BLOODY LOVE'S
Episodes 204

Jose looked back, thinking that Rolan was asking someone else. There's nothing behind him. The bodies were still fluttering towards them from across the bridge. He estimated it would take about seven to ten minutes for the leading corpse to arrive. That is if the body does not suddenly jump or run.

"I'm asking you, Jose! Who're you?!"

"Lho's? Uncle already mentioned my name. Why are you still asking?"

Rolan just realized his question was stupid, but he didn't lower the dagger. He stared at the tangled black-haired youth sharply. The wind made the ends of their coats flap lightly slapping the calves. "Because I don't have a niece who can magic! And you've been acting weird ever since!"

"It wasn't magic" said Jose grimly. "I'm just praying."

"Would it be that every time you prayed, the river would light up like a lantern?!" Rolan exclaimed in anger. "Will your hair burn with fire? Purple fire! God, what kind of fire is that? And you've never been into this forest, but since then you've been leading the way confidently, as if you're passing through this forest every day or," he continued in a low hiss, "or someone's leading you."

"Technically, never." Jose took a slow step, but stopped as soon as Rolan raised his dagger higher. He gulped, remembering how quickly and cold the man had been when he killed Torfin at Ashington Castle. Humans are not creatures that are easy to kill, but Rolan does it as easily as a blink of an eye. "I've been in the forest a few times with Nolan" he continued cautiously. "And we both went into the woods together to pick up Uncle Marco. But I walked confidently because I heard the sound of the river, Uncle. I rely on the sound of the river as a guide."

"Omong empty! You saw something. You sometimes flinch and turn your eyes quickly, as if you've just seen something terrible, but the one in front of you is just a bush or a tree." Rolan shifted his steps warily. His eyes watched fixedly, not intending to miss the slightest movement. "You're Jose or not? You know before I hurt you."

Jose took a deep breath. Uncle panic. He won't listen, he thought. Both of his daggers raised up in a standby position. "Uncle, I warned you that if Uncle attacked, I would retaliate. Uncle may be fast, but I've never lost fast to anyone while being serious." His gaze was as sharp as a knife. "Never!"

Rolan blinked, then slowly lowered his dagger. "Well, the arrogant face is just Jose," he said with relief. His forehead is still wrinkled. "Since when have you been able to do magic? Or was it called a miracle? I didn't even know you ever went to seminary. And what ..." He pointed at the forest, moving his hands agitatedly as he could not express what he was thinking clearly. He was still wondering what Jose saw in the forest. "What are you?" in the end, that is all that can be asked.

"I never went to seminary." Jose lowered his dagger and approached in annoyance. "Don't joke around like that anymore! I was in real shock earlier, I thought I should make Uncle faint so as not to be attacked!"

"You don't think I'm surprised?" spray Rolan while blocking Jose's arm and dragging him closer. "I'm not kidding! I really thought you were a demon or something and would attack if your smile and attitude weren't that arrogant! A smile from Argent!" He 'em. "What was that, huh? How do you light a river like a lantern? Is there a switch knob in there?! And the corpse was—"

"I'm just praying" Jose cut, again frowning as if to endure pain. The two of them faced towards the bridge vigilantly, watching the black figures that were starting to approach. The moon shines quite brightly, helping to reveal their form.

"What if I pray, the river can also light up?" Rolan licked his dry, frozen lips.

"In the beginning was the Word; the Word was with God and the Word was God" Jose quoted a verse in the Gospels. "We are the image of God, the verb we speak has great power. Prayer has great power. Especially near this sacred forest. There is potential that we can use. I'm just trying to use it."

Rolan looked over, still not understanding. "Is not God different? I remember that Bjork's old religion was animism, not Christianity. You pray in a Christian way."

"It doesn't matter if it's different, God doesn't belong to one or two groups. We are His. God is a unity of the same system, like an ocean. Religion and belief are just tributaries to get there, just pathways." Jose took a breath, watching the steamy bodies wriggling and walking like thrashing on the side of the tax office street. Everything seems so pitying. The figures wanted to be freed from the chains that shackled their souls. "Humans make different paths to the system. The path can weaken and disappear, just as Bjork's sacredness slowly disappears without those who believe it, but the system itself remains and settles here. Among us."

"Not to think about. I don't really understand myself either."

"Where do you know all that? All that knowledge. Where did you get to do that magic, that prayer, or whatever you did just now?"

"The first time I crossed over was when Uncle cast the right spell, it was the first time I saw the realm of death," Jose began the story. "There was another Bjork that was colder and quieter. I saw Maria and Uncle Marco. I saw a lot of things happening at that time. The second time I crossed was when I was led by the mushroom giant, who was the spirit of this mountain as well as the ancestor of all of us. At that moment I saw the past. I saw the secret behind this mountain and also who our enemy is. The third time crossing was when I drowned here, I met the most ancient entity that inhabited Bjork. A consciousness. A sacred union." He looked straight ahead, across the bridge. "And he whispered to me, telling me how the world system works. It's just ..." Jose frowned again and touched the temple. "Everything feels vague. My head hurts every time I remember what He whispers, only pieces I can digest at a time."

Rolan looked at him anxiously. "Your head might bump, I'll examine it more closely when we get home."

"No need, my head is fine. It's just like trying to put the ocean in a small bucket. I'm that bucket, and my body isn't strong." Jose shook his head slowly, twitching a few times to focus his gaze.

"Because that's why you got the nosebleed yesterday?" Rolan began to understand, but now he became more anxious. "Then you don't have to remember! What if your head is broken?"

"What's important now is to throw all the bodies into the river. I'll pray and then we leave the rest to God."

"Lately this time I heard people talking about prayer but in a threatening tone" Rolan commented.

"What can I do, God can rebuke me after all this is done" murmured Jose tensely. He rubbed his frozen fingers. "We can argue very long about the definition of threatening."

The wind was no longer blowing, but the cold air still enveloped Bjork, making every breath feel so difficult and painful. Rolan moves the legs, keeping the joints from stiffening. His emergency shoes made from the twists of a shirt only slightly kept him warm. He couldn't even feel the tips of his toes.

The figures in front of them grew closer, and inexplicably the mind of Rolan just floated back to Yvone. Yvone and their baby are still in the womb. He felt he could still feel the warmth of his wife's body, the smell of her breath, the sweat in her hair. Rolan closed his eyes with a smile, happy because those memories were unforgettable. Forgetting. That was the only thing that scared him the most. If he had to die, he wanted to die while still remembering all the memories of Yvone and their short but sweet togetherness.

"You remember what I said in the woods, Jose?" Rolan. His voice sounded small and empty. "If I slow down your pace or—"

"I'm not leaving Uncle." Jose shook his head stubbornly. His eyes were fixed forward, towards the line of corpses that had begun to climb the wooden bridge. "I don't want to."

***

¬seminary: school to become a pastor