Grim Truths

Cal

Sleep isn’t something that comes naturally for me. Even as a child, my parents struggled with my sleep schedule. I was put on different types of medications to help but they always made me feel like a zombie during the times I should have been awake so at 16, I put my foot down. No more medications.

When I did sleep, however, I had crazy vivid dreams. When I was 9, I had dreamed about my maternal grandfather and he kept asking me questions about my mom and if my dad treats her right and loves her and how much he loved me and Cavin. When I told my mom about it, she seemed genuinely surprised but told me that I had an active imagination. I never really thought about it again.

This dream isn’t like that one though. This one feels off. I’m in a small room and it’s completely dark. The only source of light is a thin stripe which I follow to an entrance. I open the door to find I was in a closet. Definitely a very weird dream.

The main living area is neatly decorated almost like a magazine advertisement. A light brown sofa and matching loveseat places adjacent to each other and an oak table in the middle. A dark brown shag carpet ties everything together. Accent lamps providing camera safe lighting.

I sink into the couch and sigh. Something still feels off here. Can a dream feel.. too real? Before I have another two seconds to think about it, I hear the movement and voices.

In less than a couple seconds I throw myself back into the closet and close the door as gently as I can. I silently curse myself for being such a coward in a dream.

“Thanks for the new assignments,” a familiar voice says.

“No, problem, Zeph. Just doing my job,” a not so familiar voice replies. Zeph?! Like Zephyr??

“Are you sure this is it? The list seems.. well, it seems low.”

“They weren’t too happy you fell behind this week. I don’t make the rules.”

“It was like 20 minutes. I couldn’t help it. Someone caught my eye.” Zephyr sings the last couple words.

“Yeah, your little medium friend. Everyone is going to think that’s crazy. A human caught you in the middle of a job and then watched you do it again. All while holding an emotionless mask. I’ve seen a lot in my time but never that,” the man laughs.

It’s not hard to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I’m in a dream with zephyr and a voice I don’t recognize and they’re talking about me. Unless Zephyr met another medium tonight but that doesn’t seem likely. He was all too surprised to learn I could indeed see and hear him.

“Fine. Here I thought we were friends,” Zephyr sighs and carries his words for dramatic effect.

A long silence fills my senses. I reach for the door handle again but a groan and harsh exhale stops me in my tracks.

“Fine, you win. I’ll look into her. What’s the name?” The man says, annoyed.

“Avori. She was such a darling. I asked for her name and she went all stiff and gave me her whole name,” Zephyr repeats my full name, mimicking my voice. I die a little from secondhand embarrassment.

“Wait. Really? You met her while on your rounds?” He sounds shocked or maybe even concerned.

“You know of her? No, that’s not it. You know her. Who is she?” Zephyr questions. I can feel his annoyance from here.

“I can’t say. I made a promise.”

“You’ve never kept a secret from me before so she’s gotta be a big—“ Zephyr stops mid sentence, lost in thought I assume. “Oh my. I understand now, Callum.” His voice has taken a teasing tone.

That name startles me and when my body makes an involuntary sharp intake of air, I clap a hand over my mouth. The two men exchange a few explicit words before creeping towards the door. My eyes have adjusted to the dark but I have nothing to hide behind or under or over. I’m totally screwed. I grab what feels like a broom and prepare for a fight.

The door opens and I scream. Instead of fighting like I planned I threw the broom and whatever else my fingers could grab. What I assume is a boot makes contact with a head and one of them backs up. I open my eyes to see Zephyr staring down at me with the biggest grin I’ve ever seen on a person.

“F*ck, she’s got an arm!” I hear Callum yell out. This makes Zephyr laugh. Zephyr holds out his hand to me and brings me up to my feet as soon as I take it.

“Cal, why are you hiding pretty ladies in your closet, you freak,” Zephyr says, still laughing.

“I didn’t know she was in there!” Cal groans in pain.

“It’s good to see you again, baby. Hasn’t even been that long and I missed you.”

