Darina Grotto
Unlimited

‘You…’

Victoria opened her eyes. There was Kharon’s face with an obvious riddle on before hers.

‘What an interesting dream,’ he whispered. ‘You seem to be coming to yourself.’

The girl carefully moved her fingers and she was so happy when her limbs responded to the call of the brain. She couldn’t help smiling.

‘Kharon’ she said in a strident voice, having understood her organism functioning again. ‘I’ve been so scared.’

‘Hush,’ he put his finger on across her whispering lips, ‘you have no need to speak now, to expend your energies to describe the thing I’ve been watching the whole day.’

Victoria looked at him in surprise. What did he mean the whole day? She thought she was sleeping for ten minutes. Victoria shifted her gaze at the clock and got surprised: it was seven pm. The picture behind the window told the same.

‘7 pm?’ Vic decided to confirm the seeing.

‘No, it’s 58 minutes and 32 seconds to 7 pm. You have to rest. Don’t speak and move.’

‘I need to go to the bathroom.’

‘Bathroom?’ Kharon asked in amaze. ‘Oh, sure. Bathroom!’

He took her in his arms and went to the bathroom.

‘I need to put on.’

‘Why? You look beautiful. When finished your business, call me. I’ll bring you back.’

Touching every inch Victoria was moving forward, holding the wall. Having done her business Vic got into the shower cubicle also by inches of the wall. The night before was too pleasant not to let any tracks which had to be washed off despite she’d like to keep them forever.

Water quietly purled, enveloping the body with cool freshness. Vic had to sit on the floor under the shower as she had no strength to stay but she had to wash herself.

Having heard water sounds Kharon came up to the bathroom door and closed his eyes. He wanted so much to read the girl’s mind, understand and accept it. But her heard nothing. Unconscious instinct of the witch worked well, and the demon realized it. Not knowing Vic hid and closed everything that was on her mind from him. Witches were usually very powerful and strong creatures. However, to have any impact on incubus she had a little strength, but she would obviously try. That was for sure. Kharon didn’t want that to happen. But he didn’t also want Victoria to hide her mind from him. If he said to her that it was her exactly who closed her from him, there would be many questions which the demon wouldn’t like to answer.

A loud crash distracted the demon from thinking. He immediately came into the bathroom. Under the water pressure, having leaned on the glass wall, the girl was sitting with a smile on her face. There were bottles lying around which had fallen with crash.

The demon silently and thoughtfully looked at the smooth legs, holding together, tucked up beneath the girl. The smile was on her face. The stupid one. Shameful eyes yearned him to see her nudeness and by leaps and bounds being afraid of it. Her fingers nervously touched the lying near bottles. Her wet hair, having become different colour, curled because of water, hid the upper part of her body.

Kharon was serious, quiet and pensive. Slightly screwed his eyes up, he was intently looking at the girl’s smile. How much strength she needed to smile? To keep that smile? Why did she do that if she couldn’t almost stand it? She had no energy, it’d been taken away. The died-out site of life fire was still in her eyes, her fingers shook, the heart beat quiet, she had barely energy to take a sigh to fill her lungs with air… And now she was wasting energy to smile.

‘Why are you…’ Victoria closed her eyes, made a pause, exhaled and whispered again, ‘looking at me… like this?’

Her question didn’t sound like a question. If there’d been no “why” Kharon would hardly have got that Vic had asked something.

‘You’re strange people. I’m getting more and more interested – why? Why are you smiling when your heart’s crying?

Kharon squatted down near the girl. She closed her eyes and was about to faint again, relaxing her body as her strength failed her quickly. But she didn’t wipe her smile away.

‘Because it’s always more pleasantly to look at a smile,’ she muttered, throwing back her head, gasping.

Kharon kept silence. He didn’t understand. Who carried what others like? Why did she need to think of it?

‘You have to think of obtaining your energy stores not of smiling. It’d be better and… more logically.’

‘I don’t think…’ a deep inhale. ‘I just wanna smile… at you. Wash me, please, I’m exhausted.’

The girl stopped moving her fingers and got frozen. Then her smile died on her lips. She seemed not to be breathing, looked like a dead. Kharon took the washing spray and directed the gentle water trickles on the weak girl. The goosebumps appeared at once, but Victoria didn’t shiver.

The man carefully raised slightly her head to kiss her wet lips. They were lifeless fully. He wetted her red, grown dim hair again.

