1
Wheezing came out of my mouth, heavy coughing filled with viscous fluid. The doctor's told me that this time, they could pump my lungs, but it wasn't going to do any good. They'd just fill back up in a matter of days.
I was terminal.
Cystic Fibrosis was something I'd dealt with my whole life, and I always had it in my head that I'd beat it. That someday they'd come up with a cure, a better type of treatment, and all I had to do was live my life, doing what I wanted, and eventually it'd come along. In the time being, I'd take the three times a year week-long lung pumping, to get the fluid out, as a much needed 'vacation' from elementary school, middle, high, and then on through college.
Not this time.
As I sat in the white-sheeted hospital bed, all I could think about were the times I spent putting myself through an education, all the essays, the worry over grades, and I still wasn't done. I had two more years to complete.
I guess... that wasn't happening.
My family was close, in the hospital somewhere. They had to leave for awhile. They couldn't take the news, and my inability of not wanting to continue they couldn't quite respond to.
On my end, I knew what 'terminal' meant. I'd rather do myself a favor, and let the disease take me than live only one more year struggling through pain, getting my lungs pumped every other day, only to die shortly later.
I'd be in the hospital for a year, unable to do school work, unable to date, to have a life. How was I suppose to do college when I'd be in consistent, increasing pain? Why would I want to consistently be in pain for a year, only to die?
My plan? Write a will. I didn't have a lot, but I had accumulated some money and possessions, and at the end of the week, I'd call it done, and I'd let death naturally take me, when it was supposed to.
Life. Done. It was my time. I accepted.
After thinking about it, after all the work, I wanted nothing more than rest, an eternal one.
"Hallo there."
The sudden surprise of a voice set me to coughing, and I held a kleenex to my mouth, letting yellow fluid envelop it before setting the used tissue to my side, crunched into a ball. My head rolled slowly to the right in my room, and beyond the mesh turquoise curtain was a blurry figure. I rubbed my eyes, and what came into focus was... not what I expected.
My voice cracked, as if I was a 13 year old boy. "Who are you?"
A clown? I had never seen a man wear so much... pink. Magenta?
"Mephisto. How do you do?" He bowed.
"Are you gunna ask me if I want a balloon dog?" I erupted in a fit of hacks, so loud I felt they could vibrate off the walls. It was horrible. He was kind and walked over, swishing the mesh curtain aside, and poured me a glass of water. I sipped out of it.
"That isn't gunna help much. But thanks." I took it. "I'm... I'm sorry. My predicament has left me slightly bitter. I didn't mean to offend you."
"He waved his gloved hand like it wasn't a big deal.
"So, I don't want a poodle, I'd rather have a shark."
His voice sounded once again, there was a distinct twinge of 'foreign' in it, at least foreign to America. "How am I supposed to do that?" Was his coy response, he just smiled twisting a finger around his thin jet-black beard.
"With a balloon?" I wheezed out.
He started chuckling, obviously completely bemused by my responses somehow. "What is this fascination with balloons? How perplexing."
I stopped sipping and he took the glass out of my hand kindly for me and sat it on the table next to my bedside.
"Wait. You aren't a clown?"
He laughed louder this time as the bottom of the glass made contact with the table. He stopped stroking his beard, and squished his top hat down some, and swished his cape, and underneath of it put a balled fist on his hip, jutting it out. Quite an exaggerated pose.
"Why! No!" He stood like a proper Renaissance gentleman in an oil portrait, all kingly-looking, chin and nose held in high regard.
Something struck me: "Do you even work for the hospital?"
My heart started pumping, I felt unsafe. His posture, the attire he wore, the way his eyes were so... green. In full daylight he looked goofy, but I twinged at his mystery. His tone of voice felt slippery, beckoned my attention, but put me on edge. My hands raced around my form as fast as they could, weakly searching for the 'nurse button'.
Found it!
Then it jerked out of my hands, literally ripped out of them, like I was hanging from a building on a rope and suddenly let go, I felt the cords smoothly and swiftly go away. It was dangling in his palm above my head, and he was standing over me, slightly bent at the waist, staring at me.
"If you're going to kill me, do it already." I wasn't sure why my mind immediately jumped to that, but it seemed appropriate, seeing what this man just did.
