"Three things you should never break;
Promises, trust and someone's
heart"
~ Unknown
I breathe in.
Fairytales aren't real, not to me anyways, so imagine the shock and confusion I go through when Stephan is thrust back into life. I'm happy he's back but isn't dead supposed to remain dead?
I breathe out.
"Aren't you supposed to be carrying some weapon like a giant hammer or a long axe thingy?"
Thanatos looks at me, with one of his eyebrows raised.
"You mean like Thor or Grimm reaper? Would you like if I bring my blazing pitchfork to your house then?"
I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Like they say: Don't trust the devil.
Thanatos rolled his eyes and pointed to the kitchen.
"Get in here for a second; I need to talk to you privately"
I look at both resurrected Stephan and Death man.
"Me?"
"Of course with you" Stephan retorts back, "probably wants to discuss ownership deals"
"You don't mind?" I ask Stephan.
"My whole being alive is bothering me. So don't even ask", he lies on the couch and close his eyes.
"Ungrateful son of a-" Thanatos growls. "This is for you Hebe" he mutters to himself.
"Come on to the kitchen", he led the way to my kitchen.
"How are you so familiar with my house", I ask curiously as I sit on the chair.
"We were here for over three hours; I'd say it's enough time to know everywhere here. Especially with your fur ball trying to claw our asses"
Sniffles screeched at Death menacingly.
"Yeah, hate you too pussycat"
"Can I do an interview with you?" the writer in me speaks up as I get Sniffles out of death's way.
"Not a chance in hell"
Okay.
A long silence settles between us, I look into his green-bluish and watched his tattoos that are now as still as statues. They looked like really ancient drawing of some kind.
"Why are you not talking?" I ask.
"You do not know how hungry I am right now. I feel like stabbing your heart with my hands just to get your soul in me so I can be at peace. It took me two centuries for me to understand how to control it. And I am the friendliest of them all."
I look at him, not horrified. I was scared but I was sad for him. He looked like he needed help; the burden was too much on him.
"So", I chuckle nervously," Are we going to talk about his sleeping arrangements?"
"You are taking him in"
"What? Why isn't he here discussing this with us? Are you sure he won't eavesdrop or anything". What if Death made a mistake and he actually resurrected a three hundred year old witch? Nope, not happening in my house.
"I'm the god of death. Don't you think that comes with some super powers? He can't eavesdrop even if he tried. And he should never know about what we are to discuss. All he knows is that he's tied to you for thirty solid days"
"Alright then, how long do I need to take care of him? Till he remembers who he is?"
"Subsequently, he'll remember, it will just take time. There's a catch though"
My ears perk up. Take a hundred folds from the devil, repay with ten thousand folds.
"He isn't meant to be in this realm, so nature wouldn't want him here because he is an 'unnatural' occurrence. He has to have something anchoring him down permanently, else, give or take, he has a month till he dies again"
I look at Thanatos who was perfectly calm telling me all this.
"Okay", I blink rapidly as if my eyelids will dissolve the crazy away, "How do I anchor him down"
Thanatos smiles. "Good question. You see when I resurrected him; I defied all natural laws so he is an abomination, no one on earth except you know who Stephan is. Their memories of Stephan are gone. He ceased to exist the moment he came back to life"
"Not even his mother?" I ask, I remember how broken she was when he died. And now she doesn't even 'remember' him.
"No, not even his mother. He's an outcast in the world now. And you are the only capable of saving him."
I sit back my chair and breathe. It was a lot to take in. No one knows who Stephan Stones is anymore. It's funny because even when he was dead he was still attached to us through memories. Now he is just dead. Only an empty vessel to be filled up.
"How do I anchor him?"
"You have to make him fall in love with you"
Wait, what?
"He needs an emotional attachment. Everyone in this world that's alive what do you think really keeps them going?"
I stare at him.
"Food?" I say
"No, not food", he reply tiredly.
"Sorry, are you tired?"
"No, I'm appalled by your striking stupidity"
"Oh", I stutter.
"Everyone is connected to something, an ancestor, a tree line is formed, and ancestors have certain angels guiding the affairs of the generation it's working on. Ever heard of miracles? They are the ones in charge."
"What about people alone and bitter?" I ask him.
"No one is truly alone, it's always connected to something like how the Earth is a big mass of connected land and seas, and how the trees and connected to the ground and its branches"
My mind zap into imagination and I imagine death as doing the whole circle of life talk. Though I imagined him as scar instead of Muphasa.
"Stephan has no connection to anywhere. So he's linked to you, he has to feel an attachment to you before his time run out. Love is the strongest and most positive attachment he can have with you"
"But what is in it for me?" I ask. "When he remembers his past life and he falls in love with me, what happens next? What is the price?"
Death looks at me straight, as if he could read my future, then he smiled slowly, "That's for Stephan to decide"
And like that the god of death disappeared.
