Through the Valley: Part 2
In which our hero gets some fresh air
Welcome to my little corner of the internet! I’m so glad you’re here. Below you’ll find part 2 of my short story about death (and Death). It’s a riot.
Want to start at the beginning? Here you go:
It was a beautiful summer afternoon, the kind you see in movies during the opening credits, but almost never experience in real life. Damn you, Hollywood! I had brought my niece, Cindy, to the park to play. My sister worked most weekends, so this was not an uncommon occurrence.
It wasn’t such a bad deal for me. Most days I sat hunched over on a bench, swiping through pictures and headlines that I would almost immediately forget. Sometimes I hearted something.
Cindy ran over to me, face flushed from the excitement of going down the twisty slide for the hundredth time. She wasn’t quite old enough to pretend that having fun was for losers. “Whatcha doing, Uncle Jin?” she asked.
“Catching up with old friends” I said without looking up.
Cindy shrugged, eager to move on to the real reason she had come over. “Wanna do the teeter totter with me?” she asked.
I smiled conspiratorially. “Aren’t you a little old for that?”
“Not compared to you!” she responded.
Who was I to argue with that logic?
As we walked toward that area of the playground, a cloud passed in front of the sun, and I felt a sudden chill (cue foreshadowy music). Cindy hugged herself, but quickly regained her youthful exuberance and kept walking. I hesitated for a minute, then shrugged and followed her.
That’s when little Molly Walker fell into my arms, a cherub descended from heaven.
At least, that’s how I remember it. She probably just lost her footing and careened over the side of the play structure. I caught her, like some hero out of a story, then gently set her on her feet. It all happened so fast that she didn’t start crying until she was already safe.
A woman ran over to us. She was wearing yoga pants and a sweater, and had a baby strapped to her chest using one of those stretchy scarf-looking things. “Molly!” she cried, kneeling down and embracing the girl. “Are you ok?”
“Y-y-yes,” Molly whimpered. “That was scary Mommy!”
“I know, sweetheart,” the lady answered. “You’re ok now.” She turned toward me. “Thank you, thank you so much.” Her baby started crying. “Where is your father?” she asked nobody in particular as she ushered Molly away.
Cindy walked up to me. She’d only seen the last part of the action.
“Why were you holding that girl?” she asked.
I shrugged. “She just kind of…landed in my arms.” I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck, like someone was watching me.
“You’re a hero. You know that, right?” The words came from behind me. I turned and saw… a goddess.
She looked to be about my age (if the gods can be said to have any age at all). Her hair was blonde, and she had the slim build you’d expect to see on a magazine advertising “beach-ready abs in only 10 minutes a day!”
“I… wait, what?” I stumbled over the words. “Hi? Hi. Um…what were you saying?” Clearly, I am a master of eloquence.
The newcomer smiled, further muddling my thoughts. Something about her face tugged at my mind, but I was still completely overwhelmed by her beauty. She repeated her statement about me being a hero.
I blushed, suddenly becoming very interested in a piece of fuzz on my jacket. “No, I’m serious,” she said. “A fall from that height… it could have killed her.” Our conversation had piqued Cindy’s interest.
“You saved that girl’s life, Uncle Jin?” she asked.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” I said. “Maybe a bruise…”
“Quite being so modest!” The other girl said. She turned to Cindy before continuing. “Your uncle is a hero, and don’t let him forget it, Miss…” Cindy beamed at being referred to as an adult.
“Cindy!” she answered.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cindy. I’m…” She cut off as she noticed me staring at her. It wasn’t the stare of an admirer. It was something primal, like I was a deer who had just picked up the scent of a hunter. “Is something wrong?” she asked.
You bet your ass something was wrong. I was moments away from putting my finger on it, too. There was smoke, but I hadn’t quite located the fire.
Then it all came together in my head.
“Victoria…” I breathed, too low to be heard.
The memories hit me, like a cheesy flashback in some 80’s romantic comedy. Here’s the scene: Prom night, 2004. Victoria and I are slow dancing to The Reason by Hoobastank. She was a brunette back then, but still beautiful. A goddess in training, if you will.
She leaned in close as the song was reaching its climax. “We need to talk.”
“Talk to me, baby,” I replied, with all the arrogance and naiveté of a teenager.
“No, not like that,” she said quickly. “It’s about…us.”
“Oh,” I said, pulling back slightly. “What’s up?”
“You’re great. You know that, right? It’s just…I think we should take a break. Start seeing other people.” She smiled, but her eyes were worried. She glanced over her shoulder before turning back to me.
“Right,” I answered, dumbfounded. “Other people. Is this about the Twinkie thing?” Victoria looked away, embarrassed.
“No, it’s not that,” she said. “It’s just… time for us to move on. I should leave before…” The song ended, and Judy Barnett, president of the ASB club, stepped onto the stage.
