"The Escort" by Holland Hayford

The moon illuminated her feelings, scattering them throughout the sky. Standing on the edge of the world- that’s what being in love felt like. She didn’t even care about the consequences. Could her case be considered forbidden? The boy seemed average enough…but no, he was so far above any expectations she’d previously held. This pressure on her heart was so perfect, so effortless, that it had to be forbidden.
The wind covered her from behind, an invisible wall shielding her from her enemies. Feet pounding on the asphalt, she ran as if her life depended on it. At this moment, with the full moon’s warm, smiling face keeping a protective spotlight over her small frame, her life wasn’t forfeit just yet. However, if she didn’t make the cemetery in time…
There would be consequences.
He’s worth it, the girl thought, tears streaming down her face. This physical manifestation of her emotions frightened her; she had never cried before. The fact that the tears were the doing of another person seemed to strengthen their hold on her, making her balk in the street. Gasping for breath and for control, she hunched over in the shadow of a streetlight. How? She thought absently. How did this happen to me? Why was he even there today…?
This had all been an accident, honestly.
That morning opened on her sixteenth birthday. Having read countless stories about the magic of being sixteen, Caroline was so overwhelmingly happy that she tripped several times while running down the stairs- not that she had been so graceful to begin with. Around her a fantastical aura circulated, a golden haze of pure possibility. This day had to be spent outside in order for the full potential of the magic to take effect. At least, that’s what Caroline had theorized.
Her mother sat downstairs, sewing. Whenever Mrs. Lepson felt stressed, which was quite often, she sewed. Somehow the monotonous pattern of a needle diving in and out of fabric comforted her. When her daughter hurtled into the living room, she barely glanced up. “What’s your rush?”
“It’s my birthday!” Caroline skipped to where the woman sat on the couch. “Aren’t you excited?” However, she didn’t wait for an answer. Instead she continued on to the front door in a hurry.
The summer sky stunned her into stillness only a moment, as it always had since she was little. To Caroline, the bleached, pallid white of the heavens was beautiful. Today was no different, even if her pause was shorter.
Seraphim was a small town, housing around fifteen hundred people. Everyone knew everyone else, something that could be nice or annoying depending on what there was to know about you. Personally, Caroline found the aspect of no secrets pleasant.
Wandering the streets, she ran through stores and houses in her mind, trying to decide where would be a good place to begin her search for something amazing. She became so absorbed in her meditation that she didn’t notice the group of girls approaching her, already preying on her.
“Caroline, what are you doing out here without supervision?” One asked while the others stood in a line across the sidewalk, blocking her path. Each girl wore an identical sneer; Caroline imagined them all practicing the expression in a mirror and smiled.
“Hey, guys, if you don’t mind I’m a little busy at the minute. Can this wait?” She waved at them before ducking into the nearby clothing shop. Hiding behind a rack overflowing with dress shirts, she listened for a pursuit or retreat. After a few seconds, the definite sound of footsteps coming into the store reached her straining ears.
“That stupid girl,” the leader of the pack quipped. “She lives in an eternal fairy tale.” The others chimed in with their unanimous agreement. They’re like one body with one mind, Caroline thought drily. Anyway, I’d better get out of here. She used the clothing racks to her advantage, flitting from rack to rack until she’d arrived at the back door. As quietly as possible, she crept outside before breaking into a sprint, heading in no particular direction.
Suddenly she found herself in a place she didn’t know.
An interesting fact about Caroline was that she had never ventured outside Seraphim- nor had any other town members, for that matter. Once you moved in, you never felt the inclination to leave, and anyone who visited Seraphim simply fell in love with it and would stay as a result.
Caroline had had the entire layout of the town memorized since childhood. She even knew all the names on the crumbling tombstones in the ancient cemetery. However, the road on which she now stood did not spark any recognition with her. Have I come into some other town? She wondered, alarmed. Am I lost?
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Her blood froze as the unfamiliar voice was carried by the stiff breeze in her direction. The air felt so thick, like it was carrying a heavy load. Also, the tall grass under her feet was uncomfortably soft. Her feet threatened to sink into the emerald depths. Drowning in grass? What an odd concept.
“Um, I’m terribly sorry. I think I’m lost.” Caroline laughed nervously, turning back to where she expected her own town to reside. However, that place had dissolved to a mere pinpoint in the distance. She literally had to squint just to make out the speck representing the place in which she’d grown up.
No one responded; when she searched the wide grass sea for another human, she found herself alone. “Hello?” Her voice came out thin and restrained. Had the person addressing her run away? Had they run away from her? What if this town housed a savage people gathering a hunting party for her at this very minute?
