The Mortal Fringe

by Jordi Ribolleda

  Before her power can reach us, Elizabeth grabs my body and with just a quick look I know that she is asking me to trust her once more.

  "Don't let go"

  We disappear but as I had never experienced before. I don't feel away from anything, I don't even feel alive. It's like my body has been torn to pieces and now I try to get them back, unsuccessfully. A terrible shake in my head makes me realize that I am still alive, and in one piece. My brain hurts and I can't barely see. I could have never imagined that breathing could be so painful.

  I feel something beneath me again, ground. Elizabeth walks away and leaves me standing there.

  "Where are we?”

  She doesn't answer right away, she waits for me to open my eyes, regardless of the pain that might cause. When I do, I see her in front of me, and my heart starts beating again.

  "In my chamber" she answers "Mal won't find us here."

  "Your chamber?" I look around, and everything reminds me of her, the strange colors and the questionable decorative skills. "I thought only Gods had one.”

  "We all do. We need to keep our souls safe" When she mentions her soul she points to a specific point near the corner of the chamber. The bright light coming out of a small white wooden recipient through a crystal wall warms my heart, being that close to her soul takes all the pain away from me.

  There's a strange thing on the wall, a sign made out of two «3» one lying on the other's back, and a straight line in the middle of them. I wonder what that means; being Elizabeth, it could be anything.

  "What the hell where you thinking?" She is right in front of me and her furious eyes make me feel like a useless insect. "You could have died!" she screams.

  Then something grows in me, something I need to take out.

  "Died? You disappear for weeks, and leave me living next to that, that thing and now you tell me that I could have died?" I have been holding too much anger during these past weeks “You told me to trust you, remember? Hell, you even said you were sorry that all this shit happened to me! What was that, huh? Did you just try to make me feel better so that you could then leave me and break me like you did?" I am shaking and I think I am about to cry. "Answer me!"

  "Do you have any idea of how this feels?"

  "Any idea? I am the one that will die, and I can't do anything to avoid it, can I? So don't try for a minute to make me feel bad about you. I tried to open up for you, and you left me."

  She moves her hand so quickly that I can barely prepare myself for her punch. I fell to the ground with a bleeding nose. I stay down for a while, thinking about everything, this feels like a turning point, this is when I finally know that everything is about to end, being lying on the ground, covered with blood is not new to me. But it is real, for the first time.

  I stand up and I am surprised to see her crying.

  "Can you imagine yourself killing the only two persons that you have ever loved?"

  She disappears.

  CHAPTER 31

  Elizabeth's words resound in my head as war machines. Every bit of my body feels bad for what just happened, I know I should have not said all those things, but she knew about it, I know she did, I could not hide what I had been feeling all these days any further. However, her leaving right now, after what happened at the pub makes me feel even worse, she came back just to protect me, to help me, even though her own exposure. And I yelled at her, thoughtlessly.

  I can't take the image of Ingrid's body falling lifeless to the ground out of my head, nor the smile on Mal's face after taking the life of my friend.

  I can't picture time in here; I have no idea whether I've been here for an hour or for a year. Everything looks as confusing as a mathematical equation. Everywhere I look makes me wonder if I have been here before. For some reason, all these things, these paintings, these objects seem so familiar to me that I could even say they belong to me. But of course they do not, this is all Elizabeth's, and perhaps the reason for me feeling like this is because our bond is getting stronger once more.

  The chamber reminds me of Tristan's, with all the commodities of the mortal side, and yet with the elegance and hugeness one would expect from mythology. There is one thing though, one thing that is not similar to anything I have ever seen before, that's why this is Elizabeth's chamber, because she is different from everyone. There's a garden past the crystal doors at the end of the long room. But it is not a normal garden, for it only contains dried roses.

  Dead roses. I've dreamt of this place. I've died here. I feel the need to get closer, as if something in those lifeless plants was calling me.

  Dead but yet beautifully disposed roses. Only Elizabeth could do this in such a remarkable way. An eternal garden of dark red and black. A garden guarding the one thing that keeps Elizabeth alive. Her soul.

  I can see the wooden box in the middle of the small garden. I cross the crystal barrier carefully, and a small rocky path appears within the roses. I walk it slowly, admiring the absolute beauty of what surrounds me.

  Her soul shines for me, and makes my body weaken, all the fear I felt before she rescued me disappears, but something in me breaks loose, and I can't contain myself anymore. Like a small child, I fall on my knees trying to hold the tears from my eyes, but I can't, I am not strong enough to repel my feelings, something I was never able to do.

  I can see Ingrid, I can see David. Now, I can see everything again.

  "Alex" Elizabeth's voice booms in my head "come back."

  I turn around and I see her in the distance, so far away from here that I fear that I will never be able to reach her again. But she keeps calling my name, so with the little strength I have left I stand up, and walk towards her through the rocky path, leaving her soul behind. As I move away from the silver light I feel stronger, and better. But I still feel broken inside, and she knows it.

  "What happened to me?" I ask, still holding my tears, still too proud of myself to break down.