“Hello Bobcats!” she said. “I hope you’re having a rrrroarin’ time! I know I am!” She paused and looked around before motioning someone toward the stage. “And now, I’d like to introduce this year’s Prom King, Tommy Steiner!”
Tommy climbed the stairs, his tailored suit nicely complementing the body-builder’s physique he’d been blessed with. He knelt slightly as Judy placed a crown upon his head. He smiled, then accepted the microphone for his victory speech.
“Thank you, everyone, for your votes. It warms my heart to know that you feel about me the same way I feel about all of you.” There was a smattering of applause. I was still holding onto Victoria, temporarily distracted from the fact that she was breaking up with me. Tommy’s pecks had that effect on people. “The judges have informed me that there has been a tie for Prom Queen, and I’ve been given the honor of deciding who the lucky lady will be.”
The spotlight moved onto two girls standing on the side of the stage. I forget their names now; it isn’t important anyway.
“I’m going to break the rules a bit,” Tommy said. “My mom always told me that asking for forgiveness is easier than asking for permission.” He’s going to choose them both! I thought. That suave bastard! “I’d love to choose both of you, but… there’s someone else here tonight, someone who’s been the Queen of my heart for the past three months. Victoria Young, where are you?”
That’s when the spotlight turned to us. How I wish I could have melted away in that moment. To disappear forever. Instead, Victoria shrugged out of my embrace and took the stage. I stood there, staring into nothingness. Most people had the decency to turn away, others just shook their heads.
You can imagine how the rest of the evening (decade) went. And now the cause of all that pain was standing right in front of me. I came back to the present and looked at her again.
“Victoria.” I said it louder this time. It took a second before I saw recognition flash in her eyes.
“Jin? Jin!” She moved closer and embraced me. Smelling her perfume was like going back in time: strawberries and the hint of a spring rain. There was something else below those two as well. Something new I didn’t recognize. I patted her awkwardly on the back.
“How have you been?” she asked, pulling away slightly. “God, it’s been, what, ten years?”
It had been four thousand one hundred and fifteen days, actually. Not that I was counting.
“Something like that,” I said, waving my hand nonchalantly, “I haven’t really kept track of time.” We are liars, all of us, so I know I have your forgiveness. What I really wanted to tell her didn’t require words, only my hands around her neck. Since murder is still frowned upon in our society, I tried to find something appropriate to say. “Your hair is different.” Real smooth, Jin.
“Oh... yeah,” she said, touching it absentmindedly. “It’s been like that for a while now.” I nodded, unsure of how to proceed with this she-demon. It looked like she was about to walk away when Cindy spoke up.
“Why don’t you come to lunch with us?” she asked. My eyes went wild with alarm, and I almost choked on my tongue.
“No!” I said. “I mean, no way she’d want to do that! Ha! I’m sure Victoria is very busy, right? We wouldn’t want to keep her from whoever… um… whatever she was going to do.” Brutal, I know, but I was in fight or flight mode. Victoria didn’t seem to have heard my implications of impropriety, however.
“Your uncle’s right, cutie,” she said. “I’m on my way to my yoga class.” She turned toward me before continuing. “It would be great to catch up with you sometime though. Call me?” Before I could say anything else she grabbed my phone and created a new contact. I gave her my toothiest smile when she handed it back. She gave me another small hug and walked away.
I let out an audible sigh of relief once she was out of sight.
“What is wrong with you?” Cindy asked.
“What do you mean?” I countered. “You can’t just invite people out like that!”
“But she liked you! It was, like, sooo obvious!”
“What? No.” I shook my head for emphasis. “Listen.” I knelt down so that our eyes were level. “How old are you now?” Cindy looked at me like I was insane. I had never felt so sure in my life.
“Twelve…” she answered.
I nodded. “Old enough to know the truth. Victoria is not a good person. She is, in fact, the Devil. From Hell.” Cindy’s eye-roll told me she didn’t believe my story.
“No wonder you’re single,” she said. “At least you have her number.” I looked at my phone as though it had just become a snake.
“I should delete it!” I said.
“No!” Cindy exclaimed, trying to take my phone from me. “I like her!” I gave her my best condescending look, but it is impossible to out-condescend a twelve year old.
“Fine,” I pouted. “But don’t expect me to use it.”
“Fair enough,” she agreed.
“C’mon Cupid,” I said, putting my arm around her shoulder. “Let’s go get some food.”
All thoughts of being a hero had left my head at this point. Death was the furthest thing from my mind.
Unfortunately, I was the only thing on his.
Suggested music for Part 2: The Reason by Hoobastank (I had never seen this video before looking it up for this post)
Keep reading! Part 3 is ready, for you!
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