She picks it up out of the box.
“It’s a snow globe of a car in the snow.”
“Whose car?” I ask her. She studies the orb closer.
“That’s Jay’s car. Wait! That’s us inside the car!”
“It’s called a Replay. It’s like a snow globe, but it’s alive. It’s been constructed from memory. That memory is then played out by mini Shadow Servants made to look like the people in the memory.”
“That’s a mini Emmy and a mini Marcus inside Jay’s car. And over there is my apartment building,” she says tuning the grapefruit-sized orb in her hand.
“I had them reconstruct my favorite night: the night you kissed me.”
She studies the Replay. The mini Shadow Servants interact and then kiss. The scene repeats itself as if on a loop.
“This is so crazy. It’s even snowing like it was that night. The snow never stops falling. I don’t even have to shake it. And they are wearing exactly what we were wearing that night!” She is completely taken with the Replay.
She runs her fingers over the dark wooden base of the orb. It has the date that she kissed me etched on it. I see her start to get weepy. The sight of her crying, even happy tears, really messes with my head. So I try to snap her out of it.
“I know I could have gotten you jewelry. I still can.”
“Marcus, the most important thing you can give me is your Rah. I already have that.”
“You really like the Replay?”
“I love it and I love you. Thank you so much.”
She hugs me and whispers how happy she is.
“Okay, your turn,” she says, handing me a red envelope. There is a handwritten message on the back.
“Let this bring you
what your love brought me:
Peace.”
“What’s in this?” I ask. She delights in the curiosity in my voice and tells me to open it. I tear into the envelope and find the most valuable thing I now own.
“Emmy, how did you…?”
I pull out a photograph of my parents and a little boy. They’re smiling brightly with a Christmas tree in the background.
“That’s Antony. Your little brother,” she informs me. I can’t stop looking at the picture even as I talk to her.
“Brother?”
“Yeah, he’s a cutie.”
“How did you get this?”
“I asked the Twins and they did their Tech magic and found out where your family lives now. And since you wouldn’t let me out of your sight these past few weeks, Jay went to their house and took this from their mantel.”
“My mom, she looks so…happy.”
“She is. She has a blog about coping with the loss of a child. It gets a ton of traffic. Also, Jay found a certificate of completion from a rehab center on the wall.”
“She’s clean now?”
“She has been for a while now. Your death wasn’t in vain.”
I look at the picture again and fall silent.
“I know it probably brings up a lot of stuff, seeing them again.”
“It does.”
“Was the gift a bad idea?”
I look up at her.
“A bad idea? Emmy, this gift was…Thank you, baby.”
I pull her close to me, wrap my arms around her, and kiss her fervently.
“When I lost my Mom, I thought that was it. My world was gone. Just like that. But you took care of me, Marcus. You brought some of my world back to me. I just wanted to do the same for you.”
“You did more than that. I can’t believe in a few days, I’m never gonna see you again.”
“Let’s not talk about it. I can’t take never seeing you again.”
And so we laughed and talked as if there was no countdown to the New Year. As if I wasn’t about to go somewhere she wasn’t allowed to follow.
***************************
Like I said before, everyone wants to throw us a party. At one point, we had to turn a few Angels down. But when we are given a party by the
party girl herself, Arden, we simply can’t refuse.
No one parties like the powerful Para. Her father is an Original. That comes with all kinds of serious obligations and duties. Her older sister is Rahell, the Taker. That is also a serious job. Every time an Angel dies in battle, Rahell appears and takes his body to the house of fire. Rahell is the picture of dignity and restraint, while her sister, Arden is…well, Arden.
She stands before me now in a sexy emerald, futuristic-style dress. Her makeup is very much like her, striking and a little too much. But beyond the glitz and the glamour of Arden, she is a kind girl who’s helped us out in the past.
“So, First Hottie, where is your human?” she asks.
“Since she is going to be alive for a few more decades, she decided to stay home and study.”