I slinked out of the alley. Quickly making my way into the plaza. Scanning the crowd I caught several shadows outlining people. Multiple old and few young.

A small girl, shimmering with pink light, smiled at me. Waving as her father ushered her forward. I smiled, returning it with a bow. Most of the time children were able to notice my presence. Few adults could as well. An odd and mysterious thing. I enjoyed it none the less.

The human i was seeking appeared, standing at a bench with a group of who I assumed were his friends.

Unless they were days like this.

A sun dial loomed, bright red, above him. The only indication that he still prayed to the gods of Ancient Egypt. The leading arrow was nearing its time. I caught visions of his fate to come. Most, shadowed in darkness, revealed him passing in a car crash or on his way to the hospital. But one, shimmering with light, showed him leading a happy, long life.

Phantom jackals materialized, circling the group. I prayed to Osiris to help him choose the best actions. In the end this was all up to the human to decide whether they knew it or not.

I waited until the group decided to leave. The jackals at their heels. They gathered into a van and drove off. I shifted into a larger then average, black jackal, a golden collar around my long throat, and deep brown eyes, darting off to run beside them.

The dial shown only seconds left and was now flashing gold. The light in an intersection turned yellow. The driver began to speed up. The images of his fate floated through my mind as the passengers stirred.

A white truck sails through the light and slams into their van.

I blinked, realizing I’d ran past them. I halted abruptly, trotting through the passing cars to stop beside them. The driver had chosen to break at the last moment, saving several lives. I looked up catching the dial spinning furiously. A rainbow of shimmering light pulse through it. Sparks of gold shooting out around it like the sun before quickly returning to its normal sandy color.

My tail wagged in approval. Today had not been one I expected but it certainly was one of success. I slinked back into the shadows, re-entering the underworld.