Of Breakable Things Read Online Free PDF Page A

and pressed it into the sand. He drew a weaving line from his feet to hers and then traced an identical one beside it, tying them together.
    “It was kind of depressing, though,” she added. “Sitting around and talking about death isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.”
    Was it bad that he was relieved to hear that?
    “It just sucks to know I’m not normal and it will only get worse.”
    “Who said you weren’t normal?”
    Alex laughed. “Wasn’t that the whole point of going today?”
    He threw the stick across the beach. “Those people are stupid, Alex, and so is your doctor. You are normal.”
    Alex bent her hand backwards so that her finger practically tickled her forearm. “That’s normal?”
    “Lots of people are double-jointed.”
    “I can’t do half the things other kids can do.”
    “Like what?”
    “I can’t participate in gym.”
    “And most of the other girls wish they could sit out, too.”
    She pointed out her collection of bruises. “I can’t wakeboard with you guys. I have to sit in the boat like a baby. I can’t ski. I can’t even go sledding.”
    To top off her argument, Alex pulled at the collar of her shirt, revealing the maze of veins branching across her chest like blue coral. Evidence of her vulnerability.
    Chase shrugged. “It just looks like a really cool tattoo,” he said, and when Alex’s face broke into a huge smile, he felt light enough to fly.
    “I never thought about it like that!” She glanced down into her shirt. “You’re right!”
    Apparently, fate overheard their foolish conversation, because that night Alex broke her ankle simply rolling over in bed.
    Chase presented her with a teddy bear in the ER, patted her back and said, “Who wants to be normal, anyway?”

 

     
    Alex stared at Ellington while they walked, but he didn’t seem to mind. “Do you see much about the lives of the people you meet?”
    “Not a whole lot. Just fragments of the important parts.”
    The wind picked up, dancing through the gargantuan trees. Their voices reminded her of the woods at home. They had stories to tell.
    “So, there are ghosts all over the world?”
    Ellington nodded. “Some more civilized than others.”
    Alex watched her feet trudging through the muddy path, but she noticed only one set of footprints trailed behind them. Those belonged to Ellington. “How did I end up back there? And how did you know where I would be?”
    “Because everyone I see shows up there.”
    Every answer fed her curiosity. “Can I keep asking questions?”
    “Please. That’s why I’m here.”
    “Why don’t I have any footprints?”
    “Because you aren’t thinking about making them. You’ve chosen to be in a mental world, but you really don’t know what that means yet. You will, though.”
    “Why do you think people choose to be like this?”
    Ellington cocked his head. “I suppose some people have trouble letting go of who they are, or who they were . Some, I think, are merely curious about omnipresence, knowing what people are doing without their awareness. Most don’t realize how much they hate it until they taste it. Others do it for the clout.”
    Alex dodged a bird flying by. It flashed with light like a crystal in the sun. “Clout?”
    “Power. You’d be surprised what your mind is capable of.”
    “I don’t get it. What does a spirit do ? Hover around and watch people?”
    “Maybe once upon a time that’s how it was, but now there’s much more to it,” he explained. “You’ll learn more about this soon, but a while back spirits became a problem.”
    “Why?”
    “Exactly what you said. All they did was hover, observe. Mischief is the product of an idle mind. A life without walls opens a Pandora’s box of new temptations. Just because a soul is spirited enough to come here doesn’t mean it is good . Therefore, a solution was created. Much like in the physical world, once our numbers grew, someone had to step up and take control. The result is about