“The twenty second of July,” I mournfully told her.
“That’s not too long,” she said cheerfully. Apparently she didn’t have any idea. “I’m sure I can keep my hands off all other men till then.”
I dreaded giving her the bad news, but I had to. “Twenty twenty eight.”
“I will be 45,” she said quietly.
“That is unacceptable,” dad said. “You cannot ask them to be apart for the next quarter of a century, Rachel aging while Kris remains young.”
“Those are my terms. Take them or leave them.”
I could see only one option open to me so I took it. “If Rachel is not allowed to remain here, then I will return to her world with her.”
“No,” mom called out. “You cannot do that. You will age and die.”
“But I will do it with Rachel.”
“I cannot let you do that,” Rachel said, her voice breaking as she spoke. I know that she was only saying that because she did not want to keep me from my family, not because she didn’t want me with her.
“There is an alternative you know,” Death said. We all spun around to look him. “I can give Rachel the necklace that will reduce her aging. While she will live her life for twenty five years, she will only age by a handful. Five or six at most.”
“But you made that for your wife,” my mother said to him. “You would be prepared to give that up for my son?”
“It is the least I can do after what I have put him through,” Death replied, pulling a small gold chain from around his neck and handing it to her. “So does that solve all of our problems?”
“No. I cannot be parted from her for twenty five years.”
“You can and you will,” great-grandmother said sternly.
My entire family argued against what she was demanding. I have not seen them so united before, but it was all to no avail. She would not change her mind and we had to obey her.
“Time to go,” she said. Most of my family gave Rachel affectionate hugs and promised to go and see her. Except for uncle Len. He seemed almost to be saying goodbye to a stranger rather than someone who would hopefully be my wife one day.
“You like puzzles don’t you Len,” Rachel said to him. He nodded his head enthusiastically. “Then I have one for you. Three men go to a restaurant for a meal. After they have eaten they each throw in ten dollars. The bill actually only comes to 25 so the waitress gives them each back one dollar and keeps the other two for herself. Three tens are thirty. Each man ended up paying only nine. Three nines are 27, plus the two that the waitress kept make 29. What happened to the other dollar?”
A frown crossed Len’s face as he thought through all she had said. I hadn’t heard this puzzle either, but was not in the mood for thinking about it. My mind was on other things. “I’ll have to think about it,” he said. “If I can’t work it out when will you tell me the answer?”
The smile she gave him when she replied was anything but sweet. “When I next see you. That gives you about 25 years to think about it.” My face wanted to grin, but my heart wasn’t in it. Was she trying to irritate him? If so, she was succeeding.
“That’s not fair,” Len said.
“Well, if you want to know the answer sooner you will have to convince your grandmother to let me come back here won’t you.” He started to mutter under his breath and turned his back on her. I almost felt sorry for him.
Then it was my mother’s turn to say goodbye. I watched her place Death’s chain over Rachel’s head and she studied the gold and glass hourglass shaped pendant. She shook it, fascinated by the movement of the minute grains of sand inside.
“Try to keep this on at all times,” mom said. “It will only work while you are wearing it. When you take it off, you will age at a normal rate.”
“I will.”
Suddenly the enormity of what Rachel was about to do struck me like a physical blow and I knew that I was asking too much. I placed my hands on her shoulders and made her look at me. “It is going to be so hard for you. Watching your friends age while you remain young. I cannot ask you to do that for me.”
She smiled at me. “I’m not doing it for you; I’m doing it for me. I have found the man I want to grow old with. What does it matter if I postpone the aging process for a while?” I didn’t know what to say.
“How do we get back?” Rob asked.
“I can create a portal that will take you back to the caves,” grandfather said. “Whenever you are ready.”
I took Rachel in my arms and it suddenly felt like there was nobody else in the room. “I am going to miss you so much.” My eyes filled with tears and my voice started to shake so much I had trouble forming the words.
My hair flopped in front of my eyes and she brushed it back for me. “Keep an eye on me,” she said. “I’m sure you can do that from down here somehow.”
“Always. And I will come and see you as soon as I can. Rhea will have to allow it eventually.” I pulled her closer to me and kissed her, long and deep, silently praying that the moment would never end. Unfortunately it had to, as Ankou reminded me by clearing his throat to get my attention.
“She may want to breathe at some point.” I could not hide my blush, which Rachel’s skin mirrored.
“See you soon, hopefully,” she said as tears streaked down her face. I still had hold of her hand and Ankou had to force me to let go as Tammara gently pulled her away.
“I will take care of him for you, I promise,” Ankou said to Rachel. I saw her nod her head then she disappeared, along with Rob and Tammara. The moment she left my sight I felt cold inside.
“Her bag is still in my room.” I have no idea why I suddenly thought of that.
“I’ll get it,” Ankou said, squeezing my shoulder before leaving the room.
“Are you alright son?” my dad asked once he had left.
“No,” I replied truthfully. How could I possibly be alright?
