My Cherie Amour (Fully Posted)

Chapter 44

As it turned out, not only had Karina lost her ability to see what was around her, but she was also at a greater depth than she'd been in Cherie's dream.

"Listen carefully, querida," Don Ernesto said. "You must help Karina access the other consciousness in her body. Her current position in the river makes it difficult, but her being able to communicate is a very good sign. Tell her we need her to concentrate on what remains of her connection to her body."

After relaying this message, Cherie saw Karina cringe.

"I can't," she said. "There's no fight left in me. This spirit you call La Llorona, she's taken it all."

"Not true," Cherie said. "Don Ernesto and his friends believe the others she's possessed could only host her for a year before they gave out. You're the only one who's been able to coexist with her this long, and the only one she's seemed to try to build a life through. That has to mean you're strong."

"Girl, I'm tired of being strong. What's the point of trying anymore?"

"Oh, I don't know. You could reach paradise on the fast-track instead of waiting for divine restructuring. Or maybe, just maybe, you could come back to life."

"It was all well and good to believe that before, but now there's no counting on that. I would've been dying when she took over, Cherie, and I might not have made it if she hadn't."

"That's because no one knew you were in trouble until it was too late. If we can expel her now, your body should go back to the way it was at the moment she possessed it, and we can plan for medical assistance."

"There's no guarantee that would work."

"No, but it's worth a shot." Then, diverting her concentration to the others, Cherie asked, "Blaise, how can I motivate her?"

"Say Kamden and Bacall."

"What?"

"Just say that. She'll know."

Cherie did as she was told, and Karina's unfocused look lifted.

"He wants that? Still?"

"Yes," Cherie said, suddenly realizing the significance. "He still wants a family with you. He still wants a life with you."

Karina blinked. "I can see you now."

"Good."

She looked at her in wonder. "That night in the villa, you said you wanted to help me because you love Blaise, and loving him means wanting to give love to everyone he cares about. You really meant that, huh?"

"Yes, but you also deserve this," Cherie said firmly. "So, help us see how you got here, so we at least have a chance to set you free."

***

When Karina made contact with her body and detected the other consciousness inside of it, Don Ernesto told Cherie how to form a link between them.

"Mind over matter once more," he stressed. "I know how it seems, but just as you'll stay connected to Karina through your strength of will, she can connect to La Llorona through the strength of hers. When the bond is formed, you both have to focus on the accident."

"And you're sure we can keep her from finding out that we're present?" Cherie asked. This had been one of the details she'd been most concerned about.

"Yes," Don Ernesto said. "So long as she's occupied in the physical world."

"My Knight Studios' contact said that she'd be working right now. You ought to be fine," Blaise said. He sounded a little ill.

"I think you should wait upstairs," Mirela told him. "Busy your mind with other things."

"Like what?" he asked, not sarcastically, but with desperation.

"My book's in my purse. The meditation balls too. Use those," Cherie said.

"Okay," he said. "Tell Karina I love her."

"I will."

"And Cher . . .."

"I know."

Returning her attention to Karina, who could only hear her side of things, Cherie passed along his words.

"He's gone," Don Ernesto said. "It's time to make your connections."

***

Flames. Through Karina's eyes, Cherie saw them engulfing the car. Pain. She felt it everywhere, as Karina pushed open the door, tumbled down a hill, and landed in a river.

Water. It partially submerged Karina's body, simultaneously protecting and threatening her life with its coverage.

Thoughts. They belonged to Karina. Cherie heard the disappointment as she grieved what she was losing. The art she was yet to create. The sisters she wanted more time with. The children she wanted to have. The husband she wanted to love. The husband who was immediately the only thought, and the deep, debilitating unhappiness Karina felt at the idea of him going on without her.

Light. Blinding, white light, but without the gift of warmth. Looming over Karina, Cherie saw the light take the form of a woman. Laurencia, but her complexion lacked color. On her face was the painted death mask Cherie knew from Día de los Muertos. The face of La Llorona.

"I understand your pain," the spirit said. She touched Karina's heart. "More than I've sensed with the others, I truly sense yours. The love you have for your husband is how I loved mine, and I feel his love for you." Her painted features twisted. "My husband gave his love away. His love, I died without. But we can share your husband's as long as he behaves."

Invasion. Cherie felt it, as La Llorona pushed Karina's spirit around to make room.

Transformation. Like one who has an out-of-body experience, Cherie saw from above, and simultaneously felt, the refashioning of Karina. The stretching, contorting, and reshaping—she was being torn apart, then put back together, with pieces in all the wrong places.

At last, Cherie saw the altered woman crawl out of the river. On dry land, she knelt by the riverbank and went to cup her head.

"Show me what I need to know," she murmured, and there was a new set of thoughts.

As if she were watching on film, Cherie saw snatches of Karina's life and understanding of the world, not obtained by their owner volunteering them, but through a search not unlike a research analyst's. Finally, choices were made.

Go to Goodwill for new clothes, scan library books for a new name. Most importantly: Find a way to meet Blaise Draper.

"She took my dying thoughts the wrong way," Karina said once they dwelled in the present. Her voice was shaking with anger. "And she's known this whole time what she was doing and who she really is." Her brow suddenly creased. "I'm of no use to her with Blaise gone. That's why she's pushing me out."

"Well, she's not going to succeed," Cherie said.

Karina smiled doubtfully. "I'd love to be as sure as you."

"You'll see. We're going to overcome her because I'm in this fight too. And chica, I'm hungry for a win."

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