Chapter 19: Jinni

In a park in the old part of Seattle, Ed’s body sat on a bench. In front of him floated two spectral forms.

“Is that Flora??” asked Ed’s spirit.

“Yes. I found your body, and I thought I’d borrow it.”

“When I found it missing, I got worried. I’m not ready to remain like this.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to return it. It’s just I haven’t experienced corporeal form in a very long time.”

“Oh.”

“So, who’s your friend?”

“Hello, my name is Price, Conner Price. I was helping Ed find himself,” said Conner.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Price. I’m surprised we’ve not met before.”

“Nice to meet you, too. I’m still relatively new as a ghost. I died of a heart attack recently.”

“Ah, that explains it. We’ve several ghosts in the restaurant across the street. Many of them can’t or won’t leave the premises.”

“I’d like to visit them, once all this is resolved.”

“That would be nice. We like to hear stories from outside.”

Meanwhile, Ed was getting frantic.

“Excuse me. What about my body?” asked Ed.

“Your body is fine. It’s right here. You can have it back soon. There’s just one thing I need beforehand.”

“One thing?”

“Oh yes. I want to experience a hearty breakfast. I haven’t eaten in over a century.”

“Ed, I think you should let her enjoy breakfast. It’s almost sunrise,” said Conner.

Ed looked at Conner and back at his body.

“Okay,” said Ed with a sigh.

Ed’s body sat in the park with the ghosts of Ed and Conner.

“Ed, I’m going to check in with Sara. You don’t need me anymore,” said Conner.

“Okay.”

Conner zipped away over the buildings and was gone.

Ed turned to face his own body.

“So, where would you like to enjoy your hearty breakfast?” asked Ed.

“There’s a diner a block away. They’ll be open soon.”

“Did you bring my wallet?”

Ed’s body pulled out his wallet from his pocket.

“Yes. I understand money.”

“We could leave now. By the time we arrive, they’ll be open.”

“My, you’re in a hurry. Sure, let’s take a walk. I haven’t had a walk in ages. It should help build up my appetite.”

Ed’s body stood and ambled along. Ed floated along beside. This was all kinds of surreal. Flora spoke with Ed’s voice, but the mannerisms were hers.

“During my lifetime, the road and the sidewalk weren’t paved like now.”

“The road surface is for cars and other vehicles. You’ve probably seen them.”

“I have. I even took a bus ride earlier. They move so fast compared to horse-drawn carriages.”

“I’m glad you got to experience that. Some day, I could drive you in my car.”

“I’ll hold you to that. This brief excursion will provide me with ample to share back at the restaurant.”

“As long as I can get my body back, we can continue our friendship, and I can provide you with further experiences to share.”

“I said your body is fine. You can have it back soon enough,” she said.

Ed hoped this was the case.

Ed and his body arrived at the diner just as they opened. They took a booth by the window.

“Try the coffee,” said Ed.

Flora in Ed’s body ordered a full breakfast, including coffee and orange juice.

Ed watched his body eating. Flora was almost moaning in ecstasy.

“You’re certainly enjoying yourself.”

“Imagine decades in a restaurant, watching others eating pasta. This will keep me from going insane.”

“I can imagine.”

Ed’s body ate a rasher of bacon and sighed.

“This is so incredible.”

“Eat up. Don’t miss any of the deliciousness,” said Ed.

“Don’t worry, I will enjoy every morsel.”

Flora in Ed’s body ate until the plate was empty. Then she looked at him.

“Well, you gave me my request. Now for the tricky part.”

Ed’s body leaned back in the booth and closed his eyes.

With a tearing sensation, Flora pulled out from Ed’s body. She floated to one side and looked at Ed.

“It’s all yours.”

“I don’t know how to get into my body,” said Ed.

“Float exactly within your body, then will yourself to take control.”

“Alright.”

Ed did as she said. It took a little effort to adjust the position of his spectral form.

