Interlude
A.B.L.S
'With freedom, flowers, books, and the moon,
who would not be perfectly happy?'
Oscar Wilde
Wammy's House, London
19th July 2007
The boy, Elle, glides like a shadow along one of the long corridors on the third floor. Beyond the window, in the garden, one can glimpse the picturesque scene of several other children playing or simply taking advantage of one of those rare clear days in London.
It's summer.
He rolls up the sleeves of the fine grey jumper, which hangs like a sheet on his thin frame. It had belonged to Phoenix, one of the orphanage mates who had come of age and thus left Wammy's House behind.
The Observatory. That is what they call the enormous circular room to which the boy is now heading, whose arched door is hidden in a dark corner of the east wing, flanked by a Corinthian column and a steel suit of armour. Upon entering, the cascade of light falling from the numerous skylights in the vaulted ceiling blinds him for a millisecond. At night, these same skylights bathe the room with moonlight and the glow of the constellations, a resplendent mist that floods the high mirrors lining the wall, their frames set with precious stones, turning everything to silver.
It is daytime now, however, and Elle discerns the golden halo reflected by the white marble tiles as well as several musical instruments in a corner of the room. Beyond, Alex, and Sophie are there, sitting cross-legged, waiting for him. He goes to squat next to them.
"Did you get them?" he asks, although Alex's energy already tells him he did.
Indeed, the person in question stretches backwards to reach his brown leather satchel, the diffuse sunlight setting his red curls ablaze, and when he resumes his position in the circle they have formed, his freckled smile shines brighter than the sun itself.
"Ta-da!" Four ancient-looking coins are deposited between them. Elle observes them curiously for a few seconds; what he believes are representations of Aztec gods are in relief on each of them. "What do you think? They're magnificent, aren't they? You have to admit it."
A giggle escapes Sophie's tender lips as she touches one of the coins with her fingertip, as if afraid of damaging it. Beyond, next to her, seems sulky as usual. It's not easy to tell with their reclusive companion, but Elle knows him a bit.
"It was in Kitikàta," Elle says, both as a question and a statement, looking at Alex again.
Alex nods and leans forward slightly, excited. His blue eyes have the lively quality of flowers and spring. It seems unbelievable that he could die at any moment.
"The trip to Teotihuacán was fascinating, like stepping onto another planet, breathing a different atmosphere… Although, well, I won't deny it was also an Odyssey."
"I could have gone in your place," Beyond hisses suddenly. "Or at least accompanied you."
"You know that wasn't possible," Alex scolds and pokes the other's cheek, who retaliates with a sullen slap. "Come on, BB, admit at least once how fantastic Uncle Alex is. Confess now and I won't say a word about it."
"I'd sooner tell the rats in the sewers."
His words twist Alex's face into a deeply dramatic expression of offence, which, as Elle already anticipates, leads to one of the frequent tussles between the two. Elle watches them closely, thumb in his mouth, while Alex has the other in a bear hug and Beyond resists with chilling threats that would have scared most people. Sophie, beside him, is engrossed in studying the coins.
Alex is the oldest of them all by four years, practically an adult already. He was the first to arrive at the orphanage; then came Sophie and Elle and finally a scrawny seven-year-old Beyond perched on Alex's back with Quillsh Wammy at his side. The latter never said how or where he had found him, and since then, Beyond has only cooperated with Alex. Even as he gradually accepted Sophie and Elle's presence due to the redhead approaching them, he remained unpleasant and withdrawn. The dangerous intensity that occasionally flickers in his black eyes, so similar to Elle's, has kept all the other children at the orphanage at bay.
But Alex is going to die, and sometimes Elle wonders what will become of Beyond then.
Suddenly, his stomach growls. They all look at him.
"Want a chewing gum?" Sophie asks.
"No."
A chocolate cake. That's what he fancies. Something substantial and sweet…
A violent coughing fit shakes Alex. The boy clutches his chest with both hands, eyes closed. When he straightens up and opens them again after a couple of minutes, the brightness in his eyes is no longer the same.
