Authors: Lilian Carmine
“Yep. Nineteen years ago today. We celebrate the day every year. Stupid tradition, huh?”
He looked puzzled for a second. “What is the mode of human celebration for birth days?”
“Well, we usually have parties with friends and family, receive presents, eat cake, blow out some candles and wish a happy birthday. I guess that covers it all for humans.”
“I see,” he said and paused, looking at me. “Well, happy birth day, Joe.”
“Thanks.”
“Where are your friends and family?”
“I asked them to go out and have some fun today, as my birthday present.”
He stared at the walls of my room in silence for a while. He seemed to be thinking hard about something. “I wish I had brought something for you today … a present. That is the tradition, yes?” he asked.
“I didn’t call you here for that. I just wanted to apologize, that’s all,” I said truthfully. “Besides, the only thing I want most in the world right now you can’t give me,” I mumbled, staring at my feet again, trying hard not to think about Tristan and failing miserably.
Vigil glanced down to the floor as well. “I am sorry. I cannot bring him back. It is out of my reach,” he said, and his voice became sad again as he looked at me with concerned eyes. “You need to move on. Dwelling on this matter will only bring you pain, Joe.” he said.
“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock,” I snapped at him, a little too sharply. “I’m sorry, I know that, Vigil. It’s not that easy. Take you, for instance. How is it going, the ‘getting over me’ part of the program? You did answer pretty fast. Were you waiting for my call up there?” I jabbed at him and instantly regretted it. “I’m sorry,” I said passing my hand over my hair, frustrated. “I don’t want to be mean. I was just trying to explain that it’s hard to forget and move on.”
“I-I know. You are right. It’s not easy,” he said, hunching his shoulders. “I tried the soup … it didn’t work.”
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, making him look up at me, startled.
“Yeah, I tried the soup too. It sucks, I know.” I smiled weakly. “I thought about going to talk with Sky again,” I said. “One last chance to convince her, you know? But I didn’t have the courage to do it …”
“You should not try to do that, Joe!” he replied with urgency in his voice. “Do not try to meet her again! You do not have your guardian protective spells any more. You would not make it back this time. Do you understand?”
“Okay! Okay. I get it,” I said, raising my arms in surrender. I guessed I knew deep down another visit to Death might be my last. Maybe it was my witchy instincts flaring up. We both stared at the wall in front of us in silence for a while.
“What if you ask her to drop by, pay me a visit? Maybe tell her I need to talk to her?” I suggested.
He shifted uncomfortably. “She knows what you want to talk about. She would not come,” he said plainly. “You really do not give up easily, do you?” he asked quietly, staring into the distance.
I smiled softly to myself, remembering Tristan’s husky voice telling me how I was so damn stubborn, and how that always earned me a passionate kiss from him. He loved my stubbornness. “This is something worth fighting for.”
“Yes. I think so,” he said quietly. “I was willing to die for it. I suppose you are doing what you have to do.”
“Well, she is the only one that could do something about it, isn’t she?” I said.
Vigil stayed quiet for a few minutes before answering me. “I think there might be
a way
,” he said after a while. He turned to look at me with serious eyes. “I think I can help you talk with ‘Sky’. I can give you
that
for a present.”
“Really? You would do that for me?” I asked incredulously, hope rising again.
“Yes,” he said, and his eyes told me silently he would do anything for me. He explained his plan quickly and I nodded, excitement flooding inside with each word he spoke. “Did you understand everything I explained to you?” he asked seriously.
I nodded eagerly.
“Good. You need to do it now, then,” he urged me.
“Okay. I’m not so sure how I did it the last times I went there, but I’m trying anyway,” I said lying down on my bed.
“Just relax and slow your breathing and slow your heartbeat as much as you are able. Concentrate hard on her and her desert. I will be there with you as well, I promise,” he said, putting his hand over mine. I instantly relaxed, because the stabbing pains stopped with his touch.
“Why do you do that?” he asked curiously.
“Do what?” I asked, opening my eyes to look at him.
“You let out a deep breath of relief every time I touch you, or you touch me.”
“Oh. Sorry. It’s just … my wrist hurts when you’re around, remember?” I asked, lifting up my wrist to show him the black mark under my skin.
“Yes, I remember. I thought that would make you want me as far away from you as possible,” he reasoned.
