Jesse stopped short, the spurs on his boots clinking with the movement, the dark sky grumbled with thunder as Sarah kept walking and soon passed him, when she realized he wasn't walking with her she looked back at him.
"What did you say?" Jesse asked, sticking a finger in his left ear and twisting.
"Thief." Sarah said louder and more clearly. "If only you knew the story behind that name." She laughed and Jesse felt his heart beat hard with the sound. "But I won't bore you with that old story." She turned on her heel and stopped short. "Oh no!"
"What's wrong?" Jesse asked, catching up to her, looking for a threat.
"The church!" she pointed to the distance where a church laid in ruins, sections of the wall crumbling down, the stain glass windows destroyed in several spots, the large wooden doors destroyed and pulled from their hinges to reveal the barren inside. "It's falling apart...I went there once to experience a worship, it was beautiful." She walked closer to it and Jesse followed a bit behind her, watching her carefully as she approached the building. "Things really have changed over the years."
"Was this place near the one you wanted to visit?" Jesse asked, tilting his hat up to see the bell hanging lopsided in the tower above.
"Sorta, it was within walking distance of it," Sarah explained as she picked up a small rock that had once been part of the wall and turned it over in her hand's as she closed her eyes. "I remember leaving the house," she turned slightly and gripped the stone in her hands. "And walking for a while, when I saw the tower from a small hill." she opened her eyes and walked several feet to the left, looking behind the church to a hill in the distance. "I think that's it." She pointed and looked over her shoulder to Jesse who was also looking up the hill. "Do you know what's past there?"
"A couple run down places, an old hotel and my little shack," Jesse explained as he walked closer. "Other than that, it's just woods and brush, well besides the—"
"The field with the lone tree." She finished for him, eyes distant as her mind wandered back to another time. "Behind the hotel, there was a large field with nothing within eyesight but a large tree. I loved that tree." A smile crossed her lips as she took in a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Sorry to keep spacing out, I keep seeing ghosts from my time here and they fascinate me."
"Ghosts?" Jesse said, sounding uncertain. "What do you mean ghosts?"
"Not actual spirits," She laughed, sensing his unease, stepping over to the stone steps of the church and placing the rock on a dusty spot that was still intact. "Just memories so vivid I can see them." She stepped back from the steps and gestured to the door. "I remember the father of this church, he was a kind man, always had sweets for the kids who played around here." She kept stepping backwards, "There was a little brown haired girl who always wore a bright green ribbon in her hair, she would sing in Spanish and dance around me when she saw me."
Jesse watched as she wrapped her arms around herself, her leather jacket rubbing together from the movement. She was looking up the hill again, a look of soft determination in her face as she rested her weight on her heels, one hip slightly dipped. Jesse took the cigar from his lips and crushed it under his boot, stomping out the small smoldering flame. Noticing his movement Sarah looked at him and he turned his gaze upward to the sky, seeing the moon trying desperately to shine through the dark blanket of clouds above.
"You got a place to stay?" Jesse asked, hearing another rumble threaten to drench them both in rain.
"No, just wandered into town, foolish I guess." Sarah laughed softly, rubbing her neck.
"I'll get the old man to let you have a room. Won't be lavish, but it's cheap and clean." He stepped closer to her and put his mechanical hand on her back, gesturing up the hill. "I know the guy that owns the hotel, he'll give ya a room. You can look for that place in the morning after the storm passes." She opened her mouth to say something but he waved his hand. "Too dangerous to search for the place in the dark, let alone in a rainstorm. If it's still around it won't be going anywhere."
"You have a point." She sighed and started walking with him. "So, you live up here?"
"Well, I do and I don't." He chuckled, his boots making soft crunching noises. "I travel a lot, and don't stay in one place for too long, but when I do need to slow down and take some downtime. I come back here." He scratched his dark beard with one hand. "Sorta just felt like home, so I stuck my claim on a lil place up there."
"Did you build it yourself?" She asked, looking him over.
