Fly Away Soul

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The soft rhythmic sound echoed in the vast work room, off tempo of the classical music scratchily playing from a record player hidden deep in some forgotten corner. Rows upon rows of spools of red thread stood on massive bolts, taking up more than half of the room. A line from each spool led to the open side of the room making a pretty display of criss crossing patterns in the air. Each line ended at a central point where an old, worn spinning wheel sat before the only window in the room.

A dim light from above revealed a slender, gray haired woman perched atop a stool in front of the wheel, her booted toe tapping the dusty wooden floor. Strands of hair fell loose from her french braid and fluttered in the gentle breeze. She grunted in irritation.

Crimson stained fingers roughly pushed the strands behind pierced ears as she hunched further over the wheel. She fed the many threads through the wheel to create a single, thick rope. As the rope lengthened, it pooled on the floor underneath the window, limp and listless.

This one would be her masterpiece. She was positive this time. Although, she did think that about the last ten ropes she had spun. And all the ones before that. And the ones before that.

Violet eyes flashed in annoyance and her pale lips pursed as she contemplated scrapping this one, but she never paused in her spinning. Admittedly, she was never satisfied with anything that came off her wheel, no matter how perfect she thought it in the beginning. It always ended wrong. Perfectionism was not her most redeeming quality, or so her sister’s tell her.

You’d think one would want a perfect strand...

Her thoughts ran away from her as she continued her project, her eyes flickering to the Nothingness outside the window. It seemed to stare back at her, ominous and still, waiting to swallow up anything stupid enough to wander too close. A sudden squealing noise cut through the air, startling her, and she looked back down.

“Oh. It’s done,” she mumbled.

The end of the rope rested in her fist and she stared at it in mild confusion. Her gaze traveled from the end of the thread, around the coiled rope a few feet, and back. It seemed a little too...short. She hummed, lifting the end to her eyes in order to inspect it a little closer. Whether this was a fitting end or not, she couldn’t be positive, but it truthfully didn’t bother her one way or the other. She simply did not care how a thread ended, especially not after the billions she had spun before this one.

That is what she continued to tell herself at least.

“Victoriaaaaa!” A young voice sing-songed from somewhere amongst her forest of spools and her shoulders tightened in response.

Skipping steps weaved in and out of the spools at her back, pausing only once at the same time the music went dead, before continuing on. The footsteps came to a stop behind her, and she could feel a small presence attempting to peek over her shoulder. “I don’t know why you listen to that crap. It’s so depressing!” Victoria spun in the stool, eyebrow raised, to meet her sister’s sparkling blue eyes.

“Such words should not come from such a young looking creature,” Victoria said, scolding her sister for her use of foul language. Those crystalline eyes rolled, and the pudgy, child-like face settled into a pout as her golden curls swelled in irritation. “What do you need, Candice?”

The tiny creature stomped a ballet slippered foot. “It’s Candy, Victoria. I have to tell you that every time I come down here!” Her eyes narrowed in irritation. “And that’s hundreds of times a day sometimes!”

Victoria’s lip curled slightly in amusement, but her voice remained lackluster. “Then Candy, what can I assist you with?”

The deceptively young girl tapped her foot in annoyance, placing a fist on her leotard covered hip. “Don’t act like an idiot. It doesn’t become you, Vickie.” Victoria scowled at her sister, and the overwhelming urge to flick that tiny button nose nearly overcame her. “I’m always here when you finish a thread!” There was an unspoken ‘duh’ in her tone that made Victoria’s eye twitch.

“Of course,” she drawled, taking notice of the pulsing golden glow illuminating the space between them. Her eyes lowered to look at her sister’s arms which cradled a single, glowing orb gingerly to her chest. The orb gave off a gentle heat that easily seeped into the sleeves covering her arms. Being so close to it almost inspired more than boredom inside her, but that flicker of warmth quickly vanished, drowned out by a cold wave of annoyance. This step meant she’d have to start another thread immediately after Candice left. Which would only lead to disappointment when the new thread was not the perfect creation she wanted.

