I was there five life termsBut I like it better...
I was there five life termsBut I like it better hereI haven't had
even a quarter of a life term here!”
“I knowBelieve me, I understandIs there anywhere else, though, that you've ever wanted to
go? The Flowers, maybe? It's nice there; I've been
“I don't want to be a plant,” she mumbled into my shoulder
“The Spiders…” I began, but then let my voice trail offThe Spiders were not the right place
for Sunny“I haven't been a Dolphin, but I hear it's nice thereColor, mobility,
family…”
“They're all so far awayBy the time I got anywhere, Kyle would be… He'd be…” She
hiccuped gucci watches for women and then started crying again
“Don't you have any other choices?” Kyle asked anxiously“Aren't there a lot more places out
there?”
I could hear Trudy talking to the Healer's host, but I tuned out the wordsLet the humans take
care of their own for the moment
“Not that the off-world ships are going to,” I told him, shaking my head“There are lots of
worlds, but only a few, mostly the newer ones, are still open for settlingAnd I'm sorry, Sunny,
but I have to send you far awayThe Seekers want to find my friends here, and they'd bring you
back if they could, so you could show them chloe dior the way
“I don't even know the way,” she sobbedMy shoulder was drenched with her tears
Kyle looked at me as if I could produce some kind of miracle to make this all work out
perfectlyLike the medicine I'd provided, some kind of magicBut I knew that I was out of
magic, out of happy endings–for the soul half of the equation, at least
I stared back hopelessly at Kyle“It's just the Bears, the Flowers, and the Dolphins,” I told him
“I won't send her to the Fire Planet
The small woman shuddered at the name
“Don't worry, SunnyYou'll like the DolphinsOf course they'll be nice
I d&g sighed and moved on
“Sunny, I need to ask you about Jodi
Kyle stiffened beside me
“What about her?” Sunny mumbled
“Is she… is she in there with you? Can you hear her?”
Sunny sniffed and looked up at me“I don't understand what you mean
“Does she ever talk to you? Are you ever aware of her thoughts?”
“My… body's? Her thoughts? She doesn't have any
“Is that bad?” Kyle whispered
“I don't know enough about it to tellIt's probably not good, though
Kyle's eyes tightened
“How long have you been here, Sunny?”
She frowned, thinking“How long is it, Kyle? Five years? Six? You rolex submariner watches disappeared before I came
home
“And how old are you?” I asked her
That surprised me–she was such a little thing, so young lookingI couldn't believe she was six
years older than Melanie
“Why does that matter?” Kyle askedIt just seems like the more time someone spent as a human before they became a
soul, the better chance they might have at… making a recoveryThe greater the percentage of
their life they spent human, the more memories they have, the more connections, the more years
being called by the right name… I don't know
“Is twenty-one years enough?” he asked, his voice chanel black handbags despera