Chapter 8
Rio woke up early after that dream,groggily stepping out of bed and walking out into the hallway. Usually,her dad was up at an early time and took up the couch,but this time,the couch was empty. She stepped outside onto the soil,walking along a path that led into the woods.
Rio walked until she could see trees overcrowding her vision and she could only seen a sliver of the dark blue sky above her. She looked at the many trees for a moment and called up to their leaves,"Cat? Hello?" She heard an annoyed hiss come from behind the leaves of the shortest tree there and smiled. "If you're going to wake me up,at least call me by name. I was having a great dream."
"I didn't exactly learn it within the few minutes we talked. Either way,I was busy chasing you." At that moment,she heard a thud on the ground,causing her to whip her head to look down at the ground where the white cat landed. "It's Karime."
"Ka-rim?"
"Ka-reem." He corrected with a little scoff. "Alright,sorry. I just wanted to talk to someone who wouldn't judge me for what I have to say." It's white,tufted ears perked up at the possibility of hearing secrets. "Go ahead. Spill out that heart of yours." Rio could practically hear the grin in it's voice and murmured,"Glad that you're finally open to something."
"I won't wait here all day. Now tell me, what's in that tiny brain of yours?" Rio rolled her eyes at the cat's comment. "I have this problem. You know that I'm Death's Apprentice,right? It's such a cool job. I get to travel to the land of the living and take-" Karime let out a long sigh and groaned, "Get to the point already. I am listening to hear about secrets,not to hear about your internship."
"Right. There are rules to becoming Death and I've broken one of them." He tilted his head,as if signaling for her to keep going. But Rio couldn't get herself to say it. She barely knew what love was,how could she know if that was what she actually felt? "I- I think I might be in love with someone. And Death can't fall in love with anyone under any circumstances."
"Sounds juicy. Who have you fallen in love with?"
"My best friend. I'm not sure if I'm actually in love with her,though because I don't know what love feels like. It's like... I know a bit of it because I've been fed love by my dad,but somehow I can't realize when I love someone." Rio nervously twiddled her fingers as she spoke,looking down at the floor so she could avoid looking at Karime. "You've gotten yourself into quite the pickle,but luckily you have a wise soul to guide you."
"Who?"
"Me. Who else would help?" He rolled his deep blue eyes with a scoff and started to walk down the path. "Now walk with me so we can talk about this best friend of yours." Rio quickly followed behind him with a nod. He looked over his shoulder and said,"And don't think that I won't tease your choice of clothing." Rio looked down at her pajamas paired with her green robe. "Yeah, I ,uh, didn't really get ready."
"I can tell." Karime let out a snicker before asking,"Now tell me. What do you feel for this friend of yours?"
"When I'm around her,I feel like I'm having a heart attack. My heart starts beating faster and my face gets all hot. "
"Oh,so you're flustered around her? Sounds like you fancy her." Rio could just hear the teasing tone in his voice and scoffed. "What does that mean?"
"It means that you like her. Now,if you try to ignore this any longer,it will become harder to,so don't." Rio's eyebrows furrowed as she thought. Did she like Agatha like that? Karime could've been wrong,but Rio knew one thing for sure,she couldn't ignore what she felt any longer. "I'll ask my dad about it."
"Alright then. You better hope he doesn't try to get you hanged for liking... You know." Rio raised an eyebrow,her eyes narrowing in confusion,"Wait,what do you mean?"
"People don't like knowing that others can be different. Whether it be their appearance,their brain,or simply who they like,people will judge. I never cared about judgement,but I'm not sure you're the same as me."
"Why do they judge,though?" Rio didn't understand why living people needed to judge others based on their lifestyle. Why did they need to live a certain way? Karime shrugged in response to her question,"Beats me. I would certainly judge an outfit or a person's smarts,but never something out of their control. But some creatures...they think differently than me. I think it's their emotions and egos. Can't handle anyone who might outshine them."
"You ever feel those kinds of things? Well,when you were living."
"No one could ever outshine me,but I do still feel emotions. They aren't exclusive to the living,you were just too sheltered from the rest of the world to feel any," Rio was a bit taken a back by Karime's words,which couldn't have been more blunt. "How would you know that?"
"It was a guess,which,based on your reaction,must be true. Did your parents lock you in a dungeon while you were alive?"
"I was never alive,"Rio blurted out instantly,which put a curious expression on Karime's face. "That's interesting. So you were miscarried?"
Rio could remember when she was born. The sweat and tears that dripped onto Rio's forehead and down her face,the blurriness of the world around her that seemed to stop when the door to the cottage burst open and started to spill fog into the halls of her mother's house.
