THE RIVER RUNS BLACK

"I´m sorry, Edith; I lied to you..."

She looked pretty pale, but then again it could have been the cool morning breeze. She had never been to my hometown so the next Christmas morning I explained that there was this one place I was literally dying to take her to, and that was none other than the Black River in Elyria.

On the east side of the river there were a series of amazing falls and they were frozen at the moment. I used to come here for inspiration when I was younger but the access to them was very difficult. There wasn´t much to look at back then, just ruins, but then again my dark, occult side always a passion for old sites.

"Mom was right, I was about six years old when I fell into this river. You see, after I saw the helpless rabbit I went down all the way to try to reach and grab him..."

"Oh..." she said with awe.

"...But then again little old me was helpless as well; the ice was too thin so I fell too."

"Oh, my God! Wasn´t there anybody nearby to save you?"

"Yes, but I got out all by myself luckily. I lost consciousness after a while. Somehow, the rabbit started to kick me with all his might and then I realized I had to get out. After I carefully climbed out of the ice I placed the white rabbit on the ground and he wouldn´t stop moving its hind legs again and again until he froze to death..."

"Oh no..." she said.

"Yeah, yeah, he gave his life to save mine but I had to admit his strength was incredible. So instead of burying him or whatever I tossed him back into the water, he was meant to be there anyway. After that I felt very sick but still wanted to come back here so badly but Mother wouldn´t let me and that´s when..."

"If I´m not mistaking that seems like this last November, history repeats itself?" said Edith looking below the Black River bridge.

"Yes, I figured out that strength doesn´t come from just the body, it comes from the spirit, so even the smallest of creatures has enough will to carry on until his last breath so could I...I..." I leaned against the bridge too and felt somewhat emotional, "I felt so mad at myself for being so weak, so I drew the rabbit so it could be a constant reminder to never give up fighting, a talisman, a charm..."

"That is so sweet," said Edith as she hugged me tightly.

"I saw this very same spot yesterday in a dream, actually every time I visit my folks I come back here maybe just for a while because something might be waiting for me down there, like a spirit...do you know why I keep seeing the number 11 everywhere?"

"No, you never told me that, why?"

"You see, the Tree of Life has ten spheres which represent the path into spiritual enlightment, yet there is an eleventh one which stands for hidden or occult knowledge. I read that intuitively while going to the library at school...I had a lot of spare time on my hands."

"So now you are embracing these things free of guilt, that´s great!"

"Ritual is an important painting to me because it speaks of the bond I have with that silly creature, since he is the white one I am the black one; together we create or together we shall destroy the world...",

"Since today represents the Birth of Christ it should work well to be a creative day, nothing can go wrong now, right? You and me together, facing all the perils of New York."

I smiled as I placed my head below my arms, "If you say so, next year will be quite a bundle since I´m getting busier than ever."

"Because you deserve it! You like doing what you´re doing, don´t you?"

"Sure. Now I feel like a messenger for the dark arts...come here, close your eyes, I´ll give you something..." I pulled out her hand. "Open them."

"You want to give me this? It´s beautiful, very classic but very beautiful..."

"The message is what counts the most. Home is where the heart is, it´s wordplay, so if you ever feel lonely think of this as my heart and soul, that way you´ll always have somewhere to go...Merry Christmas, kid."

"Thank you."