“Thanks, I think. You’re not mad at me for hiding in your closet?” I ask feeling remorseful.

“Not my closet, not my problem,” Zephyr shrugs. Cal groans again in response.

“I’m sorry I hit you so hard,” I say sympathetically. Zephyr chuckles.

“S’fine,” Cal says. Zephyr clears his throat.

“Avori, let me introduce you to the owner of the closet and a long time friend of mine!” he wraps his arm around my waist and guides me into the living room.

Callum is sitting with a hand covering one of his eyes. His one golden eye is still as breathtaking as I remember. Everything about him is as I remember apart from his hair being shorter.

“Callum, this is Avori. Avori, Callum,” Zephyr proudly introduces us.

“Just Ava is fine, please,” I hold my hand out for Callum.

“My friends call me Cal,” he says with a smirk. He moves his hand from his face into mine. With my free hand, I gently touch the swollen red mark above his left eyebrow. Cal surprises me by leaning his head into my hand.

“Like I’m not even here. If no one else is going to address one of many elephants in the room, I will. How the hell is Miss Ava even here?” Zephyr makes a good point.

“It’s complicated, Zeph. I’m not even sure how much I’m allowed to know,” Cal sounds defeated.

“Who am I going to tell? I report to you anyway you’re my assigned Wise!” Zephyr crosses his arms and sighs. He looks to me for a few moments. I shrug my shoulders implying I’m probably more in the dark about all of this than he is.

With his other hand, Cal pinches his skin between his eyes. He has his eyes closed and brows furrowed like he’s frustrated. Instinctively, I sit down next to him and pull his hand away from his face. Somewhere inside me is hurting because he’s conflicted. I place my hand to his cheek and when his eyes meet mine, I give him my best encouraging smile. Cal takes a deep breath through his nose and relaxes his shoulders.

“I guess that answers one of a thousand questions I have,” Zephyr interrupts and I instantly feel my face go red.

“To answer your earlier question, she’s here because she’s asleep,” Cal states.

“Awfully vague of you, babe.” Zephyr narrows his eyes at Cal indicating he’s skeptical.

“Seeing you today must have triggered a memory or something like that. She has always had the ability just not the memory of being able to do it,” Cal explains.

“What do you mean? I think I would remember being able to put myself any place I wanted to go by simply sleeping,” I question him.

“This is probably the first time you’ve done it or you didn’t know you were doing it,” Cal shrugs and then turns to Zephyr. “You two were thinking about each other at the time she went to sleep. She used that connection to bring herself here.”

Zephyr’s jaw looks as if it were going to fall off. I don’t blame him. A normal person being told they have a supernatural ability would freak out. I’m sitting here like this is every day news.

“Well, look at the time. There’s a whole list of souls that aren’t going to collect themselves,” Zephyr chuckles nervously and then looks to me, “Avori, babe. Love you but I gotta go. Another day, another soul. I’ll see you later!”

In a blink of an eye, he was gone. I feel Cal shift his weight and when I turn to look at him, I find him already staring at me. Part of me should be terrified of him. I’m scared of so many things but this man brings me peace and comfort. I don’t know whether I should be thanking him for saving my life all those years ago or questioning my sanity. I used to think he was involved with it all but meeting Zephyr has changed my reality so much already.

“I have questions,” I say blankly.

“I imagine you do.”

“Do Reapers get days off?” I ask. Cal laughs. I could listen to that laugh every second of forever.

“They can, yes. Most do.”

“Is it like a job, job then? Like do you get paid and have sick time? Vacation time?”

“We aren’t paid, no. Reapers also don’t get sick.”

“What do you mean? Aren’t there labor laws?”

“Avori, there are for normal souls. How can I put it so you’ll understand..?” Cal scratches his head, searching for words. I resist the urge to entangle my fingers in his hair too.

“Do you believe in reincarnation?” He asks.

“Like, rebirth? Are you going to tell me it’s a real thing?”

