Tissue alert: Beware of crying jags

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Shortcuts
by Terry Volkirch

Chapter 26

While Sarah had been crying over her father, Erin's spirit, Aaron, paid a visit to Mister Guile, who was still leaning back against his desk in the classroom, shivering a little from the cold air that came through the large hole in the wall.

"The wager is canceled," Aaron said.

Mister Guile slowly nodded.

"I don't mean to sound like I'm gloating but I would've won the wager. You wouldn't have been able to corrupt Sarah."

The dark being, in human form, turned to look at Aaron with tired eyes. "You can't know that."

"I've seen her soul. I'm sure."

"What about some of the damage she caused? She didn't pay to fix it all."

"At least not yet. She fully intends to though. She's still waiting for the shadow agency to bill her for the stairwell door that she tore off. They won't do it though. They consider it paid in full after all she's done for them and the country."

The dark being grumbled but didn't have a response. There was nothing he could say because Aaron was right. Sarah was pure of heart and always would be.

As the two of them stood near each other, neither looking at the other, Aaron took the time to remove the paranormal abilities from Sarah. He did leave her with a gift though. He let her keep all of the knowledge and physical skills that she accumulated. She'd still be fluent in seven languages besides English. She'd have her makeup skills, her self-defense skills, and even her dog whisperer knowledge. The higher being actually considered it to be payment for all that she did for him, showing him what it meant to be human as well as pure of spirit. Sarah would always be his spiritual soul mate and he'd never forget her.

Susan waited in her car, only half listening to the radio. She'd heard the news updates about her daughter and drove to the school, wisely parking a couple of blocks away. As soon as Golden Girl defeated the demon, she calmly got out of her car and walked to the school, zigzagging through a maze of news vans, emergency vehicles and pieces of broken up cars.

In the chaos that followed, the battle, school administrators led the students and teachers back to the lunch room to await worried parents. They tried to be at least a little orderly, announcing parents as they arrived to match up with their children.

When Susan had her turn to be announced, no one answered. Sarah wasn't in the lunch room and no one knew what to do. The mother knew, or thought she did. She believed her daughter to be flying somewhere as Golden Girl, looking for a safe place to clean up and turn back into Sarah. The woman still had no idea what had happened to her husband.

She went back outside and saw a few camera crews wrapping up their reports. She also saw the fire department dealing with the burned out wreckage of several cars. Luckily, she was spared the sight of Erin's lifeless body being quietly taken away, the only death from the battle. Nothing much else was going on so she wandered around the school grounds. She felt restless for some reason and didn't feel like waiting inside the school.

A concerned police officer noticed her after she'd been walking for more than thirty minutes. She seemed a little cold and almost in shock. He didn't realize that she was mostly just emotionally numb. It wasn't the first time she'd had to endure the real possibility of losing her daughter. The shadow agency caused more than a little concern early on and she dealt with all the trouble fairly well. The only thing that truly concerned her was the increasing frequency of criminal activity that led up to the major battle. She couldn't help wondering what was next. The battle was a grim reminder of just how dangerous it could be for a superhero. Superpowers seemed to invite super problems.

'It's all fun and games,' she thought, 'until someone gets hurt.'

"Excuse me, ma'am," the concerned policeman said as he slowly approached the woman. "Can I help you? You seem a little lost."

"Oh, no, officer. I'm just waiting for my daughter. She's a senior here."

The man looked a little sick then.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah. Sure. Your daughter doesn't have red hair, does she?"

Susan shook her head no. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh," he breathed a sigh of relief. "One of the girls was… attacked by the creature."

"Is she okay?"

"I… I don't think so, ma'am."

Susan frowned, hoping it wasn't who she thought it was. Erin immediately came to mind, having red hair and having been so close to her daughter and Golden Girl. It wouldn't surprise to learn that the redhead had tried to help her daughter. "I'm sorry to hear that," she finally said quietly, not knowing what else to say.

