A solid gold double electric guitar appeared on the desk. Its luster was unmatched, its shine unrivaled. I picked it up, feeling the weight of solid gold in my hands. There was an unfamiliar strange feeling. The guitar was magical.
“What would you like to hear?” I asked, hearing my grandfather saying, “All that glitters isn’t gold.”
“Play something for me. Play something with all your heart and all your emotion. You know what I want to hear. Something you haven’t played in a long time. Worlds Apart isn’t the only song you sing with anguish and pain.” Christine had a seductive voice. The Ruler of the Underworld grinned.
I held the guitar close. My reflection was visible in its gold luster shimmering in the moonlight. Through the dusty windows, three moons loomed in the night sky. I closed my eyes, and thought about my mother’s funeral. I knew exactly what they wanted to hear.
I recalled my mother in the casket and all the people at the funeral. I could remember the flowers, and my sullen grandparents and melancholic uncles. Young Harry was sobbing. My father was standing in the back, stoic with red eyes. I was wearing a black suit.
My eyes remained closed as I recalled another image of my mother, a few years before her passing. She was happy; my entire family used to be so happy. We were on a different course then. My father was much younger, full of life. We were on a beach, playing with a colorful ball. I hadn’t thought much about that day, but now it was so vivid, and so real.
The memory of how sick she became and how quickly she deteriorated replayed in my mind. I recalled her coughing. She looked like she had not slept. I remembered the hospital rooms, the chemotherapy treatments. She had lost her hair and so much weight. My mother had even lost the color in her face. I remembered coming home from school, and finding her dead. That was the day that everything changed. That was the day that my course was altered. I was on my way to becoming something special, someone happy, and that was the day it ended. At her funeral, I played classical guitar, in honor of my dead mother. It was the last time I played her favorite song. It was the last time I played Ave Maria. It was the reason why I did not want to do the school play for Mr. Zoose. I vowed I would never play that song again. But now, I had no choice. Now everything depended on my rendition, and it needed to be powerful. It had to be powerful enough to convince him to let me have Delancey back.
My chest swelled with emotion, my heart sinking with heaviness. A single tear trickled down my face. My fingers quivered as I held the pick. I played Ave Maria on guitar, and the longer I played, the more I wept silently. I kept my eyes closed, and continued to picture my mother. It was the most painful song I had ever performed, and that’s why I had not played this song since my mother’s death. I played without pause, without hesitation. I played despite the agony, and the extremely sad and painful feeling that the song brought from the depths of my memory, from the depths of my soul.
Someone was singing, in a haunting voice. The voice accompanied my guitar play. My eyes remaining closed, I could hear her voice. It was celestial, coming directly from the heavens. I continued to play, and the voice continued to sing. Was it just in my head? I wept all the more, as I played the guitar with increased emotion, increased sorrow. The singer’s voice was overwhelming.
When the song ended, she stopped singing. Slowly my eyes opened and my mother
was standing in front of me. She was an ethereal vision of love and beauty. Her radiance emanated warmth. I wanted to reach out and touch her but I hesitated. Overwhelmed with emotions of both happiness and sadness, I burst into tears. I held my hand out to her, and all I could say in my tear riddled voice was, “I miss you.” She placed her hand on my head and smiled. Slowly, a single tear fell from her eyes onto my head. She dissipated into thin air.
The Ruler of the Underworld and his consort were smiling and clapping their hands. “Well done. It’s truly a gift from the heavens to play as great as you do. Fantastic performance! You have moved me, and my consort, and here is what I am willing to do for you.”
I tried to recompose myself.
“There are three things you have to agree to before you can take Delancey back. The first…you can never play the guitar for anyone other than me again. You can never play for an audience of any kind, even if it’s one person. I will visit you whenever I want you to play for me.”
I thought about the band, and my musical career. We were scheduled to record the album the next day. This would mean the end of my musical career. I could never even play for Delancey.
“Don’t do it, David. You have a God-given gift. People need to hear your music. You were given this gift for a reason. Don’t let him take it away,” Delancey pleaded with me.
It would mean giving away my destiny and any chance I would have to become a successful or even unsuccessful musician. I could never even play on the subway.
“Fine, I agree, if I get Delancey back,” I said.
The towering serpentine empress and the God of Death laughed out loud. Their sinister laughter bellowed like thunder.
“Second, leave here and trust that Delancey will follow you back. Trust that she is behind you, and never look back to check. You have to trust that she is following behind. No second guessing.”
“How can I trust YOU? You have cheated me out of every chance of happiness in my life? How can I trust anything after having lost my mother?” I asked.
“If you can’t trust me, who can you trust? I’m the most consistent thing in the universe.” His laughter ceased.
“And finally, you must get back to your world and your body before sunrise, or else you stay here forever. Go now! I hope you make it back in time. But if you don’t, I still win. You have only until sunrise.”
The God of Death and his consort vanished into the distance. There was one and half moons left in the night sky. The half moon that remained had already started to fade.
There was little time left. I started walking back toward the main hall, hearing footsteps behind me and the chains clamoring. Delancey was behind me, and I kept going. We climbed up the stairs, and left the dining hall. I ran for the main exit. In the moonlight, two shadows were on the floor. One was clearly mine, and the other looked like Delancey’s figure.
“Just keep following me; I know the way out,” I said. There was no answer. I ran out the front entrance, and knew not to go too fast. I had to move at a speed at which Delancey could follow. I raced past the guard, toward the ferry. I did not hear footsteps or chains behind me, but I could not look back.
No one else was leaving Ellis Island. I boarded facing forward, hoping that Delancey was still behind me. Then I heard a noise on the deck of the ferry. Her chains were audibly dragging with her movements. The ferry slowly cut through the choppy waters. I called out, “Delancey, are you still with me,” but there was no answer.