Heaving a great, suffering sigh, Victoria stood and held out the end of the thread to Candice. “Here. Let’s get this over with so I can begin another one.”

Her sister shot her a blinding smile full of white teeth, bobbing her head in agreement, as she skipped forward. “Here we go-,” Candice stopped mid-movement, arms partially outstretched with the orb in her hands. She scrutinized the coil of thread with a critical eye as she slowly tucked her arms back into her sides. “No.” Her voice was sharp, blonde curls bouncing as she shook her head. “That is not the thread meant for her. Absolutely not. Do it again.”

Victoria’s expression contorted into a mask of bewilderment as she looked from her sister to the thread and back again. “You always do this Candice," she said, voice laced with venom. “You do not get to pick and choose what thread it gets! I do not dictate what the thread is to be or what gets matched to it. We may be the ‘Fates’,” she formed quotations in the air with her fingers, her tone mocking. “But even we do not truly make the decisions. It is simply as it is supposed to be, Candice.”

The blonde curls were whipping around fiercely as she shook her head. “It’s not fair!” She stomped her little foot again as tears welled in her eyes. “She’s good! All of them are...” She sniffled as a tear slid down her cheek. “She doesn’t deserve it.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

Taking a deep breath, Victoria crouched down to be at her sister's level, a hand hovering above her curls but not touching them. “I know it is frustrating and sad that even we do not get a choice. However, after this long, you should be accustomed to it.” Her attempt at comfort, as poor as it was, was met with a scowl as blood pooled in Candices’ cheeks and neck.

Victoria immediately changed tactics in order to head off the inevitable explosion building in the tiny little body before her. With great effort, she arranged her face to mimic a gentle and understanding expression as she slowly crept a hand under the orb, ready to snatch it the moment Candice let her guard down.

“NO!” Candice tucked the orb up under her armpit, hugging it close to her ribs as she smacked her hand away. Victoria’s jaw went slack in disbelief as the sting of the slap zipped up her arm. Huh. That’s a first...

She watched as Candice spun on her heel and disappeared into the rows of spools. Shaking out her hand, Victoria got to her feet, cursing her sister under her breath. What on earth had gotten into her? Surprise now replaced with white, hot anger, Victoria took off after her rebellious sister.

Candice would argue, whine, and complain until she was blue in the face, but she had never run before. This process was something she’d resign herself to after enough reassurance from Victoria, and she would then reluctantly pair the orb with the thread and be on her way until the next one. So what could it be about this one that had her so riled up?

Spotting a flash of golden curls out of the corner of her eye, Victoria feinted to the left with the hope of heading her sister off before she reached the other end of the shop.

“Candice!” She reached the grey metal wall a moment before her sister. Her small body collided with Victoria’s and they went sprawling to the dusty floor. A cloud of dust and bits of red fluff exploded around them before drifting slowly back down to the ground. “What is going on with you?!” Victoria spluttered in between coughs. She held her sister’s bicep tightly in one hand as she sat the both of them up.

“IT ISN’T FAIR!” Candice screeched as she tried to rip her arm out of Victoria’s grasp. Tears made ugly track marks in the dust on her face and she kicked her feet out, slapping her heels into the concrete. “I FEEL SO GUILTY AND DIRTY!” She hiccuped, sobbing even harder now. “WE JUST CONDEMN THEM TO DIE AND I HATE IT! IT’S NOT FAIR!” She screamed and kicked some more, throwing a tantrum befitting the age she appeared to be.

Victoria’s cheeks puffed up and reddened. “I KNOW IT’S NOT!” she roared back, startling her sister into stillness. They sat there for a moment, eyeing one another as they panted. “I know it isn’t, Candy.” she muttered after clearing her throat. “I know. But we do not get an opinion or a choice, understand?”

