September Prompt: Candle

"And why have you summoned me, child?"

"I'm forty-seven years old, no need to be patronizing, even if you're a demon." I paused, and added, "If you don't mind."

It smiled with all its mouths and countless fangs. Its voice was a discordant chorus. "I don't mind at all. It’s refreshing to have someone who knows who they are. What is your reason for summoning me, woman? Wealth? Beauty? Love? Youth?"

"Can you bring back the dead?"

It cocked its head quizzically and slithered closer. I resisted the urge to flinch. "Depends on whom you want to bring back, of course. But there is a cost."

Now I hesitated. “My mother? Is this a… a soul for a soul kind of bargain?”

It laughed. Goosebumps prickled all over my arms and nausea churned in my throat.

“Souls? We’re drowning in them. Too much supply and little demand, you know. What I take from you would be twenty years of your remaining lifespan. Of course, she’d be back exactly as she was, and she wouldn’t remember a thing about being dead.”

Twenty years? I licked my lips and thought about it. Twenty years. Two whole decades.

She was already seventy-four when she passed. Sure, I missed her, but did I miss her enough to give up twenty years of my life?

The demon didn’t have eyebrows, but somehow managed to convey a sense of raising them in gleeful condescension. “So? Are you willing to give up twenty years of your life to bring back the woman who raised you singlehandedly?”

For my mother.

Surely the choice should be obvious. Surely I should love her enough. Surely I could agree to the terms.

“No.” The lump of guilt that closed my throat was smaller than I thought it would be. “No.”

The demon cackled and dissolved into a gelatinous, oily mess.

My hand did not shake as I blew out the candle.

***

“Again? It’s been two years,” said the demon. “Same request? Raise the dead?”

“Same request, same terms,” I said. I pointed to the still form in the corner, lit by the same candle from two years ago. “Her.”

“Twenty years of your li—"

“Yes.”

The demon actually drew back, as if it was amused and almost impressed. “Twenty years.”

“For her. Not forever, just until the day I die.”

“You could die tomorrow.” The demon circled me like a shark, its acrid stench stinging my eyes. “Twenty years of your life, for one more day with her.”

“Worth it.”

The demon grinned with all its mouths and all its teeth. “I do love a human who knows what she treasures.” It clicked its tongues, the resultant sound like a rattle of castanets, and then it circled the still body in the corner before it disappeared, this time fading into the shadows.

Something wrapped around my ribs and squeezed. I tried to inhale but all I got in return was more constriction. My vision swam and I fell to my knees. I would beg for mercy if I had breath for words.

The world went dark and quiet.

I didn’t know how long I was out. Eventually, I stirred into consciousness when something wet nudged my cheek, and a familiar scent crept into my nose. I opened my eyes slowly, wary with hope.

Macy barked, once, her mouth open in her gorgeous, doggy grin. Sitting up, I threw my arms around her and buried my face into her fur.

“Good girl,” I said, over and over. “Good girl. My good girl. Good girl.”

Her tail wagged so fast, it was a blur.

The candle I had lit by her doggy bed sputtered and went out.