"Tsk tsk." He spoke words that were natural human sounds, swinging the wire like a pendulum for a few more seconds above my head.
Was he teasing me? But then, that was false because he flicked it away and it landed in the armchair next to the table my glass of water sat on beside my bed. Completely. Out. Of. Reach.
"What do you want?" My eyes met his probing ones. Petrified, but also curious as hell.
"Hee, he." Again he turned natural laughing into word. It was... strange. "Cynthia Lynnette Baker... am I right?"
"I nodded, he proceeded to take off his gloves and crack his knuckles, right above my head. It was like he didn't know the definition of a personal bubble, and was completely ignoring mine.
"Could. Could you... cut that out?" I grunted.
He stopped immediately and put his hands on the bed railing. "So, you went to school for chemistry?"
"Yeh, went. I suppose you could say 'I went'." I accepted the usage of past tense. My eyes moved back and forth, and I could feel a slight heat coming to them. It was like he could sense it.
His voice exuded an air of cooing, "Now. Now... What else did you study?"/p
"Why all the questions?" I started to cough badly again, and he handed me a box of kleenexs. I took it. I needed it.
"Soon enough."
I stared through a fit of coughs that made my throat raw and sore. I was kind of angry. How is that answering anything? Exactly what it was: It wasn't. I didn't like playing games.
"You don't have anything to lose by telling a kind stranger what you studied in college... especially since you're in this position... do you?"
"And my question for you is... what do you have to gain from it?"
A deep smirk formed across his lips, and something about it wasn't humorous. It was... dark. As if he got some sort of high out of my response. Those thin lips added to some sort of suave persona, I swore I seen his eyes darken by a shade, and for only a small fraction of a second did I see a quick instance of incredibly white teeth. Then his mouth snapped shut. Quick.
"Mm. You're perfect." He hoisted himself up off of the rails, slowly, cat-like, and began pacing the room slowly, as if strolling in a park and he began to speak, and me, being numb from that response, and from my ailment, had no choice except to sit here and listen to him.
"You see, I know you. I know who you are." He talked with his un-gloved hands, lanky fingers. "I just wanted to confirm. Make sure you were who you are. Come girl, I knew you went to college for Chemistry, I know you studied Demonology... out of self interest." The sides of his mouth kind quirked in slightly, a small twirk of a smile. "I know you graduated 5th in your class in high school. Your father's name is Max, and your mom's name is Sharry. You're late brother's name was Will."
My face felt... red. That was never something I wanted to discuss... with anyone. Ever. He had died, and it destroyed me. My mouth moved the spit around, for some reason my mind wished I could punch the guy. Bite him.
"You played Alice in your elementary play, even though you kicked and screamed because you wanted to be the Mad Hatter."
I snuffed. "You look like the Mad Hatter."
"Why! Thank you!" He swished his cape, a shiny filigree pattern of different shades of pink caught the light, and created different spots of orbs across the room.
Was he just behaving like an adult, and then behaving like a child? Did he have a disco ball for clothing? Was he ever going to take any of my insults seriously?
Rather than snickering, I was appalled! This man... "You're a lunatic! You better not hurt my family! Don't you dar..."
"Shh." He put a chilly pointer finger across my mouth, and I tried to bite him as scared thoughts shot my mind in a thousand directions. He chuckled moving his finger away.
Wha? What?! Wa.. was he? Just over there! He! Had I just?! I just seen him, he was just over there! ON the OTHER SIDE!
I froze. What'd I just see?! Were my eyes telling the truth?! His face, his breath, right next to my cheek. It was unsightly. I tried to leach away, and he let me some.
"oo Sorry. Pastrami on rye! Delicious." His voice was svelte.
How could he be that smooth with breath that bad? It was like he knew what I was thinking. He was good at reading body language.
"So, I have a proposition for you."
I remained silent, he just softly spoke into my ear, sending chills through my spine. The way he laid across my bed reminded me of a sleepover I had had when I was young, when we made a blanket fort, and we all laid around all over each other under it, just rolling around and laughing like idiots.
"Let's be honest... shall we be... Cyn... thia?" Breathy.
I coughed abruptly. My body was freaking out. He just blinked quickly in response, then continued staring at me, even though he was on the side of me, whispering in my ear, I could feel his emerald orbs jamming into my skin, probing the features of my face, looking up and down, back and forth, breathing. Hot.
