Every day in prison, she visited him. And every day he was afraid she would stop coming. That just one day, she wouldn't show up. And the next day. And the next day. Until he found out she ran off with another man who wasn't in jail for ten years.
But every day, she came. And at first, she wasn't sure what happened, but in the hospital he explained it to her. How he was backed into a corner by Cabanela and then took the gun and ran to Temisk park where he picked up The girl and held her hostage. And then how he saved her.
She was a bit wary, but she got clarification from Detective Jowd, who cried when he saw Alma as much as when Yomiel saw Sissel after the incident. Neither of the wives/fiancees knew why; they had just seen them both that morning, but something seemed to have happened in those missing hours.
Then Yomiel was thrown in jail for ten years for a kidnapping he didn't mean to do. He said it was what he deserved, and it was better than the alternative. Sissel didn't know what the alternative was, but after a while she realised she didn't want to know.
After a decade he was finally let out. She had visited him everyday, as she promised, even when she was sick and Yomiel told her to go home multiple times, which she didn't.
When he got out, she was there. He had taken a while to change out of his prison clothes into something not striped, but all his normal clothes were at their home. So he was walking to the car with Sissel, wearing a brown shirt, jeans, and his glasses when they heard the frantic voice of a little girl running towards them, and looking up they saw the little lady, Kamila. She skid to a stop in front of Yomiel and took a moment to collect herself as Detective Jowd and Lynne followed close behind.
Panting, Kamila asked him if he had seen her cat. He replied with a no, and then she asked Sissel the same question, and Sissel shook her head.
Suddenly, all time stood still.
Up here, Yomiel.
He looked up, and after a few moments of searching, he saw the figure of a black cat on the rooftop.
"Sissel" Yomiel said in a low whisper but Kamila and Sissel still heard him.
"Yomiel?" She said, and when he didn't reply, she walked around the car and put her hand on his head. He was still staring at the building a few yards away from the prison. She followed his gaze, but couldn't see anything except for the roof. Yomiel suddenly spoke to Kamila.
"Black cat, golden eyes, red bandana?"
"Yes mister. Do you see him?"
Yomiel pointed and suddenly Sissel saw the outline of a cat coming down to them from the top of the roof.
"Sissy!" Kamila squealed and ran towards the cat. The cat dashed past Kamila, Jowd, and Lynne and jumped up on Yomiel's shoulder, purring.
Time stopped again.
"I've missed you my friend" Cat Sissel said.
"I don't own you anymore Sissel. Kamila and Jowd, they do you." Yomiel replied.
"You were the best owner a cat could possibly have" Sissel cooed.
"But that was ten years ago, in a different world Sissel. Forget me. Live your life."
"But I'm just a soul. That temisk fragment hit me, not you. I can never age. I have many more ghost tricks under my sleeve now. I am immortal. I already died."
And time resumed.
Yomiel almost dropped Sissel when the cat came up and pressed his body against Yomiel's face, like he used to when Yomiel was at his worst. That feeling, all that love, in one cat. Amazing, Yomiel thought, as he gave Sissel back to Kamila. He had forgotten that Jowd and Lynne were there until he and Jowd saw each other and ten years of knowing flooded each other, they had to drop their gaze.
The two men turned away and everyone walked separate ways until just as Yomiel was getting into the car (finally) he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and was attacked by Lynne who hugged him with so much force it almost knocked him over and he had to steady himself on the the car door.
"Thank You" she whispered and left. Yomiel stood for a minute, trying to find his footing. He got in the car and Sissel asked him about the red haired detective. He didn't say much, just that he saved her life once. But he also said that she was that girl in the park ten years ago.
Getting home was a relief. Sissel had taken the liberty of pointing out all the new buildings that had risen in ten years, which were a lot. She even wanted him to go into her favourite, which was the new mall that had sprung up two years ago. Yomiel reminded her that he needed to go home first; clear his swimming head.
They pulled up to the house, but it was new. It was not the same house he lived in ten years ago. Yomiel looked at Sissel, who turned her head to look at him, and smiled.
"New life, new home." Sissel said. He smiled and held her hand as they walked in together.
It was the perfect house; with two rooms and a joined kitchen and living/family room. Sissel had already unpacked, and put almost everything away, but Yomiel saw that she wanted to move around furniture and maybe buy something else with him. She showed him the master bedroom and left him as he changed into his normal clothes. With a quick look in the mirror, he walked out of the bedroom, where Sissel leaped out of nowhere and pecked his cheek. Holding his hand, she gave him the grand tour of their new home, which meant dragging Yomiel every which way to show him all of the nooks and crannies, and even made him look in the oven to see some appliance or brand or something.
