by Brynn Myers
“She’s gone. Lilith can never cause any harm again.” Astra looked up at me. “Rhetta is no longer on this plane either, so the only thing we have left to do is to release the spirits trapped within these now hallowed walls. Then, and only then, will Jorja be able to start her new journey.”
Astra then turned to Corbin. “I’ve granted you and Jorja a gift. I’ve marked her and I will be watching over you both to ensure you find your way to one another again. Corbin, you will know it’s her when you find a woman with a crow tattoo on her right hip, a symbol in your honor.”
Corbin nodded then looked up at me. “Soon,” he mouthed.
Astra lifted her hands and the ghosts inhabiting the house drifted into the circle of light she'd created. One by one they ascended and moved on beyond this life and into the spirit world. I said my goodbyes to Daddy and as he stepped forward to be released, thanked him for saving me––again. I was the last one to stand in the center. I closed my eyes and let the warmth of the light fill me as my soul was released from this world. A new life was waiting for me; all I had to do now was accept it. I rose higher and higher until the light down below appeared only as a speck. The last thoughts I could recall were, the definition of death includes but is not limited to the end of being alive, the end of something. So by that definition, I died and now I am moving on.
I’m sure as you read this last part you’re thinking this cannot be how the story ends, but I’m afraid it is. I lived, I loved, and I died. Life isn't always about happy endings and presents wrapped in perfect little bows. Life is messy and jaded and when you add a demon, a psychopath, and the self-proclaimed queen of Hell to the mix, the conclusion is simple––death to the innocent. I’m not worried though. I will get to live again and when I do, I will have my happily ever after and my scrolly The End on the last page.
Perhaps I'll see you in the next life.