voice made Roxie feel sad as well. She almost didn’t want the answer to her question.
“No good will come of this,” she said with a shake of her head. “No good at all. Except... you won’t move forward, unless you get your answers.” Her shoulders slumped. “Please don’t hate me for this.”
“I don’t understand.”
Frowning, Sekiro a deep breath and grimaced. “Roxie, you have dead family...”
Roxie opened her mouth to ask why that mattered, but then the significance of it dawned on her.
The voice from the darkness said, “Passable work, Numina. Send the living one to me once she is ready.”
Roxie barely noticed Sekiro gape as the Numina shied away in a full-body cringe. Roxie was too preoccupied with the thought of seeing her dead parents. She was in the spirit world. So would her parents be. After having gone her entire life without meeting them face-to-face, or having exchanged a single loving word with them, she finally had the opportunity she’d never hoped for.
Color began to fill in between the white outlines of Sekiro’s stricken face, and then her fear softened into confusion. She looked around and down. “Hey, I’m able to see again.” Sunlight bled through the darkness. It was like watching dawn approach in fast-forward. The darkness evaporated, giving way to the sun, which still hung low in the eastern sky, and puffy clouds resumed their trek under the blushing colors. The sight was beautiful, yet eerily quiet.
Roxie took off in the direction of Pollyanna Hospital, the place her mother had died in.
“Roxie, no! Let me lead the way!”
Chapter 5
A Gift Given
Roxie forced herself to slow down and wait. She didn’t want the darkness returning because she led the way--if that was why it appeared in the first place. Hopefully, Sekiro could explain who or what the heck that was, yet Roxie’s wonder about the darkness gave way to her yearning to see her parents. She was actually going to be able to see them. Maybe even talk to them. Maybe hug, too. Sure their bodies would be ice cold, but that was nothing compared to actually being able to interact with them for the first time in her life.
Sekiro caught up and stopped in front of Roxie, her eyes hard, yet brows creased in worry. She put her fists on her petite hips. “Roxie, don’t take off on me anymore. Just follow me. You’re not going to enjoy where I’m about to take you, but we must go to these places. You have to trust me. Now prove to me that I can trust you.”
“Places?”
“You know that your parents died separately, and in two different locations, right?”
“Yeah. My dad died in a car accident on the way to the hospital, and my mom died shortly after giving birth to me.” She said it all pragmatically. Both deaths were tragic and she’d often felt the sting of not having them to raise her, but her grandmother had done a fantastic job letting her know that she was loved, and that her parents would have loved her just as much. How her parents had died carried just a little weight. Her father had met an untimely end, and her mother, she imagined, was almost like a sacrifice for the sake of giving a being to the universe that could save so many more lives. Roxie hadn’t thought of that until just now. Still, she had to get out of the Realm of the Dead if she was going to save anyone, including herself.
Sekiro looked at her expectantly but Roxie had nothing to add. The Numina bowed her head. “To your dad first, then,” she said somberly. “But first you must prove to me that I can trust you.”
“Trust me how?”
“To stop running off. I can’t help you if I’m chasing you everywhere.”
Roxie let out a resigned sigh. “I’m sorry. That’s a tough thing to ask. I’ve been reacting to everything, but I’ll make a point to think before I react. Would you be willing to work with my learning curve?”
Sekiro nodded briskly. “Fair enough. But only if you’ll trust me. I know this is all very
“No good will come of this,” she said with a shake of her head. “No good at all. Except... you won’t move forward, unless you get your answers.” Her shoulders slumped. “Please don’t hate me for this.”
“I don’t understand.”
Frowning, Sekiro a deep breath and grimaced. “Roxie, you have dead family...”
Roxie opened her mouth to ask why that mattered, but then the significance of it dawned on her.
The voice from the darkness said, “Passable work, Numina. Send the living one to me once she is ready.”
Roxie barely noticed Sekiro gape as the Numina shied away in a full-body cringe. Roxie was too preoccupied with the thought of seeing her dead parents. She was in the spirit world. So would her parents be. After having gone her entire life without meeting them face-to-face, or having exchanged a single loving word with them, she finally had the opportunity she’d never hoped for.
Color began to fill in between the white outlines of Sekiro’s stricken face, and then her fear softened into confusion. She looked around and down. “Hey, I’m able to see again.” Sunlight bled through the darkness. It was like watching dawn approach in fast-forward. The darkness evaporated, giving way to the sun, which still hung low in the eastern sky, and puffy clouds resumed their trek under the blushing colors. The sight was beautiful, yet eerily quiet.
Roxie took off in the direction of Pollyanna Hospital, the place her mother had died in.
“Roxie, no! Let me lead the way!”
Chapter 5
A Gift Given
Roxie forced herself to slow down and wait. She didn’t want the darkness returning because she led the way--if that was why it appeared in the first place. Hopefully, Sekiro could explain who or what the heck that was, yet Roxie’s wonder about the darkness gave way to her yearning to see her parents. She was actually going to be able to see them. Maybe even talk to them. Maybe hug, too. Sure their bodies would be ice cold, but that was nothing compared to actually being able to interact with them for the first time in her life.
Sekiro caught up and stopped in front of Roxie, her eyes hard, yet brows creased in worry. She put her fists on her petite hips. “Roxie, don’t take off on me anymore. Just follow me. You’re not going to enjoy where I’m about to take you, but we must go to these places. You have to trust me. Now prove to me that I can trust you.”
“Places?”
“You know that your parents died separately, and in two different locations, right?”
“Yeah. My dad died in a car accident on the way to the hospital, and my mom died shortly after giving birth to me.” She said it all pragmatically. Both deaths were tragic and she’d often felt the sting of not having them to raise her, but her grandmother had done a fantastic job letting her know that she was loved, and that her parents would have loved her just as much. How her parents had died carried just a little weight. Her father had met an untimely end, and her mother, she imagined, was almost like a sacrifice for the sake of giving a being to the universe that could save so many more lives. Roxie hadn’t thought of that until just now. Still, she had to get out of the Realm of the Dead if she was going to save anyone, including herself.
Sekiro looked at her expectantly but Roxie had nothing to add. The Numina bowed her head. “To your dad first, then,” she said somberly. “But first you must prove to me that I can trust you.”
“Trust me how?”
“To stop running off. I can’t help you if I’m chasing you everywhere.”
Roxie let out a resigned sigh. “I’m sorry. That’s a tough thing to ask. I’ve been reacting to everything, but I’ll make a point to think before I react. Would you be willing to work with my learning curve?”
Sekiro nodded briskly. “Fair enough. But only if you’ll trust me. I know this is all very
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