Candice sniffled, roughly swiping her hand under her eyes and nose. “No! Yes!” She hiccuped. “No… But yes.”

Sighing, Victoria nodded in understanding. “It is unfortunate, I know.” She released Candice’s arm to pat it awkwardly. “Now let us get back to work.” Her sister nodded and sucked in a jagged breath as they got to their feet. As they took a moment to dust themselves off, Victoria realized Candice was using both of her hands. “Candice?” Her sister paused and glanced up at her in question. “Where is it?” Her voice was low and controlled, not belying the feeling of panic beginning to seep into her every nerve.

A look of confusion was her answer. Candice glanced down at her hands and when she looked back up, all the color had drained from her face. “I-I must have dropped it!” They looked at one another before frantically spinning about in circles. “They float!” Candice cried after several moments of sporadic searching, her eyes quickly going to the ceiling. Victoria looked up as well, searching each corner of the room before she spotted a golden light back towards her spinning wheel.

“There!” Candice fell into step behind her as she shot forward, the two of them weaving their way through the bolts of thread. They skidded to a stop in front of her workstation to find the orb bobbing slowly above the thread predestined for it.

Directly. Below. The. Open. Window.

Victoria sucked in a breath and held it as she slowly edged her way closer. The orb seemed to pause it's bobbing for a short moment, as if taunting them, before creeping towards the window inch by inch. Victoria’s boots slapped the floor noisily as she ran forward, hand outstretched to snatch up the unruly thing. Her fingertips caressed the buzzing warmth for the briefest of moments before the orb slipped through the small opening and out of reach.

Both sisters whiteknuckled the windowsill as they stuck their heads out and watched with bated breath. The Nothingness was swallowing the golden light bit by bit until the entire orb vanished from sight. “FUCK!”

Her curse echoed throughout the vast emptiness and rebounded back at them, mocking their misfortune. She smacked the windowsill until her hands were numb and then she turned to kick the coil of thread, sending it into her stool and toppling it. The clatter went unnoticed as she cursed and ranted, chest heaving with the exertion.

Victoria paced back and forth in front of the window, wearing a thin line in the layer of dust to reveal the concrete floor. A hand tugged at the bottom of her sweater, halting her movement, and Victoria glanced back to meet the terrified face of her sister. Before Candice could utter a sound or chew her out for her language, Victoria spun to face her fully and grasped her shoulders as an idea struck her.

“It’s okay. This is fine. You’ll just go get another one!” She nodded, standing up straight and clapping her hands. “That’s it. Another one will solve this problem right away.”

Candice looked at her as if she were crazy. “I can’t just go get another one! It doesn’t work that way! You know that. We have to go get her!” She waved a hand frantically out the small window. “Just like you said, if another thread won’t work, another soul won’t work. So, we have to go get her.” Candice rolled her little shoulders and stepped up to the window, struggling for a moment to hop up and sit on the sill. When she was finally settled, she swung her legs over and out to hang in the open air. “Big Sister is going to kill us,” she mumbled before pushing off and falling into the Nothing.

“Oh hell,” Victoria breathed as she leaned out of the window, unable to spot Candice anywhere. That was the last place she wanted to go. But as there was no other option now... She grasped the lip of the frame and hoisted herself up. Lowering herself onto the ledge, she sat for a moment, staring out into the void she’d watched for years, her feet dangling. What had she done to deserve this?

With a morose sigh, she slid off and fell. The black instantly consumed her, caressing her skin like the cool silk of her thread. She floated, weightless, for a moment, the shadows pillowing her before suddenly disappearing and she was laying on fine, powdery, black sand. It was slightly more chilled than the black she had just passed through, but it felt just as soft. A fleeting thought of remaining there for the rest of her endless days entered her mind, but it vanished just as soon as it had formed.

