Dating : Chapter Three: The Long Life of Ellora Mae

Visions of glowing yellow eyes and empty graves haunted Jesus as he stumbled through his morning routine. He and Gabriella had been ignoring each other since he woke her screaming the night before. Their argument in the early quiet of the morning still replayed in his mind.

“Are we gonna talk about last night?” Gabriella asked.

“No.” His voice wavered. Gabriella looked at him, her face tinged with worry.

“Babe, just tell me what’s wrong? Are you hurting? Is it the meds?” Gabriella asked.

“I said I’m FINE!” The tension in his neck brought a stab of pain in his wounded shoulder. His neck spasmed against the bandage and brace, making him gasp. His face reddened, but he forced himself to look at his wife. Gabriella stared back, shock turning to pain on her face. Soos reddened, a heavy feeling growing in his chest.

“Gabbi,” He stammered. “I-” His words came out much harder than he intended. Soos looked away from her hurt expression. He took a shaky breath and threw back the covers.

“I’m gonna start breakfast.” He retreated from the room, finding solace in the mindless act of cooking alone in his kitchen. She waddled into the kitchen sometime later, her jaw clenched tight. The boys ran in behind her. Soos stared into his pan of sizzling eggs, lost in thought.

“Papa?”

He flinched, blinking away the memory of this morning. A small brown face stared at him. His oldest son, Javier, stood waiting with a mess of curly black bed hair.

“Papa?” The boy asked. “Can I have some?” The boy stared at the skillet full of eggs with wide, hungry eyes. Soos grinned. He turned to grab a plate of steaming eggs from the counter and handed it to him.

“There you go, Javi,” Soos said. A smaller boy, with his same curly raven hair but his mother’s fairer skin, ran by snatching the plate from his brother’s hands.

“Pablo, stop!” Javi called out with a frustrated yell. Gabriella swooped in, grabbing the plate and chiding the boy.

“What did I tell you about running in the house?” She slipped into a string of angry Spanish that the boy made the younger boy wilt. Jesus came over with the second plate of eggs for Pablo.

“Go sit and eat.” He said. The boy jumped to run but stopped short at his father’s stern voice. “WALK.”

Little Pablo’s walk was just a few steps slower than a jog. Soos sniffed a short laugh. He offered a plate to Gabriella. But she just flared her nostrils and waddled away, a hand pressed to her lower back. Soos stared after her and her round belly.

It won’t be much longer. He thought, excited. Then he saw her skin pulled tight against her frail body. He saw her round cheeks shrink into something sharp and gaunt. He shivered, shaking his head to dispel the image.

Breakfast flew by in a blur of childish chatter from the boys and stony silence from his wife. She gave him the occasional angry, concerned look. But Soos sat frozen as time and the cheerful noise of family whirled past him.

The door slammed. Soos looked around to find the table empty and dishes cheered. He could hear Gabriella and the boys just outside. Javi yelled at his little brother as his mother opened the car door. He looked at his plate as the car pulled out of the driveway. His fork still hung in limp fingers above a plate full of cold eggs.

Guess I wasn’t hungry.

Soos put his fork down and pushed away from the table. He moved around the house, cleaning the kitchen and picking up after the boys, staying busy to keep his mind from wandering. The afterimages of yellow eyes and empty graves followed him everywhere. He stopped, covered his face in his hands, trying to force away the thoughts of bone monsters and purple skies.

The trio of tombstones appeared before his closed eyes again. The engraved letters crawled and slithered on the stones, blurring into something that made his heart race. There was only one with a name he could read.

Ellora Larson.

Soos’s eyes flung open as he meandered over to Gabriella’s laptop and googled the name. A couple of hits. A smiling young woman in a gray business suit by the name of Ella Larson.

Soos stared at her picture for a while, but she didn’t look familiar. There were a few other hits on a Facebook page, some site wanting him to pay for criminal records?