Looking back on it,Rio started to notice more things,Death's gaze was locked on her mother when he walked in, something that he only did with the souls he was to ferry. In fact,he only put his focus on Rio when she had grabbed onto his dark cloak with her soft hands. Her own mother just...handed Rio over like she was just a piece of trash to be thrown out.
Rio let out a shaky breath as she muttered," No,I was just a sacrifice. Wasn't even supposed to die." For years,she had barely given her deadbeat mother any thoughts,but she should've. Rio should've felt burning hot anger, she should've felt livid,but all she felt was that she was unwanted. Was this how her dad had always felt when he did a job? Unwanted in every crevice of the earth?
Karime looked up at her with wide eyes,full of shock and possibly a bit of sympathy. His little mouth was slightly parted as if he wanted to say something,but he didn't. He didn't have any smart comments this time.
Rio broke the silence,"So do you remember how you died?" Karime's whiskers twitched in thought,"Must've been one of those mutts in the village. They'll eat anything they can get,even if it's a scrap of paper." He laughed at the stupidity for a bit,his eyes then narrowing,"But I guess I ended up being one of the things they ate."
The two had walked so far out past the forest that Rio could see a boundary. It's light glowed as white as Karime's fur,not even darkened by the blue tint that had been cast over the afterlife. In front of the boundary was a rapid flowing river that whipped at the stretches of land that made up it's bank. Rio was astonished by the speed of the river, especially at this time of year,"How is it..."
"I hear from many souls over here that it flows all year,no matter how cold or hot."
"But why?" Karime shrugged his white shoulders,"Could be a way to the land of the living."
"Impossible. That would mess up the natural order and I know that my dad hates that kind of stuff happening. Unless... this isn't meant for the souls here"
"So,what? You saying it could be heaven or something like that?"
"No, I'm saying that this can't be something that regular souls could access." Rio took a few steps closer to the river,which was only a few feet away. Even from that distance,she could feel little droplets of water hitting her and the intense lashing of wind. But the work was worth it,since she could now see a pillar that held a slab of stone by the river. She could see a bit of writing carved into the stone.
Squinting would not work for this,so Rio stepped closer,the intensity of the wind blowing her black hair to the other side of her face and making it's strands tickled her face. Taking small steps felt like marching through thick snow on the peaks of Mount Everest,and just when Rio felt like giving up,she reached the stone.
The giant slab of stone was held up by a thick grey pillar that was stuck into the ground. The slab read, " ΤΟΜΕΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΔΙΚΑΣΤΗΡΙΟ ΘΑΝΑΤΟΦΟΡΩΝ" Rio slightly squinted her eyes,just to see if she was crazy for not being able to read the slab. Nope,she was totally sane,it just said absolute gibberish. She yelled over her shoulder,"It doesn't say anything!"
"What?" Rio cleared her throat to yell louder," I said it doesn't say anything!"
" What does gay have to do with the slab?" Rio groaned and put her fingers on the slab,trying to lift it from its spot. Her efforts backfired when she slid the slab off of the pillar and onto her foot,"Ow,ow! That hurts!" She slid her foot out from under the slab and hobbled over to Karime. "It doesn't say anything on it. It's just a bunch of random signs and letters!"
Karime scurried further down the path,only for his tiny soul to be knocked back by the powerful wind. He licked the dirt off of his white coat and scoffed,"I'm not going down there. It's not worth it. Look,maybe we'll uncover that secret another day,but now,I can't do it."
Rio gave the cat an understanding nod,"I understand,Karime. You can go back home." Karime started to prance back up the path before looking back,"Aren't you coming?" Rio shook her head,"I need to think for a moment."
Rio lay her head against the bark of a tree,shutting her eyes in thought. Her head felt like a cluttered mess,a mess full of A- Pop. Her eyes flung open,darting over to the source of the sound. She only needed a moment to look and realize what it was. Lying next to her right foot was a purple azalea that had popped out of the ground. She plucked the flower out of the ground,twirling it in her fingers.
Rio felt some kind of longing in her heart that made it ache ever so slightly. She held the flower to her heart,looking down at her hands. She was reminded of the effects of the azalea flower,it overwhelmed the hands of the person who held onto it with painful rashes. Most people were allured by its beauty,but then pushed away by the pain of holding the flower. Rio hadn't felt that sting in a while. She had gotten used to the burn of the azalea flowers.
Rio gently reached into the pockets of her robe,tucking it away like her father used to tuck her into bed. For a moment,she wished she could go back to times like those,when her life had been simple and she didn't question if she had "fallen in love" or not. But Rio was reminded of the truth. Love was human,it was the only thing that her dad held onto from his past life. Complexity was a good thing,too. She just didn't understand it enough to like it.
