Between Heaven and Hell

31.

Calandra

It has been three months since Paxton died and Aideen is still devastated. I wish I could stand by her in her grief, but I barely knew Paxton. I find my sister in her assigned room with Niam and Mistral, crouched on the bed. She has drawn up her knees and tears are rolling down her cheeks. In the past few months, I've rarely seen her fail to cry. "Hey Aideen." She doesn't look up. "Today the Las Fallas are in the angelic realm. Do you know what that is?" A soft "No.", comes from her.

I gently stroke her back before I begin to say quietly: "Fallas is a gigantic festival that we celebrate every year on May 18th, today. It's about us celebrating the end of winter. We do many different dances because we hope that these dances will drive away the hard, cold and long winter. And indeed, spring is coming a week later. "I look down and see Aideen asleep. Carefully I get up, straighten her legs and cover her with a light summer blanket.

Then I creep to the door and close it quietly behind me. Finally I land in the two brothers' salon and, now tired too, sit down on one of the comfortable armchairs. Mistral enters the room and I feel myself tensing up inside. It's been weird between us since Judgment Day. I don't want to risk losing my sister anymore. I don't think she could take it.

"How is Aideen?" Niam asks me. He's been extremely worried about her for weeks. He tries not to let it show, but I think his concern is extremely sweet. "She's not okay at all. She has lost all joy in their life. " "She lost her father and the two were very close." I nod, that's true. I wish I had got to know him better. will come." Niam nods, but looks very concerned. All four of us have lost all joy in the past 3 months. Yesterday was Paxton's funeral and Aideen tore it up inside. The three of us had accompanied her because we didn't want to let her go alone. Countless high-ranking demons had expressed their condolences, but that had only made Aideen sadder. The funeral took place in the dark forest. Delicate white orchids bloomed around his grave and Aideen had given a speech in which she talked about her childhood and the beautiful moments she had spent with her father. For example, from their soul animal ceremony and their birthdays. During this speech, tears came to me too, because my father had told me so many pages that I had never seen in my mother. Now I wish I knew my father better. Aideen had finally turned away crying and we went home with her. We skipped the funeral feast and brought home a completely dissolved Aideen. Since then she hadn't come out of the room and when you walk past her room, you can hear soft sobs. It makes me so tired to see Aideen completely devastated and I want to help her, but I don't know how. I want to see her laugh again, but this Aideen has disappeared into a deep hole full of sadness.

In the evening that day
Aideen suddenly appears in the drawing room. "Hey." I look up in surprise at the book that I'm reading. "Hey, are you okay?" "Mhm." She nods briefly and then storms out of the salon shortly afterwards. I follow her worried. I find her hunched over the toilet in the toilet. She spits the soul out of her body. "Oh God Aideen, what is then go? " "Nothing, I've just been sick every morning for a few weeks and vomit."

I stop: "For a couple of weeks?" She nods. "You and Niam ... did you have sex?" She nods again and the look on her face tells me that she has no clue what this is about. "Did you use contraception?" Now you see a light. "You mean I am ..." "Well, if you haven't used contraception, then ... you know what, you are going to sleep now. Tomorrow, very early in the morning I'll go get a pregnancy test and then we'll get a confirmation. "Aideen nods again and drags herself tiredly to her room. Worried, I go to the room that has been allocated. What if she is really pregnant? Will Niam fail her to let?

The next morning
I woke up very early and changed my clothes. Now I'm on my way to a drug store in the human world. Because I have absolutely no idea whether there is something like this here in Delminum. So I am now entering a drugstore and looking for a pregnancy test. After I've found him I go to the cash register and get a strange look from the cashier. I don't care, I do this for my sister after all.

Back in Delminum I hurry to Aideen's room, but don't find her there. I hear her from the toilet again. She's spitting. Maybe we don't need a pregnancy test at all, this nausea is a confirmation. She comes out of the toilet and looks me over. "Do you have it?" I nod and hand her the pack. She quickly goes back to the toilet. After a few minutes she comes back and sits down on the bed. "We have to wait 10 minutes." I nod and smile encouragingly at her. Then I sit down next to her: "Do you want to become a mother?" "I don't know, I think I would accept it, but ... I'm afraid that I will have to go through it alone." "So if Niam leaves himself alone, he will have to deal with me and the other: I'll be an aunt. Of course I'll help you then. "

She smiles gratefully at me. Then the 10 minutes are already over and we both look forward to the test. Aideen covers her mouth with her left hand. "He's positive. I'm pregnant. ", She whispers and tears begin to form in her eyes. I can't hold back my tears either." I'm going to be an aunt. " I give her a stormy hug. "I think I just didn't notice, because of ... well ..." "I understand." "Calandra, I'm scared." "You don't need to, because you won't get through this alone. You protected me from the judgment of the gods. You've built me ​​up so often. And now ... Now I'm here for you. " And finally, finally after three long months, Aideen begins to shine again.

"How many months are you now?" "To be honest, I don't know, we slept together on the day you and Mistral had your interrogation." "That was ... the День Победы. Did I pronounce that correctly? "" First of all, yes you did. And that's right, the festival was on January 1st and that means that I am now in ... 4 months. "