This is stupid. He thought. What am I even looking for? He frowned at the screen, reaching for his cellphone. He scrolled through his recent calls until he came to the entry “Work — Nurse’s Desk”. Soos sighed, relieved as a familiar voice answered the call.

“Triage, this is Sheila.” He smiled at her voice.

“Hey mama, this is Soos.”

Sheila gave a happy squeal! “Soos!! How you doing, hon?”

“I’m fine, but I need a favor. Can you look up a patient?”

She gave him an address in an older section of town, across a small bridge in the lower ninth ward. The further he drove into the neighborhood, the older the houses became. The homes were small, many in disrepair. Shotgun houses and cottages made of aged wooden slats.

He pulled in front of a red brick house with a gabled front porch. A black gas lamp with grayed glass windows sat in the front yard. A small old woman with mahogany skin sat rocking in a weathered rocking chair, shucking peas into a pot. Soos pulled into the driveway before a squat chain-link fence and stepped out of the car.

“Good Morning, ma’am.” He called with a wave.

The old woman stared with cloudy eyes. Her gaze rung him like a bell, sending a violent shiver through him as he placed a hand on the fence.

The old woman frowned, then sighed. Her face was a beautiful collection of wrinkles and charcoal moles that dotted her face like freckles.

“Well, good morning.” She said with a smirk.

“Good Morning,” Soos replied. “Are you Mrs. Ellora Larson?”

“I sure am. But my folks call me Miss Ellie Mae. It’s about time you showed up.” Soos froze, shivering in the warm sunlight.

“Ma’am?” He asked. “Do you recognize me?”

The old woman sniffed. “I don’t know your name, but I know who you are, chile. You’re a man running from death if I ever saw one.”

A bead of cold sweat crawled down the middle of his back. She gave him an appraising look. Soos swallowed and stood straighter. It seemed like she was taking the full measure of him. The old woman nodded. She dropped her bag of peas into the pot and pushed herself up. Ellora stepped down from the concrete porch before turning to stare at him.

“Well, don’t just stand there staring like a fool, chile. Come on in.”

She gestured to a chair in a tiny kitchen. It reminded him so much of his grandmother’s. The similarities were unsettling. The scattered letters on the refrigerator made his heart flutter. He closed his eyes, remembering the sound of splintering wood from his vision as he sat.

“You falling asleep on me?” Ellie Mae called. She stood over his chair, holding out a small mug of steaming liquid.

“No, ma’am.” He said, accepting the cup. Soos breathed deep. The warm aroma of coffee and chicory tickled his nose. He wrapped his hands around the mug, letting the warmth drive away his chills.

Ellora sat across from him and gave him an appraising look. Her pale white eyes made his heart gallop as she sat. She sipped her coffee and nibbled at a triangle of toast.

Soos opened his mouth once, twice, making motions like a fish. Ellie Mae’s cloudy eyes just stared. He swallowed and began again.

“Ma’am, I…” His voice failed him again. There’s no sane way to explain this. He thought, groaning. What am I even supposed to say? A man with a skull on his face sent me?

Ellora sniffed a quiet laugh and shook her head. “Ole Samdi got his hooks in you, huh?”

Soos flinched at the name, almost dropping his cup.

“Y-you know?” He whispered. Staring up at her with fear welling in his eyes. Ellora favored him with a small smile.

“I know the ways of this world.” She breathed and bit into a corner of toast. “I know there are costs for the kinda juju you do.”

Juju. The word rang through Soos’s mind. Mama’s name for Magic. He shuddered and rubbed his face. Ellora sighed, raising an eyebrow.

“For a man who’s here to kill me, you sure don’t look happy about it.” She said. Soos clenched his jaw and looked at his hand.

“It’s just… like someone turned the world upside down while I slept.” He looked at his trembling hands. “I save lives. I help people heal and survive. How could helping people go so wrong?” Ellora gave him a wry look.

