Chapter 7
"Alright,just jump onto the bridge. It's not that-" Rio was met with a few slaps to the face from a cat's paw. The cat was gorgeous,but it was an absolute pain to try to get to the afterlife. It had been a few days since Rio's heart had starting thumping like a rabbit's foot to the ground and every moment from each day had been torture to Rio.
Her dad had started to distance himself,taking on so many jobs to the point that Rio didn't see him until the next morning. She didn't know how to feel about it,was she still mad at him or did she just miss her dad? Maybe it was both. Rio was new to anger and other new emotions that had started to rise to the surface,like the things that she felt for Agatha.
They were all too complicated for her liking and Rio felt she could never really escape to anywhere. She could make the decision of confronting her dad and risk pushing him away further or she could question why she suddenly had a beating heart. Or she could do neither.
Rio plopped down onto the grass with a sigh. She had given up on fighting with the cat's distrusting soul. It looked satisfied at Rio's defeat,licking at its paw and swiping it behind it's delicate white ears to clean itself. The cat seemed a bit petty to Rio,due to it sitting an inch away from her and acting like it would be an easy catch.
Rio rolled her eyes at the cat and moved her arm ever so slightly,making an effort to at least try to catch the cat. The cat's ears perked up as if it were expecting something. "You humans are too easy." Rio jumped up from the grass,her eyebrows furrowed in confusion . Had she just heard the cat speak? "What did you just say?"
The white cat stopped cleaning itself,clear blue eyes wide open like a criminal caught red handed. In an instant,it started to dash away from Rio,making it's way towards the deeper part of the woods. She had started to run too,calling after it,"Wait! I need to leave.With you,too!"
It was a wild chase,the cat ducked under trees,jumped over branches,and even scrambled it's way up into a tree,but eventually Rio had caught up. She leapt forward with a cry and grabbed the cat,who welcomed its dull teeth into Rio's skin. She winced at the bite,which left little indents in her skin.The cat hissed angrily, "Get off me,you troglodyte!"
Rio smirked with satisfaction,she had caught the cat,who looked at her through its angry,furrowed eyebrows. She had never heard an animal speak before,so what was different about this cat. "Why can you speak to humans?"
"A hermit looking thing and an idiot. What a shame it is for you to be on this earth. It's not me that's different, it's you." Rio looked down at her clothes,which had been dirtied by her running through the forest to find the cat. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that I'm just a regular cat and that you're no human! I could tell that from just looking at your pale skin and looking into your lifeless eyes." Rio dropped the cat who let out a started meow as it landed. She crouched down to become more level with the cat."Alright then,tell me. What am I?"
"You're a reaper. Death. One of the only things that all things on this earth fear." Rio waved her finger,as if telling the cat no. "I'm not Death,yet. I just help him collect bodies."
The cat's blue eyes narrowed a bit in confusion. "Why are you hunting me down? I'm not dead. I was just walking through the forest a moment ago-"
"I wish I could say that you're alive,but you're not. Your body is in a horrible state,rotting on the streets of a village." The cat looked like it was in shock for a moment,whiskers twitching in thought. "Could I go see it? Just to- see if I'm really dead."
Rio walked along the path in the forest,the cat padding behind her. Now that she wasn't fighting with a cat of all things,she noticed that she was in a darker part of the forest. The leaves on the trees had already started to fall,as if winter had started to come early for the tall,twisting trees. Fungi came in abundant amounts,decaying the other plants significantly to the point where all the trees had become hollow and stripped down to being bare. That part of the forest was just...dead.
The path had started to lighten as they went further,trees with a few brown leaves were starting to pop up and the fungi and decay had started to die down. Rio could see a few squirrels skittering up trees and into the small holes where she could see tiny twigs and pieces of cotton bundled together to make a nest. From what Rio could see,the forest was preparing for winter. She had only seen winters in Salem,where snow overstayed it's welcome and over shared it's blizzards. It was fun to play in,but horrible to work in for Rio.
She and the cat had finally arrived to the village where it was quiet and the streets were empty. The windows of each house were lit by lanterns,giving Rio a look into each house. She could see families huddled together with frothy cups hot chocolate in front of furnace or sitting in the front of their homes,laughing and talking. They weren't gossiping about who could be a "witch" or scorning their children over nothing,they were just having good times like any good family. Agatha would've loved to have this.
