My Cherie Amour (Fully Posted)

Chapter 43

After the group discussed the ritual, they agreed on exactly twenty-four hours elapsing before it occurred. This gave Cherie a window to mentally and emotionally prepare, which she did in part by phoning various people in her life. She didn't take this step to say goodbye or clue them in to her plans; she did it to make professions of love and hear them in return.

That night, Blaise came to her room to say the last 'I love you' of the day, and he told her that he'd say it again ahead of her taking the plunge. For this, she shared her thanks.

They left the worry within his message unacknowledged.

***

With morning came a repeat of the drive to Don Ernesto's casita, and when they got there, Cherie learned that the little house had a secret.

Behind the sofa, there was a trunk, and beneath that, there was a trap door. Don Ernesto led them through the door and down to a large cellar. The cellar was divided by a wall, which held another door. It led to a room with many candles, a table like a masseuse's, and shelves with clusters of small jars and oddly-shaped boxes.

"Not creepy at all," Blaise muttered for only Cherie to hear.

She squeezed his twitching hand.

While Don Ernesto and Mirela lit the candles, the older man had Blaise lift Cherie onto the table.

"You aren't strapping her down now, are you?" he asked upon gently following orders. "Because I feel like that's a different kind of party."

Cherie sighed, Mirela reddened, and Don Ernesto began to cough in a way that strangely resembled a laugh.

"No, we're not tying her down," the curandero said. "This isn't an exorcism."

"You do those?" Blaise asked, sounding equally intrigued and terrified. "Not being funny, but if they could've, my parents would've called you on me years ago."

"I wish you'd stop talking and hold my hand," Cherie said.

"Oh, sure, whatever you want, dear."

Ignoring his sarcasm, Cherie devoted herself to Don Ernesto's instructions. The ritual she was undergoing was not overly complicated. She didn't have to imbibe anything or repeat after invocations. All she really had to do was something that she found easy lately.

"Sleep?" Blaise echoed when he heard the word out loud.

"Yes," Don Ernesto said. "When we sleep, we're as close to the spirit world as us livings can get. What I will do today is help Cherie move far enough beyond her sleep to find Karina, but not so far that the three of us can't speak to her from here." He patted Cherie's hand. "Are you ready, querida?"

She swallowed her nerves to assure him that she was, and also to reply to Mirela's words of affection. After this, it was Blaise's turn, and the other two stepped just outside the room to give them some privacy.

"I know between you and Karina, we'll get the answers we need," he said. "You're both strong, smart, and easy on the eyes. My taste is impeccable."

Cherie laughed, and then she fell silent.

"I love you, sweet angel," he said and kissed her forehead. "Do your best to return."

***

She closed her eyes in the cellar to the shadows made by candle flickers. She opened them again to an endless sea of lights.

"Cherie, if you can hear me, you're in the sphere of living souls," Don Ernesto said. "It's where we vibrate on the spiritual level while our physical bodies breathe."

"I hear you," she said. "Does seeing this mean that it worked?"

"Yes. You're still tethered to your body, but the balance of your consciousness shifted. It's officially been moved from the physical to the spiritual."

Fascinated by the twinkling around her, she asked, "Are all these lights souls?"

"Indeed. Were someone else in the middle of doing the same ritual, you'd appear as a light to them too."

"Well, if that isn't the freakiest—"

"Blaise!" Cherie called, not to censure, but because she'd almost forgotten she'd be able to hear him as well.

"Hi," he said. He sounded uncomfortable. "Listen, I'm happy we're talking, but your lips are moving while the rest of you looks dead. I don't know how to feel about that."

She wanted to laugh, but what sounded like the most beautiful symphony of music distracted her. It wasn't one type, but somehow, it was every type at once. She tried to convey this to the others.

"That's the music of humanity," Mirela said. "Sometimes, musicians hear it naturally. Remember that time when you felt like you were looking down on yourself while you played? You were close to where you are now."

"That's not fair," Blaise said.

"Oh, hush," Mirela told him. "I've heard that you dream music. Where do you think that comes from?"

"Oh."

"I hate to interrupt, but we need to guide Cherie to limbo," Don Ernesto said. "Querida?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Look as far as you can above the lights."

Cherie did, and she gasped when she saw two mountains, one of which was so tall that she couldn't see its peak. Quickly, she described them.

"The tall one leads to Heaven," Don Ernesto said. "The shorter one shields what we know as limbo. To get to Karina, exclude everything else to concentrate on the shorter one. Don't worry about actual movement. It's mind over matter, and covering your eyes may help. In the meantime, we'll keep you stable here."

"We will?" Blaise asked with a schoolyard boy's attitude.

Again fighting a chuckle, Cherie covered her face and envisioned the shorter mountain. She suddenly felt as if a cord was growing from her belly button, and as if that cord was being tugged hard. A moment later, she felt the kiss of water.

"What's happening to her?" she heard Blaise ask. By then, the tugging had stopped. His voice held a note of panic.

"Cherie should be in the River," he said. "Cherie, can you hear us?"

"Yes," she heard herself say, although she didn't feel her mouth move. She was sure that she was in the place where she'd seen Karina in her dream, but the temperature felt different.

"The River of Lost Souls runs into the mountain," Don Ernesto said. "Because of our efforts, you should've been able to bypass its barriers."

"I have," she said. "But it's freezing." As she spoke, the one she sought materialized.

"Cherie?"

"Karina!"

The woman of the hour stared in her direction, but she didn't seem to properly look.

Cherie was unsettled. "Can you see me?" she asked more loudly than she meant to.

"No," Karina said. "I can't see anything."

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