"What's your name? I can check for information on your daughter if you like. There were no other fatalities from the incident, unless you count the heart attack victim, so she should be okay."

"Somebody had a heart attack? What happened?"

"I don't really know, ma'am. Now about your name?"

"Oh. Yes. My name is Susan McHenry. My daughter's name is Sarah McHenry."

The man immediately looked sick again. "Your husband's name wouldn't be Matthew, would it?"

Susan's eyes went wide. "My husband?! My husband had the heart attack?! Where is he?! I want to see him! Matthew! Matthew!!" She started getting hysterical. First her daughter battling a monster, then hearing about Erin and now her husband. It was too much for her.

The policeman worried for the woman's safety so he quickly grabbed her in a hug to restrain her. He tried whispering soothing words in her ear to calm her down but it didn't work very well. She cried for over fifteen minutes before she calmed down enough for the man to release her. He quietly led her to his squad car and drove her to the hospital.

Susan was reunited with her daughter at the hospital where they'd taken her husband, who was pronounced dead on arrival. Sarah led her mother to the room with the man's body and left her alone to say goodbye. It was a long forty five minutes.

The upset woman came out of the room with red, moist eyes, stopping to stand next to her daughter who sat nearby in a chair.

Sarah noticed her mother but didn't get up. She looked at her mother's feet as she spoke, "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry."

Susan looked down at her daughter and placed her hand on the girl's head. "It's not your fault, dear. He did this to himself."

"But he wouldn't have died if…."

Her mother shushed her. "We tried talking to him but nothing worked. He did it to himself," she said firmly.

Sarah sniffed back a tear. "I could've saved him if I got to him soon enough."

Susan remembered about her daughter's healing power and shook her head. "You were busy. Please. Don't do this. Not here."

The distraught girl broke down and cried then, with her mother standing next to her, the woman's hand still on her daughter's head. The woman didn't cry. She was all out of tears. She just needed to stand by her daughter and show that there was nothing to forgive. Matthew's death wasn't the girl's fault.

Spring vacation had been moved up to the week after Golden Girl's major battle. It gave time for repairs, both to the school and to the emotional health of the students. No one but Sarah had been close to Erin so it didn't take a lot of time for an emotional recovery. The schedule change was more a convenience for the school.

Students returned to the school after the break to find nothing had really changed other than one student being gone. Sarah had transitioned far enough before the incident that no one noticed she'd become one hundred percent girl after it. Not even the teaching staff changed. That surprised Sarah when she showed up to her Government class.

Mister Guile gave the girl a wink and launched into a normal lecture. She'd eventually have a private talk with him and find out that he felt responsible for some reason. He didn't explain why but she suspected that he actually did care about the students and liked teaching. He just wouldn't admit it.

Sarah didn't know it but she'd been as much of a good influence on the dark being as she had with everyone else in her life. She actually cared about him, and having someone care for him made it hard for him not to care back.

One other unusual thing occurred not long after the battle with the demon, but it was only unusual for Sarah. A mysterious man named Michael showed up claiming to be Erin's guardian. He came to make arrangements for the redhead's funeral and offer some of Erin's possessions to Sarah.

Michael told the girl that she could keep everything that was stored in her drawer at home and she gratefully accepted. That still left a lot of other clothes and accessories but the only other thing of Erin's that Sarah would accept was the redhead's large, black and white hobo bag. Erin took the bag everywhere with her. If any part of Erin still existed in the physical world, it would be tied to her hobo bag. Sarah would always think of the bag as belonging to Erin. She was just keeping it for her, and using it a little since it held so much. Nothing wrong with that.

Michael had Erin's funeral inside a small, non-denominational church on a cold, rainy day. Only four people showed up to pay their respects to the deceased girl. That didn't surprise Sarah, but it did sadden her. She felt that Erin deserved a bigger and better funeral. There should've been more friends and relatives. It took her a little while to remind herself that Erin wasn't really human.

The redhead didn't have any real family, not on Earth. And she didn't have any friends except for Sarah and possibly Sarah's mother. Susan had interacted enough with Erin to feel close to her in spite of the little bit of friction between them.

