by Nelly Asher
***
As they were eating, Adeline kept glancing at her daughter and Kevin, but didn't say anything. Selena was already hoping that she won't ask any more questions, but, when plates were almost empty, the woman turned to Evanford:
“Do you study in the same university?”
“Yes. I've finished my third year in the department of Mathematics,” he didn't see a particular reason to avoid the answer. Mrs.Silver nodded in approval and went on with a smile:
“Do you work somewhere?”
“Mom, you've taught me since I was a kid that you shouldn't talk while you're eating,” Selena sharply interrupted her. “Anyway, we'll go have a rest,” she kicked Kevin's leg under the table, got up and left the room. Evanford shrugged, left his unfinished plate and followed her. The girl whispered quickly:
“She may be nobody to you, you won't see her again! But I don't want to get my mom involved, she'd rather know as little as possible about all of this, and about you, too. I understand, feminine curiosity and all, but sometimes she really gets on my nerves with all those questions. Adeline is a good person, and I don't think she wants to annoy me on purpose, so I don't want to fight... But sometimes it drives me mad when she pries into my personal life. Well, I mean...” she stumbled. “What I'm saying is mom may sink her teeth into you if you let her. She'll ask about all your relatives and tell everything about our family. She'll go on about what a sweet child I was – before getting sick, I mean... She would've shown my stupid child pictures, if there were any. And actually, you know, sometimes it seems that my parents wanted a boy. And now mom sees a potential “son” in any decent guy,” Selena stumbled again, but not because she said something she didn't mean to. A guess, crazy and blurry, flashed somewhere deep in her mind. If anyone told her that this morning, Silver would've thought he's crazy. But now this idea didn't seem that implausible, though she was still unable to digest it.
“I'll keep this in mind,” Evanford said with indifference. He turned on the bathroom light, entered and opened the faucet. There were no more strange sensations.
“And you're quick to get used to our switch,” Selena remarked. She leaned against the wall opposite to the door, examining Kevin with her gaze like she saw him for the first time. “We have a bathroom, a toilet and a hallway, but they've messed up with the wires, didn't connect them in order. This usually baffles our guests, and even people who visit this place often sometimes confuse the switches. But I see that you've familiarized yourself with them almost immediately...”
“I saw the way you're turning it on. Nothing complicated about that, one example is enough,” Kevin replied, soaping his hands.
“I guess so,” there wasn't much confidence in her voice. “Wait a second, we ate already, why are you washing your hands?”
“You never let me forget your true nature,” Evanford replied dryly.
“My true nature? I seem to recall it too,” Selena muttered under her breath.
When he left the bathroom, Kevin raised his hand and touched the wall about thirty santimeters straight above the switch. After a quick glance, his fingers slipped down the wall, turning the light off. Evanford didn't even notice how automatic his move was, but it didn't go unnoticed for Silver, who was watching him closely. She could bet that the next time professor's nephew will hit the switch immediately. He is a quick learner, there's no doubting that... But it's probably not the only reason. Her suspicions grew stronger.
They entered Selena's room. The girl stretched across the bed, enjoying the comfort. Kevin looked around, picking where to sit. Just like in her appartment, this room didn't have much decoration or even furniture.
“I'd sit on a chair if there was one,” he said, taking a seat on the opposite side of Selena's bed.
“There was a couple, but mom took them away. I'm not living here anyway, so there's no point in having them here,” Silver smiled, finally feeling relaxed. “A-ah, I can't believe we're having a rest!” she pulled up her top a bit and stroke her belly, shutting her eyes like a satisfied cat. “Like they say, basic needs are fulfilled!”
“Need for safety is also one of the basic ones,” Evanford remarked.
“Then you should also mention the need for reproduction,” Selena grinned, looking upward at him.
