CHAPTER 2

"Please come in, Sir", said a young boy with a charming smile. Two years has passed by since Erick began started working. He works everyday sincerely serves both humans and spirits without much question. "Manager can I get a leave of absence tomorrow?", asked Eric as soon as he saw the Manager. Ones in every three months Erik would ask for a leave but no one knew where he would venture. "Of course, I can't see why not?", said the Manager.

"Boss, is it really necessary for us to keep that kid? Can't you just let him leave without the soup?", asked the Manager. "Then why didn't you leave as well without drinking the soup? You know very well what happens if I let him leave", said the boss. If a person passes by without drinking the soup then either he will remember and be born with great hatred or will be stuck without the chance to get reincarnated. The saddest thing about the either option is that when a person is born with a strong hatred then he will spend the rest of his life hoping for a chance to ruin or gets ruined in that process. However, if a soul gets stuck chances are that he might get confused between reality and death. As his time stops moving he will only remember the face of the person he had longed for before passing away, and will always stay in the same place waiting for that person.

"Thank you for stopping by every month", said the care taker of the old age home. After Erick started working in the hotel his memories were erased and instead the Goddess replaced it with images of him taking care of the old people. The Goddess also played a small trick on these people by altering their memories of Erick visiting them since his college days.

"But why can't I see your soul, boy?", asked the elder woman of the institution. This woman always gave Erick an eerie feeling. When enquired Erick learned that Martina was a Native American who had lost her only son in Israel, when the hospital he was serving as a volunteer worker was attacked. Not even a single soul had survived the massacre.

Every time Erick visited Martina would stare at him and she always said the same thing "I can't see your soul" as if she was trying to figure out the existence of the kid. One side of Erick wanted to know more while the other resisted as if his life depended on it.

"Don't mind her Erick, she has grown old and this is how she mutters now and then", said the care taker. Erick knew that those were not just empty words but as usual he just gave a sweet smile and headed back.

"Stop, stop, someone please stop the thief", yelled a voice from the opposite lane. Without giving it a second thought he took off after the thief just like the voice had instructed. He was much quicker and it didn't take long enough for him to get hold of the thief. He took the bag but let the thief get away as it was a rule of the hotel he was working to never interfere with someone else's business. "Oh, Lord, thank you so much", and that was all it took for Erick to fall for the owner of the bag he was holding. He offered to drop the lady, a gesture he remembers never doing for anyone but he felt an instant connection as if he had known this lady since a long time.

"These goes fate pulling her strings, this woman will not let me rest", said the boss. He returned the next day and was all hung up on how beautiful the lady was. "Erick, the boss wants to see you immediately", informed the manager. "From next month you'll get a day off except for the 30th", informed the boss. He wanted to argue but his better judgement told him not to. The thoughts about that girl didn't help either. He couldn't get on with his daily chores and so was the condition of the young lady. She couldn't exactly point out what was so fascinating about him but all she could say was that "he" felt very familiar to her, and she was curious to know more about him. In the hopes of finding more about him she would visit the old age home and wait for him outside the gate.

"Why don't you come inside and wait?", offered the care taker. The lady felt extremely embarrassed and said, "hmmm, I have some work, thank you for the offer but I should get going". She tried to flee but her sight was caught by the very person whom she was waiting for.

Erick had also tried to remain away from this person but no matter what he did, he would end up thinking about her. "Hi, I'm Erick", he introduced himself. "Helena", introduced the young lady.