Chapter 3

Written by: pocketv

In the hospital, the enduring monitoring machines kept their vigil. Cate’s broken body laid immobile, swathed in bandages and plaster, suspended in a wire contraption. There were no signs of life save the gentle pulsing of the electrocardiogram and the sighs of the respirator.

Cate floated serenely above the hospital bed, looking down at herself. The bruised and swollen parts of her face that could be glimpsed through the dressings were barely recognisable.

As she tried to remember how she got there, a sequence of vivid images passed through her, replaying the accident. She saw the crash from all angles and understood everything that had happened. She was surprised there was no feeling within her as she saw who’d been involved. “I had no idea,” she thought, “You would think you know someone…”

Cate moved closer, studying the woman on the bed. She briefly considered returning to her body, but decided the alternative would be much less painful, and much more exciting; the possibilities were endless. Where to go first?

She thought of Jim, and was instantly in the interrogation room. Jim sat with clenched fingers gripping the arms of a battered chair at a table, breathing heavily. A swarthy, muscular man was leaning across the table, his scowling face inches from Jim’s. Cate knew the man’s name was Juan Martinez De la Cruz, he was allergic to cats, and he adored his mother.

De La Cruz was playing the bad cop, and it was working. Cate sensed Jim's unease radiating throughout the room. He was trying to act cool, but the act was wearing thin and his desperation was starting to show. He really thought he was going to get done for sabotaging her car. She could read the thoughts running through his head like leaping gazelles: his debts, his girlfriend, and the chance that he might not see the inside of a casino again for years. He barely spared a thought for her.

Cate stared at the man she had devoted nine years of her life to. As before, she could feel nothing. All she saw now was a sad, lost human being who was ageing before his time. He was too thin and his clothes were old and stained. She wondered what had drawn her to him to begin with.

She watched as De La Cruz made another savage verbal attack on Jim. She knew the predicament he was in. She also knew he'd played no part in her accident. Not knowingly, anyway. There was nothing she could do to help him. Not now, not in this state. Or was there?

She tried speaking to him. “Jim, it’s me. It’s Cate. Can you hear me?”

A small frown appeared on Jim’s face.

“Jim? You can hear me, can’t you?”

Jim’s eyes flickered around the room. He shifted uneasily in his chair.

Cate was about to try again when she felt a sharp tugging sensation at her essence. Something was happening to her body!

Mimi Turner (AUS)



First time author on the Story Mint and what a super chapter. Mimi captures an out of body experience in a way that makes sense without being silly or too far fetched. I liked the quick 'almost hidden' offhand reference to Cate knowing who was and who wasn't involved in her crash. I am looking forward to Mimi's next chapter.
Very well written. I like the direction you have taken the story and you have done it in a way that makes the reader take you seriously. The story now feels much more like a human and spiritual story and far less like another who dun-it. You have raised this story to a new level. Thank you.
Thank you Raymond and Mrellan for your positive and encouraging feedback, I really really appreciate it :)