It was uncomfortable.
"I know your dying Cynthia."
Air came out of my nose.
"You know you're dying."
I suppressed another hacking cough.
"Since I know your life, I know what you truly want... let me make you a deal."
It was all so heated... this conversation. It was the proximity. The closeness. I whispered in response, watching the birds outside my window attempting to mentally escape from this. "You have no idea what I want."
"Oh?" He breathed a quick puff of air from his nose this time and it blew right into the inside of my ear. "Let me tell you then."
I swallowed.
"You don't want to die. You simply don't have an option... a choice. You were met with a decision, but not much of a decision, seeing you know it was futile either way. You chose to give up. Am I right?"
My bottom lip proded out in defiance.
He chuckled at it. "Mm. So... I am right."
"I'm terminal... what the FUCK else do you expect?" My words were ice. This guy was pissing me off, and I was reaching my edge of tolerance.
"Ah. There we go. That firey spirit. It reminds me of someone else. Make sure you keep that. It's useful."
I jerked my head away and turned to face him with a huge scowl. Confused. His eyes looked not surprised at all, they looked heavy.
"What if I tell you it doesn't have to end this week?"
"What are you? Some person with incredible wealth that has a cure that medical science doesn't offer? Why me?" My heart actually leap in hope, only for a second.
"Oh. No."
I grunted and turned away from him again.
"Your disease is natural... and human. The severity of it can't be cured I'm afraid."
Confused. His choice of words, didn't make a lick of sense. He spoke as if he was withholding information, dangling it just above my reach of knowledge, like he had that damn nurse button. Again. The games. I hated it.
"Would you be straight-forward already?" I crossed my eyes, and narrowed my lids, not looking at him, letting him know I was disgusted.
"Okay." I could hear the sound lips make when they smile. "You're body is going to die." He paused. "But your soul won't."
I turned to face his intense, cool look. "The fuck are you talking about?"
"Mm. So mouthy. Yep, you certainly are the one. Supernatural studies in the human world are so vague."
My mouth fell open. "What?!"
He head cricked to the side, and winked. "You heard me... they're vague." He stroked his beard again, and the way his fingers moved through it was atypical. Sort of... sensual. He then snatched up my glass of water and took a huge drink from my glass. My mouth (that I had just been hacking lung fluid out of) had just been on that! "I bet you never learned much about the afterlife." He spoke from inside it. He chugged.
I looked at it. He raised an eyebrow in response and lifted it making a gesture with his palm, as if to ask if I wanted it now.
"No! Ew." Yuck. My mind kept teetering. I would start to think this person was malicious, then I he would do something that grossed me out, or annoyed me. Then something would come out of his mouth that'd wipe that away and replace it with some kind of heated feelings of just being in the presence of a half decent-looking, mysterious man.
"So! The after life. Souls! How they're created? Shall we?" Sudden strange German accent. Cartoonish. "Let me tell you what you'll never learn on your own... souls are real." His index finger shot up as-a-matter-of-factly. "And, originally there weren't very many, but they multiply... very much like bodies themselves." He suddenly pinched my cheek.
"OW! Get off!" I threw up an elbow near his face.
"Ooo! Hee hee!" He let go.
"What? This is ridiculous! Are you some religious nutbag er what?"
"Oo ha! Heh!"
I was entertaining him.
"Ahahah. All I've heard from you..." He mimicked my voice in a voice that didn't even sound like me. "'Who are you? Why are you here? What? What. That's dumb.' The question you should be asking is 'How?'"
I bit. "Fine. How?"
"Ah ha! So... souls are naturally occurring, collected masses of energy that allows your body to 'be alive'. With help of the soul, the body can live. Without each other... it isn't impossible, but it is sad. It's a much needed brotherhood, or shall I say sisterhood... bonding."
"Something just occurred to me. "What did you mean by 'human world'?"
"Oh! Assiah! We're in it silly!"
"Are you saying..." My breath caught in my throat. "Hell... exists?"
"Mmm... no?" He stoked his beard on my bed, laying across the bed railing hasn't bothered him at all. "But metaphorically... yes."
