Chapter 6
It had been a few years since Rio's first job and she had kept the tarantula she found in that rainforest. She had always kept it around during jobs,even if it frightened newly dead souls,the tarantula was convenient to keep around. Even if she tried to leave the tarantula,it would come running back to her and find it's way back each time.
The tarantula felt like a gift from a universe to Rio,like a pet,so she figured she should name it.
Rio hung upside down from a tree branch,her tarantula crawling up and down her legs as the last bit of sunlight shine on her. "What should I name her,Aggi?" Although Rio was busy with collecting bodies as Death's apprentice,she maintained a close friendship with Agatha. She shrugged in response, and then raised an eyebrow at Rio. "Why are you asking me? You know I'm horrible with names! It took me three times of us meeting to figure it out."
Rio let out a soft laugh at Agatha's honest response,she remembered all three times since then. Agatha had avoided saying Rio's name by just saying hi until she asked, "Do you even remember my name?" Agatha responded by denying it at first,but still,Rio wrote down her name in the journal that Agatha carried around to "leave evidence if her mother murdered her".
Rio put the tarantula up to her face and tilted her head at it. "She looks like...a Victoria?" The tarantula crawled up Rio's arms again,which she took as a yes. "Victoria it is."
Rio felt Victoria crawl up and down her legs again,the itchy feeling of fuzzy legs crawling down her legs leading her to fall from the tree branch. Rio winced once she hit the ground,looking up at a smirking Agatha. Her piercing blue eyes looked on with amusement," Look,I never said it,but I absolutely knew you'd fall."
Rio would usually try to respond by now,but she stayed silent. Her eyes wandered when they were on Agatha,flashing down from her eyes to her pouty lips. Rio felt a heartbeat. It was fast,so fast that she thought she would lose her heart just as fast as she gained it in that moment.
Agatha cleared her throat,as if to remind Rio that she was there. Agatha extended her hand out dramatically and teasingly asked,"Did you hit your head on the way down? You look concussed." Rio took her hand hesitantly,pulled up quickly by Agatha.
She groaned,seemingly annoyed,"You got taller than me! I hate you so much,Rio." Rio let out a nervous laugh,still processing what she had just felt a few seconds before. "So does that mean I can leave now?"
"Nope! We're going to our secret base to grow a big giant wall of azaleas around it." Agatha put Rio's hand in her's,starting to skip through the grass and into the forest. In the distance,she could see that same log where she had first met Agatha,it was different now. The moss had been overgrown and fungi started to grow on the log,and the two girls had taken an opportunity to build on it a few months ago.
Rio met Agatha everyday after she had finished a job to find scraps of wood and stack it against the log to make a shed like base. To pass time,they would also braid each other's hair and forage for berries and other fruits that they could find. They had finished the building a week before and Agatha brought in the softest cloth she could find in the village for the base.
Agatha crawled into the base,Rio following after her. Agatha let out a satisfied sign as she lay down on the sheets in the base. "Go on,get to work on growing a wall!" She jokingly shooed Rio away with her hand. "Alright,alright. I will."
Rio crawled out of the base and quickly stood up. With a flick of her hand,she created a bush of purple azaleas for Agatha. She'd probably want more. Rio laughed to herself and conjured more azalea bushes of many different colors. She looked back on the first day that the two of them met,although she hadn't grown full bushes of azaleas for Agatha,Rio had grown a single flower(on accident),and Agatha had loved them ever since. Rio knew that it hurt Agatha to receive one,but she still wanted an azalea each time Rio came to her.
Rio crawled back into the protection of the wooden base after a few minutes of admiring the azaleas," It's not a wall but-" She could hear the sounds of soft snoring coming from Agatha and could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest each time she breathed. Rio felt a soft smile spread across her face when she saw the sight of Agatha sleeping so peacefully.
Rio knew she wasn't able to stay,she had to go back across the bridge to the afterlife or else her dad would worry. Rio had found a new way to go between worlds,instead of going through the torture of being pulled through dirt by vines,she created a bridge out of different flowers and vines to the afterlife.
Long "serious" talks with her dad had become common as she got older,he even waited on the couch for her sometimes with a cup of hot chocolate in his hands. "What is it now,dad?" He gave Rio a soft smile. "You're growing up fast. And it seems like you'll be ready for your new job soon."
"Could you tell me more about the powers or anything I need to know?"
"You can take the power whenever you want after you've been apprentice for long enough. That does mean that I'll have to become just another spirit,through." Rio's eyebrows raised in concern,"Permanently?" Her dad nodded,which darkened the silent room.
"I'll still be able to see you,right?" Rio asked anxiously,to which her dad responded with," I guess you will see me sometimes. I'll...guide you when I can." But it won't be the same. He didn't have to say anything else for her to get that gaining the rest of Death's power would mean that she wouldn't see him often,or probably never see him again.
Rio felt a tear dribble down her cheek,which her dad gently wiped away," You don't have to take the power now or for a while. Just wait till you're ready for them, I've already put enough pressure on you." Rio nodded to the words and wiped the few tears that spilled from her eyes. She couldn't hold up the other questions she had about Death. She then recalled the rule from a job she did with her dad, "Rule number 2- We'll skip over that one for now."
