Dues must be paid (Five minutes freewrite)

The sound of coins jiggling in his pocket was the only thing that kept him from losing his mind in that place that no one had ventured before him. Who’d want to go there of their own free will? He alone undertook the journey to the edge of the world because there was no one else to save her. Everybody knew the fate that awaited the penniless once they were unceremoniously sent there, yet no one had had the decency to offer the coins that would have spared her the misery of wandering between worlds forever.
It was his fault as much as theirs. He was away when it happened and there was no one to wash the blood of her rosy cheeks, no one to give Princess at least a clean dress and proper shoes. They all loved Princess, but only at night, when they could summon her to follow in the bushes behind the bar. She was always hungry Princess, she’d do anything for a couple of crumpled bills. ‘Doing a pit-stop’, they called it when they pulled the car in front of the joint where she used to hang out every night. When they found her with her throat slit, no one stopped to say a prayer, no bills were spared to give her a proper burial.
It was up to him now to put things right, if only he could make it there. Word was the place was by a river, yet there was no sign of water in the parched field that lay ahead. Nothing grew. Why would it? The dead have no need for anything.

The boy pressed ahead, urging his feet to move faster. Poor Princess, she must be so frightened, all alone among the damned, those no one mourned their death. But he mourned the loss of that girl, who used to be so sweet when they were kids, the girl who shared stolen apples with him and told him about the life in city she’d visited once, when they took her Mom to the hospital and she never came back. They spent hours talking about the things she was going to do - the fine places where she’d go shopping, the ice-cream she was going to buy with her first money, no the tasteless cones they sold in the village, but real chocolate ice-cream that came in a glass bowl, topped with lots of whipped cream and caramel syrup. Only Princess never made enough money to make it to the city, not after her father threw her out.
It was a little after dawn - if you can call it that in a place with no sun - when he started to hear the moans of the damned. Milling around on the bank of the dirty river, waiting for the ferryman to show up. The army of the dead cried and begged the old man to take them to the other side, but he did not bother to look at them. ‘Dues must be paid!’ he chanted in his droning voice. Truth was the old man was half-blind and all he ever cared for was the sound of coins. That he would hear a mile away and his ears would prickle and his hand would go forth, waiting for the coins to be dropped in his calloused palm.
Princess was sitting by herself, letting a hand trail in the muddy waters she could not cross. She did not wail like the others. It was as if she knew she did not deserve it - she never had anything in life, why would death be any different? When she looked up at him, a dagger went through his heart. Her eyes were empty, like there was nothing left behind them, but when he slipped the coins in her icy hand a small flicker of recognition lit her eyes.
‘It’s me, Princess! It’s Danny!’
He helped her up and walked her to the waiting boat and he could swear her hand was warming up as he held it close in his. He felt her give him a slight squeeze and that instant he knew he was never going to let her go. When the girl paid her due, the boy took the rest of the coins in his pocket and tried to slip them to the blind ferryman. He won’t know anyway. But the beast with its three heads was roused from its sleep by the unfamiliar smell of the living. All the heads of the ferryman’s dog started growling in unison.
‘Be gone, you mortal, it is not your time to cross’, the old man shouted and shoved him hard, back to the bank. He lost hold of Princess, who took her place meekly behind the ferryman. As the old man took his oars, the girl turned her head trying to find him in the crowd of forgotten souls, whose cries became more desperate as the boat was about to leave for the other side. The resting place. He could not hear her above the agony of pleas, but he saw her sweet lips move slowly as in those old soundless movies: ‘Danny!’
When she could not see her anymore, Danny sat down by the river. It was going to be a long wait, but it was worth it.

Story written for @mariannewest's freewrite challenge, today's prompt was: Be gone! Check out her blog and join our freewrite community.

Thanks for reading!

Image is mine.