Something soft brushed against her leg, making her jump. In panic, her eyes raced down to the attacker- a slender tabby cat. The cat blinked up at her, clearly amused by her reaction. Its eyes were a rich, vibrant peridot. The way in which it stared at her made her blush in embarrassment.
Caroline bent to let her hand trail over the animal’s spine, admiring the alternating colors of caramel and chocolate brown. This cat seemed much more intelligent than other animals she’d seen. (Of course, having always been fond of animals, Caroline didn’t necessarily consider any creature to be unintelligent.)
“You’re kind of cute,” she admitted, smiling, and the cat meowed back at her smugly. “Can you tell me where to go?”
With a swish of its tail, it disappeared into the grass. Caroline stood there in surprise for a minute before sighing in exasperation. “I don’t think I can go that way.” She couldn’t quite figure out how the cat had disappeared into the vegetation like that, and it would doubtless take her forever to understand the technique.
Suddenly a massive, jet black raven soared over her head, causing her hair to waft out from her face toward its flight path. It circled overhead in the pale sky, as if waiting for her pursuit. Does it want me to follow it, really? She stared blankly at the bird, shocked. These animals had seemingly come from nowhere, and now they were trying to lead her somewhere. This situation seemed so impossible; however, she simply had no choice. Caroline began walking-wading- through the grass, eyes fixed on the heavens as she watched for the raven’s next move. She soon found herself running to keep up with the unearthly speed of its wings.
By the time a spire the width of a hair came into view, her feet ached from the grass trying to suck them underground and her neck ached from continuously craning upward. At first she didn’t even notice the buildings as they slowly rose from the skyline, but then she saw them. She stopped running abruptly to make sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her. A city was something she’d never been in. It was beautiful.
Forgetting the raven altogether, the lost girl hurtled over the distance between her and Heaven.
In a way, the city reminded Caroline of the human body, a living person. Light created the life of this little world, just as the soul the body. Sound added to the city’s vivacious atmosphere, just as the five senses added to the delicious aspect of living. Caroline wandered the streets in a dream, one filled with the glamorous doings of an authentic city girl.
“What are you doing here?”
She gasped, whirling around in her desperate search for that unmistakable voice. The only other person on the street who was looking at her was a boy, a teenager like herself. His eyes were the same peridot green as the cat’s, and his hair was the same jet black as the raven’s feathers. His smile was the smug cat’s, and his speed as he walked toward her was the streamlined raven’s.
“He couldn’t be…” Caroline trailed off in awe, her thought speculated out loud.
“You said you were lost, right?” The boy stopped about a foot away from her, studying her cursorily before adding, “You came from Seraphim, too. Am I doing well so far?”
“Y-yes,” she stuttered. All at once she felt miniscule and pathetic, a vulnerable dot in a magnificent painting. I don’t belong here. “Can you take me home now?” She asked, struggling to be polite in her tone and leave out all traces of fear. This was an amazing adventure, yet home now seemed more inviting than ever.
The boy nodded at her and turned away, walking in an easterly direction. After a moment of instinctual hesitation, Caroline hurried after him. They traveled down the main street, which surprisingly had no vehicles of any sort inhabiting it. Evidently this road had been designed solely for foot travel.
He halted at the closed door of an apartment. “Hungry?” With a key produced from the back pocket of his jeans he unlocked the door. In answer to his question, Caroline’s stomach lurched for the apartment’s interior, grumbling loudly. She walked inside the front room without thinking. On her part, it was a stupid decision, one that she wasn’t yet aware of.
“What’s your name?” She asked politely, sitting on the couch without invitation. Once again, this was a careless action. Her weary legs made the choice for her.
“Mavet,” he told her. He walked past her into another room, the kitchen. “You?”
“Caroline.” As her eyes adjusted to the new locale, she took in the interesting décor. It was nothing like any dwelling in Seraphim. Everything had a sharp angle, a sharp color. Perhaps, she thought uneasily, the austere room furnishings related to the city in general.
“I took these out of the oven about an hour ago,” Mavet explained, reentering the living room. He placed a plate on the coffee table in front of her and then sank down into the chair opposite her, watching her expectantly. Slowly Caroline let her eyes drift down to the food she’d been offered. Cookies! Her mind squealed in excitement. However, the more prudent part of her asked, “What’s in these?”
