The Sixth Generation

A Lost Friend

"Bea?" I whisper, unable to process anything at the moment. Lauren's head shoots up to meet the gaze of the Green spirit, who is now grinning widely. Their eyes meet, green on unnaturally dark green, and I wish that sometimes—only sometimes—I could read my wife's mind.

LAUREN'S POV:

I feel numb.

I can't move my body or speak. I just continue to stare forward at the person who meant—and still means—so much to me. The shades of green on her body reflect how she use to look; her dark eyes, her happy smile, and her missing ring finger. She doesn't look any different from when she was killed but her hair has changed. It's now longer, darker and put up into braids.

She seems more broken than before. Something in her eyes isn't right—the same fearlessness lingers there but something is missing. Unshed tears glitter in her green eyes and a crooked smile breaks across her light green lips.

"Jauregui." She says to me, her voice causing goosebumps to rise on my skin. I haven't heard that voice in forever, let alone heard her call me by my last name.

"Camila." Bea turns to Camila, smiling softly while running her hand down my wife's arm. Camila's face looks shocked when Bea touches her; she must be able to feel her. My wife nods to her, smiling faintly.

"So this really is where dead Elementals go." Camila comments, intrigued.

"Yeah," Bea shrugs, her eyes darting down from mine. Charlotte stands beside Camila, holding her hand loosely while watching Bea. She doesn't seem confused by anything happening. "It's kind of boring here, though."

"How?" Camila scoffs, gesturing to all around us. "It's crazy beautiful here."

"That doesn't make it any less lonely." Bea says bitterly, sighing abruptly. "Sure, there's a gajillion other spirits here but none of them like me. I don't really care though, I—" she suddenly breaks off, shaking her head while a tear runs down her cheek. "Who am I kidding? I hate it down here."

Camila wipes Bea's tear away with her thumb, looking at the girl with sympathetic eyes.

"It's lonely and no one cares for me." Bea sighs, blinking her eyes quickly before looking up at me. "At least, not like you did, Jauregui. They think I'm weird because I hang around the lakes and not the trees."

"Why do you?" Camila asks, tilting her head.

"They remind me of you." Bea says, looking up into my eyes. She is a few inches shorter than me now. "Sometimes, I feel like I can hear your voice or your laugh and it'd make me feel not-so-alone. You know, I never had any friends back on earth.. I only had you, Jauregui. I guess.. I miss you."

I've never seen Bea like this before. She's always been guarded and tough; not fragile and weak like this version of her. I guess dying does that to you. I guess her dying did that to me as well.

"Bea.." I croak, my voice extra raspy because I haven't used it in a while.

Bea lets out a sob, choking back whimpers while wiping them away fiercely. I feel a tear slide down my cheek. Charlotte looks up at Camila from beside me, clearly confused about why everyone is crying in the caves. Bea takes a deep breath, shutting her eyes tightly before blinking them open again.

Slowly, I open my arms, silently telling my friend to come to me. Bea whimpers again, shaking her head as fresh tears tumble down her pale green cheeks. She rushes to me, throwing her at me and wrapping her arms around my neck tightly. Her body melts into me and heaves as she sobs. I can feel her.

I bring my arms around her waist to hold her securely, closing my eyes to allow the tears to slip away. I bury my face in her shoulder, sighing deeply and choking back a sob.