Rio had finally found the body again and it was still a shame to see it. The cat had its legs sprawled out,as if it had just fallen, it's blue eyes were wide open with terror. It's pure white fur looked like a cloth that had red wine splashed onto it. Rio looked for the source of blood and found it in the form of a vicious bite to the cat's neck and abdomen. The world was silent.
The cat's soul looked down at the street, it's eyes dull with sadness. "I can go with you,now." Rio nodded in response. Does Agatha like cats? I'm sure she would. Why was Rio's head suddenly filled with thoughts of Agatha? Rio shook her head,as if she were shaking away her thoughts of Agatha,even though Rio's quick heartbeat remained. She put out her hand,flicking her fingers to grow a bundle of vines that twisted into a bridge. Green fog started to form around the bridge,which raised an eyebrow,but Rio ignored it. The green fog started to swirl into the image of a giant log. "Wait... That's not- Don't go in there."
"What do you mean? You've been trying to get me to the afterlife this whole time and now you have me! Now hurry up and bring me to the afterlife so I can get this over with." The cat let out an annoyed mew and started padding to the bridge. "That's not the afterlife. I-I don't know where that is,but it isn't the afterlife. I'm going to check it out."
"I'm coming too. I will not become a ghost."
Rio hesitantly walked towards the bridge,stepping through the portal and onto the wet soil that was now beneath her feet. One thing that Rio could notice was the strong smell of- clove? It smelled like cloves to her. A giant log sat in front of her,pieces of wood built on top of it. This place felt familiar. There was only one way to confirm it.
Rio circled around to where the front of the log should've been and took a look at the front. Although she couldn't see inside,she found another way to figure out where she was,turning around. The smell of cloves hit her like a slap to the face as soon as she turned around. Azalea bushes surrounded Rio and the giant log.She recalled something Agatha had said to her in that moment,"You're going to grow a wall of azalea bushes around our base!"
Rio pinched her arm a few times. "Stop pinching your arm and find us a way to the afterlife." She immediately shushed the cat,putting a finger in front of it's tiny mouth,"I'm trying to figure out if this is a dream or not."
"More like a nightmare." The cat started to lick at its white fur again,passing time by grooming itself. "I'm just trying to figure out how this happened. Why am I at our-"
"Rio,is that you?" A voice came from inside the base that Agatha had started to crawl out of. Rio felt her heart start to beat again and looked down at the cat,whispering"Quick,hide yourself or something!"
Agatha rose up from her crawling position and dusted herself off. Rio's heart beat faster as she watched Agatha,who seemed to notice Rio's expression. She felt the need to run away,but her magic was out of control for a reason. She chuckled nervously and started to speak, "Oh,uh,hey Agatha. How have you been?"
"I've been good? God, you're so weird,Rio." Agatha chuckled a bit at Rio's nervous tone. She let out a sigh of relief as her heartbeat slowed and came to a stop. That moment of relief only came for second since Agatha grabbed Rio's hand as if they needed their fingers interlocked to speak to each other. "You should come inside!"
Rio looked down at their interlocked hands and for the first time,she noticed something. Agatha's hand fit perfectly in her's,like the final piece to a puzzle. It was as if the universe's gentle and graceful hands had sewn Agatha's hand so carefully to fit into Rio's cold hand. She felt a little bit of color rush into her face at the thought. Why was her face burning? She had to stop it. "Agatha,I don't know if I can stay long. I- need to get back home to my dad."
Agatha's blue eyes filled with disappointment as the words came out of Rio's mouth. Agatha then looked back up at Rio and forced a smile, "Then you can come tomorrow." Her eyebrows raised,as if she were saying,"are you sure",which Agatha decided to respond to with a tiny nod.
Rio started to walk away from the base,looking back over her shoulder to see Agatha leaned up against it with her eyes on Rio. She slowly walked out of forest,savoring Agatha's gentle gaze and touch in her heart.