Now I was intrigued. This was the best spur-on of intelligent conversation I'd been exposed to since I'd been hospitalized a month ago. I was tired of nurses checking my temperature, doctors asking 'how are you feeling today?', and medical chat. He kept talking. I listened.
"It doesn't matter where the souls are per sey... they still divide at will. They truly are an entity of their own volition. Asexual in reproduction without bodies."
"So, you're telling me that they only genderize once they enter a body and attach to it?"
"Mmm see you get it. And once they exit, they become asexual again, and can split at will again to provide life for whomever. Whenever. And that next body might be a male, female, or whatever. They re-genderize as needed, the body defines it."
"Interesting theory."
"It's not a theory. It's natural truth. That is what happens."
Tch. I made an annoyed sound with my mouth. "I thank you for the lovely conversation, but my theory on you remains the same. NO it's more of a truth. You're a nut. Get out of my room."
"May I counter you on this one?" Like a little girl asking for cookies.
"Whatever." I coughed.
"You can act aloof all you want my dearie dear." His eyes ran over my skin again, I could feel it in my bones. "But as a scholar you should at least accept that there are some people out there in the world that know more than you on certain subjects." he got preachy. "'Educate' is to accept 'learning', and to 'learn' you have to accept you my not have all the 'knowledge'."
He at least made a logical point. I sighed. This guy just wasn't leaving. I had half an urge to holler as loud as I could for a nurse. Speaking of, I hadn't seen a single nurse walk by in the thirty minutes this idiot had been in my room.
That thought... bothersome.
"So, here's my offer." He knew I was irritated. So, he sort of acted like he was ready to sum it up.
I hoped.
I realized I was on this man's time, not on my own.
"Your soul was divided before you were born, to accommodate for the birthing of your body. So, was mine." He put a hand on his chest, and I could again smell that sandwich on his breath.
I inspected the fabric of his clothing, it was all so plush looking. Doll-like.
"So was your father's. The doctors in this hospital, everyone, ever."
"I get it."
"So, it was tough tracking you down needless to say... Your soul's previous conjoined twin, is inside of someone else. And, that person is in trouble."
"Mmmhmm." I just stared out the window again.
"Quite a bad predicament actually... the opposite of this type of disease... it's a coma. Comas trap souls inside very much alive bodies, and the soul then, by force of the body becoming dormant, slowly begins to die out, which really kills any chance the body has at all to 'be alive' again."
"So, who's in a coma?" I poked him on for the hell of it.
"His name?"
I gave him a 'duh' type of look.
"Okumura Rin."
"Okumura hell of a first name.
"Oh... no. He's half Japanese. Okumura is his last name. Rin is his first. In Japan, they say the first name last.v Honorifics and such... customs."
"Cool." Bland. My plan was to bore this pink moron to death to get him out, maybe he'd grow tired of lame conversation.
"He's everything you aren't."
"Gee thanks for the insult Mephisto."
"He smirked because I used his name, if that even was his name. He could of lied, who knows?
"Ah! No. When souls separate, they're usually different, unfortunately for Rin, he gained not too many skills in the 'smarts' department, and I can see now he got more of the 'empathy' side."
"Thanks."
"So, Okumura Rin is in trouble, in a coma. He's been that way for a few months. There's no chance of him returning, his soul is slowly melting away, and shutting off... burning out I should say. In order for him, and his body to restore, to wake, I need your soul."
"Do you?"
"Indeed. Joining the two pieces of a once whole soul inside a single body would be enough power to awaken any body from even the deepest of comas, as long as it happened before the other soul wasn't entirely burnt out. Of course, you'd retain memories of his life, and he'd be apart of you now, or..." He got thought-y, like he honestly kind of didn't understand what'd happen entirely himself. "...you'd be a part of him? Or... you'd be the dominant half, since his soul has deteriorated some, it's be the original soul, not exactly the same whole as it once was before it split for your two bodies."
I just watched him mumble over his words. I had no idea what the hell was going on right now.
"My soul." I coughed practically in his face. He still was lost in thought with those thin lips kind of mumbling under his breath, he didn't notice much. "You want it?"
He suddenly looked at me those trailing orbs, suddenly snapping to the right. A galaxy of green.
"Yes, I do..." He booped me on the nose with a finger.
I groveled. I wasn't a damn dog!