Rio walked the path,practicing how she would tell her dad if she ever planned on telling him about her feelings. "Dad,I have to tell you something. I am in l-" "Nope,that won't work."
"Dad,I think I feel something for my friend." Rio groaned,rubbing her temples. She murmured to herself,"That definitely wouldn't work" Why wouldn't they work,though? Rio felt like she was withholding information or lying to her dad when she spoke like that. And she wanted to keep her promise. "Dad,I broke your rules and I'm totally fucked."
By the time Rio had arrived on the yard of her house,she still had no idea what she would say. Reluctantly,she stepped forward,twisting the doorknob to open the front door. She slowly opened it,as if she were trying to sneak in,but it would be no use anyway. Her dad was already standing in front of the door,his arms crossed as his eyebrow raised. "Planning on sneaking in?"
Rio slunk over to her usual spot on the couch,"Look,I was just talking to friend." Her dad nodded,"Agatha?" Rio shook her head,"Surprisingly,no. It was one of the souls I picked up yesterday."
Her dad put out a pointed finger,"Are you and Agatha fighting? I've noticed that you're hanging out less and less." Rio felt her stomach churn at the mention of Agatha's name,not only because of her supposed feelings,but the talk she had trying to practice in the woods. How long could she avoid talking about Agatha?
Instead,Rio got a bit defensive,sitting up straighter to make herself look tough, "Why do you care if I hang out with Agatha or not?" Her dad smiled and shrugged,"I guess I want my daughter to be happy about something,for some reason." Rio's resolve crumbled quickly and she let her posture slump," I should tell the truth."
" I think that I... I'm in love with someone. I could be wrong,but I figured that I wouldn't know until I told you and got a third opinion."
"Third? Who was the second?"
"A cat," Rio said in a serious tone. Her father didn't pick up on it though,letting out a snort,"A cat? That's a nice joke,but you couldn't have picked that up yet."he thought for a moment,his face dropping,and as if her were trying to test something,he called one of the dogs over. Of course,Casper came over,tongue bobbing out of his mouth. Rio watched as her dad got into the husky's face and let out the gruffest bark he could. She let out an amused laugh,cut off by what was supposed to be a returned bark from Casper. Instead,she heard,"Food."
Her dad snapped his head back,startled by the loud bark. He looked shocked,his eyes wide as he looked down at his hands. "I guess you were right about the cat. Continue."
" Whenever I'm around this person,it feels like my heart is beating as fast as light. Touching them feels like... my hand when I put it into the fireplace a long time ago. I've started to have these dreams and thoughts about them,and, it's messing my magic up! I'm scared of it,yet thrilled by it at the same time. Did I break the rules? I just need to know that."
A strange look crossed her dad's face,"Who is it?" Rio nervously looked down at her hands,rubbing them against her pajama pants,"It's Agatha."
Silence. Rio could hear a little gasp come out of her dad,who straightened his posture and put on a blank face. "So that's why you haven't hung out with her?" Something about his tone put Rio on edge,it made her feel a bit frightened. "Well- yeah. But I'm going to-"
"You can keep it that way." Rio's eyebrows furrowed,part anger,part confusion. "What? What do you mean? That's my best friend,dad. You said it yourself,she makes me happy! I'm not just giving up my friendship for some stupid rule." Her dad inhaled,closing his eyes,as if calming himself. Yet somehow,his voice still ended up raised,"Do you realize how important this rule is? It has kept all of the past Deaths from doing stupid or horrible things for love! Do you think of yourself as someone above the rules? Do you think that you could possibly have the restrain to be able to break the rules with no consequences?"
Rio looked at the ground,stammering,"Well,uh,no. But I can stop feeling it! Right? It's just a small thing that I can get over. I don't want to give up my best friend."
"You'll have to give up a lot of things when you become Death,including Agatha." Rio clenched her hand into a fist by her side,"You can't be serious. So what,I have to give up my Agatha now while I'm still training? Why? I seriously don't get it. Especially when there's no chance of her feeling that kind of love for me! I mean,like I said,I can stop-" Her dad cut her off with a yell,"You can't! And you won't! You can't shut off your love for your friend and you know that,or at the very least you should know that. So you should leave her while you still can before I take matters into my own hands!"
Rio sat there,stunned. Her mouth was agape for a moment,her eyes trying to blink away oncoming tears. Her eyes glossed over,her voice cracked no matter how hard she tried to resist it,"Really? A moment ago you were telling me how happy she made me and how you wanted me to be happy. So why pry it away from me with your own bare hands? Do you really care that little for me."