The choppy waters muffled all sound on the ferry. I felt so cold from the winds. Minutes later, the ferry pulled into South Street. Stepping off the boat, I said, “Delancey, we have to head to Brooklyn. Just keep following me.” There was still no answer, no reply, and no sound. I jogged slowly. In the moonlight, there were two shadows, and one was definitely mine. I felt confident that she was still behind me.
I started to imagine how great it would be to have her back in my life, and how we were going to spend the rest our lives together. Our future would be so wonderful. I imagined a new level of happiness for me, happiness for the rest of my life.
When I was heading north on Broadway, I could no longer hear anything behind me. Only one moon remained in the sky.
“We’re almost there, Delancey,” I cried out. We were running out of time. My heart raced with nervous anticipation. Quickly, we ran up the Canyon of Heroes, toward City Hall.
The first ticker tape parade in New York was for the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. A long list of history’s most noteworthy names have been celebrated in the Canyon of Heroes. The end of World War Two saw a great celebration here, as did the astronauts returning from the moon in 1969. I didn’t need a parade; I only needed Delancey.
Someone approached me, looking like Sam, only taller, and slightly older.
“She’s not behind you,” Sam said. “You’re wasting your time.”
This was not Sam, just the avatar of my self doubt in his image. I continued north on Broadway, and the same apparition popped out of a corner. Once again he shouted at me. “Look behind you, she’s not there.” I kept moving but his statement echoed in my head.
I stayed on course, moving closer to City Hall. The Brooklyn Bridge was near City Hall. I was growing less confident that Delancey was still behind me. It was dark, and in the night sky, the single moon was now more than half way gone. I hurried past Reade Street, and shouted out to Delancey, “Keep up with me, we are almost there.” Still, there was no answer.
On the corner of Reade Street, Sam’s apparition stood on the corner shaking his head “no.” I kept running. I could not turn back to make sure she was there. I just had to trust Delancey, and I had to trust the God of Death to keep up his end of the bargain. The streets were deserted, and the dim light made it too difficult to read the street names. I was getting overly anxious. Was she behind me or wasn’t she? I called out her name, but still no answer.
I ran a little faster, getting confused. Self doubt was creeping in. How I could trust the Ruler of the Underworld? What had I been thinking?
Sam popped out from another corner. “Only a fool would trust him; he has cheated you before and he’s doing it now.” I kept going, trying to ignore Sam.
The Canyon of Heroes was desolate. Dark buildings were covered in soot and decay along the route. Ironically, the pathway chosen to honor heroes in American history was for me a hurdle to the Brooklyn Bridge. I was growing weak and more confused. It was lonely, daunting, and seemed haunted.
The demonic beings and shadowy figures were visible again. I tried not to look at their faces. Snakes were all over the streets.
Finally, I was at the United States Courthouse, across the street from City Hall. Another figure was standing there. The person was medium height, with long hair. He resembled Mr. DeJesus.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Mr. DeJesus.
“I am here to help you make a rational decision. You have talent that less than one percent of all the people on this planet have. It is a gift given to you and not yours to give away. Yet you are willing to part with it. Pursue your destiny and fulfill your potential by becoming a great musician. Anything else would be a slap in the face of your father. You are not giving up anything for love here. You are giving it away because of guilt and regret.” Mr. DeJesus stood still with a heiligenschein softly illuminating his face.
“I love her with all my heart. She is my world; she is my life. I’ve lost so much already. I can’t lose her too.” Distraught with confusion, I was no longer sure that I was doing the right thing.
“David Orpheus, you have an entire future, a bright one. You will be no better than those who take their own life; for if you trade your God-given talent for ephemeral happiness, you will have traded your life away.”
“I’m trading it for a lifetime with Delancey. Is she still behind me?” I asked.
“One lifetime is ephemeral. If you had faith you would know if she was behind you.” Mr. DeJesus’s apparition evaporated; his words were resonating deep within my core as I continued.
I entered the Brooklyn Bridge walking along on the pedestrian walkway. Less than a quarter of the moon remained. It was nearly daybreak, and the dark night sky had started turning into a brilliant blue. “Delancey, we are almost there.”
The bridge was long and it started getting cold and windy. Wilson, the jumper was still in the same spot where I had left him. “Why are you still here?” I asked him.
“It’s a suspension bridge, so time stands still while you are on it. Just ask the people that sit in traffic on this bridge in the morning,” Wilson joked.
“Wilson, is there a girl following behind me?” I asked.
“Don’t ask me that question,” Wilson shouted angrily, and jumped off the bridge once more.
I ran faster, heeding Wilson’s words about time standing still. I could see Tillary Street. I was so close, just a few more blocks, and I would be back to where my body was, back to where I could leave the astral plane. I ran faster and faster; the moon was fading. I was so close to the end.
“Delancey,” I called out, “just a few more minutes, we can make it.” There was no answer. Sam was waiting on the corner. Everything he said increased my self doubts.
“She’s not behind you. They lied to you. Don’t believe them. Don’t bring back something with you that isn’t Delancey,” he said.
I started to panic. Was she behind me or wasn’t she? Was I being tricked into giving up my music career? Would Death keep Delancey anyway? I didn’t know what to do. So confused, so full of doubts, I felt betrayed. I could see Delfina.
“Delfina, is Delancey behind me?” I asked.
No answer.
“Delfina, please just answer,” I pleaded. Her mouth was sewn shut; her eyes were without pupils.
The moon was no longer visible, but the sun had not risen as of yet. I was almost out of time. Delfina pointed to Stanton. I had to get back to my body. I climbed through the window and headed to the basement. Quickly, I meandered through the hallways, through the boiler room, and toward the electrical room.