Emilia did not move. She willed herself to stay calm, her breaths quick and shallow.
The fog moved, curling low around her ankles as the boat drew close. Nature quietly watched, the woods silent and the river, dark and tranquil.
Cold dread clawed at her belly as Legba lifted his head yet she couldn't note any distinct facial features. Only darkness where his face should be.
“Child,” he said, his voice dark and hollow. “You stand where the living fear to approach. Your heart calls out, your grief sparks a dangerous flame. Such scent I've not smelled in over a century…I'm curious…state your purpose.”
Emilia swallowed, her eyes wide, her throat tight as though the mist had clogged it. “I need to cross,” she said, her voice thin and trembling despite her effort to appear brave. “I seek one who has crossed the veil unjustly…my mother. She has not yet passed beyond.”
A heavy silence settled over them. The river seemed to lean in for a moment. She held her breath for this was the deciding moment.
Her mother had taught her a little about this sort of bargain with The Admiral who guards the gate between the human and spirit worlds. She never expected to be practising her lessons so soon.
But she was determined. She wouldn't leave this place without her mother.
The boat seemed to draw close to her. He tilted his head and inhaled. “You smell of…the old yet you're coated with innocence and something unnamed. You intrigue me, child.”
Silence fell again. Emilia held herself taut, willing the exchange to be over. Where was her dear mother?
“Patience, child,” Legba said, his voice edged with a quiet chuckle. She gasped quietly. “The dead are bound by names. Speak hers.”
She nodded. “Madeleine St. Clair.”
“Ah. She stands at the threshold,” he murmured. “Show me your offering.”
Her hand trembled as she opened her palm displaying the gold token. A dull, ancient round coin.
The river shifted, a small ripple across the surface of the river. Legba leaned closer and she held her breath.
“Not all debts are settled in gold, child,” he said.
“I…I have nothing else.”
The Admiral's presence seemed to loom large around her then. “I would let you cross to bring back your mother if you consent to serve me when you come of age.”
Emilia felt her mind spinning at the moment. The bargain was going in a strange direction and she wished her mother was there to guide her. Then she remembered that was why she was there—to save her mother.
“How…long do I have to serve you?”
The ring on Legba's finger glinted in the dark. “Seven years is what I require. Do you consent?”
Emilia nodded, her mind made up. “Yes, I consent.”
The silence enveloped them again. Then a low, distant sound like something turning inside the water made her gasp.
An ethereal figure in a white gown appeared beside the boat, gliding on the water towards her. “Mother?”
I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "ferry across the River Of Death".
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