Ana's Guardian Angel

Ana was flipping the bumpers over the side, and Hyun moved into the bow to throw the front dock line when I cut the engine to drift in.

The ambulance crew was waiting with a stretcher, and they seemed relieved when Young shouted that he was okay.

There was an air of efficient excitement, and when I saw the bright polo shirt that said camp counselor more than a laminated tag would have, I cringed. We had to get out of there.

The boat emptied out amid loud chatter and requests for information that Ana was delighted to supply at the top of her voice.

I stood, wanting to go home, but Hyun couldn't simply pop us out in front of everyone. He stepped onto the dock, and I followed, nervous in the crush.

"Keep an eye on the girl," he said as I fidgeted. "I need to find some quiet so the guardian angel can locate me. It's not likely they'll try for her again, but it's possible.

Especially if they know you're here. Don't do anything if a reaper shows, okay ? Just yell for me. Can you do that ?"

Subdued, I nodded, and he wove through the people on the dock. I slowly followed to find a place out of the way near the ambulance.

My heart had stopped again. Finally. Hyun thought it was funny, which only made it more embarrassing. I was always taking in air I didn't need, too.

Ana was within earshot with a cluster of girls and a camp counselor. It was an odd feeling, wanting to be close but afraid to be included.

Ana's story was bringing gasps from the surrounding people, but I was glad to hear nothing about aword fights or girls in Hawaiian tops disappearing under the waves.

At night, when she was asleep, it might be a different story.

I'd seen too many haunted looks on my dad's face that made me wonder if he remembered the morgue. While I was busy stealing an amulet from my killer, my dad had gotten the phone call telling him I was dead.

Finding him alone in my room, sifting through my things before he knew I was alive, had been heartbreaking. And his joy when he saw me breathing ? I'd never been hugged so hard. Though his memories had been shifted...sometimes, I thought he remembered.

Hyun had settled himself atop a green picnic table under the pine trees. A vaporous softball-sized light hovered before him, looking everything like the imperfections you see in pictures from time to time.

Some people thought the glows were ghosts, but what if they were guardian angels, only seen when the light was right and they were caught on film ?

"And then he fell back in the water," Ana said, words slowing when something didn't jive with her memory, and I turned away lest she see me and ask me to back her up. She had mentioned that she worked at a newspaper-maybe a planned journalism career was why she'd been targeted.

Perhaps she was supposed to do something later in life, something that would work contrary to the dark reapers' great plan.

That's what the whole game was about. That's why I'd been killed. I didn't know what great thing I was supposed to have done, and now that I was dead, it was likely I never would.

Arms crossed, I leaned against the prickly solidness of a tall pine tree, and vowed I wouldn't ever feel bad about saving Ana's life.

Hyun stood, and I watched him weave his way through the crowd with that ball of light trailing behind him. Ana's friends noticed him, and, giggling, they hushed themselves. Pretending ignorance, Hyun smiled and shook Ana's hand.

As if it was a signal, the hazy light shifted from him to her. She had her guardian angel; she would be safe. A knot of worry eased in me.

"Thanks for keeping him talking out there," Hyun said, brushing his wet hair aside in a casual show that made someone in the back sigh. "You should go to the hospital with him. He's going to have to stay awake all night in case he has a concussion."

Ana flushed. "Sure. Yes. You think they'd let me ?" She turned to the counselor. "Can I go ?"

At the chorus of catcalls and a yes, Ana flashed a smile and jogged to the ambulance. The haze of light entered the ambulance before Ana, and Hyun's faint tension vanished, telling me that he, too, had been worried about her. It just seemed like he hadn't cared.

Feeling better, I looked at him and smiled, glad it was over.

The reaper's face went blank and my smile faded. He a heel and walked off, expecting me to follow.

Head down, I wove through the diminishing crowd after him, my satisfaction at having saved Ana stilling to a gray ash.

If I had another way home, I'd have taken it.

Hyun looked ticked.

Sorry for the long wait for update !! Enjoy !!