“You seriously didn’t like any of those divisions?”
Axel and Lucas look exhausted as we all walk on a dirt road. It’s been three days of nonstop touring. I went to the office jobs, the farming jobs, the real estate jobs, the warrior jobs, the cleaning jobs, the company jobs, and all the other jobs. They weren’t worth putting time into in my opinion.
Lucas fans himself. “Seriously, you didn’t even like my division?”
“No, I really don’t like your division. You just go out and intimidate people. Aren’t you supposed to be in marketing?”
Lucas pulls up his trench coat. “That works with Reapers. We need to let them know we mean business before we can market shit to them,”
“That’s fair,” I say as my boots crunch beneath the soil. “But don’t you get sick of dealing with those people?”
“Oh, I get sick of them all the time but I’m doing all the work so it can be easier for the rest of us,” Lucas says. “I don’t want my kids to deal with crap,”
Axel raises his eyebrows as we continue walking away from the Agriculture Division. “You want kids?”
“Can we even have kids?” I ask.
Lucas takes out his Calling Crystal and we all follow suit. “Well, it is extremely difficult for us. But, yes, I want a leech or two,”
Our Calling Crystals glow in our hands. The in-between becomes clear. Reapers can just think with their minds to shift into the in-between or to the world of the living. For us, we need a little help from Crystals. We need to hold them in our hand to see the in-between, to teleport, or to do anything really. Victoria gave me my very own on my way out. She says every half-blood must have one.
I close my eyes and think about Token Street. The temperature rises and the sun kisses my skin. The smell of the apple orchard is replaced with concrete and rotting wood. I open my eyes and we are here just a little ways from Token Street.
“I did it this time!” I say, pumping my fist into the air.
Axel high fives me. “Great job,”
“You didn’t end up in Russia this time. Fantastic,” Lucas grumbles.
I shove him with my shoulder. He glares at my action but I just laugh. It’s so fun to tease him.
“C’mon guys. We have to get a book, remember,” Axel says, pointing to me. “For Anwen. A book of all the divisions. If you are going to be in our world you need to be in a division,”
“Yes, I get it Axel,”
We walk down the street. With my Calling Crystal in hand, I can see the ghosts shifting here and there. It is still unsettling to see them this way. I used to be like that too. Deep in fog. I wish that they’d find a way out.
“Soooooo, did you choose a name yet?” Lucas asks.
“A name?” I reply.
“Yeah, it’s custom to choose a new name.”
“But I thought I would only have to have a new name if I was with the humans…”
Axel bends down to tie his shoe. “You are obliged to change your name if you live with humans. You have a choice if you don’t. It’s tradition to make the choice to change your name with every Res,”
“Really? So Axel isn’t your name,” I ask.
“It isn’t my initial name but it’s my name now. I was William, Jake, Ryan, and many others I can’t even remember. I chose Axel this time around,”
I don’t want to give up my name. It’s special to me. If I have a choice not to do it, I won’t.
“I want to keep my name,” I state.