"You mentioned a rule back when we were doing our first jobs together. What was it?" Her dad looked like his heart had sank to the floor,like he was trying to avoid something. "Please,dad, I'm sure the rule isn't bad." He let out a drawn out sigh and answered,"No children can be created by Death. This is a new rule,since it's barely been a problem."
"But didn't you have me? Well,my mother had me,but you helped her." Her dad shook his head,"We can't discuss this now. You- You need to be older for this conversation to even happen." Rio's eyebrows furrowed in confusion,maybe a bit of disappointment. "Why not?"
"You're not ready to hear what I have to say,the truth. I'm sorry." Her dad got up from the couch and started to walk to his room. Rio didn't get it,since when was the topic of someone who had left her long ago been so hard to talk about? Since when had it become something like a secret? Rio stormed off to her own room and slammed the door behind her,anger burning in her eyes.
"I just don't get why he wants to keep secrets from me. He's never done that." Rio had met Agatha at their base the next morning,she had obviously slept there. Rio had found Agatha curled up on Rio's side of the sheets early in the morning and now they were going back to Agatha's house to run some errands for money. "You're lucky your dad tells the truth,my mom thinks that I can 'figure it out myself'- which I can,but it still hurts."
"Well,your mom probably has too much interesting thing going on to talk about. Like how she spends her entire day staring at the wall." Agatha let out a little laugh at Rio's comment," Yeah,very interesting. I bet that's what she thinks I'll do when I become a housewife with twenty kids."
For some reason,felt her heart burn a bit when she heard Agatha mention becoming a housewife. Rio knew that would mean that Agatha would get a husband when she was older. "You wouldn't have to stare at a wall of you ran away with me."
"That does sound better than being a housewife. But come on, anything's better than kissing a man and having his babies." Agatha made a gaging sound at the very thought of the action. Rio was glad they were on the same page,even if she had barely met any men,none of them really seemed worth the time of day. They were disgusting and rude from what she saw from the boys in the village.The only man she liked was her father,and she didn't see that changing.
Agatha and Rio rolled a tiny cart of apples down the hill and into the bustling streets of the village. People were buzzing by,talking as if there were some important news that Rio had seemed to just miss. The only time that she had felt calm since walking in the streets was when they finally got to Ms.Willowman's tiny house.
Ms.Willowman was an old widowed lady who lived on the outskirts of the village,managing to keep some of her money to herself after her husband died a few years back. The old lady was short,shorter than Agatha had been before her growth spurt,Ms.Willowman was also very wrinkly,wore a wrap around her head that secured her favorite hat,and wore chunky glasses that enlarged her pale hazel eyes. "You both are so sweet. I've got some treats in the back of you two want them."
Rio had only met the woman twice before this errand,but Rio knew that she was a nice lady who enjoyed giving to others. Ms.Willowman returned from her kitchen after a few minutes,carrying out two slices of an almond sugar cake shaped like a crescent moon.
The three of them sat down on Ms.Willowman's couch,happily eating the almond sugar cake. The old woman gently put a hand on Rio's shoulder,"Are you alright, sweetheart? You're looking a bit down."
"My dad isn't telling me something and it's making me mad. He said that I'm 'not ready to hear it',but I'm old enough to hear anything. I can handle it,I don't need him to lie to me." Ms.Willowman frowned, empathetic of Rio's situation. "When I wasn't a pile of dust,"-the girls let out a series of quiet laughs-"I had a father who had a lot of dark secrets. I didn't like it either,but you want to know why he kept them from me? He cared about me. I know it hurts when someone starts to keep secrets,but just know,they keep them because they don't want to hurt you."
"When they care?",Rio asked,tilting her head in confusion. The word sounded like it would go in the same category of words as "love",but she didn't even know what that word meant. "When they want you to be safe and happy."
Rio was glad to know the meaning of the word now,but as Rio and Agatha walked back to her house,Rio wondered something. Did Agatha care for her? Was care something that she felt for Agatha? Was that why Rio grew a new heart,to care for Agatha?
The two girls arrived at Agatha's doorstep,"Thanks for helping me get..." Agatha looked down at her hand and opened it,counting the coins in her hand under her breath,"...15 cents!" Rio smiled at the girl's enthusiasm,"No problem. It was pretty worth it,I got some-" Agatha put a few coins into Rio's palm,closing it with her own hand. "You deserve some of the money. Even if I did most of the work."
Rio rolled her eyes at Agatha,"I'm pretty sure that I did most of the pulling of the cart. So yeah, I'll take some credit for that."
"Nope! I did all the work,and I've never heard of a Rio Vidal in my whole life." Rio shrugged in response," Alright, I'll leave." Agatha seemed to stall for a moment,as if considering something,and then let go of the thought and wrapped her arms around Rio warmly. It took a few seconds for her to process and for her to eventually reciprocate the hug,savoring the warmth of Agatha. She eventually let go and gave Rio a warm smile. "Bye stranger!" Leaves were starting to fall and there was a chill in the air,but Rio could still feel Agatha's warmth spreading through her like a dancing flame that curled her insides. That dancing flame wasn't the only thing that curled her insides,though,it was far from it.