Chapter 28

Death

I was walking through the forest, the forest where a few times I walked alongside Meredith. I missed her, in every possible form I wanted her to be mine, I wanted to hold her, but all I ever let myself to feel from her was a single kiss. I was doing this for her, I left for her, and I distanced myself for her. I had seen too many people sad when they are in love but at the wrong time. There isn’t always a right time for love, no matter how bad we want it.

If I would be with Meredith, I couldn’t stay here with her, I would need to leave with her. It’s the prophecy that would complicate things with us. If we would start the prophecy, it would be burned in stone. Wizards and witches all around could easily find out about it no matter how much in secret we kept it. Even Jasmin didn’t know yet, and I was not planning on telling her that. If she finds out I will let her, but if not it’s better. When others would find out about Meredith being together with me, with Death. They would do anything to make her speak and tell them everything about the afterlife. They want to have the sight of what they can’t see. There is no proof of afterlife and that’s what makes them go mad. Even if I didn’t tell her anything, they wouldn’t believe she was in the blind.

When Jasmin first started meeting with me, others already had information about her ability to speak with me. Jasmin was chased down and questioned. They tortured her and she needed to speak, she told them everything she knew. Since then I never spoke anything more than she already knew.

If me and Meredith were together she would need to start her life all over, in a place where no one knows her, no one has heard about her, she would need to disappear with no one knowing. She wasn’t ready to leave everything and everyone yet.

She didn’t leave her pack now when she said she would and I was sure that if she would have left with me it would break her. I couldn’t just take her away from everything she had always known. She wasn’t ready to leave, even if she said she is. I needed to know that she was strong enough to leave everything behind. I needed to be sure that it’s worth it for her. She needed to find herself first before she even considered leaving with me. When she would want to leave with me, I needed to know that it is not her heart speaking but her rational thinking.

I entered Jasmins house, it was early in the morning and she was already up, she heard me entering and peaked from the side of the room to make sure it was me. It was time to finally repay Jasmin for everything she had done for me. She was my dearest and only friend on this earth, she had been for the past fifty years now. I promised to reward her and I was a man of my word. “Long time no see.” She said. “What have you’ve been up to? For past few days you have been absent, already forgetting about me?” she asked me, smirking as always.

“Not forgetting, just busy,” I answered.

She glanced at me. “Busy or sulking?” she asked. Of course she knew. I didn’t want her to know me as well as she did but unfortunately she did.

“About what?” I asked her interested, hiding like I was clueless.

“Well. If you haven’t been here, I assume you haven’t been to meet Meredith either, because when you are here you always visit me and her,” she explained and sometimes it amazed me how at times she was the smartest person and then she was the Everest of stupidity. “So… either you are now thinking of going to meet her or you already were.”

“I didn’t meet her and I won’t,” I said. She shot me a suspicious look.

“Then what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I feel very welcomed here. Thank you.” I answered her with my palm on my chest.

“Did you know it’s her birthday today?” she asked and that made me chuckle.

“Of course.” I simply answered. How could I not know that? And how could I ever forget.

She was seated at her table and she turned towards me. “It’s a big deal for people who are not immortal, you know? Maybe at least wish her happy birthday, I think she would appreciate it.”

“I already did.”

She looked at me in a suspicious look yet again. “You didn’t meet her?” she asked and I shook my head. “You could at least man up and say it to her face,” she said, understanding what I did. I already manned up not meeting her face to face. I could have used her birthday as an excuse but what well would it do? I would only hurt myself and her more.

“It actually wasn’t the only reason I came here,” I said sitting down on her coach. I pulled out a glass container with black mist inside of it from my coat pocket. I put it down on the table in front of me as loud as I could to make Jasmin notice.

She looked at it and jumped on her feet and walked up to me. “Is…is that Alexander?” she asked breathlessly.

“It’s a little stretched out to say it’s him… but yes it’s his living soul, as black as it gets, your dear Alexander is here… alive and in a jar. Doesn’t that sound comedic?” I knew that she won’t say anything back because when things important to her were being talked about she didn’t care about anything but what was important. And right now she was staring so hard at that container that I swear she could break it with just her eyes.

She kept staring at the container and when I didn’t say anything else or do anything she finally looked at me. “Are you going to do it?” she asked impatiently.

I didn’t rush things for the sake of irritating Jasmin. I stood up and with a hand gesture I made her understand that she needed to sit down. She sat at the same spot where I sat. She was tense and her fingers were fidgeting watching my every movement. I picked up the container and took the lid off but let my hand remain at the top. I didn’t like to do this often because one wrong movement and his soul will get away, it’s not so easy to find them after. When souls are free they go crazy and scream in agony. I closed my eyes and from my palms black smoke started to form rotating around the object in my hand. The soul was fighting to get out, screaming to get out. I felt the soul attach to me with string, so it doesn’t escape. I looked at Jasmin who was waiting. I nodded at her and lifted my hand up letting the soul get out and morph into the mist of Alexander’s body.

Jasmin cried in amazement but she remained sitting clutching the couch in her hands. “Alexander.” She said in a sweet voice. A voice I didn’t know she had.

Alexander smiled at her immediately. He went forward to her but was quickly pulled back. “Jasmin, my Jasmin. My lord you are still as beautiful,” he said trying to reach her but he wasn’t anything more than just a mist. He stopped trying when he understood he wouldn’t be able to.

“I’m sorry.” She cried out.

He just smiled. “Don’t be. Too many unfortunate events played the part of separating us.” She smiled back at him, eyes cried out and shoulders slumped down. “I didn’t lie when I said that my love will outlive me. Not once you weren’t in my dreams. Not once do I not look for the day we meet.”

“I love you Alexander,” Jasmin cried out. “Wait for me… I will join you someday. Then we will be together, forever. Like you once said…” she said with a sweet smile playing on her lips. “Forever is a long time, but still not enough to spend with you.”

Jasmin didn’t know much about the afterlife. When the soul is sent to the afterlife it is put in another dimension, living with all the other souls, but it doesn’t last forever, those souls fade away with time, like everything.

“It won’t be your time for a while… but I am waiting. Live for both of us Missy.” he said. Even if Alexander’s soul was as black as night, his love for Jasmin was pure and true. His love was the only good thing about him. He had sinned a lot in this life, he took innocent lives and tortured people. Even Jasmin couldn’t make him better. Even with all his flaws, no matter what he did she still loved him. “You deserve to live on earth. Your soul colors much more lighter than mine could ever. You need to be on earth a little more. When you die, I will be here,” he said with tears in his eyes.

I felt the string getting looser, it was time for him to go. I looked at Jasmin. “It’s time,” I said and she didn’t waste any time.

“As long as you are in my mind I will wait for you. My heart can’t live without you Jasmin,” Alexander said. “Thank you for this gift of seeing you,” he said and I took him back just inches apart from breaking loose. I closed the container and put it back in my coat.

Jasmin was in shock, with tears drying on her face. I had never seen Jasmin broken down, she looked so fragile and small. She was never like this. This meeting did nothing for her good. It just brought back memories of losing him, it made her hope what if… what if he was still alive… what if they were still together… what if the events that lead to Alexander’s death would have shifted…what if…