"Alex…" Sophie's sweet whisper floats under the hazy light streaming through the skylights. Beyond has fallen very silent.
"Come on, guys, let's divide them. We need to think carefully about what we want to engrave on each of them." He smiles, nonetheless. He always smiles. Elle marvels at how someone who is dying can smile so much. "It has to be, let's see, a kind of acronym of all of us, something that represents us, like our initials or something. Although it's not the most original idea."
"Or we could draw the meaning of our names in the language of dreams," Sophie suggests.
Alex smiles at her affectionately.
"I can't imagine anything more beautiful. But not all of us have the gift of deciphering dreams, Sophie." Then he looks at Elle. "Elle?"
"Any decision will be fine with me."
The truth is that Elle doesn't give much importance to it, but he knows Alex and Sophie do, so he does it for them. "Friendship," Alex had told them before his trip, "we'll engrave our friendship in time." He's not sure what friendship is, but he supposes it's something like this.
Beyond gets up suddenly, his hair dishevelled and his face full of very, very dark shadows. He heads towards the door.
"Oh, Beyond," Sophie calls. "Does the outside call you?"
He stops. When he turns towards them, a bitter grimace distorts his features.
"Anything to get away from you lot. We're not kids to be engraving on stupid coins from an Aztec legend. 'Friendship'," he spits with resentment, his eyes fixed on Alex, who returns the gaze serenely. "Who cares? Friendship won't help us when one of us dies. Someone who could have been the next best detective in the world should have their head on straighter, Alex."
"Well, no one said this would help when we die," Elle says wearily. "It's just a game."
Beyond wrinkles his nose disdainfully, but Alex's firm voice interrupts him.
"It's not a game," he insists. "It's not a game at all, Elle. It's a testimony. The testimony. Of our bond, that we are here. That we were here. That we have lived." Elle blinks, a bit surprised, not knowing how to respond to Alex's pain. After a brief silence, he adds, "We all thought it was a good idea, Beyond. You were insisting for weeks to come with me in search of the coins. You wanted…"
"Which you didn't allow," he accuses. "Clearly I was wrong."
"Please don't say that."
"I'm saying it."
"You're being horrible, Beyond," Sophie suddenly interjects, annoyed.
"Shut up."
Although Elle is bothered by this treatment towards the girl, he says nothing, preferring to stay out of it. There is an energy between the two boys, between Alex and Beyond, an energy that neither he nor Sophie have the right to touch.
Alex stands up. Beyond looks at him darkly.
"You know what, Beyond?"
"No, do you know what? Everything you've been doing lately is of zero use to anyone. No one cares about your stupid games. If this is the best that one of Wammy's House's most intelligent kids has to offer," he says with scorn. "Just die already and spare us the embarrassment."
Alex breaks. It's not visible, not to the eye. But Elle, somehow, knows it; he knows Beyond's words have broken him inside. Outwardly, however, Alex only smiles sadly.
"Yes, you're right. Still, I hope you're there to say goodbye, Beyond."
His eyes widen for a moment, as if the other had stabbed him, when he is the one throwing daggers carelessly.
"Go to hell."
The door slams shut behind him. A heavy, unpleasant silence now seems to fall from the skylights, flooding everything. Elle wiggles his bare toes, uncomfortable. Sophie, her face always so sweet, has a slight crease between her blonde eyebrows.
After a moment, Alex seems to react.
"Sorry. I'll go talk to him."
And then he's gone too.
There are dozens of rooms in Wammy's House orphanage. In one of them, on that early August day, Elle and Sophie entangle for the first time in the bed of adolescence and concupiscent pleasure. The soft greyish embrace of dawn filters through a small window above the bed, where limbs and loose blonde hair vibrate among laughter and muffled moans.
Fireflies still flutter in their chests and on the linen sheets when their breathing returns to normal. There is both a mischievous and innocent sparkle in the girl's green eyes as she half sits up in bed, fresh and natural as flowers with nothing covering her intimacies.
Elle looks at the time on the bedside clock.
"They'll be serving breakfast soon," he informs. "I wouldn't want to miss it; I think there's dulce de leche today."
