THE MIGRATION OF SOULS.
Samantha couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she felt strongly that the soul of her mother had found its way into this little girl. Normally skeptical of such mystical ideas, the weight of coincidences in this case made it hard for her to dismiss it entirely. The little girl had been born eight months after Samantha’s mother passed away—just enough time, perhaps, for her soul to wander before returning to earth. More striking was the fact that the girl was born on Samantha’s mother’s birthday, exactly forty-six years later.
And the coincidences didn’t stop there. Samantha had been hired to be the girl’s nanny. This was her second such job—the first had been caring for a classmate’s younger sister, and now, she had this position. Although she didn’t plan on being a nanny her whole life, as she was focused on getting into a psychology program, which she failed twice to join but was convinced she’d succeed on her third try. Working as a sales clerk or waitress didn’t appeal to her, but being a nanny seemed like pure joy. Thanks to a glowing letter of recommendation, the young woman agreed to hire her, though with a trial period, and Samantha openly explained her plans to attend university within a year. The girl’s mother, Alice, was about five years older than Samantha and suggested they be on first-name terms right from the start.
“Well, that’s great since Anna will be going to a special nursery school by then,” Alice reassured her. “She’s so advanced. I’ve been putting it off because I worry, even though she has special classes every day. There’s something I haven’t mentioned yet—I’m hoping it won’t be a problem. A lot of nannies get scared off by the word ‘disability’ or ask for a salary I simply can’t pay.”
Samantha braced herself for something daunting, like a cleft palate awaiting surgery or perhaps epilepsy.
“Anna has sensorineural hearing loss, a hereditary condition…”
Samantha smiled gently, interrupting her.
“No need to explain, I’m familiar with it—it’s in my family too.”
“That’s why I chose you. A mutual friend said your mum had the same issue, so I knew you wouldn’t shy away from it.”
Samantha wasn’t scared, and it seemed simple enough—modern devices could nearly restore hearing to normal levels. Her mum had faced greater challenges, as they communicated through sign language.
The final coincidence was the uncanny resemblance Anna had—those same dark eyes, eyebrows permanently arched in a look of surprise, and curly, unruly hair. Samantha even went to her father to look at old albums, and sure enough, the girl was the spitting image of her mother as a child. When she mentioned this to her father, he merely chided her gently.
“Sweetheart, you just miss your mum. What’s with the mystical fantasies? You need to have your own kids sooner rather than later!”
Samantha blushed—she had met a guy named Peter during her prep courses and had gone on three dates with him already. But talking about children was premature. Her dad apparently noticed her flushed cheeks.
“Have you asked if his family has a history of hearing loss?”
“Dad, really?”
Since childhood, her parents had drilled into her and her brother the importance of asking potential partners early on if they carried any recessive genes linked to hearing loss, given that both Samantha and her brother Andrew were carriers.
“It doesn’t hurt to ask!” he insisted.
She made a quick exit. Whether it was her invented notion of soul migration or the fact that Anna was as clever and sweet as they came, Samantha grew incredibly attached to her and dreaded the idea of saying goodbye. Perhaps her father was right, maybe she should think about having children of her own, but she was still young, eager to get an education. Somehow, this conversation came up with Alice, who worked long hours to provide a decent life for herself and her daughter.
“You need to study!” Alice insisted. “I had to leave school when I got pregnant, and now I can’t rise beyond a certain position. It’s frustrating—I have more experience and knowledge, yet they hire some recent grad who only knows how to shuffle papers around.”
“What about Anna’s dad?” Samantha asked cautiously. In four months of working as the nanny, she hadn’t heard of him once.
“He’s not around,” Alice replied.
“What do you mean?”
“That’s just how it happened. He doesn’t even know he has a daughter. We met in another city; I was visiting a friend for the week. It was love at first sight when we met in a bar! We planned to meet again soon—either he’d fly to me or I’d go to him. But then he broke up with me via email—telling me stuff like ‘you deserve better, and we can’t be together.’”
“Brutal… And you didn’t know you were pregnant?”
“I didn’t know. I found out a week later and decided to have the baby,” Alice laughed. “I’ve never regretted it.”
“Yes, Anna is wonderful. She really reminds me of my mum,” Samantha suddenly confessed.
Alice burst out laughing.
“You and Anna seem to have a karmic connection; I noticed it ages ago.”
“I mentioned it to my dad, and he just laughed, saying I need my own kids.”
“Study first, and then think about babies,” reminded Alice. “Or you’ll be stuck like me.”
For New Year’s, Samantha planned to fly with her dad to visit her brother in the neighboring city—he headed a department in a travel company and couldn’t leave for long. She had visited her brother only once and loved his magnificent fifteenth-floor apartment with an amazing view. Sam had already bought a gift for Anna after much searching—a teddy bear just like the one her mum had. Anna loved it and said she’d sleep with it.
While relaxing in her brother’s cozy kitchen, indulging in a leisurely conversation, Samantha received a message from Alice: there was Anna, sweetly sleeping with the bear clutched in her arms. Samantha teared up and showed the photo to her brother, telling the whole story about the karmic connection and soul migration.
“Sam, are you serious? Soul migration?”
“Just think about it—Anna resembles our mum more than her own mother! Look at this.”
On her phone, she found a selfie of her, Anna, and Alice from the day before and handed it to her brother. He studied the photo for a long time before asking in a strange voice:
“What’s her name?”
“Anna, like I said. No, not like our mum.”
“No, not her. The woman.”
“Alice. Why? What’s up?”
Her brother swallowed hard.
“Anna… is her hearing okay?”
“Honestly, I didn’t just talk for half an hour for nothing. I told you—she has a hearing aid! They share the same issue! It’s more genetics than soul migration, no doubt, but think…”
He jumped up and started pacing.
“How old is she? When was she born?”
“Why are you asking?” Samantha began, then in horror, clasped her hands over her mouth. Hesitantly, afraid to shatter her hunch, she whispered, “Alice said he ditched her by email and knew nothing of the child. That was you, wasn’t it?”
The next day, the three of them flew back, miraculously snagging the last tickets. Their father wiped tears away as he looked at pictures of his newfound granddaughter, while Andrew bit his lip, a habit from childhood, asking Samantha repeatedly about Alice and Anna. Samantha alone felt at ease—she knew everything would turn out just fine. After all, the migration of souls might still hold some truth no one could deny.