Besides Sarah and her mother, Mister Guile showed up along with Michael of course. The pastor had everyone stand while he read a single bible passage and then a poem that was inspired by the Buddhist philosophy on death. That was it. The funeral was over barely after it began. Sarah felt it should be longer. There should be more to the funeral than two short readings. She had to look at Michael's beatific smile to once again be reminded of Erin's true status.

Almost immediately after the pastor finished and left, Michael moved over in front of Susan and took both of her hands in his. He continued smiling but didn't say anything to her. Sarah thought her mother would start crying but the woman just smiled dreamily back at the man. He next moved to Sarah, briefly hugged her and pulled back. "Please. Don't ever change," he told her. The girl shyly looked down at his feet and blushed. She didn't see him greet Mister Guile with a very subtle nod and follow after the pastor.

Mister Guile cleared his throat to get Sarah's attention. It was his turn to leave, and just before he did so, he smiled at her and it didn't creep her out at all. It was warm and kind and she didn't know what to do with it. It didn't make sense. Everyone smiled. There should be crying, lots of crying. Why wasn't anyone crying?

Sarah cried then. She cried for her loss. She'd miss her redheaded friend terribly. Erin would be okay. Sarah knew that, but she was human and humans could be selfish, especially when it came to the death of loved ones. She moved to sit on the front pew and cried her eyes out. It was the least she could do to mourn the loss of her spiritual soul mate.

The McHenry family held Matthew's funeral outside two weeks after Golden Girl's last battle on a cool, cloudy day. It was a small, somber affair that was mostly attended by close family members and Matthew's gun buddies. It also included two men from the military, who showed up to offer a folded American flag to Susan. The grieving wife took the flag with grace and handed it off to her daughter to tuck away in Erin's hobo bag.

Sarah stayed glued to her mother's side throughout most of the funeral, barely saying a word to anyone. Not even Brian could get her to talk. He couldn't even get her to look at him. The concerned boy vowed to keep an eye on her after that.

Several days before the funeral, Brian found out enough from Susan to know that Sarah no longer had any paranormal abilities. She could be vulnerable and he wanted to help protect her. He knew she was still a martial arts master but everyone had their limits. Her martial arts couldn't protect her from depression.

Sarah was surprised to see Mister Guile at the funeral. Her otherworldly Government teacher stood next to a strange man with very light skin and blonde hair that was so pale it was nearly white. The pale man stood a lot taller than Mister Guile, taller than Sarah with her three inch heels, and though he wore a long, black coat like most everyone else, he made quite a contrast to the short, dark man next to him. She didn't feel like going near Mister Guile but something about the pale man seemed to call to her, and she couldn't resist. She excused herself from her mother and went over to see the two men.

As she approached, she kept her eyes fixed on the tall man. His eyes caught hers and they shared a moment. She thought she recognized something in his eyes and couldn't look away for the longest time. It felt like a soul cuddle.

'That's ridiculous,' she thought. 'This is so not happening.'

She tried to talk herself out of thinking that the pale man could be Erin, but she couldn't help herself. On impulse, she hugged him, and something told her that Erin would be okay, wherever she ended up.

After breaking away from the hug, she turned to Mister Guile. The dark little man looked up and away from her as if to say that he didn't expect or even want a hug. She hugged him anyway. It didn't last nearly as long as the hug she gave the pale man but it was genuine. She could forgive and forget anything.

"Thank you both for coming," she told them before she went back to her mother's side. It was the only thing she said the whole day.

Fashion Divinity literally faded away after Erin's death. The store disappeared from the mall and everyone who worked at the mall barely remembered its existence. It was almost like it never existed.

Sarah knew it'd existed though, and she remembered her sales experience and everything that Stella had taught her. She'd need those skills to get another job, and she started looking for that next, perfect job right away after her father's funeral. She and her mother needed the money. Her father didn't have a very good life insurance policy.

