6. A hard acceptance
"I think we should introduce ourselves at once. Hello, I'm - as said - Monsieur Jean Londres, your Watcher." With that he gave her the hand. Sarah took it hesitated. So they went out of the house.
Suddenly Monsieur Londres interrupted the silence, "Listen, Sarah. You should observe what the Council decided. We really should begin to train now." "What? I don't really hear right, do I? I shall begin with it even now or rather still now? Monsieur Londres, I've to go to school. I'm already too late enough!" "And so, you get to know one of the Slayer- rules: the school training is not important! Only the training and the hunting count." Monsieur Londres said. Sarah stopped abruptly and meant, "Hello? I actually would learn a job one day and practice it to earn money, 'cause how it seems to me, you don't receive any salary as Slayer!" Monsieur Londres smiled.
"Why are you laughing?" she asked with pinched eyes. "You remind me of Anne, one of the previous Slayers. I know from her Watcher that she said such a thing at first and nearly until the end. She couldn't calm down about it that she didn't get any appreciation for her deeds, which she did night by night. At the end she only said it mostly as habit or because she made fun of the appreciation." "Great! Then we've something together yet!" Sarah snorted and moved on again.
"Besides, your doing as Slayer is not to see as an ordinary job in the least, no, it is rather your appointment, your destiny and partly your duty." "Duty? I haven't asked for it to become the Slayer. I don't mind when another one take this job. There will be a place open again, girls. Hey, exactly! I don't take on my job. I'll go on strike. I'll condemn it." Sarah replied nearly sarcastic. "Sarah, you don't seem to understand yet that this is not a 'job' which you can take on or disobey. This is your appointment." "Yeah, yeah! Never mind! I was chosen for it! No right to objection. This is a duty!" she gave up. "I do not understand your attitude. You actually should be glad that you get such an assignment. Many other Candidates would give everything for it." "Why should I be glad about it? I haven't asked for this assignment, do you remember? I would be ready to change with every girl, who gladly wants to take this duty." "You do with that more for humans than with every other work. You save the people. You are their heroine..." "Yeah and I allow that I die in the fight any time. Of course also for the people, who don't even appreciate it to me, well, they don't even notice it. And then, when I exist not any longer, another one will simply take my place, without knowing about my existence or maybe even respect it or something like that. So easy. As if I would never ever have existed. Worthless, despicable, not existent..." Sarah murmured gloomy. "It lies a little bit of truth in what you said, but so it is not like that either. I would see it as a little exaggerated. But you are right. The people are not allowed to know anything at all about your real existence. It only would make everything more difficult. It is not allowed to include any civilians in these things. Do not expose them to unnecessary dangers." "This means that I'm not allowed to get in touch with any other people, make no friends and stay always alone. For the rest of my life. And this also alone on my nightly patrols at this I'm going to been killed one day as all the others ago. I'm going to die lonely in the same way as I've lived lonely. Well, it wouldn't matter to die right now, so that it won't take too long. No typical girl-talks in that you whisper, giggle, scoff and make nonsense, no longer movie house, no fun any more..." "Oh, my sweet little pessimist." Monsieur Londres laughed now.
Sarah didn't find that funny, but she had to smile a little, because she noticed that she wasn't quite alone. Monsieur Londres would be a companion to her. In a world, people had no idea about that.
So Monsieur Londres walked with Sarah in his house and showed her books, which she should read through. They sat around a table and drank tea while they talked. Monsieur Londres explained her all what a Slayer has to do. Sarah listened eager for knowledge. She had fairly accepted her destiny, as she called it.
And slowly the ice between them melted and they treated nearly like good old friends, like father and daughter, and not any longer like strangers.
Then it was evening and time for Sarah to go home. Sarah was afraid a little about that, because she skipped school. But she couldn't tell the truth where she had been. So she walked home with the books. But she didn't meet the disastrous there, as she had suspected. She had luck, because her parents went very early out of the house and would come back late in the evening. This stood at a notice on the kitchen table.
So she went to bed and read the books.