“What you do is a lot more powerful than help.” She smirked. “I was reaching for the arms of my late love when you pulled me back.” Ellora stared down. “My Elijah looked just as he did the day he left,” Her sadness made his heart ache.

I did this to her. He thought bitterly. “I’m sorry,” Soos said. Ellora waves a wrinkled hand.

“Sorry for what? Giving me a few extra moments to prepare? Giving me time to say goodbye to my children? My grandchildren?” The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she smiled. “You’ve given me the rarest, most impossible gift in the world. More time.” Memories welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face. She took a breath and gathered herself.

“I’m grateful for every extra second, but I’m ready for you to turn me loose.”

Soos looked down. “I don’t know how.” He looked away from her uncanny stare.

“There is a part of you that knows.” Ellora raised an eyebrow. “A higher part. That part has always known. That part led you here today, to do what’s needed to save your family.” She said. Soos felt as fragile as an eggshell.

“How did you…” He swallowed, reaching for his coffee with a shaking hand. Ellora gave him a comforting smile.

“Your grandma told me.” She said. It was his turn to stare.

“My Grann?” He stammered. Ellora nodded.

“Yes. She’s standing right behind you with her hand on your shoulder.” Soos turned to look, then closed his eyes to fight off the wave of emotion that came.

“You can see spirits.” He whispered. Ellora just nodded. Soos’s mouth was as dry as dust.

“You are like me?” He said. Ellora snorted a laugh.

“Not quite. Our gifts are like distant cousins. Both of us can pierce the veil. But I’ve lived a long life. My strength has waned, so my power is thin as shadows in the daytime. Now I’m ready to sleep.” She looked up at him, tilting her head slightly. Her eyes seemed to strip him down to his very essence. “But you a special one. Your power is like the moon. Full, bright, and ageless. Why you could…”

Ellora flinched and looked behind him. Then nodded. Soos looked over his shoulder and back to her.

“What just happened?” He asked.

“They cautioned me,” Ellora said.

“W-who cautioned you? Against what?” Soos asked. Ellora took a soft breath and sighed.

“There are… things I can’t share. Some understanding you can only journey for. But, I can tell you this. You running outta time.” Her voice was grave. It held a note of urgency to it that Soos couldn’t understand.

“Do you want to die?” He asked, his voice high and tight.

“Nothing that lives ever wants to die, chile.” Ellora sniffed. “Nothing in its right mind, that is. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to watch my grandchirren grow.” She had a wistful look in her eyes.

“But you’re not afraid. How can you not be afraid?” Soos stared, bewildered.

“Because death is not the end. Because of the hard but beautiful life I’ve lived.” Ellora looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Because I know who walks with me.”

Soos shivered, looking all around and seeing nothing. But he couldn’t shake the feeling he had.

“There’s more here than my grandmother.” He said.

“Of course!” Ellora smiled. “There are spirits everywhere! Bay-bae, you gotta shut the door if you don’t want them to come in.” She laughed like he’d said something hilarious. “My people surround us. They are waiting to welcome me home.” The smile that grew on her face lit her countenance like warm sunshine.

“Can you teach me how to use this, this gift?” Soos asked, hopeful. Ellora deflated.

“I can’t, and for that, I’m sorry.” She said. Soos slumped and sighed. “But I can lead you to the ones who can.” She said. Ellora gestured for him to stand.

She sent Soos around the house to gather several things. They covered the small dining table in a pristine white tablecloth. Ellora poured water into a tall diamond-patterned glass and set it between them. She gathered two candles and a plate.

“Do you have a picture of your grandmother?” She asked. Soos dug into a forgotten corner of his wallet. There he had a small, weathered and creased, sepia photo with a torn corner. It was a picture of his mother, young and beautiful. She smiled big and bright, with big hoops earrings and a fluffy cloud of kinky hair atop her head. His grandmother stood beaming behind her. The corners of his mouth turned upward as he looked at them. He handed the picture to Ellora.