"No, it was already built...but the old man is getting up there in age, he couldn't keep care of it proper and it turned to shit. So I made him a deal. I do handiwork for him when I'm on downtime from work and fix what needs fixin, and when it's done...it's mine."
"Old man?" A look of curiosity crossed her face. "The guy who owns the hotel?"
"Same one." Jesse turned as they began climbing the hill, although it wasn't a steep hill, the town was laid out below them, looking asleep with most of the lights out on the streets. "He used to own half the town, but he had a bad gambling habit and lost it all, but a few houses and the hotel he runs." Jesse started to turn and walk up the hill again when he stopped and made an unsure noise in the back of his throat. "I better warn you before you see him, ok, he is OLD." He waved his hands down as he spoke. "His mind is startin to go darlin and he may mistake you as someone he knows. If he does just tell him you're not them and keep repeatin your name. He'll eventually understand."
"Does he do it with you a lot?" She asked, looking sad.
"Sometimes, he mistakes me for his son that passed years ago, although his son was a lot older than me." Jesse cleared his throat and started walking again in long strides, easily leaving Sarah behind. "He's been the closest thing to a grandfather I've ever had."
"You didn't know your grandparents?" Sarah's voice was small and soft.
"Hell, I never knew my parents," Jesse admitted, tipping his hat down. "I was an orphan on the streets till he took me in and gave me a job, but his wife didn't like me none, so I-" He stopped himself. "Made some dumbass choices, which in a way helped me find the closest thing to a family I've ever experienced." A small smile crept across the cowboy's lips, this time it was he who was drifting away into a memory.
"Where are they now?" Sarah asked, shaking him from the thought.
"Dead. Or scattered." Jesse grumbled. "I lost my adoptive mom first, then both the guy who was like my brother and the guy who was like my dad at the same time-to the same accident." His voice turned bitter and it made Sarah cover her mouth with her hand. "The rest of us were scattered when it happened, the glue that held my family together disappeared with their passing. I haven't heard anything from any of those alive in years." He spat as they walked, cresting the hill and a two-story sandstone brown building appeared in their sights.
"What were their names?" Sarah asked, reaching out to touch his mechanical arm.
"Ana, Jack and Gabriel." Jesse sighed heavily as her hand touched the cool metal. "Pain in the asses, all of em." His chuckle held no warmth, it was a dark sound as he stopped walking and glared at a rock by his boot, he bent over and scooped it up, turning it over in his large hand. "But they made me who I am today, and I owe it to them to do some good with my life." He took the stone in the curve of his hand between his thumb and index finger before throwing it hard toward the house. It hit the roof with a clang and lights started flicking on. "Good, he's still alive. Let's get you a room."
They walked in silence as Jesse led her through a doorway into a foyer and upstairs to the right, where a light was shining from a light outside of a door. Jesse put a finger to his lips and pressed his ear to the door, eyes darting around from left to right as he listened. There was some muffed cursing and stuff was falling.
"Yup, thats him." Jesse lifted his hand and knocked on the door with his knuckles, but when no one answered and the sounds stopped Jesse smacked the door with his open palm there was some more shuffling and an angry 'huh!' being yelled from inside the room. Jesse knocked again and the door cracked open, showing a small old man with wrinkled brown skin and receding white hair.
"Viejo, soy yo, Jesse." Jesse spoke slowly, the old man's milky eyes searching his face, but seemed skeptical.
"Eh?" The man grunted, turning and looking at Sarah with a guarded expression.
"Soy! Jesse!" Jesse said sternly, putting his boot in the door so he couldn't close it. "Abre la puerta para mi."
"Jesse!" The old man laughed happily, an airy raspy sound as he opened the door and gestured for Jesse to give him an award hug. "Llegaste a casa! Bienvenido a casa, mi hijo!" Jesse removed his hat with his gloved hand as he leaned down and wrapped the small man in his arms and patted his back gently. "Ven y siéntate!" the man laughed, pulling away shakily and wandered to a seat where Jesse followed, replacing his hat on his head and helped him sit behind an old wooden desk cluttered with papers and photos. " Cuéntame sobre tu viaje!"
