Postmortem, Charlie was not someone who cared about his surroundings. He, therefore, had no opinion on the Palace of Mysteries or the trinkets of divination, Menat owned. But since talking to her on the balcony, and her admission of understanding empathy for his situation, she had been swarming around him more. And now, he damn sure noticed the changes she made to the basement.

There was a window that was now adorned with star curtains, which were often pulled at daytime so sunlight could penetrate the sparkling glass. Fairy lights covered an entire wall for the mood instead of the harsh overhead lamps, coursing around a poster of the sun and the moon.

Shelves had been put up, now carrying a growing book collection. There was a bathroom adjacent to the basement room which had been decorated with a constellation shower curtain and a moon-shaped mat.

The collective effort of Menat and Maggio resulted in an actual bed made from wooden pallets instead of a mattress on the floor. Of course, Menat put fairy lights in the holes, also "for the mood". For that same reason, there hung a poster of some gun game from Maggio on the door.

The kid had caught wind of his military service though it was hardly a secret; not when Charlie revealed bits and pieces of militaristic knowledge in passing. The basement looked less like a sterile escape for survival and more like a livable bedroom, though not one Charlie would even dream of designing like this.

Nor would he ever think to burn red rose incense sticks at night to make him relax. That was Rose's idea to give Menat some reprieve when she was too tired to use Soul Power. As gaudy and overachieving as it was, everything around Charlie began to take on a personal touch from the people surrounding him every day. It had essentially become a base. Hell, maybe even a home. Clean to the touch and calming to his nerves. Didn't quite keep the psychogenic pain and nightmares at bay but it was a start.

Menat came and went, watching over him most nights, falling asleep in the basement on others. She was a quiet sleeper, so Charlie let her. Good thing drool didn't make much of a sound. Her being awake however sure did as she made it a point to drag Charlie outside more. That woman was a bundle of energy. It took some getting used to.

Maggio was more manageable, acting like a young man his age with a penchant for video games, chocolate spread, and yo-yos. Once in a blue moon, Rose would drop by, and they'd have something that resembled a casual conversation. And life for the next two months began falling into a routine. A life of routine, how odd. It probably spoke volumes to the chaotic turn of Charlie's non-life when routine and a place to call home seemed so foreign to him. It was as if he had never experienced it before.

As with a regular life that didn't involve hiding in the shadows and wet caves in the middle of the woods, deviations happened, and Charlie woke up to one. His head ached particularly badly this morning and a nightmare of his death continued to haunt him.

He blinked for a moment, pushing his body to sit, feeling the pricking phantom of getting gunned down simmer to a tickle on his skin. That was on par for the course given his situation. What was different this morning was the presence of Maggio, staring at the poster of that gun game, playing with his yo-yo.

He hit the wall, cursed then turned around, almost startled to see Charlie wide awake.

"Hey, Nash. Wanna go for a walk?" he asked as if he didn't just panic moments earlier.

The question had caught Charlie off guard as he was so used to hearing it from a certain Egyptian girl with a tendency to act like a cat when she felt particularly silly. Things would really change when Rose would drop by to ask him. He thought about the proposal for a few seconds before biting the bullet and crawling out of bed.

This harbor city had a series of locations and facilities, most of which Menat had dragged Charlie to already. Thus, he had become more familiar with the area than he ever imagined he would. Then again, he also became familiar with his cave in the woods. One place,

Menat had not taken him to, was the local church and its massive bell tower, open to the public.

For whatever reason, the place never quite interested her, but Charlie never asked why. He had a feeling that he'd soon found out regardless, now when he was here, staring over the harbor and pretty much most of the area from such an altitude.

On the far horizon, one could see the faint shapes of islands. The gray clouds didn't glare over the waters, and it gave the ocean bit of a somber, melancholic feel to it. How apt. It was chilly, highlighted by the wind cutting through the wide arches and metallic guard rail, strong enough to carry the scent of the sea.