She placed some fruit, nuts, a corner of French Bread, and a couple of peppermints on the plate. She poured a small tumbler of whiskey to add to it. She placed the food, water, and candles near the center of the table with his mother’s picture. Soos frowned, confused at the display.

“What Is this?” He asked.

“It’s an altar,” She said. Ellora gestured to the plate of food. “And these are offerings we will give to your ancestors. We make these offerings to show our love, our veneration, and to strengthen them so they may intercede on our behalf.”

Soos’s mind swam with memories of a table adorned with tall candles and dancing flames at his Grann’s house. Ellora struck a match and lit the candles with a prayer.

“I call to the ones who came before me. Those who love me and wish to protect me. Those who lived in love and light. Ancestors known and unknown, hear my prayer.”

The light streaming through the window dimmed, like a cloud passed over the sun. Ellora lit the other candle and snuffed out the match with a quick snap of her wrist. She reached across the table and grabbed Soos’s hand.

“Close your eyes,” she whispered before continuing. “I call to the ones who came before me. Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood, and bone of my bone. We pray for your protection and guidance on this journey.”

Soos’s head grew heavy. Something like sleep pulled at him, drawing him away from Ellora’s kitchen. His heart lurched as he fought a rising panic. Ellora’s voice echoed in his ear.

“Don’t be afraid, concentrate on your breathing.”

He forced himself to relax and breathe. His mind slipped away from his body like rising smoke. Part of him remained and part of him left. He could see the table like he floated above it. But his body still sat with eyes closed. His thoughts hummed, confused, then his mind was blank.

He woke up in a place that seemed like Ellora’s kitchen. They still sat at the table holding hands. But something about this was different. Everything was softer, as solid as running water. Dim blue light painted everything with color like he saw the world through colored lenses. His eyes found the candle on the table and a chill washed through him.

The bright orange flame that flickered when he closed his eyes was now an eerie blue. Candlelight still rose and fell in waves, but the flames were motionless. The azure fire was so unsettling he couldn’t take his eyes away from it.

Ellora’s grip on his hand loosened. He looked at the woman; she appeared stronger. Where the waking Ellora was older and fatigued, the blue light seemed to paint her with a youthful glow. Her still white hair was a cloud of curls that sat atop her head, swirling like smoke from a chimney. Her eyes glowed with a soft white light. She radiated warmth and something else that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Then it came to him in a rush.

Power. Soos thought. She shines with it, just like my mom.

He looked around, seeing everything anew. He looked out of the kitchen window to the purple and blue sky.

“I’ve been here before.” He whispered. “What is this place?!”

Ellora gave him a knowing look. “This place has many names. The oldest name is Duat. Some claim it’s the afterlife. But our people called it The Ancestral Realm.” She smiled. “This is where our spirits rest until we are reborn. If we are reborn that is.” Soos stared at her, confused.

“How did we get here without dying?” He asked. Ellora snorted a short laugh.

“We just visiting.” She smiled. “Lots of people can travel this realm, sometimes the ancestors will pull us here to visit them or give us messages when we dream. Those with the gift can come while we wake.” She gave him a wink.

Soos remembered the dreams he had after the stranger shot him. Were they really dreams? He thought. A shiver passed through him. Did I almost die? He remembered the fighting spirit of his mother.

Ellora closed her eyes and mumbled another prayer in a language he didn’t recognize. A silvery light blossomed in her chest. It grew until it coated her skin. Figures of light in the shapes of people materialized to either side of her. The one was tall and broad. He radiated the protectiveness of a father. The other figure was shorter and slender, this one beamed with love and pride. They had their hands on her shoulders.

“They are your parents?” Soos asked. Ellora didn’t open her eyes, but graced him with a proud grin and spoke.

