My Neighbor Is a Silver-Haired Banshee 20 The Elven Goddess Tuesday, 7 April 2020

Even with just one case of COVID-19, wearing masks and community quarantine were mandatory in the average town of Summerland. The complete lockdown included unnecessary visits to neighbors, so each street corner had men in military uniform, checking each and every vehicle as well as passersby. Anyone without a quarantine pass had to secure one from the city hall after being tested. Nobody complained – everyone was too scared that they were even thankful for the strict rules because another case of the dreaded virus would really put them in a panic. Because of this, Gab, Leslie, Apollo, and Betha couldn't easily meet up personally as there were checkpoints, prohibiting anyone from visiting anybody else's household. So, their plan was to go the groceries in their respective cars and gather in Leslie's car after. Betha was just right across Apollo, so it was easy for them to go together in her car.

They were lucky that the military man doing the checkpoint was not the same one who had seen that only Gab and Leslie were initially in the car. But they were luckier for Leslie's connections because she knew that every eight hours, there was a shift of checkpoint guards: 4am, 12pm, and 8pm. They had all decided to do the grocery at 7:30, be done with the groceries by 8pm, then head towards Gab and Leslie's place. Apollo however, had to sneak out so Mrs. Rodriguez was unaware that he had left the house in the evening. It wasn't too hard because his mom was always awake at one or two in the morning, so she normally had an early dinner and slept by 6pm. They arrived at Leslie and Gab's place by 8:15. When Leslie closed the garage door through a remote control, they all breathed heavily as if they had surpassed a dangerous mission.

"Wow, that felt like an episode of Walking Dead where we had to secretly get supplies and gather up without any zombie noticing." Gab commented as he stepped out of the car. He was seated right next to Leslie, their designated driver. She too, stepped out. Both of them headed inside the house and down to the basement. Apollo and Betha followed them.

As they circled the tea table, there were already three case-bound books waiting for them. Leslie held the one on top – a thick beautiful olive book embedded with gold lettering that said, "The Elven Tribe." She opened it to a page with a bookmarker and showed the goddess elf that she showed Betha the previous day. This time, it wasn't just a picture. There were details written about her. "Her name's Satoori."

Apollo, Betha, and Gab were mesmerized. Gab touched her picture. "It would be really nice to have a girlfriend like her. She's perfect." He said with a grin, but Apollo responded by rolling his eyes.

"I can't believe you have this book. Somehow, I do feel like she's a famous elf in the mystical world that I might've known as a kid," said Betha.

"She's the Elven Goddess of Sequoia, Keeper of the Cleansing Tree. You said that you accidentally transported under that giant tree for months, right?" Leslie asked.

Betha simply nodded.

Leslie continued, "That was the underworld. It cleanses a mystical creature of one's sins through natural habitat where one is surrounded by nothing but good nature, a world of cleansing plants that withdraws bad intentions and cleanses bad deeds. They are the same leaves of a sequoia tree; except they're underground and hidden from humans. The ones that can cleanse humans are the ones on the tree itself. The leaves of a sequoia tree can cure any illness, so we need access to that tree, except it says here…" She paused and pointed at the details written in the book. "It says here that the leaves are not effective to cure without Satoori's blessing or permission."

Apollo and Gab's attention shifted from Leslie to Betha. Betha read the details and flipped the pages for more. "If I got it correctly, the sequoia leaves in the underworld is for mystical creatures like me while the ones that are on the actual tree themselves are for curing humans of illnesses?"

"Actually, what cleanses mystical creatures aren't the leaves, it's the air surrounded by sequoia leaves that are in the underworld. While for humans, it's the actual leaves," said Leslie. "Also, the difference is that the air from the underworld cleanses a mystical creature of sins, while the actual leaves that are visible to human eyes cleanses physical illnesses."

"Oh." Betha uttered, looking down and feeling shameful.

"What sins were you cleansed of when you were trapped in there, Betha? I'm just curious." Gab casually asked.

Betha looked at Apollo then shifted to Gab and Leslie who were both in front of her. "I was evil." She paused and looked at Apollo's reaction. "I used to be. But not anymore."