‘Every time I touch your head, by force of will I can hear your thoughts streaming in your head… I can hear you want to smile because you’re happy with what’s going on now… But you have no energy to do what you want to. I feel your thoughts speaking impudently and unwittingly, begging me to lay your body in arms of fondling… now. Tell me, Victoria, are you… out of your mind?’

Having heard the question Vic tried to open her eyes, move somehow, deny persecution. But all was for nothing.

‘No, don’t. Don’t speak.’ Kharon stroked her with water then put his hand on her forehead. ‘No, dear, I didn’t mind offending you. Don’t take it so hard. I’m just trying to understand you.’

The demon didn’t take his hand away from her head, reading all the information like if he had been blind touched with his fingers Braille script in a speechless book. Her thoughts were so pleasant for him! He loved her thinking about him, he liked that she liked him. He just liked… But Kharon even didn’t try to get that unusual feeling of love. He had never felt nothing of it and in fact he didn’t understand why he needed it.

Kharon brought the weak girl in the room and got her to bed. For a long time, he was sitting near her, examining the night coming down, made him deep into his thoughts.

He glanced at the sleeping girl and, having grinned, he left home. His interest in everything around him didn’t leave him alone. He wanted to study people…

4

^th

October 2013 (Friday)

A week later after the night spend with almost the Devil Victoria finally felt healthy, found energies and easiness. That was Friday. Victoria was at work, tried to project a new design of company product.

She drew with not stopping, examined fine details and dashes, having no desire to think about anything. She had a well-drown sketch when there was a small envelop in the display corner.

Vic stopped drawing, having torn herself away from the sketch and looked at the blinked envelop.

“What’s that?” was her thought when she thought gritted teeth put the pen aside and started reading message details.

Good morning, Victoria

I inform you that on behalf of the country manager, Gregory Dogmanov, the meeting has been arranged for today at 3 pm. Business-lunch takes place on the 3d floor in “La Esperanza” café. Please, have your laptop with you.

Executive Assistant

Lidia Sviridova”

The girl frowned and read the message again. She didn’t know who Gregory Dogmanov was and what a business-lunch was settled and why her participation was necessary. She got share of distrust and doubt in her mind. What if they were going to dismiss her? On the other hand, the country manager absolutely had something else to do but not to invite potentially dismissed employees to lunches.

The girl let it all hang out and kept on drawing. She bended very low above her sketch, intently scratching details with the plastic pen, which were transferred into the display at once.

Suddenly all stopped. There were no moves. Silence. Victoria didn’t like it ahead of the game. As she was no stranger to when the world stopped moving and it meant a crappy omen completely.

Her eyes became heavy… Victoria resisted but as a result she closed her eyes and turned out to be in some washy hall. Flying through it at a great speed, she tried to see murmurated things. The walls were enweaved of glimpses of strangers’ faces, indoor scenes, multi-coloured lightings and letters. There were many different letters not only in Cyrillic. Everything surrounded flew through Victoria fast-paced. She didn’t have time to catch anything with her eyes, dissolving in the eternal vision stream.

Then all stopped. Again. All was paralyzed. There was an intimate atmosphere. It had a soft semi-darkness, failing light, cosy arm-chairs with cushions. Vic felt sitting in one of the arm-chairs. There was a glass table but not transparent. Napkins, cutlery, salts and casters were carefully served the table.

Relax music sounded, warmed and filled with romantic pictures. There was a female tone. Sugary one. It was so pleasant to listen to it and understand nothing. The song was in French. It was for the better.

In front of her a young man was sitting. No, it was a man. A solid, self-confident one.

He wore a jacket with cuffs, smooth face, straight parting on his head. He seemed to be an ideal and mannered. He had neither imperfection nor defect.

Victoria cocked her head, having frowned, studied the cared-for look man.

‘Victoria’ he stood up and extended his hand. ‘I’m pleased to meet you. I’m Gregory.’

The girl stood up, too and took his hand and smiled having known what to say.

‘Pleasure is mine.’

They both sat to the table. Gregory studied the girl sitting in front of him, she studied his professionally and carefully done nails.

‘I’d like to discuss current situation about the re-design of our main package.’ The man gave the fat paper case to the girl. ‘But let’s begin with our lunch. Lady’s first.’

Gregory gave the menu to the girl also, intently following her with his eyes.

‘Ok.’

Vic was laconic. All the atmosphere confused her a bit. After quick glance at the menu Vic ordered just sea-buckthorn tea.

