With a start, Walter realized that he did have an answer. The human part of him almost screamed it at him. The gods in Walter’s world came with stories. Tales that showed a god’s power to mortals. If Walter was an aspect of Death, that meant the stories he knew might apply. And pop culture had given Walter enough stories to fill a book.
The god reached down and gripped Tivwo on the shoulders. “Tivwo. I need you to listen to me, okay? There might be a way.”
Tivwo’s sobs halted for a moment, the girl jerking to look up at Walter. “W-what?”
“Yes, I’m Death,” Walter answered. “And yes, I have to take Turum. But, she doesn’t have to stay with me.”
“I know,” Tivwo wailed. She clutched her mother’s soul tighter. “You send them back to the cycle once you’re finished.”
“No, that’s not what I mean,” Walter urged.
The girl’s turned to look up at Walter, her eyes glistening with hope.
Walter kept his eyes on Tivwo as he recounted. “Listen, where I’m from, we have stories. Stories about humans and death, the underworld, you name it. One of those goes like this.”
The god started to retell the tales he’d heard in his life. “Once upon a time, there was a man named Orpheus, and he loved a woman. Eurydice was her name.”
Tivwo looked confused, but Walter continued. “One day, Eurydice had an accident and died. Death took her. Now, Orpheus was a musician, and he loved Eurydice so much that he could no longer be happy without her. Every song he played was sad, and every ballad somber.”
One day, the gods could no longer take the music, and allowed Orpheus to travel to the underworld where Death lived. There, he played a song so sweet and somber that Death allowed Orpheus to take Eurydice back.”
Tivwo looked shocked.
“However,” Walter continued. “Orpheus wasn’t allowed to look at Eurydice until they both left the underworld. But Orpheus thought Death had played a trick and doubted. He turned back, only to see it was Eurydice all along. Having broke his agreement, Orpheus had to leave Eurydice in the underworld, and lived the rest of his life without her.”
Walter continued before Tivwo could speak. “Tivwo, do you understand what I’m saying?”
Tivwo nodded, then shook her head. More tears ran down the girl’s face, and Turum’s soul floated up to brush them away.
“I have to take Turum, Tivwo,” Walter said. “But you can try to take her back. It will be hard. I’m not allowed to make the journey easy. But you can try, and if you succeed Turum comes back.”
“But what if I can’t?” Tivwo whispered.
“Don’t think like that,” Walter urged. “You can’t think like that. You have to believe the story will work, got it?”
Tivwo sobbed.
“I know it’s hard,” Walter said. “I know you don’t want to let go yet. But this is the only safe chance you have. Any other way is more dangerous than you could possibly imagine. So, be strong okay?”
Walter waited for Tivwo’s answer, knowing it would take a moment for the girl to make a decision. Truthfully, Walter wasn’t sure what he proposed would even work. He knew no story where a person returned from death. But this was new world, with new stories. That at least meant there was a chance, no matter how much the godly part of Walter told him otherwise.
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“O-okay,” Tivwo said. “I’ll do it.”
The girl glacially peeled her fingers away from Turum’s soul, letting the woman free.
Walter gently cupped it. “You can do it. But I can’t help you any longer. You have to find me yourself, convince me, then take Turum back without breaking our agreement. Understand?”
Tivwo rubbed her eyes, the tears replaced with newfound resolve. “I’ll do it.”
Walter stood, gingerly holding Turum’s soul as if it was delicate porcelain. The god opened a portal to his domain, and sobs rocked Tivwo’s body despite her resolve. She hated having to see this.
Walter took a step through the opening, then stopped. He turned back to Tivwo with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. You can do this.”
Tivwo sniffed back her tears and nodded. Walter closed the portal, leaving only the soft purple light of the moon for light.
“Wait!” Tivwo shouted with a start. “I don’t know how to reach you!”
But Walter didn’t stop. He knew he couldn’t. Giving any more help to Tivwo would go against the godly nature that even now strained against his decision. Death couldn’t help bring others back to life, and Walter was walking a very fine line.
Tivwo rushed toward where Walter had opened the portal, hoping that she might find something, anything that would help her. She even went as far as to activate her sight.
The world opened up, suddenly more than what it was before. The girl blinked, her brain adjusting to the influx of information. The air was a swirling conflux of numbers and history, every particle explained in excruciating detail.
Tivwo filtered the information, blinking it away only for it to be replaced with grains of sand. She caught glimpses of stories as she filtered them away. Stories of great mountains and frolicking sea life eroded as time caught up to them.
The girl did the same for the plants and small creatures around her until there was nothing left except the energy of creation. That, and Walter’s energy.
For a moment, Tivwo allowed herself to hope. Walter had left an opening for her to follow, despite his statement that he couldn’t help. But no, the only thing the divine energy told her was that a portal had opened.
Seawater splashed Tivwo in the face, startling her out of her focus. She whirled to see a woman swimming through the shallows. A woman with a fish’s tail for legs. The light of the moon reflected off her scales, somehow reassuring Tivwo through her panic.
“Fret not, child,” the woman said. “He might not be able to help, but that doesn’t mean I can’t.”
“You can take me to my mother?” Tivwo asked, her voice hopeful.
The mermaid laughed. “Believe me, I would love to take you there and spite Tushen’s last act, but you must reach your mother with your own power. It won’t work otherwise.”
“Then why say anything!” Tivwo snapped. She could feel the seconds passing like sweat dripping from her brow. Every moment she waited only made things harder. She kicked the sand in frustration.
Purum frowned. “Please, don’t be rude. If you’re too rude I can’t give you the hint.”
Tivwo almost snapped again but clenched her teeth to hold it in. Once a moment of silence passed, Purum spoke again. Her voice took on a cadence. As if the woman was channeling something outside herself.
“The journey to Death’s domain isn’t easy, little one. A grown man would have trouble, let alone someone your age. Are you sure?”
Tivwo nodded. “I’m sure.”
Waves of water lapped the shoreline as Purum swam closer. “The journey will be dark. There’s no guarantee you’ll survive. Are you sure?”
Tivwo stepped forward. “I’m sure.”
Purum twisted herself upright, matching Tivwo’s height and staring directly into the girl’s eyes. “You might not ever return. You might become stuck between life and death, forced to wander the world forever. Still, are you sure?”
Purum’s last words echoed across the waves and at Tivwo, striking her with a power she’d never felt. Still the young girl held her ground. “I’m sure.”
The mermaid nodded and bent over, plucking the largest of her blue-black scales. It flaked off her skin easily, as if it was always meant to. “Then, take my scale. Take it and swim. Swim past where the light touches, past where the rocks reside, until all that surrounds you is water. Once there, call for Death and he will meet you.”
Tivwo took another step and felt her toes sink into the wet sand. The waves lapped at her feet as if beckoning her. Slolwly, the girl grabbed the scale.
Purum nodded, then dove into the waters. Her tail flicked upward, slapping the sea as she dove.
And then Tivwo was alone.
The girl stood there, her brain finally catching up to everything. She started to panic.
No one could swim so deep! They’d run out of air after the first minute! The task was impossible!
Walter’s words echoed through the woman. You have to believe the story will work.
Tivwo took a breath, looked toward the dark waters ahead, and squeezed the scale she was given.
“For mom,” she said.