It hurt her but she decided to avoid Brian for the time being. He radiated grief about Golden Girl and she had enough grief of her own. She also still had strong feelings for him and didn't need the distraction. Her family needed money and she needed a job. Job hunting was her number one priority for the near future and she went at it with a vengeance.

The mall that she used to work at was an obvious choice. She started looking there, and when no opportunities presented themselves, she ended up going to other malls. She targeted the nicer, high-end women's clothing stores because that's what she was best at and it was what she wanted to do. The determined girl also hit all of the women's departments in the large department stores. She really wanted a job, and it wasn't long before she got one.

Getting a job proved difficult with her lack of references. The disappearance of her previous workplace meant that she couldn't use it as a reference so she had to prove herself. She had to be creative. All she needed was a chance, and she got her chance when she interviewed with the store manager of an upscale boutique. She developed a good rapport very soon into the interview and ran with it.

The manager's first name was Mary, and in spite of dressing formally, Mary insisted on using first names. The woman encouraged a casual working relationship between employees to balance the expected formal relationship with customers. She was slender and average height with blonde hair and blue eyes. She reminded Sarah of her Crystal persona and Sarah hoped to use that to her advantage. The former superheroine had some good practice selecting outfits that looked good on a shorter, slender blonde woman.

Mary soon asked the right question to give Sarah the chance she needed. She asked the job seeker about the best way to start the new job and Sarah had a good answer.

"First, I'd get to know the store layout and become familiar with all of the merchandise, which I've already done for this store. I gave everything a good look and committed it to memory before the interview."

Mary nodded. "Impressive. And I like your drive. But why should I hire you over someone else with more experience? I mean, your hair and makeup are gorgeous and your outfit is very professional but according to your resume you don't have a lot of experience."

"I have some personal experience with friends and family, and just to show you I have a good eye for fashion, I'll tell you that there's a banana-colored belt here in your store that would look fantastic with that outfit you're wearing. I can show you which one I mean if you like."

Mary's interest was piqued, and Sarah soon led her to the yellow belt. As soon as the store manager saw it, her eyes lit up. She tried it on immediately and quickly checked herself out in the nearest full-length mirror. The belt complemented her outfit beautifully. She bought the belt, of course, and hired Sarah on the spot, laughing at being sold an item out of her own store.

The lack of a makeup department disappointed the newly hired girl since she could be considered a professional makeup artist, but she needed the job and experience. She'd do her best and work for at least a year before she'd consider looking for another job, assuming it was even necessary. Her new job had good potential.

Brian occasionally shadowed Sarah when she went job hunting, and he checked in on her after she found a job. He really did feel a need to protect her. He meant well.

The boy couldn't decide what to do about the Golden Girl fan club website. He didn't think it would be a good idea to relay messages from Sarah to keep the website going. Desperate and dangerous people might try to get to Golden Girl through him. They might not accept an apparent early retirement and they might rightly guess that he would know how to find her. Best to cut the world off and go cold turkey. He knew that much. But he wondered if the website might make a nice type of memorial and give fans a place to exchange stories and mourn together. It didn't seem right to shut it down. It would be difficult for him anyway. He mourned Golden Girl's passing more than anyone.

He kept thinking about Golden Girl as he followed Sarah, wondering if he'd ever see the blonde girl again. It didn't seem likely. The superheroine really was too good to be true. Seeing her in action was a dream come true. The time that he spent with her already felt more like a dream than a memory.

For the most part, Brian followed after Sarah and didn't normally get a good look at her face and her beautiful makeup. He didn't dare because seeing her face would mean that she had a chance of seeing him. He was trying to be discreet. That and he feared her martial arts skills. His imagination ran away with him sometimes, leading him to believe she might get angry if she caught him. She might get him in a vicious wrist lock or something. So he followed and hid, and he didn't realize that he'd been spending more and more time looking after her.