‘Mr Dogmanov,’ the girl closed the menu and looked at the man’s eyes. ‘I’ve already projected a new design of this product. I was going to send it for your approval. So, as you started talking about it, let me show you some sketches and templates.’

Vic took out her laptop, moved closer to Gregory and opened the laptop.

‘Well let’s see,’ she began, after she had opened the first presentation slide.

Vic spoke a lot, clearly, trying to convey a persuasive message her interlocutor. Unexpectedly she felt his leg touch hers under the table.

That was an accident, she thought. Vic shot a surprised look at Gregory and stopped speaking for a moment.

‘I’m sorry,’ the man smiled. ‘Go on your presentation. It’s very interesting.’

‘…This slide consists of a new form, more advanced that, my opinion, matches the product better than the previous one.’

Gregory watched the presentation of the new project carefully. His lunch was getting cold but they both dipped into the bright display.

‘Wow!’ the man exhaled, having fixed his tie, as Victoria had finished her presentation. ‘I’m really glad that our HR employed you. This project has to be on my table by tomorrow afternoon. I approved it fully and give the go-ahead for realization of each slides.’

The girl couldn’t help smiling, listening to flattered and winy boasting in her way. Words dint fail Gregory when he heaped the girl’s efforts with expressing thanks and enthusiastic shouting. Only the next touch of his leg to hers made Victoria come back to reality.

‘I’m sorry,’ Vic thought she was to blame. ‘I should move back.’

The girl rose quickly when she felt his strong fingers squeezing her wrist.

‘Victoria, please,’ Gregory rose, languishingly looked at her eyes.

Victoria couldn’t believe neither her eyes nor her ears. What was it? The country manager asked her to stay near him… It couldn’t be.

‘I’d like,’ he added, ‘to see another project. Ludmila told me about your initiatives in the field of graphic representation of the product slogan. I’d like to see it. Do you have it?’’

‘Yes,’ the fascinated girl answered, looking into the man’s eyes.

Gregory liked madly liked her look, full of interests, misunderstanding, charming and ambitious to know. What a man wouldn’t like that? There was only one problem which the man had no idea about: Victoria was looking at a woman, standing behind Gregory’s back. Only Vic knew that woman not to be seen by anyone.

The spirit stroked the man’s shoulders, shaking off invisible flecks of dust, motherly touching his back. A smile of pain froze on her lips, the glass tears were on her cheeks. Of course, there was her son before her!

Vic clearly saw every resemblance between them: they both have the same noses, lip lines and plush, eye shape and colour, more looked like European than Russian. Having completely realized that it was a spirit of Gregory’s mother, who carried her favourite son even after the death, Vic finally looked aside, sat and opened her laptop.

‘There are only sketches here they’ve not been dotted and crossed yet.’

‘Ok, I’m ready to follow your ideas.’ Gregory smiled, sitting closer to the girl.

A half of hour had passed before they finished discussing the second project sketches. Gregory made a few simple modifications more likely for form’s sake. Victoria listened patiently to the country manager’s commentaries, finishing her tea with sea-buckthorn.

‘Well, colleague,’ Gregory found himself taking the girl by the hand and smiling.

Vic looked at his smile and more and more understood that his smile had nothing to do with job. It looked like friendly but there were barely noticeable and captured shadows of affection in moderato in value of thirty-second notes.

His hand, tenderly holding her cold, pale and tired fingers just accompanied those shadows in his smile, confirming their existence.

The spirit of the old lady, being worried about her son’s fate, frowned. Vic realized the woman looked exactly at her, straight into her face. Its gaze was unbearably heavy, painful and awful.

‘The Devil’s bride…’ Vic heard the certain whisper.

The girl looked around: people wearing suits, were busy with their lunches, from time to time saying something about business; the woman-spirit studied with a cool stare her son’s hand giving its warmth to the odious girl; songs were in French.

Who said that? Whose whisper was it? A female one? The spirit? No, it couldn’t. Its lips silently compressed.

‘The Devil’s bride…’ the same whisper sounded again.

Victoria got more frowned. She looked at the spirit of the old lady and saw her whitish discorporate hand raise and try to unclasp his fingers which had been still holding Victoria’s hand.

‘No…’ Vic murmured, having noticed being accused with the worried spirit’s eyes.

‘What did you say?’ Gregory looked at the getting nervous girl questioningly.

‘Nothing.’ Vic saw the old woman step behind the back of her son. ‘Nothing,’ Vic repeated.

