The Borrowed Souls: A Novel

by Paul B. Kohler

  Hauser’s brow tightened as he listened to my update. He nodded his head. “Trust me, Jack. If I said you’d find him here, then he’ll be here. Continue.”

  “Continue with what? That’s it. I’ve been through the hospital more times than I can count, and I can’t find a Calvin anywhere. That’s what.”

  “Well, first off, I believe you’re on the wrong floor.”

  “I only come down to the emergency wing thinking that Calvin might be coming in through an ambulance. I’ve spent the majority of my time up on the seventh floor. There’s no Calvin there either. Trust me. I’ve looked.”

  “Relax, Jack. I know you’re frustrated. I knew this would be a difficult collection from the very beginning.”

  Not exactly listening to Hauser, I continued. “I really thought with a unique name like Calvin, this collection would be so much simpler than how it has played out.”

  “Normally your process here would certainly produce desirable results. But for this soul, you might as well just throw all of that out the window.”

  “I don’t follow,” I said.

  “What I mean is that tracking down a soul by only the first name might be successful if the soul you were here to collect was actually inside a living person. Jack, the soul you are here to collect has not even been born yet. We need to go up to the second floor, to the maternity ward.”

  “What the hell?” I snapped. “You knew this was going to be a newborn baby and you didn’t say a word?”

  “Well, you did say you wanted to collect the soul on your own,” Hauser said with a smirk.

  “Okay, okay. I get it. I messed up. I shouldn’t have gotten cocky. But how did you know?”

  Hauser began walking toward the stairwell. “I knew because I’ve collected souls from newborn babies numerous times over the years. I knew from the moment the blank box first arrived. Then, when the first name etched in, I figured I’d let you run with it. With the first name provided, it should have been a lot easier than how it was for me.”

  “Care to enlighten me?” I asked.

  “The way I had it, I didn’t get a name on my first newborn box. You see, the parents I had refused to name their child until the moment it was born. So I had to sit around for seventy-two hours until the box finally engraved. Once it did, it was a matter of deduction that led me to the dying child.”

  As we approached the stairwell door, we slowed our pace until the crowd around us dissipated. Once it was clear, Hauser blasted through the door and began the ascent to the second level.

  “How’d you do that?” I asked. “Were you in a hospital? Or was this before hospitals were even invented?”

  “Ha ha, smart ass. I’m old, but I’m not that old,” Hauser said. “Yes, much like you, I maintained my presence in a local hospital. And because of where my location was then, there weren’t very many births, so it was quite easy to locate.”

  As we stepped out into the second-floor hallway, I tried to imagine what Hauser’s experience had been like.

  “And that’s it? You walk into the room and snatch the soul from a crying baby?”

  “Taking a soul is never easy, Jack. You know that now, right? Just because the baby has no previous life experiences doesn’t make it any easier.”

  Awkwardly, we stood in front of the glass wall surrounding the nursery in silence. We looked upon a dozen clear bassinets, with an infant wearing either a pink or baby-blue knitted cap inside each.

  “Well, I guess we can at least eliminate any of the pink hats,” I said. “But without a last name, how do we know which is the correct baby?”

  Hauser pulled out his pocket watch and reviewed its face. A moment later he snapped it shut. “Well, none of these babies are your soul borrower. We’re still early, and your child has yet to be born. Until that happens, we’re going to have to do a little sleuthing in the matter.”

  “Sleuthing?” I asked.

  “That’s right, we’re going to have to do a room-by-room search. See if we can find any clues on who our mother-to-be is.”

  “Don’t you think that’s what I’ve been doing for the last two weeks?”

  “Obviously. But you were on the wrong floor entirely.”

  “Yeah, yeah. So you keep reminding me,” I said. “So, wise sage, how do you propose that we proceed?”

  “We’ll just have to go into each birthing room and see if there’s any indication on which mothers are having boys and then narrow it down from there. If there’s conversation in the room, we’ll listen for talk about baby names.”

