Synthetic Lover

The rushing waterfall…
The call of the birds above…
The wind continuously dancing around me…

My eyes were closed as I took in all of the sounds that surrounded me.
But one single thought remained in my head.

Devin’s going to be mad at me. He’s going to be mad at me again.

“Devin has to realize that he can’t always keep you locked up. He can’t hide you forever.”

I opened my eyes.

<What do you mean? He’s hiding me?>

The voice was silent for a moment.

“I think it’s time that you and I meet, Ricky.
Face to face.”

x x x

Here it is.

I stood in front of the shop, taking a second to look through the window.

“Come in, Ricky. My shop is closed today, so no one will bother us.”

I opened the door and walked inside, closing the door behind me.

I continued to walk through the store, admiring the many artifacts that adorned the shelves and the dreamcatchers that hung from the ceiling.

“It’s nice to finally see you in person, Ricky.”

A woman stood next to one of the book shelves.

She was about an inch taller than me and her tan skin appeared to glow in the dark store.
Her long, black hair was platted into a braid that rested over her shoulder and decorated with a couple of beads.

The shawl that wrapped around her torso was as equally colorful and decorated as her long skirt.

“Follow me.”

She led me to a back room that was lit slightly by a couple of candles and sat down at the table that was placed in the middle of the room.

I sat down in front of her.

“My name is Nahimana, by the way.”

<Nice to meet you…>

“I can tell that you already have questions, so you can speak first.”

I nodded slowly and took a moment to think.

<How are you able to communicate with me?>

“My name means ‘Mystic’. I guess my parents prophesized that I would have a special gift like this.”

<Gift?>

“That can be explained later.”
I nodded again.

I thought again about what I wanted to ask.
So many questions were constantly swimming through my head.

Then I remembered the mark on my chest when I looked in the mirror one day.

It matched the mark in Devin’s eye.

I pulled down the collar of my shirt until the mark was revealed.

<What is this mark? Why is it there?>

“It’s the Flower of Life, the mark of Sempiternal.”

<What…?>

She sighed and leant forward in her chair.

“'Sempiternal: eternal and unchanging; everlasting.
As long as you submit, this is guaranteed.

However, a sacrifice must be made.'

In order to explain this to you, I must tell you a story of my own.”

<Okay.>

She leant back in her chair and rested her hands in her lap.

“It all started when my older sister and I lost our youngest sister to a murderer.

I was only seventeen and my older sister, Macawi, was twenty-two. She took care of us when our parents died, and of course, she blamed herself for the loss of Tika.

At the funeral, Macawi and I were met by a woman shrouded in black.

Her lips didn’t move, but she was speaking to us.

‘I know what it’s like to lose someone you love dearly,’ was what she said.
‘I know how you can bring her back.’

The woman came to us and held out a small black book, the Flower of Life engraved into the cover in gold.

She wore a sly, wicked smile.

I was wary about the woman, but Macawi was too blinded by her grief and accepted the book.

The woman disappeared soon after.
I beckoned Macawi for us to go home, and she did listen.

I should have paid closer attention to her though.

I awoke the next night to the sound of the door slamming shut and went to investigate.

I shrieked when I saw Tika on the floor, eight lit candles surrounding her while black and red rose petals adorned her corpse.

Macawi appeared with a knife in her hand.

I screamed at her, pleading her to stop whatever she was doing, but she was too far gone.
Her grief had overtaken her.

‘It’s okay, Nahimana,’ she cried.
‘I’m going to bring our dearest Tika back.’

She turned towards the corpse and ran the blade of the knife against the palm of her hand, and as the blood dripped, she recited some sort of incantation.

Then everything seemed to happen so fast.

Winds circulated through the room. Large, purple hands appeared.
And Macawi screamed out in pain.

Before I could register what had happened, it already ended.

Macawi was a whimpering mess, holding Tika in her arms.

I couldn’t form any words.
I didn’t know what to feel when I saw that Tika’s eyes were open, staring back at me.

Tika had the Flower of Life on her chest, Macawi had the same mark in her right eye, and our lives were never the same after that.”

Nahimana stood up from her chair.

“I’ll continue the story another day, Ricky. It’s time for both of us to go home.”

I left the store, walking slowly towards the house.
One thought was on my mind.

I had died, and Devin brought me back to life.