The Silent Return

Mariza's eyes snapped open. Stone ceiling. Golden light dancing across carved symbols. The familiar scent of temple incense filled her nose.

She sat up quickly, her turquoise-streaked ponytail swinging. Her white and turquoise jacket felt crisp and new, just like every other time.

"El? Feather? Clover?" she called out, looking around the circular chamber.

The three goddesses stood near the altar, their backs to her. El's wolf ears twitched slightly, her black hair catching the lamplight. Feather's golden-brown wings rustled as she examined a scroll. Clover, the youngest, knelt beside a flowering vine.

Mariza hopped down from the marble platform where she'd awakened. Her sneakers squeaked on the polished floor.

"I'm back!" she announced cheerfully. "That makes twenty times now."

None of them turned around.

Mariza frowned. She walked closer, waving her hand. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

El continued reading her harvest reports. Feather hummed a soft melody. Clover watered her plants.

It was as if Mariza wasn't there at all.

The Unseen Touch

Mariza stepped right in front of El, waving both hands. "El! It's me, Mariza!"

The wolf-eared goddess walked straight through her.

Mariza stumbled backward, her heart racing. She looked down at her hands. They looked normal. She touched her face, her ponytail, her jacket. Everything felt real.

"This can't be happening," she whispered.

She ran to Feather, who was organizing scrolls on a wooden shelf. "Feather! Please see me!"

Feather's golden-brown wings fluttered as she reached for a high scroll. Her hand passed through Mariza's shoulder.

Panic bubbled in Mariza's chest. She sprinted to Clover, who was humming while tending a small garden in the corner.

"Clover! You always listen to me!" Mariza shouted.

The youngest goddess continued watering her flowers, drops splashing onto Mariza's sneakers. But Clover didn't notice the water hitting something invisible.

Mariza backed away, breathing hard. In twenty rebirths, the goddesses had always seen her. Always talked to her. Always helped her figure out who killed her and why.

Now she was completely alone.

A soft bark echoed from outside the temple doors. Someone was coming.