“Oh poor mortals, how ye make this world a bitter place for each other.”

-          Thomas Carlyle

Burns Living Flowers

What did I get myself into? What was I thinking? Taking a human into my house. I should have let the seekers take her. Who am I to deny a new soul to settle on this planet?
But this might be the only chance I get to study real human behavior. From a real human. How often does that happen?

The other planets I visited were already settled. There was little resistance there. This planet was very difficult to reorganize. There are still native inhabitants left. For the moment they are in hiding, but a few are still brought in every now and then.

At least, that’s what I’ve heard. I have to admit that I didn’t really believe it at first. Of course I knew there were still humans left. New settlers were coming to Earth on a regular basis. But that was always just a story. I would never have imagined that one day I would come face to face with one of the rebels.
She didn’t look very rebellious to me though, but I might have been fooling myself. After all, I didn’t even notice what she was at first.

I’ve been on Earth for a while now. I came with the early settlers, some two years ago. We have been on Earth a lot longer than humans realized. We weren’t with that many at first. We are always cautious when coming to a new planet. We don’t want to ruin anything, just make it better. But to do that you have to get to know the creatures you’re dealing with. Even though I didn’t come with the first shipment of souls, as we are called in human language, I know how it’s done on other planets.

I lived on Fire World. That was a nice planet. A lot warmer than Earth and not without danger. Though I do think Earth might be the most dangerous planet in the universe. It may even beat the Mist Planet with its claw beasts.

The thought causes a chuckle to escape from my throat. I picture the human girl next to the huge claw beast. It’s hard to imagine the human being the dangerous out of the two. But I should know appearances can be deceiving.

I lean one of the grocery bags on my hip as I take out my key to open the door. The girl must  be ready by now. She was in the shower when I left. Emma, was it? A pretty name. I wonder if it is pretty to humans too. I should ask her about that.
A frown makes its way towards my face. Will she be more open with me now? She seemed uncertain when I entered the room this morning. It must have been confusing to wake up in a strange environment.

I smile as I remember the hungry look on her face when she noticed the breakfast. She had told me she was hungry when I found her. How long had she gone without a decent meal? She is rather skinny. Well, that will change now. I made sure to pick up a lot of food. There wasn’t much left in the fridge in that area I’m afraid. I’ve been gone for a while. This planet is so fascinating. There are so many different plants and rocks to discover.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been a flower in my last life. Well, on this planet they would call it a flower, but the resemblance is barely noticeable. Still, l I can’t help to be drawn to the vegetation on this planet. I want to learn as much as possible. Maybe I’ll even stay here for more than one lifespan.

The house is silent, but maybe Emma has gone to sleep. She must be exhausted. Or perhaps she’s reading. I have a lot of books in my study. Does she like reading? I should probably make a list of all the things I want to ask her.
I’m not even sure what I want to know. Maybe I’m just looking for answers. What has happened to this planet? It’s such a lovely lace. It is something we, souls, could never understand. How could humans let such a beautiful planet go to waste and fight each other? Something like that is unheard of in the soul society. That’s why we go to other planets. To make things right again. To make it a peaceful world where everyone is equal and everyone is happy.

That’s why we got rid of all the money. Money is an asset to power. No one should hold power over another being. It’s not right.
That doesn’t mean there are no rules though. Some rules are perfectly fine. Take the speed limit for example. If everyone hold to that, it ensures our safety. And children should learn how to read and write, so there are still schools.

I smile to myself. There’s so much to learn from this planet.

I drop the groceries on the kitchen table. There’s still no other sound and I frown. “Emma?” I call out, but there’s no answer. I start putting the groceries away and then I notice there’s seemingly less food than there had been before I left. I’m certain there were two bottles of water in the fridge.

Both are gone.
Along with the leftover bread from this morning.
More things are missing.
She wouldn’t have… would she?
A sigh escapes my lips when I realize that she would. She’s human after all. To them, we are the monsters.
I don’t even have to search the house to know that she’s gone.
For a moment I just stand there. What should I do now? This was my only chance of research. But that’s not all. It’s pouring outside and she has no shelter. She has nowhere to go. Something can happen to her. I have to find her. The question is, where would she have gone? It is hard for me to imagine what a human would do in this kind of situation. And to be able to find her, I need to think like a human.

I sit down at the table and focus. When souls claim a body, the body’s memories fade over time, though the belonging feelings can remain.
For example, I can feel happy or sad or tired, because those feelings are human.
And this body is still human. I can even understand the negative emotions, because they belong to this host.
Some memories are stronger than others and some of them don’t go away. Memories of friends they had, the food they liked. That sort of thing stays behind in their subconscious.

Sometimes the souls takes over those trades of their host. I’ve seen it happen. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.
They’ll befriend the souls their host’s body was friends with or show interest in the same things as their host.
They are the ones that are monitored. Comforters, healers and sometimes seekers will keep a close eye on them to make sure the body has no defects. I’ve heard of situations like that too, though they are rare. And it’s a thing no one speaks of.

So, if I can think like a human, I might figure out where she would go.
I think back on where I found her. In the forest, on her own. Far away from any town. Away from civilization. She had told me she would have run. No ‘escape’. I should have paid more attention to her words. But I honestly thought that by being kind to her she would see that she could trust me.

The rain is a thick curtain now. Everything outside my window is covered in a grey haze. I’ve been gone for about an hour and a half. She couldn’t have gone far. I don’t think she would have taken a bus or another ride, so she’ll be on foot. I can catch up to her, if only I knew which direction she has taken.
Of course I can ask around. There have to be at least some people that have seen a girl matching her description.  I don’t have to mention that she’s human. I’ll make up an excuse.
An excuse, not a lie, I tell myself. Souls don’t lie.
I can say I found her wandering around and that I’m concerned about her since she’s alone in the storm. Which is true.
Or that she is my friend and that she’s upset with me. Which is also close enough to the truth to not be a lie.
Perhaps I don’t have to say anything. I could simply ask if they have seen her. Souls aren’t suspicious in the least.

The thought stops me cold. ‘Suspicion’. I shouldn’t even know the meaning of the word, let along question it or compare it to the nature of souls.

Human emotions can be unnerving.
I finish putting away the groceries and put a raincoat on. I debate for a moment whether or not I should take my car, but I might just miss her while driving. And if I’m on foot, it will be easier to ask questions.

The rain whips in my face as I close the door behind me. On days like these, I’d much prefer staying indoor, but I can’t rest until I’ve found Emma. I need to know she’s alright. It wouldn’t be right to just forget about her.

***

There are people that have seen her, but they all point me in different directions. It seems Emma has no idea where she’s going and is wandering around aimlessly. Or she is just trying to make sure no one will find her.

After an hour I have to give up. I’m not going to find her this way. She’s probably long gone by now. Out of this city I’ll have to wait for the rain to stop. Then I can search by car. She took food, so at least she won’t starve. I suppose she can hold out for a while, horrible as that sounds.

It feels like I’m abandoning her. A girl I don’t even know. A human girl.

When the rain has stopped I’ll go looking again. I just hope I’ll find her before the seekers do. It will be a shame to lose the only opportunity I have to do research on a human.