What the Water Gave Me | Ruby da Cherry

The Broken Column

In the Shinto religion, indigenous to Japan, an old belief is that those who have passed enter a dark underground place, called Yomi. A river seperates the dead and the living, not unlike the river Styx in Greek religions. 

The outside of my house was painted to be a vibrant yellow, not unlike the marigold in my hand. The inside was just the same, with the walls and the counters being varying shades of gold. My mom had picked the house because she loved how the unique color palette made her think of happiness.

"This is your house?" he asked as we walked through the colorful door. I nodded my head as I started to show him around.

Everything was exactly as it was before I left that morning. My clothes were still on my bedroom floor, my mom's empty breakfast plate was still sitting on the table, and the book I was reading was on my nightstand. The only difference was that none of the lights worked; the only illumination came from the marigolds in the street outside. Despite appearances, something was just...off.

"Uh...Lupe?" Aristos said, tugging on my shirt sleeve as I was preoccupied with the stuffed animals on my bed.

"Yes?" I mumbled but I wasn't really paying any attention to him.

"Lupe?!" he said a bit more urgently. I whipped around so see what he was pestering me about and I saw something I can't comprehend. Another me...

"Oh, mija!" she exclaimed trying to bring me into a hug.

I didn't have much time to think before she started getting angry, similar to my mother from the forest. Her (my?) teeth became sharp, digging into her gums so her mouth started pouring blood onto the floors. She started to run to us, with Aristos attempting to fend her off, but we were interrupted. Not by an alebrije, like I was expecting, but by a girl, not much older than me. She had long braids, twisted in with purple highlights. Her dark skin reflected the golden hue of the flowers. The girl had a string around her fingers, like she was making a cat's cradle game. She cried out a chant in a language I didn't understand, her hands working the strings just as fast and the demon. As she finished her incantation, the demon became wrapped in an invisible string while Aristos and I stared in silent awe.

"That won't hold her for long, let's go," the purple-haired girl said. For the second time since I've been here, I followed a stranger's orders. She lit a candle and put her cape around Aristos and me. "When I knock times three, the door will take me where I want to be."

She chanted three times, then knocked three times, and opened the door. On the other side was the inside of a large tent filled with a gaggle of other people and beings. I glanced over to Aristos, to gauge his reaction, but I couldn't focus on anything besides the thing still lingering above his head.

"My name's Tisu," she said as she led us to a small sitting room within. We introduced ourselves as a small black cat, with a universe behind his eyes, jumped on her lap while she softly pat his head. "Strange names. Anyway, I'm sure you have questions."