A Soul Left Unsullied

Chapter 11: Bad Role Models

It had been a week since Edward and George's death, I was finally starting to eat again.

Whenever I opened my eyes, I could see their brutal deaths and it made me want to crawl into bed.

This week, Aunt Lisa had been trying to teach me more about the portal, the trials and my partnership with Lilith.

I was so devastated that I just accepted the role that was imposed on me, I didn't have the energy to fight it.

Lilith had popped by only once this week to ask when the next couple would be coming through.

That day was today and I felt terrified. I was paralyzed by the thought that we would have a repeat of last time.

Despite Aunt Lisa reassuring me, I still felt panicked at the thought of holding two lives in my hands.

This morning, when I woke up, I found a file on my dining table. Aunt Lisa and I had browsed through it, the file contained information on the couple visiting us today.

They were Maryam and Amir, a married couple consisting of a trans woman and a trans man from Iran. They had been together for 20 years and had gotten their surgeries in Turkey.

The file revealed one surprising thing, the couple was living in the same year as us.

I turned to Aunt Lisa to ask her about it, she answered whilst still flipping through the pages. "We're extremely privileged to live where we do, unfortunately not everyone can just up and move to a more progressive country. Sometimes, we get people like this, people that can't move easily, whose visa or paperwork has been repeatedly rejected. People whose only choice to leave their nightmarish environnement is to go through the portal, to them it is safer than crossing illegally."

"But what can we do for them?" I asked still trying to wrap my head around what she said.

"We help them in their trials like the others, if they succeeded, the demonic realm grants them an indefinite stay here or in any other progressive country of their choice. They get passeports, a new nationality, a home and jobs, the rest is up to them."

I nodded slightly, it still seemed weird to me but it was true that I could technically travel wherever I wanted without any difficulty, the American passeport was strong after all.

After we finished reading the files and Aunt Lisa had answered all my questions, we, well rather I made lunch. She had just told me that going through that portal made you feel extremely hungry and dehydrated.

I assumed they ate halal so I made them one of my favorite things to eat, maki with tuna rilletes.

By the time I was done, Lilith had arrived. I could feel her pressing stare on my back but I paid it no mind. I still doubted her and had decided that during this trial, I would watch her as closely as humanly possible to obtain proof to back up my suspicions.

We went down to the basement, this time with me going first, I was both excited and afraid. Maybe I could do better now that I knew what I was getting myself into.

Maybe doing this work would help me accept my bisexuality and free myself from the hatred I had experienced for it. Was there any work more noble than helping peopld flee hate and dreadful conditions ?

Just as I arrived at the bottom of the sort, someone came out of the portal. It was a tall man, maybe 6'1", his face was smooth, he was wearing black from head to toe. His most noticable features were his striking blue eyes. Following him closely was a woman with olive skin and brown eyes. She was wearing a hijab and seemed afraid of us as she hid behind him.

I offered them a warm smile and welcomed them to my humble abode. We didn't talk much whilst we returned to the dining room.

They both kept sneaking glances at us, perhaps afraid that this was all a mirage. You could see the nervousness in their demeanors, I wanted to reassure them that nobody would be hurting them here.