“Yeah, well, the pain stops completely when you touch me.”
“It … stops?” he asked, surprised.
“Yeah. Completely.”
“Curious,” he said thoughtfully.
“That’s all you have to say? I thought you would have an explanation.”
“I do not. So I should try to always touch you whenever I am close to you, then,” he vowed solemnly.
“Uh … that sounded really weird, but thanks, I guess. Just don’t say that out loud to anyone, please?” I asked, blushing a little.
“Why? I do need to touch you when we are together; it is for your own good,” he said like it was the most logical thing ever. “Why are your cheeks all colored? Are you unwell?”
I coughed, trying to hide my embarrassment. “I’m all right, don’t worry. It’s just … let me handle the touching. If the pain gets too uncomfortable, I’ll tell you, okay? Now, let’s go,” I said, lying back again and closing my eyes. But I was too excited and anxious to relax and fall asleep. After a while I opened one eye, and Vigil was there, staring at me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, worried.
“Nothing,” I grunted. “I’m too anxious. I can’t fall asleep right now.”
He eyed me wearily. “I can help you stop your heartbeat; it only needs to happen for a few seconds so you can get there. But it is going to be unpleasant. It would be best if you do it yourself,” he explained.
“Just do it, it’s all right with me,” I authorized him.
“Okay, then. Lie down, please,” he asked. He leaned really close to me, his eyes focused fiercely on mine, and he rested his hands on my chest, palms stretched wide open. I blushed again, because it looked like he was “copping a feel”. He frowned slightly and gave me a puzzled smile, his face really close to mine.
“Why do I feel strange being this close to you?” he asked quietly, a disconcerted look on his face.
“It’s normal to feel weird. It’s the ‘feelings’ thing acting out. Don’t worry about it.”
“Oh. I see. Curious,” he mumbled. “Close your eyes now. And concentrate,” he ordered. I did as he told me. He placed his hand over my chest again and the strangest sensation spread all over my body. It was as if all the air in my lungs rushed out, and my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. He wasn’t kidding when he said it was going to be really unpleasant. I felt really horrible for about a second, then I opened my eyes again and I was sitting on warm glittery sand. I realized I was back at Sky’s desert place, and I sat up and looked urgently around. Vigil was right next to me, like he promised he would be.
“You need to call for her quickly!” he urged me.
Our plan was set in motion; I needed to hurry now. I looked up and the night sky was already clearing in the horizon, the sun already starting to rise, and really fast. I shouted as loud as I could for Sky, and just as I was starting to panic, the blazing sun coming up fast, she appeared right next to me.
She looked as beautiful as ever, with that angelic, innocent pale face of hers.
“You’re here!” I exclaimed, and looked at Vigil. He waved his hand quickly in the air and everything stopped, the light ball frozen on its path in the sky. Vigil had done it again! He had side-stepped us “backstage” in time. Now I wasn’t in immediate danger from the boiling sun, I could talk freely, without worrying about time. Sky looked around curiously for a second, but she didn’t seem surprised.
“Hi, Sky. Sorry about all the shouting and freezing time, and all, but I really need to talk to you!” I greeted her awkwardly.
“That’s okay. We can talk here. I do love your visits, Joe. It’s nice seeing you again,” she greeted me back, walking over to me.
“You don’t seem surprised to see me.”
“I’m not. You are very persistent. I knew I would see you again.” Then she turned to look at Vigil. “Seeing him here helping you … now
that
is a surprise!” she said, raising an inquiring eyebrow at Vigil. “Breaking rules? How very unlike you,
‘Vigil’
,” she said, putting emphasis on his name.
“Milady.” Vigil bowed lightly at her in a formal greeting and watched her with his unblinkingly stare. “I have changed my ways,” he answered plainly and truthfully.
“I can see that.” Sky smiled.
“I asked him to bring us here so we can talk,” I said.
She smirked a little and looked at Vigil. “Taking orders from her now, Vigil?” she teased, and he looked disgruntled for a second. I sensed Sky didn’t like Vigil very much.
“I didn’t
order
him to do anything,” I cut in. “He agreed to help me, because he’s my friend. And today is my birthday, so I asked him for this as a present, and he was kind enough to agree,” I defended him.
