by K L Rymer
The man he looked up to was not who he thought he was after all.
Shrewdie, however, looks cold and calculating as ever, and I was right. She does know who really killed Crystal.
Lydia’s glare is so intense, I can feel her eyes burning holes into my skull, and I meet her gaze, calm as usual.
She’s not the only one. Everyone glares at me, shaking their heads for daring to be a Black, the same as my evil, murderous cousin.
I was the most hated girl at my high school, so I’m accustomed to being glared at. In fact, I thrive off it (haters gonna hate and all), but not tonight.
I’m utterly helpless. There’s nothing I can do, just sit back and let that foul man spread awful lies about my cousin, the one he killed in cold blood.
Angry tears threaten to escape as my heart thrashes in my chest, but I keep my calm, meeting every single hateful pair of eyes in the room. One by one, they look away, and I smirk.
No one beats me in a staring match.
“We should burn his body. Along with his cousin,” Lydia snarls next to me, and I turn her way.
She’s the only one who doesn’t look away when I return her scowl, and I have to commend her.
It takes guts to look into the eyes of a Black. Real, real guts.
Though if I’d so much as used my powers on her, she’d be sorry. But lucky for her, White had warned me that there would be dire consequences if I dared thrall any of his council members, so I sit back, grit my teeth, and take her shit.
White shakes his head, giving Lydia that good-natured smile. “His body never survived the attack, sweet Lydia, along with Crystal’s. Hence, why we had to forgo a burial for my beautiful daughter.”
Again, White lies. Crystal and Eli are lying deep underground in his sacred crypt.
White had pretty much cordoned off the forest and the whole underground area. Apparently, the sacred waterfall had become tainted by Eli after the battle, but really White had tainted it himself.
Though I am surprised he didn’t have Eli’s body burned and had him placed by Crystal instead.
Perhaps he wants to preserve them in order to harbour their powers somehow? I’d felt the power radiating off both of their bodies. It would be a terrible waste to let such energy go.
I haven’t had a chance to go back and visit them the last few days, but I will try later this week.
Finally, White rises to his feet, and that’s our cue to leave.
Before I slip out the room, Lydia grabs my arm. A few others stand behind her.
Unfortunately, White had already left with Shrewdie, so I don’t have his support as they all gang up on me. Ashley still lingers in the corner, watching carefully.
“You watch your back, Black,” Lydia warns. “His Holiness may trust you, but we don’t. If you so much as try anything, we will kill you.”
I gaze into her dark brown eyes. Lydia was a raving feminist and has criticised me in the past for being a bad influence on young girls and women. Don’t worry, my followers were there to back me up, trolling her page and whatnot, but still. I can’t stand people like her.
Everyone is free to live their lives how they want, whatever gender, race, or sexuality they may be, so long as they’re not hurting anyone. We’re all unique, and in the end, I do me. If you don’t like it... well, go and suck a rotten egg.
The world would be boring if we were all the same.
I wriggle out of her grip and match her glare, and one by one they file out the room. Lydia stands her ground, never taking her gaze off me, and I smirk, showing her my back.
Don’t worry, she’s only won this battle. But not the war.
Before I escape, I catch Ashley stalking in the corner like a creeper, and I roll my eyes, heading up to bed.
I will be sleeping like a baby tonight. Despite Lydia’s threat.
9. Crystal
Sergeant Sparkles gallops forth as he leads me to my next destination.
We walk through a strange, jungle-like terrain. Vines swathe the trees as monkeys and parrots watch as we tread along a bright marble path. Birds chatter in the canopy, and I peer up at a blazing hot sun.
I don’t know where we’re going. I just sit back, a passenger and an observer. When a magical, heavenly unicorn offers you a ride, you don’t protest. You just get on his back and keep quiet.
This land is like nothing I’ve seen before. It’s like I have entered a dream where little makes sense, but I cannot stay. I must find my demon and return to earth somehow, and stop my father.
It’s all so clear now why Eli and I fell in love, and why our bodies’ tingle whenever we touch. We were destined to save humanity from my corrupt father as good and evil, black and white, and create balance and harmony to the world. That’s all I ever felt when I laid with Eli — peace. Everything just made sense, and there was no doubt in my mind.
Of course, it did help that he was smoking hot, and my lady parts throb like old times when I think about his body.
Eli still turns me on, even after death.
How? I shouldn’t be feeling anymore, but this world has made me feel more alive than I ever did on earth, and I’m starting to wonder if death was just a myth, and no one really dies. We’re all just living in some simulated reality until we finally ‘wake up’.
But is that to say that this is true reality? Nothing makes sense in limbo, but it’s a between world after all. Heaven and hell on either side.
I never got to see what was beyond the door, but I bet it was something breath-taking, and beyond human comprehension. Whatever it was, it allowed my grandparents to be young at will again, going back to the decade they knew and loved most.
When they came to me though, they appeared as an elderly couple, which was when I knew and loved them. I wouldn’t relate to a pair of teenagers, and they respected that.
So, you could be pretty much any age you wanted in heaven.
The jungle soon breaks away, and we start to climb a hill. I peer back, gasping as the landscape spreads below.
