THE TRANSFERENCE OF SOULS.
Sarah couldn’t quite explain it, but she felt as though the soul of her mother had settled into this little girl. Normally, she was skeptical of mystical ideas, but there were too many coincidences to ignore. The girl was born eight months after Sarah’s mother’s death – as if her mother’s soul had roamed where it needed and then returned to earth. And it wasn’t just the fact of her birth; the girl was born on Sarah’s mother’s birthday, exactly forty-six years later.
The coincidences didn’t stop there. Sarah was hired as the girl’s nanny. It was her second time working as a nanny – the first was for a classmate’s younger sister, and now here. Although Sarah didn’t plan on being a nanny forever, she had applied to university to study psychology but hadn’t been successful yet. She was determined to get in on her third attempt. Working as a shop assistant or waitress didn’t interest her, but being a nanny was pure joy. Thanks to a glowing reference, this young woman agreed to hire Sarah, although with a probationary period. Sarah, in turn, was honest about her plan to attend university in a year. The girl’s mother, Alice, was just a few years older than Sarah and immediately suggested they be on first-name terms.
“That’s great, then. Anna will soon be going to a special nursery,” Alice reassured her. “She’s quite advanced, really should have started already, but I worry because she has activities every day. There’s something special about her – I haven’t mentioned it yet, but I hope it won’t be a problem. Some nannies get scared by a child’s disability label or ask for a fee I can’t afford.”
Sarah imagined something daunting, like the girl needing surgery or perhaps dealing with epilepsy.
“Anna has sensorineural hearing loss, an inherited condition…”
Sarah smiled, interrupting her.
“You don’t need to explain, I know what it is – it’s in my family too.”
“That’s why I chose you,” Alice said. “A mutual friend mentioned your mother had it too, so I thought you wouldn’t be put off.”
Sarah wasn’t. In modern times, hearing aids almost fully restore hearing, but communicating with her mother had been more challenging, involving sign language.
The last coincidence was how much the girl looked like her mother: the same dark eyes, arched brows as if always surprised, unruly curly hair. Sarah even asked her dad for old family albums – sure enough, the girl was the spitting image of her mother as a child! When she mentioned it to her dad, he just chuckled:
“Sweetie, you’re just missing your mum. These mystical notions are nonsense. You need your own kids!”
Sarah blushed – she had met a guy named David at a university prep course and had been on three dates, but it was too early to discuss children. Her dad seemed to have guessed from her rosy cheeks.
“Have you asked if there’s any hearing loss in his family?”
“Dad!”
Her parents always drummed it into her and her brother the importance of checking for recessive genes that could lead to hearing issues, as both Sarah and her brother, Andrew, carried this gene.
“What, Dad…?! – there’s no harm in asking.”
She quickly made her escape. Whether the soul transference was a figment of her imagination or the girl was indeed delightful, Sarah grew very fond of her and dreaded the thought of parting. Maybe her dad was right; maybe it was time for her own kids? But she was young and eager for an education. This came up in conversation with Alice, who was busy working to provide a decent life for her daughter and herself.
“Education is important!” Alice insisted. “I had to quit college because of my pregnancy, and now I can’t advance beyond a certain position, which is frustrating – I have more experience and knowledge, but they hire a fresh graduate who just shuffles papers.”
“What about the father?” Sarah asked hesitantly. In her four months as a nanny, no father figure had ever appeared.
“He isn’t around,” Alice replied.
“What do you mean?”
“He doesn’t know he has a daughter. We met in another city when I was visiting a friend. We fell in love at first sight! He promised to visit or have me visit him. But then he broke up via email, saying I deserved better and all that.”
“Wow… And you didn’t know you were pregnant?”
“I didn’t. I found out a week later. Decided to keep the baby,” Alice smiled. “Never regretted it.”
“Yes, little Anna is amazing. She reminds me so much of my mum,” Sarah suddenly confessed.
Alice laughed. “You and Anna have a karmic connection, I’ve noticed.”
“So I told my dad, and he laughed at me. Said I should have my own kids.”
“Better focus on your studies first,” Alice reminded. “You don’t want to end up like me.”
For New Year’s, Sarah and her dad planned to visit her brother in another city – he managed a department at a travel agency and couldn’t take extended time off. Sarah had only visited once, and she loved her brother’s apartment on the fifteenth floor with a remarkable view. She had found the perfect teddy bear for Anna, one that resembled the one her mother had, while shopping for Anna’s gift. The little girl loved the bear and declared it her sleeping companion.
While sitting in her brother’s cozy kitchen, engaged in easy conversation, Sarah received a message from Alice with a picture of Anna sleeping sweetly, hugging the teddy bear. Sarah teared up, shared the picture with Andrew, and told him the whole story about the karmic connection and soul transference.
“Sarah, really? Soul transference?”
“Listen – Anna looks more like our mother than her own! Have a look.”
She found a selfie taken with Anna and Alice the day before and handed her phone to her brother. He examined it closely, then asked in a strained voice:
“What’s her name?”
“Anna, as I told you. Not like our mum’s.”
“No, I mean… the woman?”
“Alice. Why do you ask?”
Andrew swallowed hard.
“And Anna’s hearing… is it okay?”
“I told you – she wears a hearing aid! It’s almost spooky! Alice’s dad had the same condition as our mum. It’s genetics, but think about it…”
Andrew jumped up and started pacing.
“How old is she? When was she born?”
“Why do you want to know?” began Sarah, then, covering her mouth in horror, she whispered, terrified her suspicion might be true, “Alice said he broke up via email and never knew about the child. Was it you??”
The next day, they managed to get last-minute flights back. Their father gently wiped tears away, looking at photos of his newfound granddaughter. Andrew, biting his lip like he did in his childhood, kept needing reassurance about Alice and Anna from Sarah. Sarah remained calm – she knew everything would be alright. After all, the transference of souls was undeniable.