"Ahora no, tal vez luego." Jesse laughed softy as the man slowly sat down with his help, holding on gently to his hand and elbow. "Tengo un amiga que necesita un lugar para dormer."
"Una amiga?" He sucked his teeth and shook his head. "No hay prostitutas Jesse."
"Ok, I don't remember as much Spanish as I should," Sarah snapped angrily, making the men look at her in shock. "But I know when I'm being insulted!"
"No una puta! Viejo loco, un turista!" Jesse scolded the old man who narrowed his eyes at the cowboy, "Nunca he pagado para tener relaciones sexuales, no tengo a. Demuestra un poco de respeto!" Jesse turned to Sarah, "I'm so sorry darlin, I forgot to mention how..." He trailed off with an 'uuhhh'...
"Unfiltered?" She offered, cocking an eyebrow as the old man turned the chair around away from her and bent over reaching for something.
"We'll go with that." Jesse chuckled as he looked back at the elderly man. "¿Hey qué estás haciendo?" Jesse asked sternly, making the old man sit up in the chair as he reached for something in the floor. "What is it? The guitar? You haven't played in years; your hands cramp up!" Jesse scoffed as he reached down and picked up the guitar, handing it to him before opening a drawer on the desk. Reaching in he shuffled a few things around before grabbing a key with a ring and a number scratched into it, he jingled it and held it up. "Here." He tossed it at Sarah who caught it easily. "Go get settled, if you need anything I'll be in here with him."
"Mijo!" The old man tugged on Jesse's cover with one hand like a child and held the guitar up to him. "Si ella quiere una habitación, me tienes que reproducir una canción!" He held the guitar out to Jesse whose shoulders sagged, Sarah moved to leave the room but hesitated at the door.
"mierda, viejo, es lo que realmente me necesitas a tocar la guitarra?" Jesse grumbled, his southern accent taking a different sound as he spoke in Spanish. He looked as the old man lifted the guitar and handed it to him, a grumpy look on his withered face.
"Te estoy muriendo poco de mierda!" The man snapped, making Jesse sigh, "Ahora jugar!" He shoved the wooden guitar into Jesse's hand and waved him over to the seat positioned on the other side of the cluttered desk.
"Pedo viejo gruñón." Jesse grumbled as he sat down in the seat where the old man wanted. The elderly man waved his hand again and let out an over exaggerated 'ah' and leaned back in his seat, crossing his long gnarled dark fingers and closed his eyes as Jesse began strumming a tune. "¿Qué canción quieres?" he asked flatly, adjusting one of the strings.
"La de miel." The man sighed dreamily, making Jesse lift his head in confusion, hands pausing on the tuner.
"¿Qué canción sobre la miel? ¿Te has vuelto loco?" He accused, raising a brow which angered the older man, making him wave his hands at him as if the answer was obvious and Jesse was dumb. Sarah looked back and forth between the men, the look on her face making it obvious she was following little of the conversation aside from a word here and there.
"La chica dulce como la miel, muchacho! La canción de miel!" The old man began humming out a melody off tune and Jesse looked deep in thought when something registered with him.
"Miel Americana." Jesse offered, going back to adjusting the strings, propping his feet up on the desk and getting comfy.
"Sí, sí que es el uno. Miel Americana!" He slapped the desk with one of his hands and made a gesture for Jesse to hurry. "Jugar! Jugar!"
"¿En inglés o español?" Jesse asked, sounding tired.
"Inglés, su español es una mierda." The old man scoffed, shaking his head as if disappointed.
"¡Tú eres el que me enseñó!" Jesse retorted, looking offended as his face scrunched up.
"Usted no puede enseñar si su hijo alguna vez aquí!" The elderly man snapped, his dull eyes opening and glaring disappointingly at the younger man.
