I couldn’t really say how long we toiled. I know that we orbited several dozen times around the Earth before I lost count. We saw a sunset or sunrise maybe every hour or so. Like flittering birds, we soared from debris to debris—working and groping and thrusting ourselves against the bits of junk until we cleared them from the tangled light. We soon lost our fear of space flight, learning how to angle our bodies and control our speed and direction.
With each subtle shift of junk, the Light grew stronger and the knot grew looser. Likewise, the tension between us swelled harder. Our efforts became more frantic, the both of us eager to see the journey’s end—and to have each other.
Eventually, the Light became strong enough to untangle itself from the smaller bits of junk, leaving us to handle only the larger obstructions. The last piece we moved was a chunk of what looked like a grey satellite dish over Australia. We shoved it as one, and then like a limp garden hose suddenly filled with water, the Light expanded itself. It circled around the earth in a series of interlocking ovals—brighter than anything I’d ever seen.
I shielded my eyes, but Shannon pulled my hands from my face.
From the spot where the Earth was closest to the Sun, a kind of portal yawned open. I’d heard of black holes before, but this was a white hole. A shaft of pure white light—gleaming bright as a pearl—stretched from the white hole down to the tangled mess of black souls bruising the atmosphere. By the portal’s light, the blackness faded away from the souls. They shone like soft ivory.
The souls rose into the Light—a parade of phantoms at long last ready for the ride of their afterlives.
We drifted closer to the long shaft of Light, hand-in-hand, transfixed by the spectacle before us. Old men, young women, naked babies, teenagers, Asians, punks, a one-armed man—all of them traipsed merrily together towards whatever came next. All sense of time dissipated. We watched as one by one, the Light drained the souls from the Earth.
Shannon tapped my shoulder and pointed. I followed her fingertip and saw Jeremy in the grand parade. I waved to him and he saluted back. Later, I spotted the young man and his older bride from the funeral home. And then George, with his charming smile and superb ass. We waved at them all, and I felt as though they should be tossing ghost candy to us.
When I thought the show couldn’t get any more amazing, a black hole opened not far from the white hole. From it, a shaft composed of swirling shadows pierced the atmosphere. Like some kind of demented water slide, new souls slid down the twisting length of the thing. They were upcycled souls, I suspected, returning to Earth for another ride.
Another ticket.
Another go.
We’d done it. We’d saved the afterlife and restored balance between light and dark. I squeezed Shannon’s hand. We exchanged a wanton look. This was it. Now at last—as the parade of souls passed before us—we embraced. Her hand slid around my waist. Her bashful lips found mine. I closed my eyes though I could still see through my eyelids. Our mouths parted. Our tongues massaged each other. We kissed slow as a drizzle, savoring this last moment together before passing into whatever came next.
When at last we parted, the Light had dimmed. The Darkness flickered. A second later, I saw why. A piece of debris had wandered back into the shining loops. We flew in that direction and soon shifted the chunk of metal out of the way.
Except by then, another piece loitered toward a distant beam. My shoulders slouched. A single ectoplasmic tear wiggled out of my eye and drifted through space. Shannon caught it on her finger and sucked it into her mouth. I moved to fly toward the next piece of debris, but she held me back. She stared at me with hungry eyes. I shook my head and pointed at the upcoming obstruction. She nodded and pulled me close. Her hand slid between my legs. Our seemingly endless task would have to wait.
I gasped mutely into the void as she spun me around.
Or maybe she spun around me. In space, it was hard to say. Her mouth settled on my sex and I could only clutch her sides while the waves of pleasure rolled through me. I wanted to return the favor—her pussy was inches from my face—but I was lost to her licking and sucking. She soon settled into a steady rhythm, circular and steady. Our aura glowed bright silver. I grabbed her ponytail with a trembling hand.
Moments later, the stars surrounding me wobbled and multiplied. The pleasure inside me whipped and whirled. Like a hurricane, I came.
The parade of souls passed below us. Or above us. A few of the passing souls watched us, grins on their glowing faces. Shannon tried to spin me back around, but I clutched onto her thigh and hip. I reached out with my tongue to explore her clit.
She tasted like sunshine. She came like lightning.
We never said another word to each other, but we’ve had all manner of conversations. Sometimes we chat. Sometimes we argue. Sometimes we ponder the cosmos. Except instead of words, we use our bodies. Sometimes I wonder if my makeup is still messed up. Shannon assures me with wild gestures that it’s all better. I like to believe she’s telling the truth.
Ours is a never-ending job—moving debris, maintaining balance between the forces of light and dark, and protecting the passage of souls. The pay is nonexistent but the benefits . . . wow, the benefits are amazing.
See, that’s the thing about being a ghost. Sure, we no longer have limits to the amount of suffering we can endure. But, on the other hand, our astral forms can sustain unimaginable pleasure. We feast on each other—in the void among the stars—while the souls drift past on their way from merciful deaths toward magnificent births.
My favorite moments these days are right after I finish her off. Shannon looks glorious when she comes, and all the souls in the world get to see her for who she is. She floats languidly, shining with her own inner light as our clothes work themselves back onto our bodies. I linger between her thighs, pressed to her. Feeling our vital, real connection. Savoring her. I may still be dead, but at least I’m not pretending to be a zombie anymore.
All the while, my kitten heel orbits us. No matter how many times I kick it away, it keeps coming back.