  I sighed louder than I expected to. Hauser looked at me sideways, cocking his brow in question.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Hauser, but I almost prefer it to your old way.

  “Boy, that’s the lazy way. Whether you like it or not, we’re going to do this. You need to learn to be proactive in these kinds of scenarios. And to make sure that you’re not phoning this in, we’re going to do this together.”

  “Oh, joy,” I said as I pushed through the first door on my right.

  Chapter 3

  When I entered, I was surprised by the number of people that could actually fit in a room that was only fifteen foot square. Besides the mother-to-be, there must have been an additional dozen people waiting for the birth of the child. Fortunately, nobody paid any attention to me entering the room. Within seconds, Hauser materialized right next to me.

  “You know, champ, you have certain skills that allow you to move about much more discreetly.”

  I nodded my head in agreement. “Yeah, I wasn’t thinking when I pushed on the door. I’ll be more cautious in the future . . . oh wise one.”

  Hauser winked and then moved through the crowd and stepped up to the bed. I followed, trying not to run into any of the people present.

  “Well? Tell me what you see,” Hauser said.

  I surveyed the room, noticing a plethora of teddy bears and balloons scattered about—gifts from loving family members, no doubt. As I glanced down at the mother-to-be, I noted that she looked to be in good spirits but wore an air of tiredness. The man standing next to her, his hand woven into hers, was presumably her husband. He looked equally exhausted. The remaining people, all extended family, most likely, gave me no indication.

  “I, uh, without looking at the medical charts, I . . . I’m out.”

  “What? You give up so easily?” Hauser said. “This one’s an ace. Do you see all of the gifts?”

  I looked around, taking in the deluge of gift-shop balloons and stuffed animals once again. I shrugged.

  “Tell me, Jack. Were you color-blind before you became a soul collector, or is this a recent condition?”

  The moment Hauser mentioned color, it hit me. All the balloons were pink. The couple were having a girl. I shook my head in disappointment and vanished.

  I appeared outside the next room and waited for Hauser. Within seconds, he appeared next to me.

  “There are signs everywhere, Jack. All you have to do is pay attention.”

  “Yeah, I’m not sure how I missed that one.”

  I stepped toward the door, and as I reached for the handle, Hauser gripped my shoulder and pulled me back.

  “You know, we really don’t have to go through each of these rooms when the medical chart is hanging right outside the door,” Hauser said as he nodded to the familiar aluminum clipboard hanging next to the doorway.

  Pulling the chart from the wall, I flipped it open and scanned through the pertinent information. Inside, there was the mother’s and the father’s names, along with their relevant medical histories. About midway down the page, there was a notation about the sex of the child. A capital F was present. Without wasting another moment, I flipped the chart closed and reattached it to the hook.

  “Next,” I said as I moved toward the next door.

  Unfortunately, the next birthing room had no medical chart hanging outside, making our job slightly more difficult. I glanced at Hauser before raising my eyebrows and vanishing.


  Popping into the room, we were met by a number of people. The pregnant woman in bed, her husband at her side, a slew of nurses, and a doctor sitting on a stool between the woman’s legs.

  Before I could comprehend the situation, the birth was already happening.

  “Okay, Wilma. Are you ready?”

  Wilma leaned forward slightly, her cheeks covered in tears. She nodded, then gripped her husband’s hand. “I think so.”

  “It’s time to push. Can you give me a solid effort?” asked the doctor.

  In response, Wilma grunted and screamed as she pushed.

  I glanced at Hauser, who was wide-eyed with anticipation. Personally, I had never witnessed a live birth in my life. And to tell the truth, the situation kind of gave me the willies. I thought back to my days in high school, when I’d freak out at the sight of blood. Now here I was at the precipice of life, and I wasn’t sure how I would react.