“Yes.” She said. She continued her prayer. The words rang through the room like an echoing song. More figures appeared. Big and small, some looked like children. They came one after another like falling dominoes until they filled the kitchen with their soft light. Soos looked around with his heart flying. Through the window he saw a host of pearly ghosts pressing against the house, filling the land for miles.

The ghosts in the kitchen parted as a single molten silver figure appeared. Ellora flinched as her parents withdrew their hands. They bowed to the figure and stepped away into the crowd. Elora was staring at the figure. A disembodied chorus of whispers rose in the room. The assembled souls of her family bowed in reverence to the single spirit swathed in molten silver. Ellora’s eyes grew wide and blurred with tears as she stared.

“Great Mother?” She whispered with reverence. The silvery woman turned towards Soos. Frozen in place, her gaze washed over him like a wave. He drowned in the force of her, like she’d submerged him to his neck in scorching water. The silver woman turned her gaze back to Ellora, leaving him gasping for breath. Ellora nodded her head and whispered.

“Yes, I consent.” Soos looked up to her, alarmed.

“You consent to what?” He asked. The silvery woman walked up to Ellora and stood behind her. Soos slid his chair back from the table. The woman placed a hand on Ellora’s shoulder. Her body went rigid. Her head snapped up and her eyes flew open. The spirit’s light flooded her pupils with a silvery shine.

“Hello Jesus,” Ellora said. The voice wasn’t her own. It was deep and spicy. She spoke with an accent he couldn’t place. But the sound of her voice reminded him of the stories his grandmother told him. Stories about life before the ships came and stole them away. Stories passed down from his grandmother’s grandmother. The woman inside Ellora smiled. With her hand on Ellora’s shoulder, they mimicked each other’s gestures like puppet strings connected them.

“I have traveled a long way to speak with you.” She said again. Ellora’s mouth moved almost in slow motion, out of time with her words. The Woman inside Ellora stared at him, chilling him anew. She glowed with overwhelming power and authority. The other souls gathered were shades of light ranging from wispy translucence to solid pearl. But this woman’s shine was so deep she sparkled, waving deep and solid like molten silver. If their light was their power, then this woman was where it started. She shimmered like all of their spirits combined. Soos knew she was someone of power and importance.

“Th-thank you.” He spoke in his most respectful tone, remembering what Ellora had called her. “I am honored, Great Mother.” When he looked up, The Woman inside Ellora smiled.

“We have all gathered here to receive my granddaughter. She is ready to join us.” The spectral figure tilted her head almost threateningly. “Release her.”

Soos trembled in his chair. “I… I don’t know how, Great Mother.” He wrung his hands, glancing at the ghosts filling the room. He stared down at the table. “There is no one still living to teach me.” Ellora’s face softened with the woman’s sadness. She and the specter turned their heads to the window in synchronicity. They tilted their heads as if to listen.

“Samedi has imprisoned your mother. She calls to you even now.” The Woman inside Ellora said. The pair looked back at him. “She came to your aid because she was always near.”

Soos clenched his jaw, fighting back the grief that rose in him. The Woman spoke again. She examined him like a doctor. He felt like he naked under her gaze.

“You are unbalanced. This suppresses your Aṣẹ.” She said. Soos looked up, confused.

“My what? I don’t understand.” He whispered. The Woman favored him with another small smile. Her eerie voice rang again.

“Your mother called it Juju.” Soos opened his mouth again, but a sharp gesture from Ellora and The Woman cut him off.

“I will aid you, but you must release my grandchild first,” The Woman inside Ellora said. “She cannot stay much longer and you may not leave until you free her. We must pass these powers on, or my children will be vulnerable.” The Woman smiled at Ellora, full of pride. Ellora grinned back.

“She was my greatest creation. But there is another now.”

Soos’s thoughts swam. A tightness grew in his chest. He clenched his jaw. The ghosts in the room drew closer to where he sat. Some of them with clenched fists. They can see my frustration, he thought and sighed. No. This is anger. Soos closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I just don’t -” He began.