Vigil looked surprised at my description of him as a friend.
“Is that so?” Sky said. “It is very
kind
of him indeed. The Gray Hooded ones are not famous for their kindness, you know. You must have had quite the effect on him, Joe Gray. I knew it’d be very interesting watching over you. You’re very good at changing people’s ways,” she said playfully.
And that was a good cue for the script I had been rehearsing in my head. “Oh, yes, don’t you know? I’m very special and unique. And I like visiting you here. I want to be friends,” I said cheerfully and watched as she beamed happily at that. “And I also happen to be very entertaining, as I’m sure you must have noticed by now. I’m part of this big dramatic love story – girl falls for ghost. It’s got drama and romance and tragedy too. It’s all very exciting. And I get into fights, I cast dangerous spells, and I have these amazing friends. We’re in a band. Too. It’s fun 24/7!” I said like a TV voice-over announcing the most amazing series ever seen. “But now, I’m afraid I must tell you, that the show is over.” I dropped the excitement from my voice.
Sky’s bright smile faltered as she heard this.
“Yes, I’m done. It’s moping around all day long in the house for me now. No more jokes or fun and adventures for me. I’m through with it all. I’m quitting the band. I’m taking this show off air. You’d better start browsing for other channels.” I walked up to Sky and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. A bold move, I must admit, but I was a desperate woman.
I continued my monologue. “But I have a proposal for you,” I said, leaning in closer to her. “Let’s make a deal, right here, right now, just you and me. You bring Tristan back to me, without any magic deadlines or tricks like last time – and in a way that Vigil’s people have no say over, because it won’t be a mistake that needs to be fixed. You bring him back and I promise you the best show yet for your personal enjoyment. It’ll be a life full of possibilities that you can watch and enjoy. Plus, you can always visit, whenever you want. When you’re off work, you know. That’d be cool. I’m sure no one has ever offered that to you before,” I said, watching for her reaction closely. She was impossible to read, though.
“I know you said you can’t meddle in these kinds of affairs, but I know for a fact that you do it all the time!” I continued. “You do it subtly, trying not to draw too much attention to yourself, but I know there are sometimes miracles, cases where someone was dead one minute and came back to life the next … There are stories everywhere of people
cheating Death
,” I said, all excited. “But they weren’t really
cheating
you, were they? No one can cheat
you
! You
let
them live, because you wanted too. Right? You allowed it to happen! They probably all had interesting lives. I do know how much it sucks when there’s a good show you really like and then it’s cancelled!” I tightened my grip on her shoulder. I was pushing my luck now. “So I know you can do this one thing for me, if you really want to. What do you say, Sky? Do we have a deal?” I asked and held my breath, waiting for her answer.
I had given it all I had, used all my powers of persuasion. Sky wasn’t going to be convinced by pleas of how much I loved Tristan and wanted him back. She needed a good reason.
For her
. I was praying with all my might that I had judged her correctly. She did always mention how entertaining I was. And being Death for millennia must be a little dull.
She looked thoughtfully at me. “You have been moping around a lot lately,” she mumbled, and turned to look at Vigil. “What about you?” she asked him, and started walking towards him, untangling herself from my hold. Vigil had been watching our conversation with an indecipherable expression on his face. “I’m sure you would want to
report
this to your people,” she inquired.
“There is nothing to be reported here,” Vigil said with a slight bow. “As the girl said, this is a deal between you two. I have nothing to do with this.”
“You are more powerful now because of the girl’s naming,” Sky reasoned.
“I have more power than an individual alone. But they are many. I cannot subjugate them all,” he stated.
Sky looked up thoughtfully. “But you won’t report anything and they won’t be coming to annoy me over any of this?” she asked, a tiny smirk playing on her lips.
Vigil nodded.
“So, let’s make this really interesting, shall we?” she said, grinning broadly now.
“You have yourself a deal, Joe Gray!
You can have your ghost boy back and a life full of possibilities! And you …” she said, turning back to Vigil “… should have an even bigger advantage to handle your fellow hooded colleagues now.” She pressed her thumb in the middle of Vigil’s forehead. His eyes widened in shock as a bright white light flashed inside his eyes. “That should be immensely entertaining to watch!” She giggled after taking her hand away from him. He stood still with shocked eyes, staring at her in awe.