Rio wandered out of the forest to find the white cat cleaning itself once again while waiting for her. "Do you have to clean yourself every 5 minutes?" The cat froze mid grooming, it's scratchy tongue stuck on it's back leg. "I don't,but I don't want to end up looking like you or any other snotty kid."
"I am 13!"
"13 without the 1?" Rio scoffed and crossed her arms,which made the cat start snickering with joy. "That's what I thought. Now open the portal to the afterlife!"
This time,Rio had made sure to clear her head of any thoughts about Agatha,well,about as much as Rio could control. She extended both her hands in front of her,green magic flowing from them and into the ground. Vines burst out of the ground,twisting into the shape of bridge as blue fog collected around it. The fog swirled into the image of a clearing tinted blue with a familiar little house in the center of it. That's better.
Although this wasn't something that happened often,the two of them walked into the portal together,swallowed up by the blue fog. Once they had arrived on the other side,the cat looked down at it's own paws. "The ground feels more...solid." It pawed at the ground,as if testing it's stability. Rio felt the ground too,it was growing more and more solid to her by the day. "Yeah...I guess it does."
Rio walked the cat through the forest of the afterlife,which was usually a way for Rio to show an animal to it's new home. "You're supposed to be able to feel your home by now." The cat's tufted ears perked, "What's it supposed to feel like?"
" I don't know. I guess...warmth?"
"It's above me. I think I can go from here." The cat trotted over to one of the many trees,skittering up it like a squirrel. "Thank you,Death,or Death's Apprentice. I guess I can give you a bit of credit for taking me to the afterlife."
Rio walked back into her house,plopping down onto the couch. She was reminded of nights that she and dad talked on the couch,played board games,or played with their dogs. She missed talking to her dad and having actual conversations with him. Maybe it was time that she tried talking to him.
She walked down the hall to her dad's room,her fist hovering above the wood. She struck the wood with her fist,knocking the door three times. Rio could hear shuffling in the room before finally,the door swung open. Standing in the doorway was her dad in a fuzzy robe and pajama pants who blinked away tiredness from his eyes. Instead of reacting with panic,he yawned and then said,"Let's put a puzzle together."
The two of them sat on opposite sides of the living room in different chairs,grabbing pieces of the puzzle to gather them in the middle of the table. Rio started out by clicking the corner pieces together until it formed a frame-like shape.
"Rio?" Her father said,his voice just slightly above a whisper. Rio's ears perked at the sound of her name being called and turned her head to look at her dad. "I've been a bit dishonest lately,and I'm sorry."
Rio straightened herself in her chair and put her full attention on her dad. "I am sensitive to a few things,but that gave me no right to lie to you or hurt your feelings. I'll try to tell the truth from now on,but we'll both need to tell the truth. I want us to treat each other as equals because that's what we are,equal to each other." She nodded and started to put more puzzle pieces back together. "I'm sorry too. I pushed you a bit with my questions. And if you're-"
"Rio, it's alright. You can ask me about anything."
"Who's the woman in the picture with the two boys?"
"She's someone that I used to love,I had a family with her before I was cursed." Rio still didn't understand how Death was a curse. It was powerful and sad thing,but it was natural,unlike the having a heartbeat. "Can I ask you to do something?"
"Yep. What is it?"
"Can you describe love to me?" Her dad's eyes flashed with surprise for a moment,as if he were considering something. "There's no reason why you're asking this,right,Rio?" Was there a reason to lie about it? "I'm just curious. How am I supposed to avoid love if I don't know what it feels like?"
"Well,if you're just curious,I guess I can show you what love is. But I won't be describing it." Rio titled her head in confusion as her dad put his hands on her's. "Wait what are-"
"Take a breath in. Out. In. Out." Rio warily followed the instructions,taking breaths in sync with her dad. "Now close your eyes. Open them in 3. 2. 1." Rio heard a quiet snap after her dad had reached 1 and opened her eyes to see what had happened. Except,she couldn't feel her chair anymore,in fact,she wasn't even in her living room anymore,she was in a small house.
Rio ran her hand along the tiled walls of the house,whistling as she walked down the hallway. She looked to her side to see empty space. "Dad? Where-"
"You are going to love this,Mi Vida!" Rio could hear a voice coming from behind her,it was oddly familiar,although muffled because of the fact that they were outside of the house. She heard the door swung open,creak,then close,prompting her to turn around. A young man walked in,covering a woman's eyes while walking her through the empty house. She giggled and asked," What have you planned,Miguel?"