Without Menat, who was sleeping in, to apply the makeup for a convincing disguise, Charlie had to cover himself with a facemask, bandages, and a hood. Given the lower temperature of today, it was a convenient excuse. Maggio tugged his arms further into his hooded shirt, shivering from the cold as if he wasn't the one who suggested they went up here.

"So, how's freedom from Menat?" he asked, pursing his lips to hide the clapping of his teeth.

"She's not that bad," Charlie shrugged, not surprised when he got the sense that he wasn't believed. A natural reaction from someone who knew Menat for longer, and would often bicker with her over everything and nothing.

"No? If you ask me, she's kinda like that annoying older sibling who has no sense of privacy. Bet she'd be happy to hear that though," the boy rolled his eyes a bit, shifting on his feet when Charlie sent him a mildly curious look. Such a direct reminder that he himself didn't know much about Menat's past. It wasn't like he had ever thought to ask either, for that would just be hypocritical.

"Rose didn't tell you the story, huh? Well, I guess it's not my job to do it but Menat…" Maggio paused, sighing through his nose, now subtly uncomfortable, "She's sensitive to the people disappearing out of her life so if you leave one day, be prepared for her to do whatever it takes to make you stay."

That would imply a whole host of meanings and Charlie found it too easy and dismissive to label it as abandonment issues. Besides such a thing wouldn't answer why Menat latched onto him so tightly and spontaneously. Given the effort she put in for his sake, ''testing Soul Power'' just sounded like a thinly veiled excuse. Curiosity was a strange force of power.

"Anyway, you like video games?" Maggio asked and Charlie almost didn't hear him over the sound of theories and thoughts in his mind.

"No," he answered, feeling nothing but apathy over the offended glare he received. Maggio pulled his hands out of his pockets and put them on his hips as if to argue the absurdity of that.

"The hell? Why?!"

"Because different people have different interests. Am I supposed to tell you that?" Charlie asked rhetorically and wondered if he had been too harsh on the youngster. He hated excuses in place of acknowledging bad behavior (or at least the past Nash did), even if he had a convenient explanation for his less-than-stellar mood today.

Maggio shoved his hands into his pockets, almost rueful as he asked; "Wanna try 'em then?"

The reactionary answer to that was no. But Charlie, more mindful of the fact that he had people in life now – again, answered yes. Maggio paused, then grinned widely in appreciation of that answer. Charlie assumed that the youngster probably didn't have much luck in indoctrinating his housemates into the realm of media entertainment.

"You know how to use a yo-yo?"

To that, Charlie answered no. The thing looked deceptively easy to use and he had a feeling that he could use the thing if he so did choose. But he didn't; wanting to indulge in Maggio's hobbies one topic at a time.

Soon after, they had to leave the bell tower when the cold got too much, ending up on the empty main street. It seemed that the weather promised rain as the clouds had darkened a bit in the minutes that passed. Either a cloudburst or a storm. Well, quite fortuitous that Menat hadn't put makeup up on him as it began raining once, he and Maggio made it out of the church's vicinity.

Thankfully, the incoming weather meant that people chose to stay home except for a few stragglers. And someone, Charlie didn't imagine he'd see again. Standing by the side of the street, nose deep in a map, was a tall and muscular man with American flags tattooed on each of his shoulders. A familiar face with worry rested all over its features.

He had been tracking Charlie. All this time. For years.

The realization of this was like a cat o' nine tails striking human flesh: merciless, sudden, and unavoidable. It felt as if Charlie's heart was about to disintegrate. He continued walking, then blinked, calming his nerves. For a moment, he feared he'd been inconspicuous, feeling as if he was about to be called out when he and Maggio walked right past Guile, who didn't look up from his map.

Then, from one of the stores, a woman and a young girl walked out with shopping bags dangling from their arms and he greeted them as they talked about the weather and accommodations. It had been a while since Charlie had seen them; like Guile, they had gotten older.

What a coincidence that William Fucking Guile was vacationing with his family here, now of all fucking times. What were the odds? Had it just been a coincidence? It must have been. Why was Charlie even panicking? He liked Guile, did he not? They had a close friendship before Charlie's death.