It looks like a patchwork quilt of various lights and colours. That’s the only way to describe it.
Sergeant’s strong golden hooves carry us up the deep incline, and it feels as if we’re entering heaven. We bypass the clouds, the air clear and cool, and then finally, we stop.
Sergeant kneels and I slip down from his back, gazing at the landscape on the other side of the hill.
It’s a long stretch of grey valley. Tall skyscrapers stand against a blood-red sky, and I shiver, backing away.
It looks like a dystopian city, and I want to go back into the beautiful jungle on the other side of the hill, but Sergeant nudges me forward, and I sigh.
Yet I must go on alone. This is my final test.
I meet those gold eyes, the ones that stare deep into my soul, and smile.
“You’ve been an excellent guide,” I say, stroking his coat.
He’s as soft as velvet, and I close my eyes, resting my head against his snout. If only I could take him with me.
Sergeant nickers as I caress his shiny coat, and we stay that way for a while.
Someone or something up above had decided to send Sergeant my way, and I thank whoever they are.
It was an experience I would never forget, and I hope that by the time I finally get back to earth, I’ll still have all my memories of this place.
Sergeant pulls back and gallops up the hill. When he reaches the peak, he rises up on his legs and squeals, disappearing with a flash.
I shield my eyes, momentarily blinded, but when I open them again, Sergeant has gone, and I’m alone at last.
There’s only one way forward now, so that’s where I’ll go. Taking a deep breath, I start my descent down the hill.
As I approach the city, the landscape changes. The weather becomes an abysmal grey. A few raindrops fall from the sky, and it stings my skin. The grass turns yellow as rubbish litters the side of the road. There’s graffiti on signs, and I suck in a shaky breath.
<
br /> I dread to think of what the city looks like if the outskirts are this bad.
The road finally comes to a stop, and now I gaze down into that concrete jungle.
I can’t see much through the fog, save for millions of bright neon lights, but I sure can hear the city.
Shouts echo up the hill, loud and raucous, and then car tyres screech against unseen asphalt, followed by a crash.
A woman’s shrill scream sends a chill down my spine.
Why would Sergeant send me here? Once I go down there, I may never find my way back out again. The city seems to go on and on, stretching way beyond the horizon, and I just wish Eli were beside me.
He’d make this so much easier (and defeat the purpose of having to go down into the city in the first place).
But if it was the only way I can be with him again, so be it. I will brave this hellish city, and come out stronger.
I release a pent-up breath and take my first step into the unknown.
Well, see you on the other side I guess, Eli...
10. Eli
Mother sips tea across from me in what can only be described as an English country garden, but better. It looks like something straight out of Mary Poppins, and I gaze in awe.
Everything looks so colourful and vibrant. A chorus of songbirds fills the air, as flowers bloom in all shapes and sizes. They smell so sweet, and I breathe them in, releasing a sigh.
We sit beneath the weeping branches of a willow tree, sipping tea on a small table. A lake glistens on our right where a mother swan glides along the water with her five cygnets, and my mother watches them with a smile.
It’s good to see she has it so well here. She even gets free tea and cakes, and a five-star view.
This was only a glimpse into her little corner of heaven, and if a small bout was this good, I couldn’t imagine what the rest looks like.
Mother puts her cup down and beams across the table at me, and my heart melts.
I’ve missed that smile, dreaming of it every night since she left twenty-one years ago. But I finally have her back, even if just for a little while.
I’d be happy to stay with her for all eternity, but I knew I had to find Crystal and be with her again. As perfect as heaven was, it wouldn’t be heaven without her.
“I still can’t believe how handsome you’ve become, Elias.”
I raise my brow. No one has called me that since... well, Mother was alive.
She goes on. “It only seems like yesterday when I held you in my arms, wiping away your tears after Mister Whiskers died.”
I chuckle. “He was a good cat. I miss him. I’ve not had another pet since.”
Not that I was ever really an animal person anyway, but cats seemed to get me. They were the only animals that didn’t balk in my presence (the day Crystal and I went to the zoo, the animals stayed far away from me. But they gravitated towards her).
Mother gives a knowing smile next, then gazes towards the bushes behind her. “Mister Whiskers.”
Something pounces out the bushes, and my heart gives a gigantic leap when I meet the luminous green eyes of a black-furred cat.
I jump to my feet, smiling ear to ear. “Mister Whiskers!”
The cat chirps then breaks into a run, jumping up into my arms, and I hold him close. He purrs and head butts me in the face, and I laugh, forgetting how cute he was.
Yeah... I’m a bit out of character right now.
Besides, Mister Whiskers was always my cat. Never Misaki’s. A part of me suspects she had a part to play in his death, but she was three years old at the time. I can’t hold it against her for the rest of her life (not that she hasn’t done far worse things now, anyway).
Mister Whiskers doesn’t stay for long, and shoots off into the bushes again.
Well, it was a good reunion while it lasted.
Mother chortles, and I meet her grey eyes. It really is like looking into a mirror.
“What’s so funny?” I ask, taking a sip of my tea. It’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted. I’ve always been more of a coffee person, but this stuff’s good.
