Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

104. Reconciliation

Warnings: Pedophilia is vaguely described. Cancer is mentioned. Lots of death stuff.

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"Have..." Daphne pauses, unsure if she should continue her question. "Have we met?" She stares at a person, dressed in dark cloaks. They stand opposite her, yet they seem to be floating above ground. Only their face and their hands are visible.

"Once before." Their voice is indistinguishable and incomparable. Vague, would be a good way to describe it. They smile kindly, slightly angling their head. "I am Death." Daphne's shoulders hang low as she stares at the being in front of her. She's actually having a conversation with Death.
"Well, I'm-"
"Daphne," Death replies for her. "I know." Daphne hugs herself. There's a strange cold feeling both inside her and around her. They're standing in what seems like an eternal darkness. The ground they're standing on can only just be distinguished from the void that is the sky.

"I was told I'd have to pass a test." Death nods.
"You were told correctly. One like you has to be pure of heart. Do you know what the test entails?" Daphne pouts as she thinks back to her conversation with Ravir.
"Reconcile with people who died?" Death floats towards Daphne. She doesn't move. She couldn't if she tried. When Death reaches her, they bring up their hand to caress a strand of hair behind her ear. All they do then is smile and suddenly, the ground under Daphne's feet disappears.

...

Daphne gasps as she opens her eyes. She's still in the same void, but Death is nowhere to be found. She expected to land on her butt, but the falling just stopped and she stood again. By herself. Like the surreal stuff you see in psychological thriller films. Daphne looks around confused, trying to find the cloaked person again. Instead, she spots two middle-aged people in the distance, holding hands.
"Hello?" Daphne calls out. The couple turns and Daphne gasps quietly.
"Daphne." The woman states her name like it's poison. Daphne's jaw tightens and she can feel the pit in her stomach grow bigger.
"Dana," Daphne whispers. She can't believe they're here. That she has to reconcile with them. The slither of hope she had of them shedding their silver fades like a dying flame. Daphne looks at the man who seems like he's ready to rip her to shreds. "Ivan..." Daphne takes a deep breath and only barely finds the courage to walk towards the couple. When she reaches them, she looks down, not daring to face them properly.
"You-" Ivan points at her accusingly. "You ruined our boy!" Daphne makes herself small and fiddles with her fingers.
"I never meant to-"
"It doesn't matter if you meant to!" Dana shouts. "My son-" Dana starts sobbing. "My beautiful David- This is all YOUR fault!"

Daphne lets them yell at her for what feels like an eternity. However, she thinks, their aggression is justified. She deserves their anger. It doesn't matter if she meant to do all of this to David. It doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. In the end, it is her fault. She's the Zephyr. She's the drug he got addicted to. She's the one who turned David from the sweet poet with the voice of an angel into a psychopathic stalker with malicious intent. She's the reason they're dead.
"I'm sorry." Her voice cracks and she can't hide her own sobs. Tears stream down her face. "I'm so sorry."
"Sorry won't get us our son back! Sorry won't bring us back to life!" Ivan roars.
"I know-" Daphne exclaims. Suddenly, there's rage boiling inside her. They keep yelling at her, but they're not moving it forward. It's just yelling. "I know!"
"How dare you talk back at us!" Dana stomps her foot.
"I know I'm the reason David turned into who he is now and I am sorry for what happened, but I can't change it!" Daphne shouts. "I can't turn back time! I can't undo this!" Her knees buck, but she somehow manages to stand strong. "But please tell me what to do to make things right! What do I do to fix this?!"
"You can't fix this!" Dana belts.
"Then why are you still yelling at me?! You know I can't do anything about it! I'm sorry! You have NO idea how sorry I am! I never meant for this to happen! I do everything I can to be a good person!" It suddenly clicks. "It's... It's not my fault! I don't deserve to be the victim of blind anger for something I can't do anything about!"