“They’re good for you, don’t worry.” He reached over to take one for himself, as if to show her that the food was safe. After watching him bite into the cookie, Caroline reached for one herself. While she chewed, she recognized the texture of nuts and the sweetness of chocolate chips. “So what’s in these?” She asked again, a little doubtful of the healthy qualities of what she was eating.
“Never mind, just eat.” He waved at her dismissively, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. Caroline stared at him suspiciously for a few seconds but was ignored. She finally gave up and continued eating.
When the plate had been cleared, Caroline stood to her feet. “I should be getting back,” she admitted grudgingly. To be honest, the only thing calling her back home was the thought of her worried mother waiting up for her. She had to leave this wondrous place in return for her boring, nondescript, perfect town.
“Really? Well, I think that’s a good idea.” Mavet pushed himself to his feet. “Let me walk you back. You can’t get there on your own.” His words carried an odd meaning that Caroline didn’t quite understand. But when she looked back at him for answers, his face conveyed nothing. It was almost as if his eyes had closed the doors on themselves in the way they appeared strangely vacant.
I must have imagined that, she thought to herself uneasily.
They left the apartment and began the walk down the street, which was now shrouded in darkness. “So what is Seraphim like?” Mavet asked her, a question that surprised her.
“Haven’t you ever been there?”
He laughed, whether at her or at something else, she wasn’t sure. “Thankfully, no. I wouldn’t come back if I did go.” His eyes sobered suddenly as he focused on the road in front of them. “By the way, how did you get out of Seraphim?”
“Eh? Well, I don’t know.” Caroline struggled to replay her previous actions. “I just kept running away, and then all of a sudden I found myself in a field.” She felt a little uncomfortable by the underlying tone to his questions, yet she tried her best not to show her discomfort. “You know, my mother could probably just visit me here if I decided to stay,” she mused aloud. “Maybe I don’t have to go back.” Her feet, sensing her desire to stay, halted her in the street. In front of her Mavet stopped and turned back.
“Your mother misses you terribly, Caroline. It wouldn’t be fair to her if you stayed without telling her first. You need to go back.” The last sentence he spoke with a note of authority, making her instinctually take a step toward Seraphim.
She forced herself to stop walking. “I don’t want to go back.” Her sudden change in mindset surprised even her. “I’m staying. Do you have any idea how much I hate Seraphim? No, of course you don’t, because you’ve never been there!”
To be honest, she hadn’t been aware of the malice she harbored toward her town until those words were out of her mouth.
Mavet sighed, shaking his head. “I have to admire you for persistence and independence. However, your selfishness is a little over the top. Look, if you go back and tell your mother that you’ll be staying here with me, would that be all right? I could get you an apartment, since I have some connections, but you’d be on your own with rent.” He eyed her expectantly, waiting for her answer.
Caroline felt the excitement welling up inside her. He would do that for her? She could stay here?
In that moment, she fell in love with him.
It was unexpected, but suddenly his existence meant more to her than before. She saw him in a different light, a flawless light. When he looked at her a moment longer than necessary and then glanced back at the road, her face flushed and she felt embarrassed for some reason. These feelings were undeniably the products of love.
“Thank you,” she said, her happiness driving her voice up an octave, which made him smile at her in amusement.
“Let’s go, then, all right?”
She nodded in agreement and they resumed their journey back, but then Mavet stopped again. By the narrowing of his eyes and grim set of his mouth, Caroline knew that something was wrong. She watched him whirl back to where they’d come from and then followed his movement. A tall man stood in front of them, wearing a black suit. His eyes didn’t reflect any light at all but instead focused on Caroline, making her skin crawl.
“Ganav,” Mavet acknowledged simply. “This one is mine.”
Caroline froze at his words. Something about them made her want to run away, but she didn’t. She had already fallen too hopelessly in love with him. She could only watch the confrontation and try to make sense of what was being said.
“I let you have the last one,” the man- Ganav- quipped, sauntering in their direction with long, lazy strides. “The girl said she doesn’t want to go back, after all. She sounds like one of mine, not yours.” By this time he was only a few yards away from them. Mavet didn’t move back, but his eyes darted to Caroline and then away. She caught an unexpected hint of uncertainty in his demeanor.
Deciding that this was as good a time as any to say something, Caroline tugged tentatively on his sleeve. “I’m staying with you,” she told him, promised him. “And that man scares me,” she added in a whisper. Mavet looked down at her, obviously deliberating. “Can I really trust you?” He asked, slowly taking in her expression.
She nodded. “Yes.”
Ganav suddenly stood before them. “I wouldn’t, little one. This boy isn’t your friend- or anyone else’s, for that matter. He doesn’t care about you, only about his quota. Isn’t that right, Reaper?”
