I remained suspended at the mouth of the bottle until a slit opened in the wall of dimension and I maneuvered through. The entire experience was bizarre, it was as if I were being tugged by the sleeve at the point of the elbow. With the knob of my funny bone leading, I ended up somewhere in a cave far beneath the earth. Trickling water resounded about the dimly lit enclosure. A compact lantern was casting shadows in every direction and I could imagine it the den of a horrible monster. Just past a huge rock, the monster showed itself, except it wasn’t a monster at all, just Granny.

Granny was swaying in an ancient rocking chair, a large ball of yarn was balanced in her lap. She was knitting an afghan in the color of dandelions. She peered up from her task, but was none too thrilled to see me. In a rush, she flung her needles and yarn to the musty floor of the cave.

"I’ve been waiting here a week for you to show up!"

"I’m sorry." I whispered, not certain about her attitude.

She leered at me, then shook her head in disapproval.

"Is there a problem?" I asked.

"A problem, yeah, you could say that!"

"Well?" I managed breaking the momentary lapse of silence.

"Just what were you thinking going out on a date during your last assignment?"

"A date?" I questioned, wondering what the problem was.

"This is not an escort service Elizabeth! This is the afterlife. There are serious complications from what you did."

"I don’t understand."

"No, you wouldn’t! You know, I was forced to take you on.... your existence was clearly tagged red. Red! Do you understand what I’m saying here?"

I shook my head no.

"Red on the folder means nothing but trouble. Now I normally try to put all that out of my mind when I lead off a team, but this time you’ve really goofed things up!"

"I don’t understand... Stan was in a terrible state, he spent most of his adult life caring for his parents. He needed my help... I thought I was doing right, I can’t imagine what you think I did that was so terrible."

"You took human form!"

"So?" I said.

"When a gift-giver takes human form, it robs someone else of their body for that exact amount of time."

"It’s not as if I have a rule book to follow. Oh, let me guess, I was denied access because my folder was tagged red?" I snapped with a sarcastic tone.

"Watch it Liz!"

"Or what? You’ll throw me back into the great waiting room?"

"Maybe." Granny managed, her voice calming as she regained her composure.

"Liz, when you go to grant a wish, you need to think about the ramifications of what you do. Okay, this time perhaps you were ignorant to the fact that when you take human form, you steal away someone’s life for that amount of time. I forgot that you haven’t attended the annual meetings all along, I’m sorry for pointing fingers here."

"I was just trying to help Stan."

"Well, you made a mess of everything there too honey."

"I don’t understand."

"You don’t?"

"No. Suppose you explain what I did wrong?"

"For starters, you never allow the living to manage any bodily contact."

Granny sighed. "Two things happened during your time with Stan. One, he managed to borrow some of your power and two he fell in love with you."
"What?" I said perplexed. "That’s the most ridiculous thing that I’ve ever heard."

"When he touched your hands and reconfigured your clothing. He managed to take some of your spirit. There is so much wrong with that, it goes off the charts!"
"I didn’t know...."

"Obviously not!"

"Then you allowed him to kiss you." Granny said shaking her fist through the air.

"That, was totally unexpected."

"No? You didn’t notice the way he was gazing at you the entire evening?"

I shook my head no.

"I understand what you were trying to accomplish, but you seemed to make it worse. Now, Stan's been running around the city of Chicago buying crates of Root Beer trying to find you once again!"

"Whatever happened on his big date the following evening?" I asked as Granny wrinkled her nose to fight away a sneeze.

"Stan did not act interested and why should he? He’d come up with the idea that you and he were going to meet up again, that he had found the perfect woman!"

"I’m sorry... how was I supposed to know this?"

Granny nodded. "Just learn from it."

"Is there any way to help Stan now?" I wondered out loud.

"No. He missed hooking up with his ideal, the sister-in-law Nora from across the street."

"Can I ask, how you would’ve handled things with Stan?"

Granny nodded in agreement. "For one I would have maintained my transparent image. It’s much easier if the living can’t physically touch you and it’s less risky you’ll hurt someone else in the process."

"Wouldn’t that have appeared odd for Stan to be talking to a blank space at the restaurant and dance not holding anyone on the dance floor?"

"This is Chicago during the 1980’s we’re talking about here. Stan would have fitted in fine."

I gazed at Granny in shock.

"Heck, we sometimes peek in on this man with an umbrella except it has no material. He stands out on Michigan Avenue with the umbrella rods extended, directing traffic. You think the city would notice one more person with a bit of eccentric tendencies?" Granny managed with a chuckle. "You need to stop thinking about what everyone else sees and begin looking at the big picture."

"Okay, I’m sorry."

"Now about what you did..."
"Yes?"

"The woman’s name was Irene Sawyer. She had just stepped inside the L train downtown, when you borrowed her life line. The poor thing fell unconscious, slammed to the ground and broke her nose. She’s in a lot of pain, even still."
"Oh. I’m sorry, if I would’ve known, I would have done things differently."

"I realize that.....now there is something you can do to help."

"What?"

"Irene has three children. They are a bit of a handful if you know what I mean.... I think if we sent you back in time a few weeks, to a point right after the accident, maybe you could watch her children and give her a chance to recover."

"How can I do that and still remain transparent to the outsiders?"

"Simple, we borrow a life line from someone in a coma. They’re not in any risk of becoming physically damaged."

"Okay, but I’m terrible with children."

Granny began to laugh. "All the better. It’ll give us something amusing to watch from the screening room."

"Am I to understand you sit around watching the assignments as a form of entertainment?"

Granny burst out laughing. "It’s one of the many pleasures of my job, yes."

"For crying out loud!" I managed as the world about me began to dissolve.

"Remember, you're being sent to help Irene with her children. If she can rest up now, she’ll be back to work and perhaps she won’t fall behind on her bills and loose her home."

"Is that how I can fix this?"

Granny faded away as my question remained unanswered. The temperature about shifted to extreme cold as everything spun in reverse. I could feel the few weeks filter back and open. The shift in time was exhausting and I could not imagine anything more painful. My limbs began to spark alive and the sensation was that of restricted blood flow. It was as if someone had cut off circulation then suddenly restored it. Everything about me began to tingle and by the time I landed on the stoop at 3157 Antler Avenue, I was in human form once again.