Undertow Page #5

the ferryman of the dead?

According to a legend,

when you pass into the realm of the dead...

your spirit has to pay passage

to cross the river Styx into Hades.

You have to pay Charon.

He's the ferryman. He's this winged demon.

The price, one gold coin per soul.

If you don't have a coin...

then you're condemned to wander

the banks of the river for 100 years.

Like in hell?

No.

Just waiting.

A long time ago,

my father went for a walk to the river.

At the ferry crossing, he sees this old

Mexican ferryman, all dressed in rags...

pays him a nickel, crosses over,

doesn't think much of it.

When he gets home,

he reaches his hand in his pocket...

and pulls out a gold coin

that hadn't been there before.

But my dad couldn't stop thinking

about that poor man.

How much food that coin would buy.

So the next day, he crosses the river again.

He gives the man a gold coin.

The man thanks him

and takes him across the river.

But when he got home, he reaches in...

and now he's got two gold coins.

Same thing happened the next day,

and the day after:

Five coins.

Then 10, and 20 and 40. On and on.

His pockets grew fat.

Then one day, the river dried up...

the ferryman was gone

and never came back.

My dad said he thought that was Charon.

And that he was paying the living...

what he kept from the dead.

That's why I saved them all this time.

Those coins are cursed.

They're the debt the dead had to pay.

If they're worth so much, why don't you

just sell them so we can get rich?

I pawned one off last year

to buy that station wagon.

You see what a pain in the ass that's been,

it went to prove my point.

There are demons.

And they got a sick sense of humor.

Go on, now. Get washed up, you sculp.

Dad, why was Deel in jail?

Before our parents died...

he got some bad news that upset him.

It was something I did.

I let my brother down.

But I'm not proud of it.

He came to find me for a reason.

What are you doing?

Dressing up in your clothes.

Pretending I'm you.

Your boots are a little

too big, though, honestly.

- I thought things were good between us.

- You lied to me, John. I knew it.

Always twisting things around

so you come out on top.

I show up and you got a second chance?

Well, I never had a first chance.

You and the old man saw to that.

First my girl, now my money.

Everything that belongs to me is here.

Don't bring Audrey into this.

You brought her into it.

When I was pinned down.

When I walk into my own bedroom

and see you with my girl.

Seen you with her, John!

That's right.

She's an old case and you won, John.

But Chris is my son

and you've always known that.

Get out of my house.

I can't let this go, John.

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