Apollo gently lifted both of her hands and kissed them. "No human doesn't commit sins, Betha. And I never, even for a second, ever thought of you as evil."

"But I was. I let so many, many people die, Apollo."

"What do you mean?" Apollo's voice didn't sound condescending, but his curiosity frightened Betha.

Betha felt very sore and tensed as Gab, Leslie, and Apollo observed her. Then, she remembered that they had accepted her without questions despite her banshee side. She thought, they deserve the truth. She took a heavy sigh and rested her elbows on the tea table, hiding her face on the palm of her hands.

Apollo lightly tapped her shoulder. "It's okay, Betha. We'll listen. And that was all in the past, we won't judge you."

"Yeah, we know you're a good person, Betha and we can see that." Gab added as Leslie gave her a quick nod.

Betha sighed then prepared herself to either lift the burden that she had been carrying or break her friendship with three amazing people. "Before I met Apollo, I was a very bad person. I took things that weren't mine. Whenever I transformed into a banshee because someone was in danger, I never attempted to help. I just let them be. So, they all died. And I thought…that was just their destiny. Also, a part of me was taking revenge on humans because my dad was scammed by a human. That despicable man took everything from my family. And he was the reason why my parents got into a car accident. I hated humans after that. And made sure I didn't get close to anyone. I cannot count how many humans I left to die and upon confirming their death, I stole from them – car, clothes, money, jewelry. I took their things and made them my own. In fact, the Hyundai Tucson that I'm driving belonged to a reporter named Ken. I wailed for him. He died. And I stole his car. I'm evil."

"Was, Betha. You were, but…" He paused and gave her a sincere look. "You saved Luke, a dog, a woman who had asthma, and the neighbor who was diagnosed with coronavirus. You saved them, Betha."

"Plus, you have been cleansed of your sins when you protected Apollo. You changed. Or rather, you probably just went back to your own self," said Leslie.

"But at first, I really did want to kiss Apollo to consume his life so that I could get rid of my banshee form. And I saved Luke, the dog, and the woman with asthma not because I wanted to, but because I wanted to show Apollo that I was a good person. It was part of my scheme to make him fall for me."

"But I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. You didn't even have to do anything to make me fall for you."

"Apollo…"

He took her hands and kissed them again. "Your past doesn't make you. Your present does. And look at you all brave and exposing yourself like this. This isn't something an evil person would do. You're a good person, Betha. I'm sure you can feel that, too."

Leslie and Gab gave her an approving smile and Betha let out a little tear that Apollo had to wipe from her face.

"I'm the luckiest banshee in the world." Betha said with a little sniff.

"No, you're the luckiest half human half banshee in the world." Apollo said.

"I guess then…let's start saving the world now, so I can return the favor." She said with a sweet smile.

Leslie stood up, looking so energetic. "Okay! Let's all go to the pentagram." They quickly raised from their seats and followed Leslie. "Or pentacle as I also call it. This is where we transformed Apollo into a dog. It's a consecrated space that allows us to perform a ritual effectively because it protects us from bad spirits and energies, allowing us to give full focus on what we desire to do." Leslie explained to Betha, suddenly remembering that she's a mystical creature. "But then of course, I think you already know that."

"Actually…no. I might be a banshee, but I have been alone for a very long time without any guidance from anyone of my kind so I'm glad you're explaining this."

Leslie smiled. "Truth is, I don't think you need the pentagram because you were able to transport before. Magic is within you. You don't need help from the divine spirits. All you need to do is concentrate by focusing on your desire to transport."

"What? No chanting like we're the charmed ones? No Pru, Phoebe, Piper, and Paige-like chanting?" Gab said as a joke. Apollo just rolled his eyes. Leslie sighed, and Betha let out a soft giggle. Gab was satisfied that at least Betha had a good reaction to his joke.

Betha exhaled. "Okay then. I'm going to do this. I'm going to transport, talk to Satoori, and come back here to save the world with you." Betha said, exuding a smile of confidence. Apollo, Gab, and Leslie couldn't be more proud.

Chapter end