“Shut up.” Mavet’s eyes sparked with the beginnings of anger. “At least I’m not a lowly thief. You really can’t do anything without stealing what you want, can you? The girl said she doesn’t want to go with you, but you’re going to go for her, anyway.”
Ganav smiled widely. “That’s true, all true. However, wasting all that energy…doesn’t it exhaust you to escort people like her back home all the time? At least in my case, I gain strength from them.” He extended a hand out to Caroline. “How about it? Are you coming willingly or not?”
“Run,” Mavet told her. “If you value your life at all, run.”
Her eyes widened in confusion. What was happening, exactly? But, in any case, she couldn’t bear to leave him now that she’d found him. “I-I can’t go without you,” she said pleadingly, imploring him with her eyes to understand.
What happened next caught Caroline completely off guard. Without warning, his fingers found her chin and tilted her face up to his. He was kissing her. It lasted only a second, but when he released her, she could barely breathe. “Go,” he commanded, pushing her in the direction of Seraphim. “I’ll meet you in the cemetery at the edge of town.”
This time, she listened to him.
And now she was running, running to that beacon of safety at Heaven’s end, the cemetery. Her ears rang with panic and the spastic racing of her pulse. Then, just as her legs began to falter, she caught sight of a steeple- a church. Churches had cemeteries, right? This must be it. She quickened her pace, trying her best to ignore the horrible aching in her legs and ribs.
The churchyard stretched out behind the building, the dull grass littered with rock masses almost indiscernible in the blackness. She could only guess that this was the right place. Sinking onto her knees beside one tombstone, she let the air return to her suffocating lungs.
“Caroline?”
Her head jerked up immediately. Mavet stood in front of her, looking down at her. How had he gotten here so quickly?
“I made it,” she gasped, unable to stand because she was so exhausted. “I made it here. Mavet,” she said suddenly, as an odd thought occurred to her, “why did Ganav call you a reaper and you call him a thief? What does that mean?”
Mavet continued standing, leaving her alone on the ground. “Ganav takes the energy out of people, whereas I escort them to where they need to go.” He wasn’t looking at her but at the field behind them, the one that linked this town to Seraphim. Caroline forced herself to her feet, although her whole body protested.
“That still doesn’t explain why he called you a reaper,” she said. “Where do you really take all those people?” Caroline swallowed, falling back a step. “Are you really taking me home?” All this time it had never occurred to her that maybe he had been leading her in the wrong direction, lying to her. Now her breath faltered as she recognized the possibility.
“I take everyone to Seraphim,” he told her. “That’s my job. Whenever someone leaves, I have to take them back through the church.”
“You act like we have to stay there, like it’s a prison or something.”
“It’s where all of us go eventually.” He faced her abruptly. “Don’t you understand, Caroline? Once you enter Seraphim, you aren’t supposed to leave. It becomes a permanent residence. Yes, you age and continue on with your old life from wherever you previously lived, but you’re no longer…” His voice trailed off.
“No longer what?” Caroline whispered.
When he answered, his voice was quiet, resigned.
“Well, alive.”
Her heart stopped. What did he just say? Was he implying that she was dead?
“But you just said that we still age and stuff!” She shouted at him, tears hesitating at the edge of her eyes. Perhaps it was fear that caused her to cry, but it was more likely the first wave of inexhaustible sorrow.
Mavet reached for her hand, and she tried to pull away. However, his grip was stronger than her resistance. “In Seraphim you don’t die but have your body recycled over and over again. You go through life repeatedly there, after you’ve lost your first and only life here.” He paused, and then continued, “You’re no longer human, but a spirit or ghost. I’m sorry, but you have to return to your home. You can’t live here.”
He never had any intention of helping her get an apartment here. He never had any intention of letting her return to this wonderful place.
However, even though Caroline didn’t want to believe it, she knew that it was true. Her mind denied the facts, but her heart knew better. She wasn’t alive. She didn’t belong here. The only place where she was welcome was Seraphim- perfect, nondescript Seraphim.
There was just one question she had left for Mavet, the Reaper.
“Did you ever really care about me at all?” She asked softly, at the same time trailing him to the door of the church. Once I open this door, I’ll be home.
He opened the door for her. “Goodbye, Caroline.” Before she could react to the odd, distorted picture of the interior of the church, he’d pushed her into darkness. When she awoke, she was back in her bedroom, the sounds of mindless perfection humming from outside.
Mavet stood outside the church, alone. “If I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t have made you go back,” he said to the night.