I sit back and the whole evening replayed in my mind. I check the time. Past eleven.
Just then my phone chimed. It was my boss Clyde. He dropped me a new book I should check over and submit. I sigh, dropping my head the table. Sniffles jumped on the table and meowed softly.
"What am I going to do Sniffles?" I look at the cat. He looks at me like me like my problems were trivial.
"Oh yeah, you think it's funny?" I hug Sniffles, reluctant to leave him. Till I heard Hailey screaming in the living room. I drop Sniffles and run into the room.
Hailey had a gun to Stephan's head, who was lying in the same position I left him, he looked irritated.
"Hailey", I shout at my best friend. "Where on earth did you get a gun from?"
"I'm saving your ass, there's a burglar on your couch"
I shake my head, "He's not a burglar Hails".
Stephan is still on the couch, totally calm.
"Oh", she uncorked the gun and put it inside her bag.
"Where'd you get a gun from?" I ask Hails.
"Who's he? You skipped our dinner. Noah is freaking out. He thinks something happened to you"
Something did happen to me.
"I'm fine. I got caught up with my mom and work"
Hailey points at Stephan, who still lies on the couch perfectly undeterred by the noise hovering above him.
"What's this?"
I stare at Hailey tongue-tied. She truly didn't know who Stephan was anymore. It was like he never existed in her life.
"Work", I blurt out. "He's an expert editor from.... California, he's to work with me on a couple of bestselling novel"
Hailey crosses her hand, her lavender wig bobs. I think she is irritated because Stephan did not acknowledge her.
"Does it have a name?"
"Stephan... Stephan Stones", I say tentatively, expecting a reaction.
Hailey took a sit on the couch and uncrosses her hand.
"Call Noah and tell him you haven't been buried alive", Hailey says moving to my kitchen. Probably going to make herself some PBJ's. Every time I let her do that, she ends up finishing the whole jam bottle, I don't get how she manages to do that but she does, so I follow her into the kitchen as I whip out my phone and to text Noah.
I sit on the table after send Noah a short message.
As predicted Hailey sat on the chair with a sandwich in her hand.
"Where's mine?" I ask.
"You don't get one", she took a large bite.
I roll my eyes and then I stood up to make myself some.
"Why didn't your boss just put your partner in a hotel or he could rent a place."
"Oh, uh, he thought it was better if we lived together and I volunteered to it's actually no biggy for me really"
"Hmmmm", Hailey watched me as I made my PBJ until I begin to feel itchy and guilty.
"I know you are lying to me right now. But I also know you'll tell me the truth of the whole matter when you are ready"
I slump my shoulders down in relief, I didn't even know I was holding them up. Hailey was usually a very inquisitive person so I am a bit surprised of what she said.
We chatted till it was almost midnight and she had to leave. After Hailey left I went to check out Stephan and I found him in my empty room, sleeping.
I was too tired to thinks or feel anything and I just headed straight to my bedroom to rest. After changing to my sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt, I lay down to my fluffy bed. "I must be dreaming, dreaming be must I" I chant over and over again.
I could sleep and wake up and find out that everything was just a dream. A joke to the lack of excitement in my life. Or guilt and pain and heartbreak. That the first guy I ever loved died before I had the guts to really know him.
Anyhow, tomorrow isn't running, and I am slowly crawling to it.
************************************
Day One
I woke up groggily to Sniffles licking my face. Sitting up I rubbed his tummy until he was purring contentedly.
It is autumn and the chill in the air was beginning to set in. Wearing my thick flip-flops I put on my sweatshirt and headed downstairs for some breakfast.
There was movement in the kitchen. I could feel my heart begin to race until all the memory of yesterday began to surface.
Oh yeah, I was visited my Death and he brought back Stephan who has been dead for five years now. Stephan, the boy I had a heavy crush on.
Stephan who was standing half naked in my kitchen.
I feel a rush of heat gather in my face.
He turned to me with pancakes neatly stacked in his hand.
"Good morning", he took a seat on the dining table.
"Morning", I reply, still standing feets away from him.
"I made enough for two", he gestured to the pancakes on the table.
"You cook?" I ask as I take my seat opposite him. It smelled so good. My stomach growled eagerly.
He looks at me with his grey eyes shimmering a bit, "I remember...." he trails off.
"Remember, remember what?" I scooted my chair forward, eager to hear him say something of his past.
"I remember you say thank you when you are offered food"
Still the same salty attitude.
"By the way", I chewed hungrily, "how did you know where to find everything?" I ask him.
He shrugs, pouring himself a glass of orange juice, "If you become a ghost and you float around poking into other people's homes and business, you begin to understand how or where they do things. There's actually a pattern"
"But you've been dead for five years"
He gulps down the orange juice. "Feels like a lifetime", Then he squeezes his eyebrows.
"What?" I ask.
"I don't like orange juice"