Soul

     Cecilia was just any other ordinary person. 

     Twenty-three, Irish, lives in New York City, runs an Italian restaurant in downtown New York called ‘The Seaside View.’ Her most famous dish was the Underwater Pasta, which was basically a seafood pasta made with a special secret sauce.

     Today, Cecilia was out collecting ingredients to make her special, secret sauce. What made it so special was that not all of the ingredients could be found at the average grocery store or farmer’s market. She needed to go to some very…peculiar places to gather said ingredients.

     Cecilia was just making her way down Baker Lane when a paper came out of nowhere and flew smack right into her face.

     “What the—?” Cecilia pulled the newspaper out of her face, glaring at it irritatedly before she noticed the headlines.

     Breaking News: Murders Occurring Mysteriously on Manhattan Island! Scientists and Investigators Stunned By Unknown Cause of Death!

     Cecilia pursed her lips together as she began reading through the incredulous tale of a series of murders occurring in Manhattan Island. Apparently dead bodies had been found in alleyways, but the weirdest thing was that none of them had any stab marks, wounds, illnesses, poisons, or anything that could have caused their death. They were in perfect, healthy condition—other than the fact that they were dead.

     Scientists, police, investigators, doctors, and basically anyone involved in the cases were utterly perplexed at their cause of death. What possibly could kill a person if there was no damage done to the people themselves? That was apparently the new buzz in the scientific community.

     Cecilia let out a chortle, throwing the newspaper down on the ground carelessly. Who could care less about a mysterious cause of death? The investigators just weren’t being thorough enough; that was the problem. If they looked closer, then the cause of death would be as clear as day. It was inevitable! 

     Ah, yes. But let’s not get distracted. Cecilia had a job to do.

     Taking a subway to Manhattan Island, Cecilia made her way to a local funeral parlor. It might seem like an odd place for collecting ingredients—wait, no. She was not using human body parts as the ingredients. What a preposterous idea! 

     The ‘Grim Reaper’ was a family business run by Cecilia’s older sister, Ember. Cecilia merely had to drop in and discuss something with Ember, and she would be on her way.

     A silver bell jingled as Cecilia pushed open the door to the funeral parlor. Behind a desk sat her sister Ember, who was currently writing something down on paper…ugh, the ever so despicable paperwork. Despite working at a restaurant, paperwork was still inevitable.

     Ember looked up to see who it was, and dropped her pen in surprise when she saw Cecilia. She broke into a beaming smile.

     “Cecilia!” She greeted. “How have you been lately? Sorry I haven’t dropped by to visit, I’ve been rather busy lately.”

     “It’s alright.” Cecilia reassured warmly. “I’m here to gather ingredients for a sauce. Tell me, do you know of a place in the city where the pigeons don’t look?”

     “Well, the area near Sandy Street is pretty deserted.” Ember replied, recognizing the code words instantly. “I think you should check over there.”

     “Thanks a lot, sis!” Cecilia thanked, before walking into one of the vacant rooms in the funeral parlor. Now comes the fun part.

***

     Ember wasn’t kidding when she said Sandy Street was deserted.

     The older neighborhood’s streets were practically empty of people. Trash was littered everywhere, dust and brackish water gathered in unsuspecting corners. A perfect place to gather ingredients for the sauce.

     Cecilia spotted one lone victim…err, candidate. He looked as inconspicuous as ever. Nobody would notice if he were to disappear from the streets. Perfection!

     A few moments of silence.

     Then, a flute’s melody rang out across the street.

     The man glanced around, confusion glazed across his chocolate brown eyes. After a minute or two, he managed to pinpoint the sound, which was coming from between the local dentist and a pawn shop. Entranced by the sweet melody, he wandered into the alleyway without a second thought.

     Cecilia smirked, stopping the flute sound. She jumped down into said alleyway, and pulled out some very special tools; a pair of silvery steel, gem encrusted tweezers, and a small glass bottle. Cecilia stepped up to the man, closed her eyes, and clasped her tweezers shut.

     When she opened her eyes again, a golden liquid was clutched within the tweezers.

     Very delicately, Cecilia pulled out the golden strand of liquid, and pulled it inside the tiny bottle. She glanced back to the man, whose chocolate brown eyes grew lifeless right before her eyes. Like all her other victims, they faded from the rich shade to a dull, pupil-less gray.

     The man slumped down onto the ground, all traces of life gone from his body.

***

     One cup of homemade tomato sauce, one clove of garlic, a few sprigs of parsley, and a pinch of salt. Cecilia never made her sauce recipe exactly the same; sometimes, she would add additional ingredients to boost one aspect of the flavor, sometimes she would take away another ingredient just for experimentation. But there was one ingredient that she always added into the sauce, and it was always the same amount.

     At the very end, Cecilia would add in two tablespoons of a human soul.

     Cecilia was the kind of person that cared more about the results than the process. She knew that her secret ingredient had a…difficult…and dangerous harvesting process, but the look of delight on her customer’s faces when they ate the pasta was worth it all.

     Just as Cecilia was putting the premade sauce into the fridge, her phone buzzed with a new notification. Curious, she opened it up, to see it was a notification from a newspaper that she had subscribed to.

     Breaking News: Secret to Deaths Discovered! What Exactly is a Soul?

     Cecilia let out a long, weary sigh. So the scientists and doctors had finally figured out the mystery behind her victims’ deaths. But that wouldn’t stop her; nobody knew anything about the soul-extracting process, other than her, anyways.

     Sometimes, it was worth it all to risk the fall.