(The New) Power of the 8 Elements: Part One

Chapter Forty Five: Death

"The sorrow we feel when we lose a loved one is the price we pay to have had them in our lives." - Rob Liano
PRESENT DAY
PHOENIX

By the time the police arrived, a whole crowd of people—neighbors and random people—had arrived by the house. The long process to find out what happened was painstaking for the officers because I couldn't put together a sentence or even actually words. I was babbling insensibly and howling and crying.

We were told to call our nearest relatives, but we didn't really have any. Both of their parents were dead except for Dad's mom who was currently in the hospital and terribly ill. They were both single children. We decided to call Amaya and her mom. Since both our parents and her parents went to middle school with each other, Amaya's mom was incredibly distraught after she found out what had happened to them.

Terry and I spent the night at Amaya's house, and we later returned to the police station in the morning to work out the details with the cops. The case was closed because they believed that rather than it being a homicide, it was an animal attack. I knew it wasn't an animal attack. Had Mom and Dad's parents still been alive, they would've convinced them to keep searching, but nobody would believe it.

"Death is a rather strange word.
Some people want it.
Some people fear it.
It is most unexpected.
There are good people.
There are bad people.
But we will all die someday.
Death makes some smile.
Death makes others cry.
Death brings out the worst in us.
We wish for them back.
We wish they not hurt.
We will never understand."

I read that poem at the funeral. It is a beautiful ceremony. We had to have a closed casket funeral, because...you know. That and Terri and I didn't really want to look at Mom and Dad the way I had seen them that night. After the procession was over, Terri and I were greeted by many people who were old friends of Mom and Dad along with coworkers wishing their condolences. All of the Kings County auror department was there, and I was very moved by their way of showing how much they cared and respect our parents.

There is a lot of hustle and bustle going on, and it doesn't feel quite the same not being in demigod form. One of Mom and Dad's closest friends, May, walks up to me, saying she would like for me to give preferably a speech as the oldest child. She was the organizer of the funeral, plus I felt that I would doubt my parents, the guests, her, and myself by refusing to go up just because I didn't feel like it (even though I did not).

There is a small stage that we set up. May taps at her glass with her spoon and grabs everyone's attention.

"Pardon the interruption, but I would like to bring your attention to the oldest child of Periwinkle and Aridon."

I inhale and exhale. May hands me a microphone. I can see the team sitting in the audience along with their parents. Terri smiles and waves slightly.

"Look, I know that what I'm about to show you and what I'm about to say is going to sound like the dumbest thing you've ever heard. But...here goes..." I turn into my demigod form, and I hear gasps throughout the audience. Terri smiles honestly. "Look, I know what you are thinking. This is absurd; I agree, and my parents thought the same way. And for a long time, I thought that they were angry at me, and they didn't love me anymore. But that's not true. My parents used their last breath to tell me and my brother that they loved me, so you can find this weird—the new look or the new gender—but personally I think that if my mom and dad were here, they would think otherwise. So I decided to sing this song in honor of them."

I look at Terri who begins to play music in the background, and then I start singing.

"Well, I knew. What I didn't know. And I saw where I didn't want to go. So I took the path less traveled on. And I'll let my stories be whispered when I'm gone. When I'm gone. When I'm gone. When I'm gone. Well, in this life you must find something to live for. Cause when the darkness comes a-callin', you'll go back to where you were before. Cause this life is as fragile as a dream, and nothing's ever really as it seems. As it seems. As it seems. As it seems. Well, I lost my innocence when in I let him dive. Cause the way that he looked at me made me feel alive. And now I know nothing at all. But the release that comes when you're in mid fall. In mid fall. In mid fall. In mid fall. Well, in this life you must find something to live for. Cause when the darkness comes a-callin', you'll go back to where you were before. Cause this life is as fragile as a dream, and nothing's ever really as it seems. As it seems. As it seems. As it seems. Ooh."

The audience began clapping. I see tears in a couple of adults' eyes.

"Thank you," I say, bowing.

I walk down the stairs of the stage and hand the microphone to May with a smile on her face.

"I appreciate you," she says, hugging me.

"Well, how come we didn't know you could sing?" Bones exclaims.

"Because I didn't like it too much, but I think that Mom and Dad would be very proud of me for doing so."

"Yes, they would," Celeste's mom says, hugging me. "You have our support. Besides, I wanted to ask if you would want to sing at the Meteor Shower Celebration in May."

"Terri and I were planning on going, but sure, I can sing."

"Great! Feel free to choose the songs yourself."

"I'll be thinking about it."

Celeste's mom walks over the drink table.

"I'm sorry about that," Celeste says. "I'd understand if you felt pressured to-"

"-no, I want to sing."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun. Besides, I've never been to the Meteor Shower Celebration."

"Well, it happens once every fifteen years, so we should all come back here and see it when we're adults."

"That would be really nice," Amaya says. "I'll be sure to put that on my calendar." She takes out her phone and starts adding the event to her calendar fifteen years into the future.

"So what's going to happen to us?" Terri asks.

"Well, my mom has offered to make space in her house for you two to live, that is if Terry would rather live with the Arcane Order because technically that still counts."

"That feels like a lot, Amaya," I say.

"Not really. She's willing to make sacrifices. She'll drive you to school if necessary."

"Thank you so much!" Terri says, hugging her.

I join them in the hug and soon the rest of the team forms a group hug. I haven't felt this way since in the pastel city. I felt more tears slide down my face as we all embraced. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Skrael floating in the air. I smile and wave. He gives me a two fingered salute and then snow travels before anyone sees.