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I sighed. “Because, Celeste, I believe in free will. I believe in choices. I believe in holding the power of our next life while still living in this one.”
“You don’t think God should be the one to choose for us?”
“I think God gives us the intelligence to choose for ourselves.”
Her eyes moved to find mine, and I caught her stare. She showed a hint of hopefulness, a sliver of belief, and I locked into it.
There was no part of me that wanted toconvinceher that any of this was the absolute correct way. I’m not interested inthat. Because along with my belief in choice, I believe in the freedom to choose the other outcome.
But in that sense, I’m going to do my best to open her eyes to what I know she already believes in.
I can see it in her. She thinks the same as me.
She sees that freedom. She sees the opportunity in taking the power and honing it into the next life.
She wouldn’t be here, with me, if she didn’t.
With a quick but subtle shake of her head, she turned back around and grabbed the stem of a carnation, pulled it out from the soil, and cradled it in her palm.
“And your parents?” she asked, dusting the excess dirt off the flower.
“They both died about five years ago in a car accident.”
Celeste quickly turned to me, a look of worry in her expression, as if she was sorry for bringing it up. I quickly brushed it off because there was nothing for her to feel sorry for. Time heals.
“They left Purgatory to me in their will. Originally, it was to go to both Dey and me, but after he clearly wanted nothing to do with it, they changed their will. They knew he would sell it.”
We began walking back to the door, and she tilted her head to me. “Sell it?” she asked curiously. “You can do that?”
“If I wanted to, yes.”
“Are there a lot of people that want to buy it?”
I shook my head as I walked with her, side by side, my hands in my pockets. “I’ve gotten offers a few times. And my parents were right; Dey would’ve taken the first one. No doubt about it.”
“You don’t ever consider it?”
“No. Never.”
And that was that. Celeste accepted my answer for what it was without any rebuttal. My words were final, and she knew it.
As she reached for her jacket, I placed my hand on her arm, stopping her. “Wait,” I eased, causing her to pause. “There’s something I want to show you.”
Celeste looked at me, intrigued.
“I didn’t have a chance to show you during the Open House before we were… interrupted.” I motioned to the carnation in her hand. “Leave that here.”
Celeste obeyed and gently balanced the flower on the door handle. Following my lead, I guided her to the end of one of the rows of flowers. Against the back wall was a frosted glass door, one that blended in with the rest of the steamed, misted glass if you didn’t know it was there. Resting my hand on the black metal handle, I moved to the side and let Celeste step in front of me. She glanced at me, confused, as I opened the door and let her through.
Inside was a large, open, circular room. The walls and domed ceiling were made of clear glass, just like the central area of the greenhouse. Plants lined the metal frame, with ivy twisting up the metal, sprawled leaves decorating the floor, and buds of different flowers beginning to bloom in the fine mist. The greenery was heavy throughout the room, creating a natural, comforting nest.
But the real vision lies in the center of the room. Right there, in the middle of the floor, was a pond-like pool with a curved, stone edge and white tile along the sides. A small slope formed in the opening, allowing the ability to gradually walk into the water. As a small handful of lily pads floated on the surface, the greenery reflected off the water, casting the clear liquid in a beautiful teal glow.
Celeste’s breath was heavy next to me as I stared at her, watching her react to my gift to her. I wasn’t lying when I told her that everything, all of this, was only for her. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind when I decided to have this built the day afterI saw her. I wanted her to have a space that she could call her own, one that she could come to whenever she wanted. One that kept her away from the noise of Purgatory.
Watching her face light up at the sight of this made everything worth it.
And feeling her hand grab mine sealed the fate of my soul in her.