‘So, I’m glad to have such a specialist working for our company. By the middle of the next week my assistant will have arranged lunch out of office. Prepare the pilot product project with your sketches, put exactly them into project originals and present it to me. Are you ok with the deadline, Vic?’

‘Yes, I’ll manage it, Mr. Dogmanov.’ Victoria adjusted her hair trying not to look at the spirit’s eyes. ‘No problem.’

‘Ok, we should go back and… It’s been a pleasure to work with you personally.’

Victoria cracked a smile and hastened to the exit to turn away from the ghost.

Time started moving again into a hurry. Victoria opened her eyes. She was at her worktop. She had been holding the plastic pen. There was almost finished sketch on the screen. It was fifteen minutes past two.

Then other fail to understand happened. What was that? How did she have to feel about it? Victoria leaned back carelessly in her chair, trying to understand what was going on in her head. Would it ever come to an end? Suddenly it had dawned upon her: it was the very time! She had to run at the meeting… again…

The girl grabbed her laptop and ran to the appointed place, fortunately she had just been there. As she appeared at the restaurant Vic saw the same tables, faces, designs and waiters. Everything was the same she had seen already. Even the music was the same! The question “what the hell” didn’t leave her mind.

There was an identical table, the same cared-for look man whom she had already seen, waiting in great terror if all the other that had been in her vision, was going to happen.

To her horror every second of her prediction happened… even the foreseeable appearance of the old lady’s spirit, followed mannered Gregory whom, despite his high-status in the company, Vic didn’t like at all.

The only thing that didn’t come true was the label “The Devil’s bride”. That certainly calmed the girl down, obviously her subconsciousness took the decision to make fun of her.

After the meeting had been finished, Vic tried to subdue her jitters in her legs and hands, being happy that her vision and the reality were just a coincidence and that’s all.

Staying in the hall, Gregory looked at Vic with the smile while she was losing herself in the corners of her mind, had no idea how to behave.

‘Have a good day,’ he said.

‘Thanks… you too…’ Vic turned back and went to her work place.

‘The Devil’s bride…’

The girl stopped dead. Having turned around she saw in the lobby the same old woman’s ghost. It stayed and intently looked at scared Victoria.

‘What did you say?’ Vic asked out of foolishness.

The old woman silently raised her hand and wagged her finger at Vic after she disappeared.

Vic was paralyzed. For the whole time of being with the demon she had got over that she could always see something or someone other couldn’t. She didn’t know what exactly she saw – spirits, ghosts or something unknown. But the girl couldn’t get over the fact that those guys started speaking with her and not just speaking but labelling her.

‘Kharon,’ she whispered on the phone after she had heard the man’s voice. ‘Meet me at 6.30 near Barrikadnaya metro station.’

‘Your voice is very odd, dear.’ The demon said puzzled.

‘It is probably, I need to talk to you.’

‘Oh, why? I’ve never had any serious talk before. How am I supposed to react? Wait, keep silence. A serious talk… Well. The word serious doesn’t cause any positive thoughts if to put it logically. Hey, Vic, what’ve I done?’

Despite of her being in panic, Vic smiled. Guessing Kharon distracted her from her thoughts of the ill-fated old woman.

‘You haven’t. That’s not so bad. Just meet me, ok?’

‘As you wish. How do you feel, love?’

‘Love?’ Vic smiled again.

‘You’re so…like me, asking about every word I tell.’ Kharon smiled, too. ‘I got you. At 6.30 near Barrykadnaya metro station. I bet I’ll guess the carriage you’re gonna be in.’

‘Try your best.’ Vic almost forgot about the accident at work.

The memories were destroyed with the pictures of Kharon’s face. His nice smile and gentle gaze conduced the girl’s sooner rehabilitation.

Vic heard the phone hang up, grinned and already looking forward to meeting.

At that time Kharon was walking along the city, revelling in the view of streets and beautiful women, persistently collecting all information about human behaviour. Ideally curiosity made him flirt with girls, using all conceivable and inconceivable tricks to see what would happen next. He was interested in reading their minds and he liked to listen to their voiced answers. He had fun.

“By accident” he stepped on some girl’s foot, stumbled and almost fell. She was about to attack the awkward man, say him many bad words. But Kharon started twittering in Spanish that he was so sorry to be so an awkward not to notice the girl while he had been seeing the sight of Bolshoy Theatre vault.