  "My soul felt yours, and it was trying to get you."

  Perhaps it should have, I think to myself, that way the suffering would end.

  I finally give in, and I sit on the floor, near the dried roses and I don't hold my tears anymore. Elizabeth gets on her knees right by my side and looks at me, straight into the eye.

  "I know what happened" she says.

  I can't make out any words.

  "I need you to tell me, Alex. You need to tell me, get it out."

  I can't.

  "I've tried."

  "I'm here, Alex, talk to me" She grabs my face, her eyes are watery, as mine.

  "I'm tired" I finally say after a long silence "too tired to go on like this, with all this."

  "I know.”

  I take my time to put my thoughts in order, she is still staring at me and I know that she won't move until I do what I should have done months ago. And finally, after so long, I do it.

  I unlock my memories for her, and for me. I close my eyes, knowing that she will see the same things that I saw.

  A car, my car. Joyful smiles all around me, and the sound of freshness and beauty. My mother sitting right next to me, with that everlasting smile, looking at her two sons. Me and David, my brother, my twin brother.

  A bright day, a closure day. We get in the car and she hands me the keys.

  "Go for it darling" she says with proud voice.

  The road, the limitless road. Leaving behind a day out with them, my family. David's mocking faces on the rear mirror, mom's constant singing along with the radio. Life, my life.

  A bridge, water beneath us. The deep blue and green void leads the way as we cross the metal platform to Fire Island.

  "Alex do you want me to drive? We are never getting home if you do" David's laughter lights up my heart, and Elizabeth's.

  I turn around to give him that look, the look only twin brothers could understand. Then the bright day turns black, for all good and bright must become bad and dark.

  I see the car on our back trying to pass us, but a
truck blocks its way and as he tries to come back to his right, it hits our tail, and I lose control.

  Noise, dreadful noise. The car crosses the lane markings to face a line of endless traffic. I turn the steering wheel, but not fast enough. I lose control of everything, and when we are hit again we are pushed out of the road, over the bridge, and into the deep blue tide.

  My unharmed self-looking from the ambulance window at the wrecked piece of metal that once was my car. My mother next to me, yelling, crying, constantly dying.

  "He's here!" the shouting comes from near the car.

  She stands up and runs to meet her desolation. The medics bring David, my brother, on their arms. I, following my mother, stand up and begin to run towards him, but some white gloves grab me and forbid me to go forward. I am trapped against my will, not willing to scream, not willing to move, not willing to think.

  Elizabeth blinks and a tear falls from her face and onto my hand.

  "My mom and I needed to spend some days at the hospital, she had to be operated. David's body resisted the rush to the hospital, and somehow the long fall into the ocean, but once there his cerebral function stopped, and my mom refused to let him go. "

  I bring my hands to my head, I can't believe it is out, I beat myself. I am free.

  "I killed my brother." I am not strong enough to say that out loud.

  "It was an accident."

  "Then I should be the one in David's place" I lower my head, I don't want to see her, I can't, I don't want her pity eyes on me now, that won't change what happened, and many others have told me that it was an accident, but nevertheless, it was my fault. "I have never gone to see him. I can't, I couldn’t bare doing it. I'm terrified of walking into that room, and not knowing what to say to him, or that he should die the moment I walk in, letting me know it was, and always will be, my fault."

  We remain silent for as long as we can, neither of us know what to say next. I just want to end with this so I say what needs to be said.

  "Now the only thing I remember is the song that was playing."

  She caresses my hand.

  "Thank you, for freeing me from this."

  She does not answer, she does not even smile. She gets closer to me and presses her lips against mine, for a second, and then she moves away.

  "You wanted to know what that sign on the wall meant.”

  I nod.

  "It means that you are never alone, as long as someone holds you dear in his heart."

  I smile when I hear her words, somehow they warm my body and soul.

  She stands up and walks inside the chamber, I can see her taking the sign away from the wall, when she does, it becomes a sharp metal necklace.

  "I want you to keep it, as a reminder."

  "Of what?"

  She looks at me with a sweet smile on her face.

  "I'm letting you go, Alex."

  "What?"

  She keeps her eyes on me, not serious. She is talking from her heart, and everything in her looks different.

  "I can't do that to you, to your mother…"

  I don't want to listen.

  "Let me go? And what about you, what about Mal?" I sound more hysterical than I should, but I can't help it. The thought of losing her again kills me, I can't go through that again. Not after what just happened.

  "I can take care of both matters."

  I grab her hand, forbidding her to leave.

  "You just told me that you love me, and now you are leaving me again?”

  "Love is not just about holding your hand, is about knowing when to let go" she looks at me, and those green eyes don't scare me anymore "you need to go, Alex."

  I look at her, not moving and not planning to do so.

  "Have you never been told that love is a pain in the ass?" That's her way to put up with things.

  "No, I haven't" I say firmly.

  "Well, it is.”

  I don't want her to talk anymore so I move forward and kiss her with all the love I can find in me.

  "But it is the only pain in the ass I am willing to die for" she says looking at me and then at the wooden box in the middle of the garden.