Now Rio had a clear view of the man,who stepped out from behind the woman. He had a head of thick,curly brown hair that went down to his shoulders. He had bright and youthful green eyes that paired well with his tan skin. It was her dad,well,without his grey hairs and shaven look.
Rio looked at the woman,and it felt like she was looking in a mirror. She had Rio's same shiny,dark brown hair and she had the same large brown eyes. The woman looked around the place and gasped,"Oh my. Nos conseguiste una casa? Te amo! Te amo!"
The woman jumped on her dad's back with a smile and put her head on his shoulder affectionately. He looked so calm,so...what was the word? So comfortable. Rio had never seen her dad at peace or too happy most of the time,so was love happiness? No,probably not. Things were always too complicated.
Rio blinked and heard a quick snap. When she opened her eyes again,she was no longer in the empty house,she was back in the chair in her living room. "Did you see from my eyes?"
"Well,I watched. You were happy and at peace,is that what love is?" Her dad smiled softly and shook his head,"I wish. Maybe I should've tried to put you in my shoes. Want another go?"
Rio nodded eagerly,putting her hands in her dad's. "Something went wrong with the last one,so I'll make my intentions clear. I want to put you in my soul during that memory. I want you to feel what I felt in that moment and see through my eyes."
They re ran the process and this time,Rio could see a shorter woman in front of her. Danielle. Rio could feel her dad's hands on Danielle's eyes,and no matter how hard she tried,Rio couldn't move them from the woman's eyes. Rio could feel her heart beating a little faster and her stomach filling with fluttering butterflies. She walked towards the house,words coming out of her mouth," You're going to love this,Mi Vida!"
Rio stepped into the house,slowly uncovering Danielle's eyes. She let out a gasp,"Oh my. Nos conseguiste una casa? Te amo! Te amo!" She jumped onto Rio's back and rested her head on Rio's shoulder. She felt the woman's soft hair tickling against her shoulder,her soft breaths and a few kissed pressed to her cheek. She felt so much warmth,not only physically,but emotionally. She felt calm wash over her and for a few seconds,she thought that she could stay in this moment forever.
Snap. Rio was back in the chair,her dad waiting to see her reaction to the new perspective. "Did you see it this time? Did you feel?"
"Yes and yes! I would've lied to experience that again. It was so amazing to feel all those things in that memory. Is there more?" Rio beamed after experiencing the memory,which put a small smile on her dad's face. "There is more,but I don't know if you want to see a lot of it. There are reasons why Death doesn't usually fall in love. It has a tragic end,most of the time."
" You said most of the time,so does that mean that there's a teeny tiny chance that love can end well for Death?"
"You could be right about that,Rio. But I wouldn't take the chance. Even if there were just a sliver of hope that things might turn out alright." Rio shrugged,"If I ever do fall in love, I'll take the chance."
"Alright then. Don't come crying to me when it ends badly,though."
That night,Rio tossed and turned in her bed to the point that her dogs had started to groan and whine until they had grown tired of it and jumped off of Rio's bed. Her sheets rustled as she lay in through.That feeling in the memory was so,so familiar to her,why,though?
Rio had fallen asleep,dreaming of her dad's memory. She could feel her heart beating,it really was hers this time,and her own hands were on another girl's eyes. The memory changed. The girl turned around,her wavy brown hair whipping past Rio. She tried to take her hands off the girl's eyes,but she put her hands on Rio's. "Who are you?"
The girl let out a laugh,"Who am I? You know who. I'll remind you,though." The girl stood on the tips of her toes to whisper in Rio's ear,"Who gave you a heart?"
The girl dragged Rio's hands down until she could see the girl's eyes and the rest of her face. Rio looked into the girl's fox-like piercing blue eyes. Rio didn't even need to see the rest of the girl's face to know who it was.
She let out a shaky breath as Agatha brought her hand to Rio's cheek and caressed it with a giggle. " Do you know who I am now?"
"Yes,I know exactly who you are. You're the girl I've fallen in love with."