"Fine. Whatever. You're an idiot, and I don't believe in souls. Whatever hack job religious organization that you work for, that forced you into this conversation, whoever put you up to it, make sure you thank them for some afternoon entertainment, because you've proven yourself quite the actor. Now... get the fuck out of my room."
"Oh joy!" He bounced up suddenly like a girl scout selling cookies. "You've just gotta do one thing for me!"
I crunched a fake smile.
He pulled out a throat spray and coated his entire inside of his mouth, like a person would disinfect a kitchen sink.
"No. No. No." I looked around all sudden and quick, as he smacked his lips together like a dog that ate peanut butter. My god! What?
I inherently knew what was coming. This man tall, pale, lanky man, thin beard, nice lips, ruined his entire facade with the his sickly mannerisms. And HOLY GOD! The way he dressed. And now... He wants to me give him a smooch!
His head shot irregularly close to my head again. "I... You! Don't." I squirmed.
"Seal this deal with a kiss."
"I knew it!" I spat in his face... almost.
He blinked quickly three times, his lashes long, at my response, like he had expected me to jump in his arms and beg him to take me away with him. My yelp fell in line with my thought process:
"I'm not a damn princess that needs saving! Can't... Can't we just shake on it? And you can get the hell out?"
He got closer. "Afraid not." His voice so strikingly different. Where had the kid inside him gone? His tone was suave, breathy.
Manipulative. That's what this man was.
"If you want a kiss! FINE! Just promise me, you'll get the hell out of here! I'm dying in a week anyway you perv! You want a kiss! I'll make it nice and nasty for you! I've been hacking up lung fluid all day. It's gunky, yellow and vile. How's that?!" I was shouting at the tops of my lungs. WHY WERE THERE NO NURSES COMING?
If the guy wanted a kiss, I'd give it to him, just to get him out! It was all I wanted! To be left in peace!
"Oh... trying so hard to make it seem so unappealing. I know what's up your sleeve." He face drew so incredibly close.
I felt white hot. His breath heated against the nape of my neck. Was he smelling me? His fingers came up and turning my chin sharply to the right, suddenly I was looking dead in his green eyes. His lips not even an inch from mine. Breathing.
That sandwich breath was gone and a the half-decent looking perv who dressed like an 80's pimp wanted. This was the WORST HOSPITAL I'd ever ever been in, and it certainly had the SHITTIEST SECURITY I'd EVER seen.
"So. Do it." I said.
His thin lips, they were so close, he closed the gap, but to millimeters. A minty-cinnamon scent transpired outwards across my matching lips, and I sat there just not moving, unable to move rather, he held my chin so tightly. Hot flashes raced across my body. I hadn't kissed in... a few years. I was 19, I hadn't had a boyfriend since high school!
"This ridiculous." I softly whispered resolutely.
"Mm... if you say so." He still hadn't done it. His eyes were open, just staring at me. So, green. Our eyes so wide open and so close it seemed like planets would crash into each other. One very very blue, watery planet, with gray skies, colliding into one very lush green forested planet full of these little yellow flowers. His eyes, even though so green, had itty bitty flecks of yellow in them.
I tasted in the millimeters of air between our mouths... something smoky?
Was he a smoker? Did it matter? Why was I thinking so much? Because I was so... uncomfortable. Was I unwilling suddenly?
"You first." He breathed.
"I'm tired of these games." In that moment my body snapped and I smacked him quick and good, similar to a peck on the cheek a little kiss would give another.
Then he grabbed my chin, turned it sharply, twisting it acutely. I was so hazy from my first kiss in a few years, that I didn't make the connection until he crashed his lips back over mine and enveloped me in the strongest, wildest most sensual kiss I swore I'd ever had. His teasing nips urged me to kiss him longer.
I gave in, and as I did, the longer it lasted, the closer to my body he got.
I felt as if I was in a whirlwind. I opened my lips and we pressed together. His lips were soft, delicate, and each time he began to ever-so-slowly close his lips in and out, he would press back down to deepen it subtly, with just a bit more pressure. It was wet, and his tongue slicked grazed my teeth, and begged for entry. I tasted the smokiness more, and it wasn't unpleasant.
He opened his mouth more, to let my tongue in if I wanted, and I cautiously accepted.
I heard a sound come from his throat, a small feral growl. He smirked as he kissed, apparently liking and enjoying all of it. I could feel it against my mouth.