“Victoria! Victoria!” She lifted her head and looked towards the whispering voice to find her sister crouching behind a short, broken piece of obsidian turret, frantically waving her over.

Rolling her eyes, she got to her feet and brushed herself off. Her steps were silent as she made her way over to her sister. “What are you doing?” She grouched, standing over Candice.

“Get down here!” She whispered urgently, grabbing her hand to roughly tug her to the ground behind the turret. “Are you crazy?! You know what’s out there,” she said, peeking over the broken piece of castle.

Victoria glared at the back of Candice’s head before pushing her over into the sand in retaliation. “Of course I know what’s out there. Don’t imply that I’m an idiot. It’s not like you exactly blend in either.” She pointedly looked at the pink ballet shoes and leotard she wore.

Candice ignored her jab as she rose back onto her knees. “Then you know we need to be careful. This is their territory.” She gulped audibly, glancing in every direction as if something were about to jump out of the shadows and attack them.

A sigh slowly leaked out from between her lips, but she nodded in agreement. They did need to tread with some caution. With unusual grace and silence, her sister got to her feet, not bothering to brush herself off, and slunk around the turret, motioning for her to follow. She must have caught sight of the orb. Refraining from grumbling, Victoria followed, taking the time to assess their surroundings. Neither of them, nor their older sister, had ever come here, so she found herself with an unusual amount of curiosity.

The shadows they had fallen through surrounded the plateau in every direction, twisting and swirling as if alive. A red aura, caused by the billions of threads she had weaved over time, silhouetted the barren land. Wilting trees rose up from the sand here and there, and a menacing obsidian palace loomed a short ways away at their left. The monstrosity stood strong and silent, seeming to observe their progress from each of the emerald stained glass windows. An involuntary shudder crawled up her spine and she hastily looked away. It was a terrible feeling; being watched.

Trying to distract herself, she looked to her right where a tree was perched precariously at the edge of the rock they were on. It was drooping over the ledge as if a heavy weight pressed down on it, and amongst its craggly branches floated their runaway golden orb.

As the two of them came within several yards of the tree, the shadows behind it swelled and bubbled causing them to freeze. A skeletal gray hand tore slowly through the black cloud, the fingers long and clawed. Candice yelped in fright. Acting quickly, Victoria covered her sister's mouth with one hand, and wrapped the other around her shoulder to hold her to her front and keep her still. They watched in mounting horror as an arm, shoulder, and head followed along behind the hand. Each second ticked by agonizingly slow as more and more of the grotesque creature slid from the shadows.

Gray skin was stretched over the creature’s elongated bones, so painfully thin that it would split and ooze black goop with every step or shift of a joint. It was bald, eyeless and had no lips to cover its jagged, disgusting teeth. From deep in its throat came soft chattering noises as if it were chilled from the cold. It stood over seven feet tall despite being hunched over on itself, towering above the decaying tree. Everything about it was sharp angles and rough edges; a horrifying sight that caused both of them to cringe, but they dare not move. They had never encountered one before, and after this Victoria hoped to never see one again. She was certain Candice felt the same.

A Reaper. How befitting a name.

The Reaper brought a fingertip slowly to its teeth, bending forward and tilting its head to consider the golden orb amongst the branches.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sisters shuddered with each tap of its claw on its teeth, the sound making revulsion build and roll in Victoria’s stomach. With a soft humming noise, it reached forward to cage the orb within its grasp. Before it could fully encase it, Candice had broken free from Victoria’s grasp and ripped off a slipper, hurtling it at the Reaper.

“LEAVE HER ALONE!” Candice’s cry broke through the silence just as her slipper smacked into the side of its skull with a dull slap.

Both the sisters and the Reaper froze in surprise. The creature slowly turned its head to look in their direction, its vertebrae cracking with the movement, and a black substance seeped from the fresh tears around its neck. Victoria and Candice screamed, turning to run towards the palace as thundering footsteps chased after them.

