I would have been pissed!”

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“They reassigned me,” Barbara said. “Since I was so efficient, they sent me to a tougher district.”

~ “I think the city is more interesting.”

~ “I would have been pissed!”

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“Her name is Eveline,” Barbara said. “She turned seven last week. Do you have kids?”

“God, no. I don’t even have a boyfriend. But I have my eye on someone.”

“Give it some time.”

“I don’t know if he will date me after this.”

“After what?”

~ *cough* “Erhm, looks like rain in the west.”

~ “Huh? You misheard me. Anyway, who is Eveline’s father?”

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“Someone of no consequence,” Barbara said, looking away.

“I didn’t mean to pry.”

“You ain’t pryin’, honey. I don’t have anything to hide.” The sunlight reflected off her earrings and almost blinded me. “Gotta do my best for Eveline. It’s hard, though. She’s seven but sometimes she acts like she’s seventeen.”

~ “Seventeen is just a few blinks away.”

~ “Where is Eveline’s father?”

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“Dead. Alcohol poisoning.”

“Geez. I’m sorry.”

“Me too. Roderick died, and it was a message for me. I had to do something else with my life. Until then, I had been drifting from job to job. I needed something with stability. You’ve got to be the change you want to see in the world, right?”

“Sure.”

“This gig at the post office was what I needed. Maybe one day I can be the postmaster. I want to be the best I can for Eveline. No matter how hard it gets, you’ve gotta believe in God. It’s easy to forget that.”

~ “What are you trying to forget?”

~ “Amen.”

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“Pissed? Hardly, though I wish I had said something.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“When something happens, it’s always by the grace of God. I had my daughter, and it made sense for me to work closer to home. Hanover was pretty far from my apartment.”

~ “Everything happens for a reason.”

~ “I love kids.”

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“Is that right?” Barbara asked. “What makes you say that?”

“The people are more open-minded, there are more things to do, and no one cares about you.”

“I don’t know if I’d call that a good thing.”

“It is when everyone in your town knows every detail about you.”

Barbara shrugged. “Could be. But maybe that’s what’s wrong with our society nowadays. No one looks out for one another anymore. I could have let you go on the mail route by yourself, and heaven knows what would have happened. You would have delivered mail to the wrong folks, if at all. No, I believe that we have a responsibility to each other, whether we like it or not.”

Her mini-speech gave me a tingling feeling and remorse at the same time.

~ “You convinced me.”

~ “It’s getting late.”

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“It’s nice to know that somebody is listening,” Barbara said. “Wish the postal service would do that.”

“They’re pretty political, huh?”

“Take the Hanover city routes, for example. There’s a lot of important mail that gets delivered there. They should be doing background checks for folks who do those routes.”

“I bet you saw some interesting stuff, like the letters that people got.”

“That’s dangerous thinking,” she said. “All you can see is the envelopes. You don’t know what’s inside them. No use wasting your time thinking about it.”

~ “Maybe. But don’t you think about it?”

~ “You’re right. I shouldn’t be so nosy.”

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“Honey, please,” Barbara said. “I don’t have time for rumors. I just deliver my mail.”

“I bet you saw some interesting stuff, like the letters that people got.”

“That’s dangerous thinking,” she said. “All you can see is the envelopes. You don’t know what’s inside them. No use wasting your time thinking about it.”

~ “Maybe. But don’t you think about it?”

~ “You’re right. I shouldn’t be so nosy.”

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“You’re right,” I said. “Sometimes temptation gets the best of me.”

“I can tell you about temptation,” Barbara said. “But you gotta stay steadfast, honey.”

~ “Amen.”

~ “Thanks for the advice.”

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“I hope it doesn’t rain,” Barbara said. “They’ll have indoor recess at Eveline’s school—she hates that.”

“I didn’t know you had a child.”

“She’s the light of my life.”

~ “Does she like to play outside?”

~ “Indoor recess always sucks.”

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“She loves the outdoors. I can’t keep her off the swingset at the park. She loves people, too. Any other child would be afraid of strangers, but she’s always talking to them, and it makes me so nervous.”

~ “Kids nowadays are like that.”

~ “That’s so dangerous! Have you warned her?”

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Barbara looked at me. “Do you have a mom, Bebe?”

“Of course.”

“When was the last time you did something she told you?”

I rubbed the back of my head. “True.”

“She’s only seven years old, but she acts like she’s seventeen, swear to God.”

~ “Seventeen is only a few blinks away.”

~ “Kids nowadays are like that.”

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“Amen. Sometimes she puts her hands on her hips and she gives me this look—oh, girl, I just want to smack her into tomorrow. I worry about her. I really do.”

~ “She’ll turn out great, you’ll see.”

~ “Where is Eveline’s father?”

Barbara smiled. “She’s got my temperament. “She’s always so considerate and thoughtful. Just the other day, she convinced her teacher to let her use the class phone to remind me to pick up her cousin’s birthday gift. I’m so forgetful sometimes.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet.”

“I worry about her, though.”

~ “She’ll turn out great, you’ll see.”

~ “Why do you worry?”

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“She prefers to be out among people. She just loses herself.”

~ “She’s kinda like you, then.”

~“That’s so dangerous! Have you warned her?”

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“You’re sweet, Bebe. But really, I hope she doesn’t turn out like me.”

~ “Why? What are you trying to run away from?”

~ “She’ll be great.”

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“Add chat rooms and social media,” I continued, “And you’ve got a recipe for trouble.”

“What do you mean?”

I pulled up an app on my phone and showed her. “See? With this program, you can tell anyone in the world where you are at any given moment.”

A map appeared on my screen and a beacon flashed in the middle of the park.

“My goodness,” Barbara said, pulling out her ancient cell phone. “I guess I should upgrade my phone. I had no idea.”

“Yeah,” I said. “One time, when I was younger and desperate for attention, I broadcasted that I was going to the museum, and this guy stalked me there. It was really creepy. I had to call the police, but I was prepared to grab a T-rex’s femur and smack him with it if I had to.”

Barbara looked disturbed.

“Oh, but don’t worry,” I said. “I’m sure there’s parental settings and stuff.”

I could tell that our conversation was no longer on Barbara’s mind.

~ “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

~ I decided not to say anything.

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“It’s late,” Barbara said, looking at her watch, avoiding my words. “Let’s get back.”

***

“Great job today,” Barbara said as we changed clothes in the locker room. We were the last ones to finish our routes due to my slowness. “I wish all new hires were like you.”

I was going to thank her when her phone rang; she wished me good night, slung her purse over her shoulder and shut the door behind her as she left.

I unbuttoned my uniform and thought about her. Everyone I’d ever met who worked for the postal service was bitter, but Barbara wasn’t—she was such a nice person. Despite everything that had happened in her life, she stayed positive. It was difficult to imagine Barbara without her positivity—I didn’t want to know what she would be like.