I was in such a fog, I couldn't imagine my face.
Our eyes closed.
He moved more on top of the bed, over me, now half his body pressing. He let go of my chin, and he put a soft stroke on my bare shoulder, and I instinctively pressed a soft palm on the inside of his cape, against his side, I could feel even though he had a thin physique, he was quite in-shape.
I was lost in this.
Just when I felt myself going over the edge, growing ever blinder in a lustful state, that when something sharp cut my tongue.
It jolted me from him.
And rather than just stopping, he then grabbed my chin again and proceed to force my tongue out of my mouth with his tongue, even though now it was obviously I wanted nothing to do with any of this anymore.
I began to stir, trying to fight it.
His sucked, and licking stopped. He whispered into my mouth, a deadlock on my face. "Aw now. That wasn't bad."
His whole body was heated, I could tell, and he breathed in gasps against me, much like I was.
"Something sharp. Scraped me." Thoughts became words.
"Ahh..." He kissed my wet lips once more, lushly. "It's... bleeding. Jus' a little." He then parted his lips and planted three more firm, long, delicate kisses on my mouth. They were smaller in comparison to before. I could tell he was trying to calm down. "Mm thank you."
"Hmm" I hummed to him.
He bit my bottom lips, and sucked for a brief second forming another kiss.
"For these kisses. And... your soul." He pressed back into me, and lapped his tongue against mine, I could tell he was sucking.
I made a response to jerk away.
He lifted up.
"I'm bleeding you idiot."
"Sorry." He booped me on the nose again like a little animal. "I just can't help myself... sometimes." His eyes rolled, like he was making fun of himself.
I was instantly disgusted once again. What the fuck did that mean?
He smiled the biggest smile in that moment that I'd seen him smile the whole time he'd been in my room. A full on, white teeth, model grin, he looked actually kind of bashful? Her laughed and scratched his head, his laughter loud.
I began abruptly scanning the halls as the laughter was nuts! Surely the nurses! Surely!
I looked back, and with his mouth open head to the ceiling, full rolling laughter... I seen: fangs.
WHAT?! My bloody tongue rolled inside my mouth.
The laughter died out. "Well, I'll be seeing you."
"Wait!"
He stopped just as he was at the door. The silhouette of the side of his face turned, and a green eye looked my way once more. It looked me up and down, hungry. His clothing catching the light again, and that disco ball showed around my room again.
My mouth hung. "Wha... What are you?" I hushed.
What'd I just see? Wha. Just. Did I? Was he a...? Whaaa are those... real?
He smiled again, and I seen a huge fang poke out of the side of his mouth, his bottom lip, pink from the kissing, going just under it, his eye-liner'ed eyes, shallowly lidding.
"You've heard of it, you've heard of us."
I was breathless.
"I'm a crossroads demon."
Then he snapped his fingers.
Gone.
All of him. Gone. Materialized. VANISHED.
"NURSEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" I screamed out in absolute horror. I shrieked, absolutely terrified. Chills going through my body, my bones, distinct swarms of fear channeled through every vein that blood coursed through.
One ran in.
"Oh your button! How'd it get over here!" She whizzed around the bedside and picked it dropping it on my bed.
"DID YOU?! DID YOU! Did you see that guyyy!" I pointed to the hall. "DID YOU?!"
"What guy?" How was it she remained so calm. "This is a floor of all female nurses!"
"NOOO!" I wailed. "The visitor!"
"OKAY MISSY! You've had enough morphine for one day! No MORE!" She cinched off an IV.
"NO I had a male visitor! He was tall, he was pale. He had dark hair, green eyes! And he was wearing this ridiculous costume! It was magenta! Almost all of it! Magetna and white! Did you see him?! Did you?!"
The nurse opened another syringe of something. "It's okay! It's okay!" She hollered over my wailing. "You're just hallucinating! It's the lack of oxygen! This was bound to happen! It's okay!"
I felt myself slowly slipping. I started to cough slightly. She was putting me to sleep, and fast.
"No. His name..."
He was here, he had to of been. I looked at the empty glass next to my bed, and seen distinct lip marks on the glass.
His lips.
"He..."
My eyes slowly closed.
"Me... phisto."
What the hell had I just done?