"No empieces de nuevo. Tengo que trabajar abuelo." Jesse sighed, closing his eyes and turning his head away from the glare he could still feel directed at his face. "Así que tengo que viajar."
"Usted debe establecerse y casarse ya. Estoy muriendo hijo, quiero nietos." The old man put a hand over his heart and looked sadly at Jesse who looked at his boots, his face solemn.
"Abuelo, soy Jesse, no Joel, no soy tu hijo. No estamos relacionados. No puedo darte nietos." He tried to hide his emotions on his face, but his voice betrayed him with the sadness that hung on every word.
"Como el infierno no se puede, todo lo que me queda hijo. ahora toca la canción, mi hijo." The old man sighed and laid his head back against the chair, lacing his fingers again as he relaxed as Jesse took off his glove, pinching his index finger between his teeth and pulling it off. Jesse started strumming, looking over to Sarah as she left, closing the door behind her, but not shutting it all the way. Jesse started off the song, his mechanical hand on the neck, pressing down the strings easily. His eyes out of focus as he played, it was a song he remembered and once upon a time played often so it was easily remembered. He fought lazily against his own ghosts, conjured up by the tune.
English Translation:
"Viejo, soy yo, Jesse."
(Old man, it's me, Jesse.)
"Soy! Jesse!"
(I am! Jesse!)
"Abre la puerta para mi."
(Open the door for me.)
"Llegaste a casa! bienvenido a casa, mi hijo!"
(You came home! Welcome home, my son!)
"Ven y siéntate! Cuéntame sobre tu viaje!"
(Come and sit! Tell me about your trip!)
"Ahora no, tal vez luego. Tengo un amiga que necesita un lugar para dormer."
(Not now, maybe later. I have a friend who needs a place to sleep.)
"Una amiga? No hay prostitutas Jesse."
(A lady friend? There are no prostitutes Jesse.)
"No una puta! Viejo loco, un turista!"
(Not a whore! Crazy old man, a tourist!)
"¿Hey qué estás haciendo?"
(Hey, what are you doing?)
"Si ella quiere una habitación, me tienes que reproducir una canción"
(If she wants a room, you must play me a song.)
"mierda, viejo, es lo que realmente me necesitas a tocar la guitarra?"
(Shit, old man, do you really need me to play the guitar?)
"Te estoy muriendo poco de mierda! Ahora jugar!"
(I'm dying you little shit! Now play!)
"Pedo viejo gruñón."
(Grumpy old fart.)
"¿Qué canción quieres?"
(What song do you want?)
"La de miel."
(The honey.)
"¿Qué canción sobre la miel? ¿Te has vuelto loco?"
(What song about honey? You've gone mad?)
"La chica dulce como la miel, muchacho! La canción de miel!"
(The sweet girl like honey, boy! The honey song!)
"Miel Americana."
(American honey.)
"Sí, sí que es el uno. Miel Americana! Jugar! Jugar!"
(Yes, yes that is the one. American honey! To play! To play!)
"¿En inglés o español?"
(In English or Spanish?)
"Inglés, su español es una mierda."
(English, your Spanish sucks.)
"¡Tú eres el que me enseñó!"
(You are the one who taught me!)
"Usted no puede enseñar si su hijo alguna vez aquí!"
(You can not teach if your child never comes here!)
"No empieces de nuevo. Tengo que trabajar abuelo. Así que tengo que viajar."
(Do not start again. I have to work grandfather. So I have to travel.)
Usted debe establecerse y casarse ya. Estoy muriendo hijo, quiero nietos.
(You must settle down and get married already. I'm dying son, I want grandchildren.)
Abuelo, soy Jesse, no Joel, no soy tu hijo. No estamos relacionados. No puedo darte nietos.
(Grandpa, I'm Jesse, not Joel, I'm not your son. We are not related. I cannot give you grandchildren.)
Sí se puede, eres todo lo que tengo Jesse. ahora toca la canción mi hijo
(Yes you can. You are everything I have, Jesse. now play me the song my son. )