Souls - XXIX

As soon as she is fully emerged from the blue hole I can tell that she knows I’m there. She hasn’t looked at me, not directly, but she knows. I see that curl of a smile on her face that resembles mine when I know something but I’m not quite ready to divulge. 

I wouldn’t say she is walking on water, but it’s close. Her toes drag through the water, leaving ten tiny wakes as she moves towards the shore. A hush has fallen over the crowd, no-one being vulgar enough to demand her attention. They have learned that revelry does not increase their chances, that solemnity is the key to success.

Mary scans the crowd, seeming to study everyone. I see her pause at the dirty teen girl and smile. The girl tenses up with giddy anticipation. Mary moves on. The girl slumps her shoulders, but doesn’t show any other sign of disappointment. Mary’s next pause is at a lanky, worn looking man. His eyes have sunken into his cheeks and he has wrinkled to the point that his skin is a series of valleys running across his surface. He smiles but exudes nothing but melancholy. Slowly, he lowers himself onto his knees and lowers his head. Mary reaches her hand out towards his head. I can feel the crowd take a communal deep breath.

Her eyes shift ever so slightly over to me, she nods. I nod back.

ZAP

Electricity shoots through us all, unseen but felt. And they are gone.

The crowd stands in somber silence for long enough that I wonder if they plan on moving ever again. Then, in near unison, they all move to their makeshift chairs and sit. Polite conversations begin to erupt, and the atmosphere begins to relax. 

I make my way over to the dirty teen, “Can I get that chair?”

The teen girl gives me a half smile and nods. She begins to walk away from the hole, to an old structure that was probably a changing room at some point. I follow her.

“How long has this been happening?”

She shrugs and looks to the sky, “Hard to tell. Awhile.”

“Where does she take them?”

She shrugs again, “Somewhere better.”

We reach the structure and she begins to dig in her pocket, eventually pulling out a key. She fidgets with a lock on the door.

“My dad found this first, he was one of the first ones taken. He said she told him she could take them to where we’re supposed to be.”

“Supposed to be?”

She shrugs once again, new world or not she is definitely a teenager. “Never was super religious, but I guess I thought it was Heaven or something.”

“And your Dad was the first?”

“One of, yeah”

“Did this start happening a day or two ago?”

She didn’t shrug, this she was sure of, “Nope, bout three months. At least.”

That can’t be right. She has to be wrong.

“How do you know?”

She blushes a little as she enters the structure.

“I’ll grab your chair. Hang on.”

She disappears into the dark room and comes back out with a ragged looking pool chair. She places it at my feet and holds out her hand. I reach into my pocket, pull out the money and give it to her. I decide to push the issue.

“How do you know it’s been months?”

“Ummmm….my period. I’ve had three of them.” 

I guess this new world did give us one way to track time. 

How is this possible? I was with my daughter not less than two or three days ago. She blew up angels. How was she here and there too?

The crowd begins to murmur again, standing from their chairs. The teen looks flustered.

“Fuck, come on we have to get back to the water!”

I grab my chair and try to follow after her.

“It’s never happened this quick between breaks before.”

As we reach the waterfront, I drop my chair and watch the same process. My daughter rises up from the water, her toes drag across the surface, she pauses several times at random people. She smirks the entire time. 

Then she turns to me. 

I glance to the teen and I can see the spark of jealousy. She doesn’t think I deserve this.

Mary approaches me, reaches out her hand towards my head. I can feel the electricity, the heat rise up inside of me. She snatches my ridiculous chef hat off my head. The crowd can’t help but gasp as they are exposed to my gaping wound, a skull poking outwards through burnt tufts of hair and pulpy flesh. Mary looks down to me.

“Hello Mother.”