  "Me too" I say unconsciously.

  CHAPTER 32

  Lights are off, the room is silent and all troubles are away, for now. I look at Elizabeth standing near her soul and I can't believe what she has done for me, and what she is willing to do. Letting me go means losing everything, and no matter how hard I try to convince her not to do it, she won't listen. But I do understand why she has decided to do it, and I am thankful, I just hope she could be with me, end this right now and just live a normal life, if that exists.

  "We must go" Elizabeth claims the moment she gets near me. -we have no time to lose, I want you in a plane in the morning.

  "Can't you take me there?"

  "No, I don't want Constance or Mal knowing where you are. And I won't be going with you, my cousin will."

  I know that she refuses to come because it could be dangerous for both of us, for what she has told me, Constance could sense her anywhere in the world, and if she found the two of us together, no matter how hard Elizabeth tried to explain her reasons, I would end up dying.

  Elizabeth puts her arm around mine, we are about to leave.

  "I have one more question before we go back" I ask, not letting her go of my arm. "Why did you leave me?"

  She looks upset, not because of the question, I can tell, but something troubles her.

  "I can't tell you."

  "Why not?" I ask in a rather harsh voice, because I feel that she is not trusting me again.

  "Because I failed." The look in her eyes tells me that the conversation is over.

  I hold on to her as tightly as I can, and we disappear into the dark void. It feels odd leaving this place, for I know that had everything gone according to their plan, I should have come here only as a drop of silver memory.

  Solid ground once more. I open my eyes and Jay is in front of me, seating on his bed. I'm home. He stands up and comes closer, but stops a couple of feet away from me, he tries to smile at me but he can't. I know he feels guilty. He is about to break down, and so am I, but instead of doing so, he comes straight at me and hugs me like if we were brothers.

  "I'm glad to see you again" I know from his voice that he is still trying not to show his emotions.

  "Me too" Now I know how it feels like to call someone a friend, a true friend. I know that they have been near me all this time, watching over me. I feel bad about everything I've said.

  "Let's keep going" Elizabeth has just begun to pack up the rest of my stuff, and so is Jay. I try to make sure that I don't leave anything behind.

  Suddenly, I hear a great noise in the bathroom, like if all my things had just fallen on the floor. Elizabeth and Jay place themselves in front of me, as a human shield, rising their hands in case they need to use them. Finally, the door opens, and a girl, not older in appearance than Elizabeth, comes out.

  "Abigail!" Both Jay and Elizabeth scream furiously. "Why on earth did you have to do that?”

  "Come on! It's not like I killed someone" she moves forward. "Oh is that him? Not bad for a human! Well done sister!" she realizes that Elizabeth is not in the mood, so she simple comes to me and shakes my hand. "The name is Abigail."

  "Alex."

  "What, do you think I don't know?”

  "She just became a God, let her be.”

  "Of course, sorry."

  "So sister, where is it I will be taking him?"

  Elizabeth laughs, so does Jay.

  "I thought you knew everything" Jay says, joking

  "To the airport, after that you will make sure that nothing happens to him until past the day.”

  "Understood" she gives me a quick look, her eyes are tightly shut, there's no need for her to let me know her feelings for me. I feel that she would wish I was dead already.

  We go on with the packing, although there isn't much left to pack when I realize that something i
s not being taken into account.

  "Guys, I have my own booking."

  "Well, do you want us to refund you?" Jay's voice is still full of irony.

  "No, what I mean is that my mom knows that I should be back by the end of the week, not tomorrow."

  "Don't worry about that" Elizabeth puts an end to the problem.

  After a while I just stop pretending that I am doing something useful. I look around and I am glad that even if this is the very last day I'll be living in here, it is full of people. At least, they being here helps to avoid the memories of last night to come back. I can't believe she took Ingrid. I focus on something else before breaking down again.

  Now I have a chance to take a look at Abigail, and I can't help but wonder if all Gods and Immortals have their own style, I don't think I have ever seen so many colors in just one head, or so many different hairstyles. Her clothes are so smooth and perfectly selected that it almost seems that they do not belong to that messy head.

  "And why is it that I have to take care of the mortal?"

  "Alex" Jay corrects her, defensively.

  "Yeah, well, him" She keeps her eyes fixed on me, and although the colorful hair blocks off the killing green from her eyes, I am still intimidated.

  "It just needs to be done" Elizabeth voice is harsh, she does not want the topic to go any further.

  They keep doing their own thing for a couple of seconds until Abigail feels the desperate need to talk again.

  "Does Constance know about this?"

  "No!" they both shout at the exact same moment, dropping whatever they had on their hands. "She does not. And she won't."

  There is no further conversation, at least not about me, nor Constance. Abigail starts talking about how wonderful her life as a God is, although she misses being up here from time to time. I can't imagine not missing it, no matter how beautiful the Atlas might be, I would feel trapped down there all the time, with nothing to do but living forever.

  "You will not believe whom I saw the other day! Tristan! Remember Tristan? Our brother."