But he didn't care. It was Sissel after all. Anything she did was amazing and unique and beautiful, even if it was collapsing next to him on the white couch in their living room.
She laid her head on his shoulder and he smiled and stroked her hair. Tracing lines on his hand, she murmured something. "Excuse me?" Yomiel said, and Sissel looked up. "What now?" Yomiel chuckled and kissed her forehead before leaning back. "Anything you want." He replied. She sighed and moved so she was laying across the couch, but also across his lap.
"I've said so much, Yomiel. And now you know as much as I do about the last ten years. And I know what you already did everyday in prison." Sissel said, looking up at him.
"So you want to swap stories then?" Yomiel said with a smile.
"Well I was talking to Alma…"Sissel started, but cut short as she fell on the floor after Yomiel sat straight up.
"Detective Jowd's wife?" Yomiel asked with a hint of panic in his voice. As he helped her up and she sat in the chair across from him.
"Yeah, her. We get together sometimes for coffee on weekends and lunch."
"So... Are you guys, like, friends?"
"I guess so, yeah."
"What do you talk about?" Yomiel hadn't lost that sliver of something, but Sissel wasn't sure it was panic anymore.
"Just day to day things, like-"
"Like what, Sissel?" Yomiel demanded. She was worried now. Yomiel hardly ever interrupted her, or ever spoke to her in this tone he had now. She couldn't even think of a time he EVER spoke to her like this.
She stood up and sat down next to him, turning so she was looking straight at him. He looked down, instead of holding her gaze like normal. "Yomiel. What's wrong?"
Instead of answering her, he got up and left the room. Sissel expected him to come back, but he didn't. She didn't pursue him either. She had learned a long time ago that if Yomiel was in a mood (which was almost never, but when he is mad he is mad,) it was best to let him handle it himself.
She ate dinner alone though. She also got ready for bed alone. It was ironic, the first day he was back and she was sleeping alone again. But she was worried. She decided she was going to try to get him to talk in the morning.
She found Yomiel sleeping in the guest room, and softly woke him up.
"Yomiel" she whispered in his ear.
"Morning beautiful" he murmured back and slid out of bed. He opened the curtains and she kissed him.
"Let me brush my teeth" he grinned but kissed her again.
He scampered off to the bathroom while she made the bed. He walked in a few minutes later dressed and awake.
"You didn't need to do that you know." He said as they left the guest room and and advanced towards the kitchen. She sat them down on the couch though, and Yomiel looked at her with confusion.
She patted her knee and looked up at him. He dropped his gaze again, but she didn't. He looked up again, and this time, she saw the message clear in his eyes. Angst.
"Yomiel... What did I do?"
He looked up and put a loose strand or hair behind her ear.
"It's not you, Sissel." He murmured, and Sissel had to strain her ears to listen, but that didn't matter much. This was Yomiel. And it was important. The way he acted, how he never ever talked about anything like this, he had never acted like this before. If she didn't listen, strain her ears for her fiancee, this could cost them their entire relationship.
"It's.. just... well..." Yomiel started, and Sissel grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
And that did it. He told her the whole story, slowly, starting from that day, a thousand years ago, a parallel universe away at Temisk park. How the shard hit his heart and he died instantly. How he took lonely cat Sissel's body and tried to recollect his memories and get his body. His ghost tricks. How he had arrived too late, and Sissel was already dead. How he sought revenge and killed Alma, and manipulating the things and people around him to get revenge. How he planned to leave the country and made Lynne shoot his body so he could frame her for murder but he accidentally shot Sissel the cat. How cat Sissel saved everyone and everything, and saved everyone Yomiel had meant to kill. And how Lynne perfectly explained how he had felt those last ten years. Then how he turned himself around and got a straight head. How much that artificial light meant to him.
When he was done, he had been talking for an hour and a half. Not that Sissel counted. She was too busy listening to him with tears in her eyes. By now he had his face in his hands but still managed to speak clearly: something Sissel couldn't have managed to do herself.
Yomiel took a deep breath, trying to collect himself and failed. He buried his face in Sissel's shoulder. She rubbed circles on his back, wrapped him in a warm embrace, which he returned and held her like she was never coming back. I'm right here, she whispered into his ear over and over again.
I'm right here.