"I'm doing this because I care for you. It'll save you from the torture that I endured and have been enduring for the past few thousand years. Each time I hear about Agatha,I think of-"
"I'm not you,dad. So stop trying to save me from your own mistakes. I'm 13,I don't need your help anymore,so just stop trying,alright?" Rio finally stood up from the couch,swallowing the lump in her throat that had started to become suffocating. She felt the tears start to spill out of her eyes,as much as she hated it,she couldn't control it.
She had started to walk to the front door,causing her dad to stand up and yell to her," Rio,you better not be going to the place I think you are!" Rio swung open the front door,slipping through it and shutting it behind her with a powerful slam. It was safe to say that most of her anger had come out in the form of that slam,and the only thing that was left was her sadness.
Rio flicked her hand,vines bursting out of the ground. She watched in horror as the vines slid towards her,wrapping themselves around her arms and legs. She was pulled through the ground,flung out into the land of the living. Rio's breathing had already been rugged enough from the tears spilling from her cheeks,but being pulled through the ground only amplified the intensity.
She weakly pulled herself from the ground and frantically searched the forest with her eyes. Not too far away from where she was,Rio saw the crowded bushes of azaleas. She had no need to command her body because it moved her legs for her, instinctively going to the place that provided her comfort. Just as she reached the entrance,a figure rose from inside the base,blinking sleep from her blue eyes.
Agatha's eyes had only been fully open for a split second,but it only took that long to notice something was wrong. She pulled Rio into her arms,wrapping her in the warmth of Agatha's touch. Rio practically collapsed into Agatha's arms and let herself be led into the base. She pulled herself away from the hug for a moment to hold Rio's face gently," Rio, what's going on? Just tell me,please."
Rio stared blankly through teary eyes and opened her mouth to speak,but it immediately closed once she found herself to tired to speak. She shook her head before burying it in Agatha's shoulder. She let out a little sigh before wrapping her arms around Rio again. She could hear Agatha humming against her head,a soothing sound that cracked Rio. She let go of the well of tears that she had tried to hold since her fight with her dad,her grip on Agatha tightening as she let out sobs.
Rio's breathing started to calm after a few minutes,and all through those minutes,Agatha held her tight,rubbing her hand up and down Rio's back. She slowly pulled away from the hug,although she wanted to savor it as much as she could,Agatha had to know what happened. Rio looked into Agatha's blue eyes,which were now slightly red rimmed.
Agatha pressed her lips together,trying to hide her hurt expression. Rio's hand hovered over Agatha's moist cheek,her hand eventually grabbing onto Rio's. "It's okay Agatha, I'm doing better now." Agatha looked stunned at the sudden calm that washed over Rio. Agatha kept her mouth shut,though. "I can't be your best friend anymore"
Rio absolutely had the worst way of phrasing things,and she herself could tell when Agatha inhaled sharply. "What do you mean? A- Are you moving or something?" Rio wanted to slap herself,"I phrased that wrong. My dad doesn't want us to be friends and we had this big fight about it. Just know that this hurts me to say,but this might be the last time I see you,ever."
"No,"Agatha simply said one word,and it confused the hell out of Rio. "What?" Agatha scooted closer to her and repeated herself,"No. I don't see anything wrong with our friendship,so why listen to your dad? You could just sneak here at night, I'd wait for you."
"But my dad doesn't like when rules are broken- He'll kill me!" Agatha shook her head,"I don't care for the rules, especially when it comes to my best friend. So your dad can suck it."
"Well,this can't just be some kind of thing without a plan."
"Oh I know that." Agatha said with a smile and a nod. "Which is why I've already made one."
"Alright,tell me about it."
" 1. You wait until your dad goes to sleep,this part is obvious because you can't get caught sneaking off. 2. Create a decoy to put under your blanket. If you dad wakes up, he'll need to believe that you are still in your bed. 3. Leave your robe on the coat rack or wherever you leave it. Parents notice everything,including where everyone's coat is."
"Wait,what else will I wear?"
"I'll give you one of my robes. Now,let me go on with the plan. 4. You walk to our base or to my house. I'll let you in so we can hang out. 5. You go skip back home in the early morning. That's how we can still be best friends." Agatha held out her hand," Do you agree to my plan?"
Rio stared at Agatha's hand for a moment before trying to take it. She pulled back her hand and shook her head,"Gotta verbally agree,Vidal." Rio let out a soft laugh," Alright."
"I,Rio Vidal,agree to Agatha Harkness's smart plan to keep our friendship. And yes,I agree to refer to it as the 'Smartest Plan in the World.'" Agatha raised an eyebrow,"That last part wasn't apart of the agreement. But I do appreciate hearing such high praise." Rio shrugged with a smile,"Whatever. I included it because it was true. Now,is the plan in motion?"
" The plan is a go."