So why did the prospect of being recognized fill him with such dread? Maybe because he had absolutely nothing to say. Gah, this feeling made him miss the apathy that usually rendered days into a meaningless sludge. He walked past Guile and his family, with only him aware of this unexpected meeting.

They made it back to the Palace of Mysteries, just when the rain began to pour in buckets. And all the while, Charlie felt as if he was walking in a haze of his own mind. Once inside the walls, he had grown so familiar with, he felt moderately calm, all the while Maggio didn't notice a thing, talking about his growing collection of video games and yo-yos.

There was an art to apathy. Especially if it could be used to hide one's emotions. In the first-floor hallway, Menat stood in the doorway to her bedroom, wrapped in a blanket that cocooned her, leaving only her head visible. She crooked her head, casting a lingering stare at Charlie, asking; "Oh there you are. Wanna do a movie night?"

Maggio waved a dismissive hand at her, "No, I'm gonna do gaming with Nash. Deal with it."

Maggio's room wasn't as elaborate as Menat's; more subdued but still strongly indicating that a guy lived there. Posters of games, girls, and city landscapes. No cars, however. Two monitors stood by a wide desk, accompanied by a rather fancy-looking chair and one hulking box of a computer, which Maggio got busy powering up.

Charlie's attention landed on the nightstand by his bed, where there was a picture of a young woman with the same red hair as Maggio and an eyepatch. She looked to be around the same age as Menat. She also bore a striking resemblance to Maggio.

"Oh her? That's my sister, Aprile" he explained and that was hardly a surprise. It would be much stranger if she wasn't. Charlie turned to the desk, spotting another photograph almost hidden behind one of the monitors, depicting a man and a woman, both redheads. No doubt the parents.

After the curious affair that was the gaming session, Charlie concluded that his motor skills when it came to his gaming wit were severely lacking and Maggio took brutal advantage of this, defeating him repeatedly. As futile as playing each round was, it served as a nice distraction from the memory of seeing Guile again. Not to mention distracting from the passage of time.

Before long, it was close to evening and Charlie decided to call it a day, heading upstairs to clear his mind.

It just so happened that it was here where he found Menat laying on the bench with the blanket around her, outside, in the middle of a rainstorm with her phone in her hand. No doubt, she had been watching her movie on it, which had long since ended, probably after she passed out. The information he had been told by Maggio began echoing in the back of Charlie's mind.

He still had no context for it, but they resonated with him for reasons, he couldn't quite explain. Maybe that was why, he slid two arms under Menat and lifted her, carrying her away from the balcony. Ignoring the fact that she was laying outside on a cold bench while it was raining, the fool.

To descend the staircase with her proved tricky but he managed until he finally reached her bedroom. Bundles of clothes lay on the mattress, but Charlie had to put Menat on top of them regardless, pushing the articles of clothing away that weren't pinned under her body. Her deceptively light body.

When he looked at her again, she was awake, eyes wide open, staring at him. In the dim glow of the starlight lamp, her striking green eyes were almost piercing. She probably employed a technique from Rose, watching him intently.

"You look tired. Nap with me," she spoke softly with a coy smile.

"Huh?" he blinked.

They both knew he heard her and so she didn't repeat herself, climbing out of bed to gather her clothes and put them in a drawer and closet. Meaning that the space of the bed was big enough to fit them both. Charlie was used to Menat sleeping next to him, though he never quite got used to the oddity of it. She didn't ask either so the fact that she did now, struck a strange note with him.

"Why?"

She was quiet at first, changing the settings of her starlight lamp to include a moon. She turned rueful, snapping her gaze to his, "You look out of it."

Her honesty forced a stunned grunt out of him. It made him want to sink into the soft carpet floors and forget for a moment he had emotions. Apathy couldn't help the surprise that emerged from within.

Either the facemask had been one hell of a veil, or he was more obvious than he intended to be. He just hoped, she wouldn't ask him about it as he lay down and she crawled into bed next to him. Maybe it was because they just came inside from the storm, but Menat seemed warmer than usual.

Or perhaps it was because she inched closer to him.

Last update of the year. See ya in 2023 and happy New year's.