The girl immediately smiled, having forgotten about her dirty suede shoe. Kharon went on saying sorry in bad Russian. Of course, his foreign splendid accent, innocent eyes, beauty of his face played its role.

The next conclusion was drawn: Russian women weren’t so angry as they wanted to look like. Their mean faces very fast turned into bright smile with sincerity and they were already ready to help. Kharon saw it better than any other men. The sexual energy he had, charmed women when they were awakened.

To other couple, that had drawn the demon’s attention with its passionate kisses in the middle of Alexandrovsky Sad, Kharon said that he could predict everything. He turned into a blind old man, took the girl by the hand and whispered in a hoarse voice:

‘The wedding is on 10^th of October.’ Looking at nowhere, strongly holding her hand, the demon was reading her mind. ‘You’re waiting for the wedding. Everything is bought. He’s your fiancé. But he has a mistress already.’

The man got pale and contradicted, banishing the old man from his sight not to let him talk nonsense. The demon insidiously smiled, his eyes flashed which had nothing in common with old age and kept on telling some things that nobody could have known but the couple themselves.

Indeed, the tear-stained girl punched him with the thorn roses in the face, threw away the ring and ran home in tears.

‘You, freakish old grumbler…’ he hissed, clenching his fists.

‘You’re gonna be an impotent in a year, young man,’ the demon predicted in a sepulchral voice.

Having had fun with the passer-by Kharon went down in metro as crowded as a can with sprats. People went home, tried to smile, pretend they were fun and glad the day was over. By the way they didn’t forget to shout at others, having wolf-looks, hated them.

When the carriage was at Kuznetsky Most a great crowd invaded into and Kharon turned to be almost at the very corner. There was a nice-looking girl before him, and she looked at everything around with understanding in her eyes. Her shoes were stepped on, someone pushed her, but she thought that it was ok, none of those were on purpose.

The demon was too close to her and without hesitation staring at her face. It had sadness and sorrow a bit and some desperation. Kharon saw her eyelashes freeze, her eyes were staring ahead at his chest.

The door opened and more people got into the carriage, pushing and kicking each other. The demon had time to set his hand against the wall not to let him press the girl.

‘Unbelievably…’ he said quiet looking at her scared eyes.

Looking at her face you could see the girl waited for the man to be about to fall at her with his body, tramp her foot or make a nasty trick. Her eyes got scared while Kharon’s eyes smiled.

The train steamed out of the station and people mechanically waved aside but the demon kept his hand against the wall not letting large-tonnage wave come down on the girl. The smile played across his lips while he was looking at the understandable confusion.

The girl tried not to stare at the man who was heroically covering her with his body. In the glimmering of the carriage Kharon gazed her cheeks were overspread with a faint flu and her eyes looked lower.

Using his position and potential coming closer together the demon moved to her. He did so close he could feel warmth of youth. The girl felt too the atmosphere and lifted her eyes.

‘I’m sorry.’ He said quiet slightly bowed to her.

The train was running down, and the wall of passengers leaned upon the demon’s back. He, of course, couldn’t hold himself such pressure and the crowd bumped him into the girl.

Instead of screaming and going into hysterics the girl smiled and turned to the door in the glass of which leaned on her demon was reflected.

Daria… The demon closed his eyes and let the thought stream so uninteresting break into his head…. I’d like to go in this way eternally… Mine is incapable of anything like this… Cans are on his head… the cell is in his hands… here the stranger is like a protection from everything. I don’t wanna you go out…

“Go out” came Kharon back to reality, letting out the girl’s thoughts from his head. He shifted his eyes to get what the station was.

‘This is Barrikadnaya station, change here for the orbital link…’

Kharon smiled once again, glanced at the girl interested and left the train.

He was in the middle of the station having his eyes closed and listened. No. He didn’t listen to neither people nor unceasing clatter and chatter around, mechanical voices… He tried to listen to her.

Then some visions flew one by one: an intimate atmosphere, a pub, café, restaurant. He couldn’t understand what a place was it, but he knew a place to eat. Victoria. A man was confused. An ambitious precisionist. What his name was G…Georgy… Gregory… It started with G… He wore a grey shiny suit. His hair carefully done… Supper. Business lunch. Some food. Something whitish. Who knew what was it exactly? But it could move. That wasn’t a human. No heart, discorporate. A spirit. Female energy. Fear. There were Victoria and her fear. Why?