Victoria hadn’t felt this much adrenaline in eons. Her heart was racing, her limbs tingled, and she could feel the terror rushing through her veins. It was exhilarating! Despite their current predicament, of course.

Victoria screeched in surprise at the feel of an ice cold hand snatching her up by the back of her neck. The Reaper lifted her by the scruff and turned her around to face it. A putrid smell from its mouth invaded her nostrils and she gagged, her eyes watering. Coughing, she kicked, catching it in the ribs, several times as she clawed at its forearm. She could hear the skin tearing and globs of whatever flowed through its veins plop onto the sand and cake under her fingernails. A harrowing cry left its jowls, causing her body to go cold and her mind to become fuzzy. She stared into the endless pits on its face, sure she could see her death in their depths. Could she even die? She was positive she was about to find out when another pink ballet slipper caught the Reaper square in the cheek. Candice screamed for it to release her. It answered with another piercing wail and swooped down to snatch her sister up as well.

A voice erupted from the darkness. “ENOUGH!” It commanded, shaking the ground with its power. The three of them went still. “Set them down Xanth,” the voice instructed.

The Reaper immediately did as it was told, and gently placed Victoria on her feet beside her sister, who instantly clung to her side. Xanth? It had a name? They stared at the beast in awe as it stood to its full height and looked over their shoulders. As one the sisters turned slowly, hands clasped together, to find a blue being standing in front of the grand doors of the palace, spilling fluorescent light across the black sand. There was nothing defining about this creature aside from the vague humanoid shape. No eyes. No mouth. Just raw power.

“It’s her,” Candice breathed, staring at the being with reverence. Victoria looked down at her sister in confusion, silently asking for an explanation. “The one who controls this realm,” she said in a tone that told her just what she thought of her intelligence.

Victoria blinked in surprise and returned her gaze to the doors. “Death.”

The blue creature bobbed its semi-round head in acknowledgement of the title. “You’ve caused quite a bit of trouble. Your sister is not happy.” The disapproval was clear in her voice, and it made Victoria feel properly chastised, as if her eldest sister had been the one to say it. “In fact, she is awaiting your arrival. Xanth, if you would.” Bones creaked and cracked behind them and then a mammoth hand dropped down in front of Candice, the orb floating in its palm. Her sister took it with a happy squeal, hugging it to her chest, and then they were then both lifted off their feet by the scruffs of their necks. “Please, do not come back to Nihilit.” Those parting words followed them as the reaper, Xanth she reminded herself (so strange), carried them to the edge of the plateau and held them over the ledge.

“Goooodbyyye...” It rasped before unceremoniously dropping them into the open air. They fell with a scream.

Victoria squeezed her eyes shut and reached for Candice, but their descent was abruptly cut off by solid land. As her scream slowly tapered off, Victoria peeked open one eye, then the other, to be met with the sight of a pristine, brightly lit room. Victoria sat up and glanced over at her little sister to find her cuddling the soul to her chest, crooning to it quietly. She rolled her eyes and looked away, fighting back a grin.

Glancing around, Victoria couldn’t help that her somewhat there grin drooped into a grimace. How did her sister do it? The light wood floors under her gleamed to the point she could see her reflection staring up at her, not a speck of dust anywhere. It was disgustingly like her eldest sister to keep her space this clean.

All around them, the ends of billions of threads were tied to polished golden rungs set in the floor. Some of the threads were still a brilliant crimson, but others were dull and sagging. One particular thread that had lost all of its color was tied off to their right, and at that thread stood their sister who was dressed in her pressed black pantsuit, her black hair pinned up in a sleek bun. Victoria and Candice scrambled to their feet.

“I see you recovered her from our friend.” Their sister's voice was soft but the tone serious as she locked eyes with the both of them before briefly glancing at the orb. “I’m glad. And I’m sure you’ve learned a lesson, no?” A perfectly manicured eyebrow rose up to her hairline, brown eyes sparkling in the light as she assessed their less than kempt appearances.