A purple hand flew across the room. It slapped him hard across the back of his head. His eyes flooded with the memories of his thoughts and emotions from the past month. He remembered the day they called him to Ellora’s house. She lay on the floor before a frightened and tearful little girl. Ellora collapsed, and the child ran to the neighbors, who hurried over and called 9–1–1. She was only eight years old.

The thought of the little girl having to watch grandmother die terrified him. He blocked out her cries, focused on Ellora, and the world fell away. It was just him and her. His hand on her chest, refusing to let her go, demanding that she stay. His voice rang in his ears. “Come back, damn it!”

The room full of ghosts slammed back into view. Soos gasped, inhaling hungry breaths. He reached back and rubbed his tender head, spinning around looking for a floating purple hand.

His eyes landed on Ellora’s crooked smile. She and The Woman looked beside him, amused. Soos turned. The disembodied purple hand hovered behind him. It pointed at him, made a sharp motion, and ended shaking a stern finger in his direction. Soos stared at The Woman, his eyes wide and questioning. A throaty chuckle erupted from Ellora’s throat. They spoke again.

“It seems your -” She and the ghost tilted their head in succession. “Abu-wey-lo, has grown tired of your moaning.” Soos protested, his face heating, but the purple hand floated around to the side and pointed at him again. He kept quiet and looked away.

“The only way we elevate our magic is by facing our shadow and doing the work.” She said. “We may advise you, but you must master your gift yourself.” The Woman said.

Soos sighed, defeated. Ellora met his gaze, and he grabbed her hand. He closed his eyes and thought back to the day they met. He remembered everything he thought as he lay and watched Ellora slip away. The fear of the little girl. The desperateness. His eyes ached with the coming of tears.

He was standing in blackness again. Ellora stood before him, real as she had been in the waking world. Silvery light washed across her skin. He looked down at their clasped hands. His hand radiated purple again. A neon vein ran from the fingers of his hand, up through her arm, and pooled near her heart. Her hand throbbed in his, her heart pulsing in time with the beat of his own. Something tightened in his chest.

He looked to her, his face hot, heart fluttering with guilt. “I’m sorry, El.” He said. This time she spoke with her own voice.

“I know.” Her eyes held nothing but encouragement.

Soos tried to loosen his grip, but his hand refused. His magic had frozen his muscles. His hand felt like it had been closed so long it forgot how to open again. The thought of letting her die filled his heart with pain. He thought of the little girl in the kitchen, Shaki. He thought of her hurt and her tears. Then he thought of everyone who waited on Ellora.

All the people who protected and guided her grandmother would guide her granddaughter, too. Soos breath hitched in his throat. He looked at Ellora through wet blurred eyes. She nodded. Her voice rang through his mind in soothing tones.

Shaki isn’t alone… And neither are you.

Ellora’s eyes flooded in silver again. She spoke with The Woman’s throaty voice.

“Remember who walks with you…”

Something hard within him, a knot of pain in his chest he’d carried since his mother’s death, unraveled and fell away. It was like he’d exhaled a breath he’d held since the day she left him.

No. He thought. She never left me. None of them ever did. I just didn’t see them?

His hand spasmed, a stab of pain pierced the middle of his palm. Then his hand fell open and away. The purple light drained from Ellora’s hand, arm, and chest. She stared at him with an enormous smile. Her deep, ocher skin faded until nothing but silvery light remained. Ellora stared down at her translucent hands, amazed.

The Woman Inside stepped out from behind her. She was a giant compared to the two of them. She walked away from Ellora and stood before him.

“You have done well.” She said. “I have three awọn ẹbun to give you.”

“Awọn ẹbun?” Soos repeated. The strange words rang through his mind and sent one word calling back. Gifts.

She placed a hand on his chest and smiled. “My first ẹbun is a cleansing. Grief is natural and needed, but do not let despair ruin your Ase.” Her warm silvery light washed away the remains of his mother’s grief and left only comfort. The heat of her touch banished all the chills from his body.