  I moved to the side of the bed, opposite of Wilma’s husband, and looked toward the doctor. He was barely visible over the draped cloth covering Wilma’s legs. Hauser, on the other hand, was completely visible. He stood directly behind the doctor, hunched over and looking up into the birth canal.

  “Are you kidding me?” I asked.

  “What? I find this all very exciting,” he said.

  “Okay then, any idea on the sex of this child? Is this something we really need to be sticking around for?” I pleaded.

  “And miss the birth of a new life? No sir, I’m staying right here,” he said, refocusing his attention between Wilma’s legs.

  I shook my head and looked around the room for any indication of gender. Unfortunately, the room was bare of any form of congratulatory paraphernalia. I did, however, locate the medical chart lying on the table next to the bed. I attempted to open it, at least to the first page, but as Wilma’s husband continued to look in my direction, the chart wouldn’t budge.

  As I continued to search the room for a sign, any indication, the doctor continued to give instructions to Wilma and her husband. Hauser remained stationary behind the doctor. After surrendering to the fact that we would have to wait for the birth to occur, I moved to Hauser’s side to see exactly what had captured his interest.

  “Huh, this . . . isn’t quite what I was expecting to see,” I said as I peered over the doctor’s shoulder.

  “It’s not like the doctor’s performing some kind of a gruesome autopsy on the woman, Jack. He’s helping her bring new life into this world. I think it’s quite beautiful.”

  Within moments I could see the crown of the baby’s head between Wilma’s legs. Centimeter by centimeter, the newborn squeezed through the birth canal, and suddenly a brand-new baby boy was out and alive. The doctor expertly received the child and swiftly laid it atop the mother’s stomach. Then, one of the nurses handed the doctor a number of medical instruments for him to clamp and sever the umbilical cord. A minute later another nurse scooped up the newborn and presented it to the parents.

  “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Coulter. I present you your son.”

  Wilma took the quietly crying baby from the nurse and gently laid it across her chest. Then she looked up at her husband and said, “My God, honey. Isn’t he beautiful? What are we going to name him?”

  The husband, who stood valiantly next to his wife, changed three shades of white. It was clear that he was overwhelmed with emotion.

  “I think we should name him Neil, after your dad.”

  “Yes. I’d like that. I only wish he was here to see this,” Wilma said between her own sobs of happiness.

  Fighting back my own emotional outburst, I vanished from the room.

  I popped back in the hallway right outside the most wonderful spectacle of life that I’d ever witnessed. I leaned against the wall and wiped my eyes dry before Hauser arrived.

  “Wow. What a beautiful moment,” Hauser said, leaning against the wall next to me.

  “Yeah, it was quite something.”

  At that moment I knew, as sure as I’ve known anything else in my entire existence, I was not cut out for this job. How on earth was I going to be able to collect a soul from a newborn baby after witnessing that?

  “I understand, kid, but it’s not our choice,” Hauser said, answering my thoughts.

  “But how can you say that after what we just saw?” I asked, pushing myself away from the wall. I paced back and forth in front of Hauser before I continued. “I mean, that was . . . extraordinary.”

  “I agree, Jack, but some things are out of our control.”

  “Can’t we save him? Like I did with Noah? And like you’ve done numerous times in the past, on your own?”

  Hauser fell into stride beside me and we continued walking down the hallway. “Listen, Jack. Just because you were able to make a change with Noah doesn’t mean that you can make a change for everyone. Not all souls can be saved. And trust me when I tell you this, some souls are better off dying.”

  Hauser’s words stung like a swarm of bees. “How can you say that? Isn’t every life precious?”

  “Well, according to you, only the good people should live and the bad people should die. Isn’t that what you tried to tell me just a couple weeks ago?”

  “Jesus, Hauser, why do you always have to throw that shit back in my face? You know what I mean here. This child, this Calvin, hasn’t even had a chance to live and here we are, ready to take his soul without question. Don’t you think there’s something a little bit demented about that?”