“I’ve missed this,” she replies. “It’s like old times when we used to have tea out in the garden. Do you remember that, Elias, sweetheart?”
My mind goes back to that tender time. I really do, I always dreamed about it at night, but it was something I’d pushed to the back of my mind the rest of the time. All my memories of my mother had been locked away, and the guilt soon creeps in.
I’d pretty much pretended as if she’d never existed, and closed off my heart to anyone else, becoming a shell of a person. The only way I honoured her loving memory was by vowing to kill the man who took her life.
A heavy sigh leaves my lips as I push my tea away, staring towards the lake. The swan lets her cygnets onto her back now, covering them with her wings.
How precious.
In all honesty, I’ve hardly felt like a real person since the day my mother died. When I see happy families together, just like the mother swan and her cygnets, I’m filled with envy. Because I see something I once had. Something that was cruelly taken from me.
And the one responsible still lives while I sit in this peaceful garden, and my blood boils.
A soft, gentle hand closes around my fingers next, and I peer up, meeting her gaze.
“Let go of all the hate, sweetheart. You don’t have to avenge me. I’m at peace now.”
My heart pounds when I meet the conviction in her eyes, but deep down, I see the regret.
The regret of leaving me.
“You were thirty-two years old when he killed you, Mother. You were shot down in your prime, leaving behind a heartbroken eight-year-old son. I know you’re happy, but you still deserved a full life. A life with me.”
She hangs her head, and the sky seems to dim slightly as a cloud appears, but I go on.
“I’m sorry, Mother, but I can’t forgive so easily. But I promise, I will avenge you. I will make him pay. You’re not the only loved one he has taken from me.”
Silence passes between us, the only sound the singing birds now, and I wait patiently for her reply.
Finally, she looks up, and her grey eyes harden like stone. “In that case... make sure he knows what hit him. I... I never got to see you become a man, but here you are, my sweet Elias... fully grown. You’re right. He... doesn’t deserve to live.”
My heart breaks when I hear her words. I know full well how hard it must be for her to admit all that. Lily Black was always a gentle soul, not unlike someone else I know. She never had an ounce of hate in her whatsoever, only love and forgiveness, and now I stand, coming around to her side of the table.
She still has the young eyes of a thirty-two year old woman. Not the wiser eyes of the fifty-three year old she would have otherwise been today if White hadn’t killed her.
But I guess she remains this way as it’s how I remember her. If that’s the case, then why don’t I look the same as when she last saw me? It only seemed fair.
“I’m going back to earth. I don’t know how, but I will stop him, Mother. I won’t let him destroy any more families.”
Mother smiles, tears running down her cheeks, and now she stands, wrapping her arms around my neck.
I’m taller than she is now as she only reaches my chin, but I’ll always be her little boy. No matter how old I get.
“You find her for me now, Elias. She’s a good girl for you. That’s why I sent her your way. To make you whole again.”
I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of her hair. It still has the same lavender scent I remember, and I pull her closer. I’d had an inkling someone up above had sent Crystal to me anyway, even though I never believed in heaven at the time, so I’m not surprised.
“I love you, mum.”
She squeezes me tighter, releasing a soft whimper. “I... I love you too. From the moment you were born...”
Tears slip past my cheeks, and now I finally pull away, gazing into her shimmering grey po
ols.
Mother really was a beautiful woman, so much more attractive than I am. My looks are just a poor imitation of hers. She’s the real deal.
She takes my hand and leads me towards the lake, and when I look at her again, I’m a small boy of eight.
I no longer wear the black suit, but summer shorts and a blue shirt to go with her dress, and then we stop by the lake and feed the swans just like old times.
Now this was bliss.
11. Misaki
I wake that morning feeling surprisingly good. Somehow, I know Eli has found peace, and I smile for my cousin. It’s as if we’re still connected, Black intuition or whatever you want to call it, and I’m rather impressed by my ability to channel into the world beyond.
I bet he’s sipping tea with Auntie Lily again like old times while Mister Whiskers chases butterflies amongst the flowers. Sometimes my own mother and I used to join them, and Eli and I would fight while our mothers talked about grownup stuff.
Wow... who knew I was so sentimental?
Wherever Eli was now, he was no longer of this world. That’s for sure. But I know he’s still out there living on in some shape or other.
You may be surprised, but I’ve always been a firm believer of the afterlife. When you’re gifted with supernatural powers such as mine, your mind wanders.
I’d just always assumed I’d go to hell when I finally die, and I was always perfectly content with that.
But it’s different when you lose someone you love, and the first fear I had for Eli was the questionable fate of his soul.
He was never really a bad guy. Not in the same way his father was, but he was far from perfect. A thousand women he’d slept with before he met Crystal. A thousand bloody different vaginas (how did he not die from an STI years ago). That should have given him a first class ticket to hell.
I wouldn’t want that for my cousin. Our relationship may have been rocky, but he deserves peace and happiness. He’d had a shit life after all, from losing his mother so young, and then having a prick of a father to pick up the pieces. So you’d think the Big Guy upstairs would cut him some slack in the least.