“Yes, Karen,” they both muttered as they looked down shamefully at their feet.

Karen hummed softly as she walked to the far wall, her heels clicking softly on the floor. She plucked a shining gold scythe from its hook, and the inscriptions on the blade flashed a bright orange before returning to being nearly indiscernible. Ignoring the two of them for the moment, she returned to the colorless thread, hefting the scythe into both hands and widened her stance. With a great swing, she slashed through the thread in one fell swoop. It snapped with a sharp twang and the top half disappeared into the ceiling while the bottom half fell listlessly to the floor.

“We each have a job ladies. Candy picks the souls, Victoria spins the threads, and I cut them. It is the cycle of life.” Karen turned to face them, letting the bottom of the scythe rest on the floor with a resounding thunk. “Many things are not fair. Such is life. But it cannot be decided by us who goes to which thread. It is simply as it is.” She gave a pointed look to their youngest sibling, who blushed and looked back down at her toes. “But it is also okay to feel sympathetic towards what they will face before their end.” This time the look was turned on Victoria, and she had the grace to appear sheepish, surprised that she actually felt the emotion that accompanied the expression. “We must work as a team, a family, in order to do this work. We are the Fates, after all." She gave them a smile, her perfect teeth flashing in the light. "Now, I took the liberty of attaching the thread, it just needs her.” Her manicured hand gestured to a taut red thread at her left as her eyes locked onto the soul that Candice still hugged to her chest. Victoria blinked, surprised that she had actually referred to the orb as a soul in her own mind. For the second time.

Today was proving to be jam packed full of personal growth. It was exhausting. She wished she could take a nap...

Nodding, Candice set her shoulders and went to stand beside Karen, looking back at her expectantly. Victoria gave a small smile and came to stand before her thread. She gingerly took the soul from her sister’s arms and with a deep breath pressed the warm little thing against the thread, wishing her luck on her journey. The thread hummed and lit with a golden light before flashing a brilliant blue. When the blue light faded it left a crimson glow behind.

“And so she is home, with family,” Karen said softly, patting each of them on the shoulder in turn. “Now it is time for us to return to work.”

They watched the glowing thread for a moment before turning to follow behind their eldest sister. Karen led them to a black elevator, and the doors slid open to reveal a sleek, marble interior. Victoria watched Candice give Karen a tight hug before bouncing into the elevator. She stepped in at a more sedate pace, giving her sister a soft smile and nod. Karen returned the gesture and tossed them a short wave as the door closed. The contraption lurched upwards, and the two of them stood in silence, unsure of what to say or if they should even say anything at all. A soft ding startled the both of them and the doors opened with a hiss, the smell of dust and yarn filling the small space. Victoria sighed as muscles that she hadn’t even realized were tense relaxed at the familiar scent. The center floor. Her rightful place in the cycle. She was home.

Victoria stepped off and turned to her baby sister, smiling with a tilt of her head. “I’ll see you soon, Candy.”

A brilliant smile and sparkling blue eyes blinded her as the doors shut once more, and she listened to it rise until she couldn’t hear it anymore. Huffing a soft laugh, Victoria twirled strands of her hair between her fingers as she wove her way in and out of the spools of thread, trailing the tips of her unoccupied fingers along the silky surface of each one. She paused at her record player and set the needle to the beginning of the record, turning up the volume so the music easily echoed throughout her work room.

Feeling a little more alive than she had in a long time, Victoria slowly danced her way to her spinning wheel, only stopping to pick up her stool and dust it off before plopping down on top of it. She pressed her toes to the pedal and the wheel slowly began to spin, going faster and faster until the squeak of the gears mingled with the rhythm of the music. A new thread quickly began to form, and she helped it along with a loose grip.

Thus she continued her work, only this time with a soft smile and a hum. This time, as every other time, the thread would be just as it should.