The demon read the girl’s visions who was coming to meet him. The closer she was the better he could see what she had seen.

Kharon turned back and headed to the head car coming from the centre. Yes. The closer he came up the better he could get Victoria was in the very carriage. Her crazy energy… the energy of the witch gave itself away and Kharon could feel it coming closer to the doors.

The man stopped near a supposed carriage and stared at the wall where like on TV he could see the train rush in the tunnel. In several seconds bright light showed out from the hole. Kharon smiled.

The train was running down at the station, the man stepped back, hiding in the crowd. The train stopped, the doors, near which Victoria had been staying, opened and a hand appeared before her.

‘How do you do this, ah?’ Vic asked with obvious smile of admire.

‘You, dear, stream through my body. I can feel your every atom and neuron. By the way, I’m glad that your mood has been enhanced as you see me and I can hear now a pleasant tune of your voice. I wish you hadn’t remembered the lunch with that man… But this is what you’re gonna speak about, isn’t it?’

‘That’s impossible, Kharon. You can’t just so unceremoniously dig in my mind. We’re gonna have nothing to speak about if you keep on reading my mind. Shall we go outside?’

‘Actually, I didn’t read.’ Kharon led the girl through the crowd. ‘I’ve almost stopped being able to do it. I can still see your past by bright and picturesque images. I can still feel your feelings. Why were you confused with the invitation from that man?’

They were at the long moving staircase. Kharon was on the lower step, embracing the girl. Being only in his arms she could relax totally, let everything be as it was, without interfering in anything, thinking of nothing. Only his arms could help her to distract from all the world and make her think only of him. She desired to think of his warm, gentle hands, stroking her back under the jeans jacket with no stopping.

‘It scared me.’ Vic put her arms around him, having laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

‘Scared? Don’t you like surprises?’ he took up the girl and careful brought her from the moving staircase.

‘I don’t.’ Vic said the truth, coming ahead in the street while Kharon was holding the door for her.

‘It wasn’t the one for him, indeed.’ The demon followed her and at once it started drizzling like the thinnest needles falling on his face from the sky.

Victoria was staring at the sad sky, feeling its tears on her face.

‘It’s raining…’ she whispered, and something brought her into a country of illusions and dreams.

The demon held her strong in his arms, trying to protect from raining. Being under his arm, she felt like a peregrine falcon nestling under its mother’s wing.

‘I’ve heard that raining in the human world is very romantic event for lovers. This is romanticism, dear!’

‘True. But it’s not for everyone. There’s a touch of romanticism for both of us but there’s no any for these who are pushing and cursing us. I wanted to walk home…and it’s raining. Are you so romantic Kharon to walk in the rain? I know it’s not so warm and tender as the summer one, but it’s good anyway when you’re with me.’

‘We can find out about romanticism of my… soul,’ Kharon looked at her.

‘What are we waiting for then? Come on!’ Vic grabbed his hand and hurried to the Garden Ring Road.

They walked put arms on each other, stepping on the Garden Ring Road, trampled by the times. It was still raining but was ready to leave with no breaking down the lovers. People ran under umbrellas, constantly bumping into each other with their umbrellas. Vic didn’t care! Rain. Snow. People. The world. The planet. Was there any point to see all of those? All lived in its own circle. This circle had been before Victoria was born and it was going to be after she was dead. The only thing she would hardly have was the man. But at that time he was walking near her.

‘Didn’t you want to know the man whom you had lunch with?’ Kharon asked being curious.

‘To ask how you can know is stupid… I think I didn’t because I don’t like him, I don’t feel anything for him and the only man in my mind is you.’

‘I know, dear. But, how to put it right… He’s a human. You have more chances to live like a human with him.’

Vic stopped, came up to Kharon and looked at him with indescribable fear and despair in her eyes.

‘Tell me the truth, Kharon.’ She asked quietly. ‘Will I have a chance to live like a human with anyone after that night on 26^th of September? Will I be able to love a human as I love you? Will he be able to give me what you do? Tell me, Kharon. Don’t be silent!’

‘Are you giving up for lost? You’ll be only 23 on 16^th of September 2015 and now you’re speaking about your future and abilities to love?’

‘I don’t wanna give up but I’m a realist. You are the most perfect happiness that could ever happen to me for my eternal life. I regret nothing and moreover I’m not gonna be regretful about your appearance in my life.’

‘You know, dear, you have to live with people a bit to answer your question now… Honestly I don’t know what to say, what I have to say…’