Stepping into her cubicle and throwing her jacket onto her chair, Shannon Carson glanced at her headset. It was still lying on top of her keyboard, and that brought her a bit of comfort. It meant that James had kept his greasy fingers off it during the night. Taking a seat, she whispered her daily mantra before putting on her headset.

This job was intended to become Shannon Carson’s career. After spending a decade doing menial jobs that were all well above the rest of her family, she stumbled onto what appeared to be a chance to make a difference – a call representative for 1-800-unique questions.

It was as if she were made for the job – Shannon had been full of unique facts since she was a child. But more so, she seemed gifted with wisdom far beyond her years. She dreamed of becoming a counselor. She wanted to make others feel heard. She hoped that by answering unique questions, she was in fact making every person feel heard.

Her entire life, all she’d ever wanted was to make an impact – she wanted to share the gift of knowledge and wisdom to anyone and everyone. But rather than share that gift, she was instead bombarded with constant juvenile questions from immature teenagers.

Within a few minutes, her call light began flashing red. Here we go, she thought to herself.

“Thank you for calling 1-800 unique questions, my name’s Shannon-“

“Yes, hello?” The voice sounded like it belonged to a young girl, one who was unsure of herself.

Nodding her head, even though no one could see her, Shannon began again. “Yes, hello. What’s your unique question?”

“I think…I think I’m dead?”

Shannon’s forehead crinkled. Surely she misheard her. “I beg your pardon? What did you say?”

“That I’m dead. I’m surrounded by white. I don’t know, I was walking and I didn’t see anything and then all of a sudden I saw this payphone in the middle of this space.” There was a silence, and for a moment Shannon thought the connection had been lost. “And a business card,” the voice said. “I found it on top of the phone. It just says Shannon in italics underneath it with this number. Are you this same Shannon?”

Shannon’s mouth had gone dry. “Yes, that’s me.”

“Okay. Then maybe you can help me?”

Shannon stood from her chair and looked out over the other cubicles. Everyone else seemed immersed in answering all sorts of unique questions, and she didn’t see any odd behavior that might indicate a prank was being played on her.

Sitting back down, she recollected her thoughts. She needed to start with the basics.

“I’ll do my best,” she said. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Maggie. I’m eleven.”

“Alright, Maggie. Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Maggie spoke quickly, recalling the last moments of her life that she could remember. Her story was full of holes, but she felt fairly confident that she’d been killed in a car crash.

“I just remember bright lights shining in my eyes and then…” her voice caught in her throat. “Nothing. Like it didn’t even hurt, it was just like falling asleep.”

Shannon hadn’t realized that silent tears had been falling as Maggie retold her story until she looked at the small puddle that had accumulated on her desk. Wiping her face, she cleared her throat.

But what was she supposed to say to this girl who was fairly confident that she was dead? And why was she sent specifically to her?

“I’m scared, Shannon,” Maggie whispered. She too, was crying. “I need…guidance, I think. I want to know everything is going to be okay.”

Being the mother of three children herself, Shannon traded her caller representative voice for her mother voice. “Maggie, I want you to listen very closely to me. I am so sorry what’s happened to you,” her voice began to shake. “You’re just a child, for God’s sake.”

Before continuing, Shannon selected her words carefully. “But this isn’t the end for you, my sweet child. You’re going to continue to grow and mature, just…in a different manner. You were needed sooner than you realized. Life has more in store for you. Trust me.”

Before she could continue, Maggie interjected.

“Shannon? Shannon, something’s happening to me.”

Shannon leaned forward in her chair, her posture tense. “Tell me what’s happening.”

“I think I’m evaporating? I can see through my hands.” Already her faint voice was becoming even harder to hear. “What’s going to happen to me? Am I dying again?”

Shannon’s voice cracked. “I think you’re making your way to other side, baby.”

“Am I going to be okay?” Her voice was a faint whisper.

“You’re going to be okay baby, I promise.”

Nothing more was said. Shannon’s flickering call light faded to black before her eyes. Sliding her headset off, she turned to face the window where she saw a stream of sunlight break through the clouds.

“You’re going to be alright, Maggie,” she whispered.