His essence, and the physical representation of him had been smuggled into the afterlife. He had FELT real; he barked, snuggled, panted, licked... all the things that a dog would have done - he did.

But he hadn't really been there. Rae had only been able to force his elemental blueprint into the afterlife with her. At the point of death, all beings were invited to let go, and walk into a space of warm, bathing light. She had simply refused to budge, unless Pakha had come with her. Bounding into eternity, he was unwilling to let his mistress go into the great beyond without him.

She had broken the rules willingly, and Charon had allowed it and worse - had become an accessory to her defiance, allowing her AND the dog to stay in the mid-way between life and death. They had found love for a time, until they were caught. The punishment for their flagrant abuse of natural order was separation.

She would be forced into the next phase of her journey, traveling into paradise - but without memory of Charon, and without her beloved companion.

Charon would be forced to live out a mortal life, with its end tied to Pakha's. At the time of his death, he would be free to find his love, and hope to renew her memory of their connection. For twenty two years, Pakha stayed by his side. There were times that it seemed as he if waited for Rae to return, staring at the door - willing it to bring his mistress back to him. In time, the dog accepted the loss and committed himself to his new existence and his new owner, Charon.

As the ferryman to the afterlife, Charon had tolerated his purpose. But the Judges' punishment for his disobedience actually gave him new meaning. Reuniting lost loves for eternity filled his soul like nothing had before. Each story had depth and reason; every love was unique and special - but the truest loves always had a common core: sacrifice.

As the stories played themselves out before his eyes, he had not understood at first. How could one give up the thing that fulfilled them? How could they lay their lives down and lose the being that completed them? Wouldn't it be better to fight and ASSURE the person that they were perfect for them? Couldn't they just convince them that they belonged together and demand that they see things the way they out to be?

Time had taught him what his ego had failed to allow. Love was a choice to put the other first. Anything less wasn't truly love. It was selfishness, disguised.

These thoughts haunted him as he watched the last of Pakha disintegrate into sparkles of light, caught in a gentle wind that blew the fiery glitter across the sea. He stood until he lost sight of the last fleck, and then turned back to the shack.

"In the blink of an eye," the female judge cooed.

Charon ran his wrinkled fingers through a thick, greying mat of hair. "For some, I suppose it went quickly."

"Did you learn anything?" the raspy-voice judge asked.

"Mmm. To be a good dog," the words leaked like venom from fangs. Of course he had learned, but he would be damned again before letting them sharpen their ego teeth on him.

"And are you?" the prune of a Judge wondered aloud. "...a good dog now?"

"I sit, stay, and speak on command."

The female Judge purred. "Then, now you can fetch." And with a flick of her wrist, she landed Charon in the realm of his Rae.

The town was unlike other realms, it was perfect harmony. Others were peaceful or beautiful, natural or delicate, but this realm was clean and pure and glistening. Bright and glowing, it had a hum of peace that resonated with his core. Immediately, he saw her. She looked exactly as she had left him, a strange mix of innocence and fire. He didn't waste a moment to close the distance between them, and then he paused.

She reached out and caressed the face of a man who was lost in her gaze. He pulled her to him, spinning her into his embrace tightly. She giggled, melting into him.

He knew that sound. He remembered that burn. Damn the Judges for their games! Hastily he grabbed a rock and scribbled markings across the path. Dust rose and spiraled around him, forming a dark pathway into another realm, unseen by the lovers nearby.

Stalking into the center of the court, his rage shook the windows in their casements. "Twenty two years! I paid my penance! I want the girl!"

The female Judge slid back into her gilded chair, oozing satisfaction. Biting her lower lip, she taunted him. "Then take her, Charon."

"ALYSSA!" he puffed his chest out, neck bulging, veins popping. Grinding his teeth, he growled. "Jealousy does not become you."

Clouds swirled in her eyes and electricity crackled, sizzling in the air around her. Her quiet voice belied her seething indignation. "How dare you use my name. Tread lightly, dog."

"I can go above you, and you know that. I can go above you all. I'm not the only one subject to my masters. I know the name of the one above you."

She faltered. He couldn't know. How could he sequester... she didn't dare to call his bluff, there was too much at stake. "I said take her if you want her, Charon," she spat out his name like a curse. "What care I for foolish mortal love?"

He knew she cared a great deal. He knew that she was the reason for this punishment and that the other two caved to her feminine whims. Hell hath no fury.

"Send me back and leave me be. Don't touch her memory. I'll deal with this myself."

Alyssa, the goddess scorned, once again flicked her wrist and sent him back to Paradise. The time had changed. Rae was gone, but her lover remained. So, Charon thought, she wants to see me as a monster? Destroy what my love desired?

He sat beside the man, barely fitting comfortably into the little cafe chair. "Evening."

Glancing up, the man relaxed into a genuine smile. "Good one, isn't it?"

Charon saw no need for pleasantries, but he needed to introduce himself and extend his hand. "Name's Charon, and you are?"

"Paul." He gripped Charon's hand with a firm confidence that elicited admiration from the ferryman, but Charon would need more. He tugged gently until Paul's eyes glazed over. Lost in a sea of memories, he relayed the last 22 years in a flash for Charon. Fighting back a typhoon of emotion, Charon broke his hold and released Paul from his draw. He had seen enough.

So.

This is what they felt. This is where Love offered its choice. To sacrifice or to steal. To devour or to deny. It had always felt so different looking from the outside in, wondering how someone could surrender when they were so close to winning. But what win would ever sustain them, when the knowledge of what they had stolen would live as long as their love. He had never understood and always longed to, and now that he did, he wished it away.

While Paul was recovering, Charon leaned to the ground. Sticking his hands in the moist soil, he began to shape a tiny mound. Speaking softly into it, he whispered code, fragments, and structure into being. Standing, he pulled the ball into his chest and kissed its top. "Take care of her."

As Paul's eyes cleared fully, he shook his head to release the last of the fog clouding his brain. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me. I haven't felt that kind of spell in... well, never here!"

"I actually saw you from over there and thought you looked like a fellow who could care for this lost little one." Placing the tiny ball of fluff into Paul's hands, he smiled. "He looks like a Pakha to me. I think he belongs with you."

The puppy jumped up, baptizing the man with slurpy kisses. It was as if he could sense Rae's essence all over the man, and couldn't get enough. Charon knew that he was breaking the rules, but he knew the three Judges wouldn't dare to look his way for quite some time. Let them find a new source of entertainment. He was reuniting what they stole from Rae, and he'd be satisfied in knowing that she would never know loss again.

As for him, he had known death, he had known life, and now, he would truly know love.

---

---

Final piece in a story that I kept thinking was over. Now... NOW... it is truly finished. I hope that this satisfies @samsmith1971, @strega.azure and @emrysjobber! hehehehe

I enjoyed it - but it is... fin ❤️

---

_{Images all created by me with lots of love, some editing, and some magic - with Midjourney.}