"Well done Ava. I have no further need of you. You may do as you like," was all Death said to her when she delivered him the man's soul.
She simply nodded her head and walked out of the throne room were he lazily reclined on his throne staring up at the cage hanging from the ceiling, filled with the condemned souls she had collected over the years. Their screams of fear and agony haunted her dreams. She blocked the noise from her mind and spread her wings and flew through the cave and through the curtain of vines back into the human world. She flew over the vast landscape, hidden in the clouds from the world below. She flew to the ground and landed with a thud in the middle of an old cemetery. The fall breeze blowing through the trees, rustling the leaves was the only sound besides the sound of leaves crunching beneath her feet. She walked among the grave stones searching for his name. Her thin white dress that hung loosely on her body with an open back and a skirt that faded into to nothing like smoke or fog does as you get farther to the edge until it disappears. She soon finds the gravestone she had been looking for.
Evan William Wilcox: February 17th, 1789- April 13th, 1819. The first soul she had ever collected and Brad's son. She folded her wings and hid them as she walked along the line of grave stones with the Wilcox name on them. James Alex Wilcox: May 17th, 1818- March 21st, 1848. Michael Channing Wilcox: June 29th, 1847- September 3rd, 1877. Adam Jordan Wilcox: August 11th, 1876- November 2nd 1906. Dominic Michael Wilcox: January 23rd, 1905- July 17th, 1935. Jordan Emmanuel Wilcox: April, 17th 1934- December 28th, 1964. Jonathen Andrew Wilcox: October 30th, 1963- May 24th, 1993, the last Wilcox soul she had collected. The next Wilcox still had 6 more years.
She heard footsteps coming towards her. She ran to the nearest tree as leaves wafted to the ground around her and she pressed herself against it and peeked around it to see a middle age woman walk up to Jonathen's grave stone with a bouquet of crimson red roses which she placed at the head of his grave. Tears filled Ava's eyes at the pain she had caused but she couldn't back out of her curse. Every time 30 years passed it was like someone took control of her mind until the task was complete.
She watched as the woman fell to her knees and sobbed, covering her face with her hands as her sobs racked her body. After 24 years, she still missed him desperately.
"I wish you were here to see your son," she whispered and her voice cracked. "You would be so proud of the man he's become. He has such a bright future ahead of him."
Ava covered her mouth to muffle her sobs. Tears welled in her eyes. His future consisted of 6 more years.
"I better get back to him. I'll come back soon, Jonathen."
Once Ava was sure that she was gone, she fell to her knees and sobbed. She didn't know how much longer she could go through with the curse. She crawled to Jonathen's grave and picked up the roses. She held them to her chest and tears rolled down her cheeks. She then brought them to her lips and breathed on each one, making it so that they would never die. Her vision was blurred by the tears as she looked at the Wilcox graves.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I wish I could take the curse back now."
She stood back up and looked at each grave one last time. She then spread her wings and flew back to Death's palace and into her chamber.
She sat at the other end of the long banquet table and slowly ate the food that she couldn't taste. The souls still wailed and screamed. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it out.
"Ava."
She opened her eyes and looked into the hollow space where Death's eyes should have been.
"You have done an exceptional job bringing me the souls as I have asked. I've been thinking, since I don't need any souls for a while, that you could have a vacation, for lack of a better word. You may go live among the humans until I need you again which shouldn't be for another couple months or even a year."
"Really?"
Death nodded his head. She leapt to her feet.
"Thank you!" She said joyfully.
She spread her wings and flew from the dining room and up the winding stairs to her chamber. She began to pack her few belongings, smile on her face. She could pay her respects to Jonathen's wife. She could help her continue through the grieving process. She began to plan ways to help and the other things she would do while she lived among the humans. She could help those in need. She would try and redeem herself for the pain she had caused.
As she lay in her bed, all she could think about were the lives she was going to change for the better. She fell asleep and no nightmares haunted her and she slept through the entire night, dreaming of the next couple of months.