  “Relax, Jack. There are reasons why we do our job without question—”

  “And I’m questioning it. I don’t think this is right, to take this life away from loving parents. Losing a child at birth is going to decimate their lives. And I won’t be any part of it.”

  “Come now. Be reasonable about this—”

  “No. I am being reasonable. I refuse to collect the soul,” I stated firmly and walked away. As I neared the adjacent corridor, I vanished.

  Chapter 4

  When I appeared at my bench, all I could think about was how unfair life really was. Over the years I’d heard from many people about the magic of childbirth. I’d heard about how wonderful and life-changing the event really was. But without ever experiencing it firsthand, I’d always assumed that those people were exaggerating greatly. Now, after witnessing just a single childbirth firsthand, I knew that assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. For as long as Cyndi and I had wanted children, I’d never really considered what it really was that we desired. I’d assumed what we wanted was something to love and raise as our own. Throughout all of those conversations with Cyndi, never once had I given thought to what it really meant to bring life into the world. Witnessing that childbirth would forever stain my mind. My soul. And if the Sentinel expected anything different from me, we were going to have a problem.

  As I sat alone, contemplating the situation, Hauser appeared in front of me. He stood, his feet shoulder width apart and his hands on his hips. He glared down at me as a disappointed father might. I stared back and uncontrollably rolled my eyes.

  “What’s going on, Jack?” Hauser asked. “One minute you’re fine, and then the next you storm off like a child that didn’t get his way.”

  “Well I guess I didn’t really know what I was signing up for when I took Wilson’s soul. I’m sorry, but I never really asked for this.”

  “No, I suppose you didn’t. But the fact of the matter is, you accepted Wilson’s offer, and according to the Sentinel you are expected to carry out that responsibility.” Hauser’s stare relented slightly as he sat down next to me. “What we have, Jack, is a responsibility. Yes, it’s a difficult proposition, but it really is quite spectacular, what we do. We’ve been given the opportunity to maintain the balance of humankind. Whether you see it like that or not is totally up to you.”

  “But what about Noah? How was saving his soul even possible? How is that keeping the balance? You and I both know perfectly well that what I did there was t
he right thing to do.”

  “Jack, I don’t know that. And how can you? For all we know, Noah might turn out to be wife-beating baby rapist—”

  “Stop it. Just stop. Based on everything that we’ve witnessed so far in his life, I made the absolute right decision. And there’s nothing you can do to take that away from me.” I turned away from Hauser, hoping to screen my thoughts. Talking about Noah had brought up the thought of changing yet another soul’s future.

  “Jack, you can’t. Just because you were able to save Noah does not entitle you to save every single soul that you come across. Sometimes, you just have to do your job—without question. You are not judge and jury, and neither am I. We cannot continue in this godlike way.”

  Why does he keep telling me I’m trying to play God when all I want to do is save a soul, I wondered.

  Why can’t he just get it through his thick head? This child’s soul is not worth the agony and potential sacrifice of something far greater. If he could just only understand that—

  “How can you say that, Hauser? How can you say that his soul is not worth a damn?”

  Hauser’s eyebrow arched slightly and he fidgeted nervously with his hands. “I’m sorry, Jack. I’m usually more in control of my thoughts. You were not meant to hear that. The good news is that it appears that you are developing your ability to read thoughts. Or is it all too late for that?”

  “Hauser, there is no good news about this entire fucked-up situation. Having this new ability is not my consolation prize for having to take the soul of an innocent child.”

  “No, I never said it was.”

  “But you certainly implied it. And maybe it is too late. I’m not sure if I want to continue this . . . this heartless job.”

  “What are you saying, Jack? Are you gonna quit on me?”

  I rose up from the bench and stood directly in front of Hauser. I looked down on him blankly. “Yeah, I guess I’m done. This isn’t what I signed up for.”

  “Well, sport I have news for you: you just can’t quit. You have an impending soul collection, and until that contract is filled, you’re on the clock.”