Page 97 of Souls We Rip

“What image? You are already the image of death. Nothing could be worse than that!”

I stepped in front of her, my nose grazing her forehead. “Are you sure?” My voice rasped on her skin, making her tremble.

It did not kill me, but why would I stretch the rope of my sullen mood and reputation?

A small package was placed in my hands, the deadpan voice of the man scraping my ears. “Whoever puts this on, they would wear it for the rest of their days.”

“As it is intended,” I said as parting words.

Back to the roof we stood before, I watched as my ripper angel smeared blood on the windows. She took her time with this one, crossing the Sixth Commandment for the eighth occasion.

Before going to Sibiu, we had a discussion about how she was able to care about two things in life.

Me and God.

God was light, and I was dark, and together we had a place in her soul. Painting her life grey.

“It’s done,” she said, a bit pale, standing before me, her white wool socks drenched in blood. “She won’t torment children anymore.”

She made her scythe disappear, taking her hair and braiding it quickly. A new blue swirl appeared, staining her eyes.

As it was the previous time, she didn’t free her stomach’s contents, but the paler colour of her skin worried me.

“I’ve got to show you something.” I squeezed the box in my palm, anxiety causing my pulse to quicken.

“Oh?” Her eyebrow shot up, her hand coming to rest on my arm.

Every word she had ever said to me was stuck in my mind like a prayer was to Ana. It was the perfect moment to show her what awaited when we would be free of the curse I’ve placed on our heads.

I whisked us out of there, leaving behind for a short time the lore that surrounded us.

Ana

The building we were looking at was situated near the Dumbrava Forest. A one-storey masonry house with a hipped roof, plastered with lime-sand mortar, the earthy colour bringing out its authenticity.

The border of its windows was painted white and blue. The porch’s wooden boards were coloured with the same shade as the frames.

“The Mirror did not show me this,” I stated, my eyes roaming over the name written on the house. It was a tradition to mark on the front of the building the founders and the year of construction.

“That is the name of the former owners. Let me fix it,” he said, one of his hands stretching in the air.

Instead of the old name, mine, his and Eugen’s appeared.

Ana, Tiberius, Eugen

“What is that?” I breathed, my pulse travelling faster in my body.

“I couldn’t arrive sooner at your baptism, because I was acquiring this house. For quite some time, I thought about adding you to the deed, which is already done. Eugen will inherit this after our passing. I cannot add Andrei on the deed, him being…already dead.”

My mouth opened and closed several times as his words registered. If I had had a heart, then it would have shattered.

Not wanting to have the wrong understanding, I asked, “Why did you add us?”

“Ana, after these months, I am certain I do not want to spend my humanity in solitude. And not only that, but I also want to spend it with you. And about Eugen, I am not sure if we could have children together. I don’t know what will happen when we reverse our forms. And…I care about him.”

I wanted to die and come back, just to make his dreams come true. I wrapped my arms around his neck, closing my eyes, feeling as though every part of me was ignited.

“I cannot put into words the feelings that overwhelm me, Tiberius. I cannot thank you enough for making my life a little bit more colourful.”