Some might consider his behavior to be stalking, though it was really more like hide-and-seek with himself. He was seeking something that he couldn't seem to find, and it wasn't until many hours of careful observation that the light finally dawned on him. Sarah was beautiful. He did eventually see her face but it wasn't just the girl's makeup and clothes that attracted him. The poise and quiet confidence that she showed at work shined through. That and her playful nature that often pounced on him when they got together. He thought back to some of their conversations and realized that she'd always been a good friend, mostly the same friend that she'd been as Lester except now in a very attractive package. He didn't understand why he couldn't see it before. Sarah would've playfully punched him in the arm and called him an idiot at that moment if she could've read his thoughts. He had been an idiot.

Sarah walked out of the store for her dinner break one evening to find Brian sitting on a bench across from the boutique. The boy had a big smile and a bouquet of flowers waiting for her and she smiled back at him.

"Hi Bri," she said with a playful grin. "Did you get a girlfriend or something? Those are beautiful flowers."

"What? No! They're for you." He held them out to her.

She took them and sighed. They were beautiful, and they smelled wonderful, but they were a little bit of an inconvenience. She held up a finger to Brian, telling him to wait, and trotted back inside to the break room to take care of the flowers.

A coworker came in and grinned at her. "Is that your boyfriend out front? He's a hunk!"

Sarah nodded. "He certainly is. And it looks like we're going to have dinner together. Wish me luck!"

The other young woman looked puzzled. "Luck for what?" She shook her head when she didn't receive an answer. The girl was already gone.

Brian stood up and Sarah took his arm in hers. They walked off to dinner to reaffirm their close friendship and start something new. They couldn't imagine being with anyone other than each other.

Sarah's room had long since been redecorated in a color scheme of lavender with sage green walls. She managed to afford a nice, new dresser and a small, separate vanity in a matching style. Her boy clothes had been given away and her room finally suited her feminine tastes and held only feminine things except for one tired, old exception.

She sat on the old chair in her bedroom, very still so as not to provoke a squeak. She wanted the silence to sit and think. The loss of her paranormal abilities didn't really affect her much and she wondered about that. She missed not being able to fly and not having her ability to control her focus. Noises really bothered her now. They were hard to tune out. She also missed helping people, but she didn't miss her self-obligation to deal with criminals. Better to avoid the whole deal. She couldn't have one without the other.

The former superheroine still had master level knowledge of aikido and other martial arts. Self-defense would never be a problem. Her knowledge of paramilitary tactics stuck around, though she couldn't imagine ever using it. She retained a lot of knowledge actually, much of it useless. Ancient types of nomadic housing and the making of stone tools wouldn't benefit anyone except perhaps an anthropologist, and while her dog and horse whisperer information interested her, she had no interest in working with animals. She could see herself buying a dog someday. Then it might come in handy.

She smiled. There was one bit of knowledge that she happily kept. She used it everyday, making it an obvious favorite. It was her makeup skill, or perhaps art was a better word to describe it. Applying makeup was as much an art form as it was a skill. She loved it. Her boyfriend seemed to appreciate it too. He appreciated the results anyway.

The knowledge she kept helped a lot to make up for the loss of her paranormal abilities, but she did still miss those abilities, and if she had to choose her biggest reason to miss them, it would have to be how they gave the world hope. She had sympathy for the rest of the world. Golden Girl was no more. The superheroine hadn't been seen in months and the world mourned. Virtually everyone mourned for one reason or another, not all of them exactly good. The good reasons were fairly obvious. The bad ones were best not mentioned.

A very large number of people missed the amazing displays of power and kindness in how that power was used. Golden Girl had given them proof that the human race could achieve great things, yet without seeing those regular displays of greatness, future generations would slowly forget or even believe that Golden Girl ever existed. It was just too fantastic. Unless one or more others could elevate themselves to a much higher level, Golden Girl would slowly become a legend and move on to myth status, and it was hard to aspire to be a myth. Humans might eventually reach for the stars, and they just might light their hair on fire. Maybe, someday. But not today.

Goodbye Golden Girl.

© 2015 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.