DannyMay 2019. Day Seven

"Broken"

Being all alone gave you the chance to be with your thoughts, listen to them, analyse them, see if they make sense or are just a bunch of bull. And it was the only thing a grief-striken Danny could do at the moment, after going through almost all the stages of grief; and he said 'almost' because, what many chose to ignore when naming said stages, was that sometimes 'Acceptance' didn't really come alone, sometimes it came after or mixed with 'Numbness'.

It was easier to manage, really, and quite comforting. Things weren't good, or bad, they just were, the funeral just was.

"I just am…"

Aunt Alicia looked at him, carelessly wiping away tears from her puffy eyes. She tried to smile reassuringly, but it came so strained it turned into a grimace. The sentiment was received, though, and so he gave a grimace of his own as his mother's coffin was lowered to the hole in the ground next to his father's.

Boy has average life. Tragedy happens to boy. Boy is now an orphan. As boy does have a living relative, he gets sent with them to recover and once again see the good things in life.

The millionarie was a surprise.

He looked young and old at the same time, with his silver hair, and his goatee, ponytail and eyeliner combo; dressed all in black, the thought of a vampire would've made Danny laugh any other day.

The man looked in the verge of a breakdown, just like Danny had that day, knowing they were all gone, his family… his friends…

"It seems to have been a gas leak, the fire got a hold of their inventions… the kid was inside this big tunnel, it must have been reinforced or somethin', 'cause he was fine… I mean, whole, and alive."

"Must've been rough on him."

Danny heard it all, standing silently next to them. The only sign they gave of noticing him was the constant rubbing of their arms as cold spread over the place. There was unease to them, too.

"Ugh! When d'ya think they're gonna fix that damn air conditioner?"

"No idea, partner…"

The agents parted ways, leaving Danny alone to finally let his physical form manifest, his face screwed in many emotiones at once, anger, regret, guilt, hopelessness…

"Daniel?"

The hand on his shoulder startled him and Danny jerked away and pierced the stranger with a glare.

The man's hand retreated, and he spread both of them out to show he meant no harm. "I am sorry to startle you, Daniel, but… I was hoping we could talk." Unlike Danny, the man seemed able to compose himself to a socially-acceptable level, even if his eyes were just like Danny's.

His shoulders slumped, and he sighed in acceptance.

"Yeah, why not… who are you?" He asked, sitting back down.

"My name is Vlad… and I was a friend of your parents, back since we were in college." He stated calmly. "I want to talk to you because I believe we have some things in common."

And for just a second there, Vlad's eyes seemed pink.