“My second ẹbun is to open your ọfun.”

She lifted her hand and placed her fingers on his neck. A sensation like fire coursed through his throat. It burned away all the words he’d swallowed in fear and shame over the years. He thought of the things he held back from his father, and his family. He remembered how afraid he was of losing Gabriella. How his fear of his children losing their mother had almost stopped him from having children at all.

Why didn’t I tell her? Soos wondered.

The cleansing fire left his throat raw but clear. The breaths he took now were full and filled his chest.

“My third ẹbun…” The Woman placed a single glowing finger to his temple. His body stiffened, electrified by her magic. Blinding white light blurred his vision, scorching his eyes. When she removed her finger, he collapsed in a heap. His limbs were unsteady, and he couldn’t see. Soos rubbed at his eyes for what seemed like an age. Then he opened them… and saw The Woman’s face.

She wore a thick woven white wrapper of Adrinka cloth. A pile of beaded collars sat around her neck and shoulders. Gold bracelets decorated her wrists and the ankles of her bare feet. She wrapped her hair in the same cloth as her dress. Her headdress wrapped in so many layers it could have been a crown. The Woman’s black face, high cheekbones, and silver eyes took his breath away.

“O kọja ẹwa.” he said. His voice was deep, hoarse, and filled with reverence. Alarmed, Soos clutched at his throat. What, what was that?! He tasted the words again and meaning flooded his mind.

You are beyond beautiful. His face blushed a deep red. The Woman giggled like a schoolgirl. Her laugh rang like silver bells.

“You make an old woman blush.” She smiled. “But you are ready.” She grabbed him by his shoulders and turned him around. His eyes landed on a sea of purple ghosts. Love and pride shone as brightly as stars in the darkness. Each face was crisp and clear to his mind’s eye. A man and a woman stepped forward. Soos’s heart somersaulted. He didn’t know how, but he knew them immediately.

“Papa? Grann?” He called. The pair smiled. I was never alone, Soos thought, longing rising in his chest. The Woman spoke into his ear. Her collars pressed into his neck.

“Your ancestors are waiting for you, reach out to them. Ellora showed you how. Let them lead you, embrace your gifts. And you will have all the strength you need to defeat Samedi.” She whispered.

“Defeat?” Soos frowned, panting. “He is as deadly to me and my family as anyone. He’s a monster! We’re like mice to him, and he’s a hungry cat.”

The Woman laughed again. “Have you ever seen a cat negotiate with mice?”

She placed a hand on his back and gave him a gentle shove. It propelled Soos, screaming, through a tunnel of rainbow-colored light that threw him back into the world of a living. Ellora’s kitchen table slammed into his stomach, and he coughed. He looked across the table to where she sat. Her chin rested on her chest, her hand was slack and cool in his. He gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Goodbye Ellora.” He whispered. He crossed himself and gave her a tiny prayer. “Descanse tu alma en la tierra de tus madres”.

Something thumped on the floor. Soos looked over to find little Shaki staring at her grandmother. Ellora platted her hair into two thick French braids. She wore a purple polo with her school’s emblem on it and some navy shorts. Her pink hello kitty backpack lay on the floor at her feet. The little girl looked up at him, silvery tears glittering in her eyes.

“Are you gonna bring Granny El back?” She asked. Her trembling little voice broke his heart.

“No, sweetie.” He mumbled. “Not this time.”

She stood there, panicked, with her bottom lip trembling. “Granny El…” Shaki stared up at him with eyes filled with fear and pain.

Soos knelt before the girl and pulled her into a hug. She collapsed, wailing into his shoulder.

“I don’t have nobody to take care of me,” She sobbed.

Soos rubbed her head. “You’ve got me.” He said. “It’s gonna be ok, I promise.”

As the girl sobbed into his shoulder, a vision flashed in his mind. Another gravestone, another name glittering with purple light.