"I've got tickles all over my body," she huffs with a dancing laugh.
Elle's eyes are drawn once more to the small bronzed breasts; he can still feel the imprint of their soft texture in his hands, like cotton candy. Sophie pulls her bare legs to her chest and squashes her breasts with them. Elle blinks. Then he looks into her eyes.
"Sophie, what do you think about love?" They never talk about such topics; neither is particularly interested, but after finishing with Nietzsche, the boy has been reading some of Jane Austen's works and is curious about what the girl thinks.
"Hmm?" The girl, confused, tilts her head. "What do you mean? In romantic relationships? It's supposed to be something special and beautiful, isn't it? Something to nurture with care like the small shoots of a plant. A few months ago, I read a story in the library, I don't remember the author; it was about the feelings the sun had for the moon and vice versa, both in love with each other and yet destined to remain apart for all eternity. I thought of our Beyond and our Alex. So, I think it can be sad too."
Elle looks at the ceiling, thoughtful.
"It can't be both beautiful and sad."
"Oh, yes, it can! Just like fire from snow can be both hot and cold."
Not very convinced, he scratches his neck.
"Proximity is the seed of any kind of affection. You live with a person, you establish bonds, and you end up wanting to see that person happy." He shrugs under Sophie's attentive gaze. "It's beautiful while it lasts and both are happy, but distance erases everything. There's no tragedy in forgetting. What was, is no longer, and the story loses what made it beautiful. They paint it as something magical, but it's no more magical than anything else in life. No more magical than mathematics or the deductive process."
A melodious laugh escapes the girl's lips, and she lies back down beside him with a plop, stroking his stomach with her fingers. Elle likes her touch.
"But, my Elle, my sweet and pragmatic Elle, of course mathematics and the deductive process are magical! Of course, life is magical all over; you just need to know that magic. And love is magical, not eternal." Elle can't resist and gives her a chaste kiss on her cherry lips. She laughs again. "What? Do you want to keep sharing firefly kisses?"
Elle pulls back and grabs his T-shirt.
"No. I'm hungry."
Sophie nods and then, more seriously, adds:
"You'll see, Elle. One day you'll find someone made of fairy dust and the sweetest honey, sweeter than the nectar of the gods. And the Moirai will govern the beat of your heart, and then you'll notice, a squeeze in the chest if that person is no longer there..."
The boy accepts and treasures most of Sophie's musings; they are what make her who she is. But now he can't stay silent.
"I hope no one ever governs my heart," he says cynically, because yes, it's the last thing he desires. "And there are no people made of fairy dust, not in this life, Sophie. I'd be less surprised if we were made of underworld refuse; since you're in a very Hesiodic mood."
But she pokes a finger threateningly into his chest and insists:
"That day, I'll ask the crows to spy on you and come tell me, and I'll have a great time," she seems delighted with the prospect. Elle stands up to get dressed. "Your melody will be the same, you'll see."
The two youngsters go down to the dining room together after getting dressed. They don't talk about the subject again and don't entangle in the sheets again. There are kisses, but nothing more. It happened once, and that's it. A pleasant moment in Elle's life, like many others he shares with her, and occasionally with Alex, perhaps with Beyond.
In the end, they engrave the coins with their initials. With their full names, really, although it's not easy to discover the mechanism. If someone looks at one of the four coins, they'll only see the letters A.B.L.S. embedded in the copper.
Elle decided to use the initial of his surname to fit the phrase Alex mentioned a few days ago: "Always Be Limitless and Sempiternal."
Sophie, Alex, and he already have theirs on. Only Beyond's is missing. Of course, it's Alex, whose bad days are increasingly frequent, who hangs it around the skinny neck. They say something to each other in a low voice, and something warm passes across Beyond's cold expression. Elle wonders if it has to do with the blessed fairy dust and nectar of the gods. Then it's no longer there, his face as impassive as ever.
That image of the two boys haunts him afterwards. Especially when the grim reaper inevitably descends upon Alex and, a few months after his death, detective L discovers, disappointed, what Beyond has become.