“You’ll be fine soon enough,” great-grandmother said with confidence. I didn’t even acknowledge that she had spoken. I felt a burning rage toward her develop in the bottom of my stomach and I knew that if I didn’t get away soon I would say or do something that I would regret. I did the only thing I could and transported myself home.
It did not take long for my sisters to come looking for me. They must have been able to sense that I was hiding in my room, but they had the good sense to stay away when I didn’t respond to their knocks. Ankou on the other hand did not even bother to knock when he appeared a few hours later.
“They’re heading home,” he said. “I kept an eye on them until they got to their car. Neither of the girls are speaking to Rob.”
“I don’t care.” I really didn’t. I felt nothing toward Rob anymore; all of my anger was turned toward my great-grandmother.
“You will get through this,” Ankou said. “And I will do anything I can to help.” I knew I should thank him, but I wasn’t in the mood for saying anything. Sensing that I wanted to be alone he left, promising to drop by in the morning.
A short while later my mom checked up on me, but like my sisters respected my privacy and did not enter my room without permission. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was concerned, but what could I say to her that would make any difference?
My dad was not so polite and walked in when I did not respond to his knocking. He offered me no sympathy, for which I was grateful. Instead he told me that I needed to find something to do to keep my mind occupied. He was right, but I was too entrenched in my misery to respond. I just stared at the walls, wishing I was with Rachel.
The room went dark when the sun went down, but I didn’t turn on the light. I wouldn’t have had to move to do it, but even that small task seemed too much for me to cope with. I just sat there and thought.
Hours went by and eventually I reached a decision. I knew what I would spend the next 26 years doing. When I was younger I managed to create a cave where I would hide whenever I wanted to be alone. None of my fa
mily had ever been able to find it. Rachel said that she wanted to live on an island with a beach. Well I would create one for her, complete with a cottage, and I would make it so none of the family would ever be able to find us again.
Spying
Well things didn’t go quite to plan. Firstly, I soon realised that shutting myself away from everyone would be harder than I had imagined. I had expected Ankou to keep a close eye on me, after all he had promised Rachel that he would, but the rest of my extended family also seemed determined that I would not have any time to myself to brood. I could have just disappeared, but I didn’t want anyone asking questions as to where I had gone when I returned, so I stayed at home and put up with my multitude of visitors.
Secondly, I couldn’t stay away from Rachel. Great-grandmother banned us from being together, but she had not said I couldn’t go to Earth and watch her. It didn’t take me long to track her down and whenever I could get some time to myself I went to Earth. I soon learned her routine; what time she would get up, what time she left for university, what time she was due home. She joined a nearby gym and went swimming regularly. Outwardly she appeared to be getting on with her life, but her face told me a different story. I never saw her smile and when her bedroom curtains were open I would often see her staring out into the sky, her mind obviously in another place.
I longed to talk to her, to touch her, to at least let her know I was there, but if I did anything other than watch her great-grandmother would find out and put a stop to it.
One evening I was watching her gaze out of her window again when a voice sounded next to me. “It’s not polite to spy on someone.”
I was sitting on a bench across the road from Rachel’s apartment and turned around to find Ankou sitting next to me.
“Do you really think I care about being polite?”
Ankou shook his head. “How often do you come here?” he asked.
“Not often.” I was lying and he knew it.
“Come with me,” he said and led me to his car. “Where’s a good place to eat around here?” he asked as I did up my seat belt. I gave him directions to what had become my favourite restaurant and a short while later we were eating pasta and washing it down with wine.
“While you have been pining away watching the love of your life, I’ve been in contact with Tammara,” he surprised me by saying.
“Why?” There was a reason for his visit and it would not be for him to brag about how easy it had been to get her into bed.
“As you probably know she is staying in touch with Rachel. Well, she has agreed to keep me updated as to what is happening in Rachel’s life. Important events that you would like to know about, that sort of thing.”
“Why?” I asked again.
Ankou shrugged. “Maybe she just likes my company. Anyway, whatever the reason, I promise to keep you informed.” He checked his watch. “I need to go. I’ve got a date soon. Try to keep yourself out of trouble and don’t let great-grandmother find out what you are up to or she may ban you from Earth altogether.”
Without waiting for me to reply he stood up and left the restaurant. I paid the bill and walked outside. It was a pleasant evening and it would not have taken too long to walk back to Rachel’s apartment, but I didn’t need the exercise so I made sure nobody was looking before disappearing and reappearing on the bench. Rachel had closed her curtains so I would see no more of her that evening. I decided to go home.
Birthday
Months passed and my life became a routine of creating my island, spying on Rachel and pretending to my family that I was coping with the separation. Only Ankou knew the truth; that the only thing keeping me sane was my regular visits to Earth.
I avoided great-grandmother, disappearing whenever I could sense her presence in the house. It was hard enough being in the same realm as her let alone the same room. I think she was beginning to get the message.