He imagined getting into his car and turning on the ignition. A moment later, he was back. He opened his eyes and looked at Flora.

“I got it!” he said, a little too loud. One of the waitresses looked at him with a funny expression.

“Can you get back to the restaurant? I have to get home and I’m late for work,” said Ed.

“Certainly. Thank you again for the loan of your body and the experience of breakfast.”

“Please don’t encourage the others. I don’t intend to offer this to anyone else.”

“Of course. So what you’re saying is that I’m a special case.” Flora had a grin on her face. Ed was so relieved to be in his body. He didn’t notice he’d missed a lot of sleep.

Ed paid for his breakfast and they left the diner. Flora floated off towards the Italian restaurant, while Ed hurried towards the bus stop.

The bus ride seemed to take longer than expected. Ed got off near his apartment complex.

He walked up to the entrance and realized he didn’t have his keys or his phone.

He turned and walked to the supervisor’s unit.

“I’m sorry, but I left my keys inside. I’m locked out,” he said.

The supervisor walked him up to his floor. There, the supervisor used a master key and let him inside.

“Here they are!” Ed held up his keys.

The supervisor shook his head before leaving.

This was when Ed realized he felt tired. He turned on the shower and was soon rinsing away his troubles. At least his body had eaten breakfast.

Ed dressed and grabbed his keys and phone. He drove to work and pulled up outside Dysnatech. He was about an hour late.

On his way to his cubicle, he crossed paths with the boss. Ed apologized, saying he’d make up the time. Fortunately, his productivity recently had earned him some measure of forgiveness.

Back at his cubicle, Ed called Ellen.

“Hello, Ed.” She said.

“Ellen, something happened last night. Can we meet this evening?”

“Sure. See you after work.”

Ed hung up and got on with his software bug fixes. He needed to keep up his stats.

At quitting time, Ed left work and drove directly to Ellen’s home.

The security guard waved him through, and he drove up to the front door.

Ellen was waiting for him when he arrived.

After he exited the car, Ellen embraced him in a hug.

“You looked like you needed that,” she said.

“Thank you. Can we talk inside?”

She let go and took his hand and they walked inside together. Soon, they reached the family room.

Ed sat down on the sofa, with Ellen beside him.

“Okay, spill it,” she said.

“Last night I had an out-of-body experience.”

“Wow! And without a coma, too.”

“I was sleeping. It was unexpected and very scary. I didn’t know what to do. So, I traveled to police headquarters in search of Conner. He wasn’t there, but I found Sara, and she said I should return to my body. When I got to my apartment, my body was gone.”

“Double wow!”

“I know. Conner helped me track down my body. Another ghost had taken possession of it and took it downtown. Fortunately, I convinced the ghost to give it back to me.”

“I’m glad you did, or we wouldn’t be talking here. Now we have something else in common. We’re both spirit walkers!” Ellen grinned.

“You may be on to something. You said before Ahote told you about spirit walking,” said Ed.

“He did, yes. Not much more, though.”

“Perhaps he knows more about it. I’m afraid to sleep, because I might spirit walk again.”

“We should talk to him then. Maybe he can set your mind at ease.”

“I don’t have his number, but I think Washta will. I’ll call her.” Ed took out his phone and called Washta.

“Hello?” asked Washta.

“Washta, this is Ed. I must contact Ahote for some advice. Do you have his number?”

“Sure. I can have him meet you at my place. How soon can you get here?”

“About forty minutes. I’ll bring Ellen with me.”

“Okay. I missed her at the last gathering. See you then, Ed.”

The call ended.

“Ellen, we’re going to see him tonight,” said Ed.

Ed and Ellen walked out to Ed’s car. Her security detail pulled up behind in an SUV.

“Let’s go,” said Ellen.

Ed drove to Washta’s home, followed by the SUV. They both pulled up outside.

Ellen exited the car and talked to her security detail. She returned to Ed.