Orpheus - Haunting the Dead.pdf - Dice

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DIA DE LOS MUERTOSAUNTING THE DEAD
He absently rubbed a bony hand over a small medallion
hanging around his neck. Eileen noticed it for the first
time. It was circular and bore the image of a robed
woman, her arms outstretched as if to embrace the
world.
Eileen had never seen an effigy of the Virgin quite
like it. A chill passed over her, a momentary image of
a squid-like beast swimming under the waves where
light and warmth never came. She glanced again at the
medallion around his neck and noted that the woman’s
hood was pulled far forward, completely obscuring her
face, and the sleeves of the robe covered her hands.
Indeed, were it not for the outline of breasts, she might
not have known the robed figure was a woman at all.
“¿Ayuda me, por favor?” The voice was soft and
meek. It belonged to a small woman who stood staring
at them in the middle of the street. The spirit was
dressed in a loose-fitting, white top and brightly colored,
flowing skirt. Flowers were woven in her hair, and
her milky eyes stared straight ahead. In her arms she
carried a baby, its head turned away from them, resting
against her breast. The only things that marred her
lovely image were the tiny, powder-stained hole in one
temple and the large ragged hole in the back of her
head.
“¿Ayuda a mi bebe?” the spirit asked again, and held
the infant ghost toward them.
“She’s blocking the road,” the skeleton said.
“Can’t you just go around her?” Teo asked.
“She’ll just move. I’ve seen this before. Unless we
want to wait, someone will have to answer her.”
“Answer her? What do you…” he trailed off as he
noticed that Eileen was climbing off the hearse.
“Eileen, wait!”
“Your baby needs help?” Eileen asked, slowly approaching
the strange woman.
The tiny spirit’s gaze shifted direction, though it
was difficult to tell through her cloudy orbs whether
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