004-01 An Occidental Book of the Dead

An Occidental Book of the Dead, by J. Michael Shell. This is part one of three. Malcolm Stark kept an appointment with his soul to meet in a dream, and died in his sleep. As they walked, arms around shoulders, through that twilit place, his soul let something silver fall from its hand, and left [...]

An Occidental Book of the Dead, by J. Michael Shell. This is part one of three.

Malcolm Stark kept an appointment with his soul to meet in a dream, and died in his sleep. As they walked, arms around shoulders, through that twilit place, his soul let something silver fall from its hand, and left it lying in the too-green grass.

The relief Malcolm felt was that of a husband watching his in-laws leave after an extended visit. His soul had never gotten along with his life, but in the end the animosity had become a palpable thing. Even so, the two had remained close, and Malcolm had tried to take his soul’s advice whenever he could divine what that cryptic character was trying to tell him.