Eventually I decided to pay her a visit. Rachel’s birthday was approaching and I longed to celebrate it with her. I hoped I would be allowed to and there was only one way to find out.
“Why are you never at home whenever I visit your father?” great-grandmother asked as soon as I entered her house.
“I am. I just leave as soon as you arrive.” I decided being honest was better than being polite.
“Why?” She sounded angry. Maybe telling the truth had not been the best course of action.
“I’m not with Rachel and it’s your fault.”
She sighed. “How long do you plan on avoiding me?” she asked.
“That depends.”
“On what.”
“On whether you let me see Rachel on her birthday.”
“No.” I stared at her in shock. She was not even going to discuss it? I could feel my mouth hanging open and forced myself to close it. I hadn’t expected this to be an easy conversation, but I thought there would at least be one. “Stop behaving like a child and I will think about allowing you to see her in a year or two.”
Rage consumed me and I had to ball my hands into fists as I tried to keep myself under control. “You are going to blackmail me?” I hissed at her.
“That’s rather a harsh word,” she said. Personally I thought it was the right one to use. “I would put it differently. You be nice to me and I will be nice to you.”
I grunted. “I was nice to you for five hundred years and look where it got me.”
“Stop overreacting,” she snapped. “Start treating me with the respect I am due and we will both be much happier.”
“I used to treat you with love, not respect. It’s a shame you would rather have the latter.” I had gone too far so I vanished before she could respond.
I went to see Ankou. I was in the mood for a fight and knew that he would oblige me; all I needed to do was push the right buttons. Unfortunately he could see that there was something wrong as soon as I materialised in his room and he refused to rise to the bait, calmly letting everything I said wash off him until I had calmed down enough to speak to him properly.
“What’s happened?” he asked when I eventually stopped pacing the room and sat down on his bed.
I told him everything. “I think I have made things a lot worse.”
He waved away my concern. “Great-grandmother will get over it. I know from experience that she does not hold a grudge. You should consider stopping avoiding her though.”
Ankou is giving me advice? Things really have changed and I’m not sure it is for the better.
“In regard to Rachel’s birthday,” he continued, “I may be able to help out. You may be banned from seeing her, but I’m not. Why not let me be her date for the evening.”
He had to be kidding me. Did he really think I would let him go off to seduce my girlfriend on Earth while I was stuck down here? Then I noticed that he wasn’t smiling. He was serious. And he had no intention of seducing her.
“Thank you,” was all I could say.
The day arrived and I began to regret agreeing to Ankou’s suggestion. He had found out from Tammara what the arrangements for the evening were, but neither girl knew he would be joining them. They were going out with a group of friends and Ankou planned on introducing himself as Rachel’s boyfriend.
“You promise to show her a good time without showing her too good a time.” I must have said that a dozen times already.
“Yes,” Ankou said in exasperation. “Trust me.”
“I do.” I think that was the first time I had ever admitted that to him and he seemed taken aback.
“I will do all I can to convince her friends that we are a couple without making her feel uncomfortable. That should keep other men off her back for a while. Now promise me you will stay here. Do not go to Earth and spy on us.”
I promised and it was a promise I actually intended to keep. I didn’t think I could bear watching Rachel have a good time with anyone, let alone Ankou.
“Can you do me a favour?” I was sure I was going to regret asking this, but I went
on anyway. “Give her a birthday kiss for me.”
He didn’t grin. He didn’t leer. He didn’t even smile. “I will,” he said then disappeared.
The hours passed slowly and I tried to distract myself by reading. Ankou had some sort of murder mystery book by his bed and I found it surprisingly good. It wasn’t the usual run of the mill where it is either so obvious who did it or it is so badly written that you don’t care. It had a few well thought out twists and I became so engrossed that I didn’t notice when Ankou returned.
“Enjoying yourself?” he asked, making me jump.
“Not as much as you probably did.”
“You’re right there. Rachel is really good company. You chose well.”
“I know.”
He then proceeded to tell me all about the evening. It sounded like Rachel had had a good time and I was happy for her.
“She asked about you a lot before we left her apartment and again once we got back,” he said. “I think she misses you as much as you are missing her.”
It’s amazing how good that made me feel. “Did you kiss her?”
“Only once. As per your instructions.”
He suddenly looked very unsure of himself.
“And?”
“And she asked me to pass on something to you.” He really didn’t sound happy about it.
“What?”
He didn’t reply. Instead he just walked up to me and kissed me passionately.
To begin with I was too shocked to react. Then I realised what he was doing. I closed my eyes, pictured Rachel, imagined it was she who was kissing me and let myself enjoy it.
“Yuck,” Ankou exclaimed when he had finished. “I feel sick. I don’t believe I actually did that. I hope you appreciate the lengths I go to for you.”
“I do.”
“I need a drink.” He wasn’t the only one. I created two glasses of whisky, which we both downed in one before I refilled them.
“We will never speak of this to anyone,” Ankou said once he had finished his second.
“Agreed,” I said as I refilled the glasses once more.
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