River fed the last spoonful of soup to Praxeda. Praxeda looked better than before. She was also eating very well. All those actions gave a sense of peace to River. Praxeda was fine and not in pain. She had been discharged from the hospital because they were convinced that she was alright now. All that mattered.
It was already 6 pm, and Praxeda didn't look anywhere close to being sleepy.
"Praxeda, it's bed time now.", River told her.
"A movie.", Praxeda said,
"You want to watch a movie?",
"Yes.", she nodded,
"I don't have my laptop with me _",
"Cinema.",
River scoffed, "You want to go watch a movie at the cinema?",
"Yes.", she answered with excitement.
River looked at her watch. It wasn't a great time to go out with a child who's been discharged from the hospital just that morning. But there was a voice telling her to ditch the rules and take Praxeda to the cinema. It wasn't a huge task, and it made her happy. So, why not?
She opened Praxeda's closet and took out a sweater. She helped her get dressed.
"I'm sure we can hurry and watch one movie. But after that you're coming back here and you're going to sleep. Deal?",
"Yaaay!", Praxeda babishly cheered.
Together, they left for the cinema. Those few hours they spent together, watching a children's movie and laughing like life was a garden of roses was enough. It was undoubtedly the first time River had seen Praxeda that happy and relaxed. She ate ice-cream, and popcorn and didn't even throw up. There was color in her complexion. She was as bright as a ball of sunshine. She wished she'd stay like that forever.
…
Later that night, River was back in her apartment. After freshening up, she used that time to gather information of how the psychic visit went. She'd called Ylle as she climbed in bed. One last phone call and call it a night. That was the plan.
"So, how did it go?", she asked,
"Well, turns out Queen Minzy is the real deal.", Ylle explained over the phone, "She knew so much about us. She even contacted Freya's mom's spirit and delivered a message.",
"Whoa! That's spooky.",
"Believe me, it was all worth it. We're all just burning our heads over Lessin's reading.",
"Why?", she was curious.
"Did Lessin know anybody with the name Isack?",
"Never heard of him. Why?",
"She flipped when Queen Minzy mentioned his name. It sounded like something happened to him and Lessin's been blaming herself. I don't know. It was kind of freaky.",
"It was. So, did she say anything about me?",
"She did.",
River sat up straight, excited, "What did she say?",
"Well", Ylle's tone was hesitant, "She said that you're surrounded by a very dark energy.",
"What!",
It was completely different from what she wanted to hear. She was more into love and finances, but not the voodoo stuff.
"Yeah", Ylle continued, "something about a covenant that had been worshiped for decades. She said the only person who's going to end the dark era is you, but she doesn't know why or how.",
River's skin grew goosebumps. What she was hearing gave her chills, "What covenant? Blood or witches or something?",
"I have no idea. But she did say that something is going to happen very soon which is going to mark the start of this dark era's end. She only urged us to be there for you or you'll lose your mind.",
"Girl, that's horrifying as fuck! Did any of her predictions happen?",
"After Lessin's reaction we believe they will. She advised me to drop my major and pursue something that'll make my creative side shine. So, next semester, I'll be a literature major.",
"Good for you. Anything positive about me? Because my prediction is pretty scary.",
"We'll have to wait and see. I just want one prediction to come true so that we'd know if all that was legit or not.",
"I really hope so too.",
That night, River couldn't sleep. So many things went in and out of her head. Maybe it was a bad idea to call Ylle that night. Maybe it would have been better if she just slept and focused on tomorrow. But it happened and she couldn't do anything else but ponder.
When her phone started ringing, that's when she saw the time as she picked up. 5 am. Wow. Where did the hours go? The caller was a night nanny at the orphanage. Of course, she couldn't ignore it.
"Yes, nanny.", she answered.
"River _", the nanny sniffled, "You need to come to the orphanage.",
"What's going on?",
"I-I'm afraid Praxeda is no longer with us.",
The world immediately stopped!
Time seemed to be frozen. River let the phone fall back on the pillow. A dream. She wished for it to just be a bad dream. Even as she looked around the room, it was all real. The air, the light, the news she just heard. All were real.
***