“Oh,” was all he said.
The nurse brought me a tray of food. It was meatloaf, mashed potatoes, a side of steamed vegetables, and a cup of Jell-O. It was dinner time then. They always served me the same thing for dinner.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Do you need anything else, Esmeralda?” she asked, throwing Charlie a quick smile.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“All righty then. Holler if you change your mind.” Then she left.
I pulled the tray closer and plucked the Jell-O cup from its designated square. I tossed it at him. He caught it despite his deceptively empty stare.
Turning the cup over in his hands, Charlie asked, “What’s this for?”
“I ain’t a fan of eating alone.” I peeled open the plastic utensil packet that came with the meal and handed him the spoon. It took him a while but he eventually accepted it.
Then we ate in silence.
“My aunt gave me back my phone,” I said when I was halfway through the meatloaf.
The right side of his mouth curled while he dug around the Jell-O cup. “Oh yeah? What have you been listening to?”
I told him.
April 25th, 1950
Why do we deny ourselves the intimacy of friends? Our fellow immortals, I’m sure, have friends. They can use modern makeup to appear older and look just like their aging neighbors and thus create their empires amongst the mortals.
I do get lonely from time to time. I never tire of Dymeka’s company, of course. However, there are times I wish we didn’t have to separate ourselves from society. I am not entirely certain how people live these days. I have seen glimpses of their culture by reading their news and their contemporary novels from time to time. This is primarily due to the need to exist inconspicuously. I know enough of current culture to know I do not need to live like them but I desire greatly to know them. Dymeka tells me he feels the same at times but his fear of discovery keeps us moving.
We have not the heart to engage in society yet, but perhaps we can engage with the only being who understands us. Our immortal gift giver: Death. We have decided, for the first time in our existence, to seek Death out. Perhaps we can find a way to communicate with her. We have been unable to find her since our one and only encounter when we were young, sitting around our fire, reveling in our odd and wondrous life. Yet even then, Death appeared to us. She was shrouded in light, brighter than our fire, and spoke in a strange voice. And then she vanished. We have felt something similar to Death’s presence only a few times since that day.
But it was always quick and fleeting. We believe it is Death visiting someone nearby. We only suspect this because someone has been found dead soon after. This is all speculation, of course. There is no concrete evidence to gather.
In a perhaps vain attempt, we intend to seek Death out through religious sources. We heard a tale of a monastery in northern Europe that had dealings with Death. It is most likely a fairytale. But it is all we have. We, after all, are something of fairytales. Perhaps there is reason to hope a fairytale could provide us with answers.
It is exciting to set sail back to Europe with a new quest. Wandering the earth for pleasure has been exceedingly rewarding but there are things yet to learn. We had not searched for knowledge on our journey around the world, only experiences. Perhaps knowledge holds the key to attaining our inner desires.
Chapter 17
Charles
I stopped short when I came to Uncle Vic’s desk and saw Vanessa Burkley sitting there instead. It had been almost two years since she’d been allowed to shadow my uncle, but I still wasn’t completely comfortable around her. It bothered Jasmine that Ms. Burkley tried so hard to be friends with us. It bothered me that she was so into my uncle. Older people weren’t supposed to fall in love. It was gross.
She must’ve noticed me hovering because she finally looked away from the computer screen to smile at me. “Hey, Charlie. What’s up?”
“I was hoping to get a ride to the hospital. Is Vic going to be out for a while?”
Vanessa hooked a thumb behind her. “He went to talk to our soon-to-be senator. The latest victim Jazzy led us to turned out to be Mr. Ward’s campaign lawyer, and you know what your uncle always says. One’s an accident, two is a coincidence, but three—”
“Is a pattern,” I said with a nod. “So whoever’s doing this is definitely after the mayor, er, senator’s secrets.”
“Or they’re trying to intimidate him out of the election. Either way, your uncle couldn’t avoid meeting with him any longer.” Vanessa woke up her phone with a tap of her finger and peered down at the screen. “He called about a half hour ago to have me put out a BOLO on a pair of potential suspects. He said he was on his way so he should be walking in right…about…” She swiveled in her chair to stare at the front doors, which were barely visible down the aisle between desks and behind the reception counter. “Now.”
The doors did open, but only to admit a pair of cops who were dragging some handcuffed delinquents inside.
“Well, he should be here soon,” Vanessa said with less enthusiasm as she turned back to face me. “He probably just got caught in traffic.”
“Probably. I’ll wait for him downstairs.” I managed a half smile and stepped back. “Thanks for the update.”
Pushing against the armrests, she rose. “So who’s this girl you keep visiting?”
I bit back the first response that came to mind, which was “none of your business,” and tried to remember that she was only looking for a way to connect with me. Besides, she was