“Yes and no,” he laughs and then continues, “the Underworld and Overworld are almost identical. I can only speak from my point of view so I apologize if I can’t answer all your questions now. When a human dies, a Reaper comes to harvest the soul. Our job is to take said soul to Charon. I can’t go into details as it’s not part of my job but once they’re taken across the River Styx, they’re cleansed. It’s a rough process sometimes, unfortunately.”

“The Ferryman? Aren’t you supposed to pay him to cross?” I ask. I turn towards Cal, pulling my legs up on his couch. Cal takes my legs into his lap, still holding onto my hand.

“Nah, he started that little rumor as a joke but he doesn’t care. One time a soul called him ‘Chad’ which he thought was hilarious and lets the Reapers call him that. Anyway, long story short, human souls are born into the Underworld as Souls. Reapers are immortal and we can’t have children. We get hand chosen by big man Hades. Of course, we can choose not to take on the responsibility.”

“Oh. Doesn’t that get lonely, though?” My heart sinks a little for him. To live forever and alone seems like a cruel punishment.

“Nah, it’s not so bad. Selene hates the idea of lonely creatures and she blesses us. All the beings who live under her light are only half. We’re destined to find our other half as we live our life.”

“Who is that?”

“The Moon Goddess. All of the “creatures of the night” as the humans call us are loved and adored by her. She’s also a hopeless romantic and wants all of us to find a true life partner.”

The way he looks at me sends tingles down my spine. This topic of conversation makes me very aware of how close we are. It’s not uncomfortable but seems inappropriate. I try to reposition myself but Cal holds my legs in place.

“Are you okay?” He asks. His face holds so much concern and the thought of kissing him floods my senses. I shake my head to get rid of the thought and I feel the back of his hand touch my forehead.

“I’m okay, I’m sorry. I’ve gotta ask though.. have you found yours? I mean your soulmate,” I cover my mouth quickly praying I didn’t just offend him. “If that’s not completely inappropriate for me to ask. Never mind, you don’t need to answer. It’s none of my business.”

“Yes, no, and it’s definitely your business,” he’s laughing now. I feel my ears go red at the realization of his words.

“You’re a Reaper, though. I’m not.”

“You wound me,” he places his hand over his chest, dramatically implying I’m breaking his heart. I roll my eyes and nudge him with my foot.

“You know what I mean! If you get mad at me are you gonna take me to the River Styx?” I lean my voice heavy into the sarcasm now. “How old are you anyway?”

“Physically, I think I’m 26 maybe 27. I don’t remember exactly when I died. I’ve been around for almost 600 years, though.”

“Wow. You could be my granddad.” I laugh at him.

“Hmm. No. I don’t think so.”

Cal leans towards me and grabs my arm. I gasp at the contact but let him pull my completely on to his lap, facing him. He pushes my thighs apart with his knees, using his hands to gently guide my legs on either side of him. He locks eyes with me and I’m left speechless. I don’t understand how his soulmate thing works but I can feel it.

“Cal,” I say breathlessly, “I’d really like to kiss you.” He chuckles deeply, igniting a flame inside me.

“I would never keep you from what you wanted,” he jokes. I move my hands to his chest and lower my lips to his. Effortlessly, Cal dominates our kiss. One hand rests on my back pulling me closer to his body, and the other on the back of my neck. Our lips move together in their own accord. I feel his tongue on my lip, asking for entrance. I giggle and part my lips enough for him as I move my hands into his hair.

“Avori, dangerous games have dangerous outcomes,” Cal groans, pulling from our slight heated exchange.

“No offense, Callum, but you-“ I start to say but he interrupts me with another kiss. I pull away and he moves down to my neck. Fighting the explicit noises that want to escape my lips, I close my eyes and hum which sounds more like a growling dog.

“You’re distracting me. I forgot what we were talking about,” I’m able to say after a few moments of trying to regulate my breathing.

“I can distract you for as long as you want, Princess.”

“I’m not a Princess.”

Cal grins like I made a joke. I raise an eyebrow questioning his reaction. He leans in to capture my lips in another delicious kiss.