-4-

"Why does God allow such misery to exist?"

Kira looked at her and sighed, "I don't know. I guess it's a… teacher." She said and slipped off the bed, "Aren't you tired of sitting?"

Irina shook her head. Her soul smiled at her and started to walk about. She began to inspect and observe the things scattered around the room.

"It's like a big hotel room, isn't it?" Kira said as she touched the wooden panels of the wall, "They could put another bed here and it will still be spacey." She walked towards the door and looked at the brass knob, "I wonder where we are." She said softly.

After a while, she went back to her spot on the bed and sat down.

"Do you love someone?" Irina asked as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "I remembered what you said about soul mates." She said and smiled at her.

Kira smiled back, "Actually, I do." Her smile became wider, "We met during World War II. He was my general, and I was his soldier. And then we died."

"How did you meet… as souls?"

"When our bodies died, we get transported to a room of some sort. We wait there until we're called to guide another person." She explained, "So, we met there and we communicated. We were there for a pretty long time and then, he was called."

They didn't have a concept of time, but what Irina is interested in, is how they know if their 'mate' is within a person's body.

"How do you know if…?"

"Souls can feel other souls and we can distinguish them."

Irina raised a brow, "Do you know if he's my soul mate?"

"I thought you don't believe in that?" Kira asked.

"I'm just asking."

Her soul shook her head, "I don't think I should tell you. Its something you should discover for yourself."

"What if Jack's dead? What if he really died, as those guards said?" Irina asked.

"Do you think he's dead?" Kira responded, "Because if you think he's dead, then you don't need to know."

She fell quiet. No, she doesn't believe Jack's dead. She doesn't feel it and besides, he's not easy to kill and she knows that he's the type of person who'll not die easily.

"Do you love him?" Kira asked in a soft tone. She didn't look at her because she knows that Irina will not answer her question if she's facing her. It's a topic that she's not really open about.

"You should know that by now." Irina answered dryly.

She sighed, "The fate of love is that it's either too little or too much."

"And your point is?"

"Which of the two are you? Do you love him too little? Or do you love him too much?"

This time Irina stared at her. Why is her soul making her think like this? It's not as if she can remember all of them when she wakes up (if ever she wakes up).

However, she wasn't able to answer her because the door suddenly swung open. A team of nurses went in with almost the same equipment that Irina is connected with. A gurney was wheeled in next.

Irina's eyes widened in shock when she saw the person in the stretcher. She looked at Kira, as if she has the answer to this… predicament.

Jack.

-x-x-x-

Sometimes, she sits by his bed and watched him sleep. Sometimes, she'd stand by the side of the bed and touch his forehead. At other times, she'd look at the machines intently to figure out if he's okay.

She knew he'd been shot five times. She saw his wounds and the way it bled. Kira had cried when she saw how horrible he looked.

"Kira?" Irina called out. The girl looked at her, "Is he still there? His soul?"

Her soul nodded her head, "Its still there."

"It didn't leave him?"

Kira smiled sadly, "Like you, he kicked it out. But it wasn't Rambaldi who replaced it. It was his… hatred for what you did to him."

She could feel her tears coming, "Will he be alright?"

Kira doesn't know what to say. She doesn't know the answer to that but she nodded her head, "Yes, he's going to be alright."

Irina sat beside her and looked at Kira. How can a bad person like her have a good soul?