Kevid didn't reply. Silence fell for a while as they looked through the window, watching the gray floating clouds. When they entered the house half an hour ago, the evening sky was already getting overcast. Now it almost got dark. Suddenly, a lightning flashed. Silver shuddered at the thought of the deafening thunder that will follow, but it turned out to be mild – the storm was far right now, but with this wind, it could rage above their heads pretty soon.
“Sun was shining so bright this morning... I would've never guessed it will rain like that,” Selena spoke.
“Maybe the weather hasn't changed in Texven, but we're far enough.”
“It feels like the storm is everywhere. Even the weather could no longer stand this heat and stuffiness, and threw up,” Silver gazed into the distance. “A heavenly orgasm of relief, a climax everyone was waiting for,” lighting flashed again, the thunder was louder, and droplets started hitting the glass. Seeing the way Kevin glanced at her, Selena looked him in the eye and asked: “There's something about rain that makes a person philosophical... What, are you shocked by my metaphors?”
“No. They're quite in your vein,” he replied. Selena rolled to her side, facing him, and asked:
“Can you tell anything about me?”
“What do you mean?” Evanford raised his brows.
“Well... In a mess like we've been through people usually show their character, what's truly inside... Their true nature, as you've already said. Maybe you've figured something out about me, something that others don't see at the first glance?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I'm curious. Just like my mom,” this question was actually just a preface. Selena didn't expect Kevin to answer, she was looking for an excuse to say something about him. She didn't want to blurt out her guess all of a sudden. But to her surprise, Evanford spoke:
“I can share my observations if you wish. You're not as ill-mannered as you sometimes seem or want to seem. There were things I couldn't explain right away, but I probably can now. You're a kleptomaniac, or whatever it is called when a person steals small things without even realizing what they're doing,” Kevin watched Selena's reaction. He wasn't completely confident about his guess, and didn't want to make any false accusations. But she wasn't even trying to argue. The girl turned away and said bitterly:
“Just don't call me names, ok? Do you think I'm a thief or sick? No!” her voice slightly broke. “It's just that sometimes... I take... stuff. Some small things... My hands are just grabbing them! There's nothing I can do about it, and you're right – I often don't even notice that I'm doing it! But then they blame me,” Silver released a heavy sigh.
“Sorry. I wasn't trying to diagnose you. I didn't mean to offend you,” Evanford said, his voice as even as ever.
“It's all right, never mind,” Selena was staring blankly at the ceiling, thinking how to put it better. Suddenly she had an idea. The girl jumped up, ran up to the door and exclaimed: “Come! Come with me!”
Kevin didn't like following her commands, but he had nothing to do in this room anyway. They entered the neighboring room. Wallpapers here used to have bright drawings, but the colors already faded with time. There was a black-and-white photo on the bedside table, picturing a couple with a baby – in a woman Evanford recongized Selena's mother. There was nothing else in the room – no pictures, flowers, decorations or other things that would make a room look like someone lives there. Though the room was well-groomed, it seemed to be abandoned long ago.
“I used to live here before ending up in a hospital, then moved to another room... I wanted to make some renovations here, but mom stubbornly said no. I wanted to forget about everything that happened before I got discharged, but
to her, all of this reminded the “great” times when I was nearly a baby. She put the picture here – it must be the only picture with me. I guess didn't like being photographed since my very birth – I was making faces at the camera, and not even in the amusing way. When I learned how to talk, everyone realized for sure that it's better not to point cameras at me,” Selena stopped, looking at the picture. She saw it many times, but now started to notice the things she didn't pay attention to before. For one, parents often dress their small daughters into some cutesy dresses, but the child on the photo was in a one piece suit, blue or green. Though Silver herself started to dress feminine only since she was about fifteen... Maybe before that she was influenced by her parents somehow?.. But the girl realized that it's definitely not the case here.
At this moment her eye was caught by a detail that killed all the remaining doubts. Baby's irises were barely discernible, but it was clear that they are light, not dark.
“Do you recognize anything in this room?” Selena looked into Kevin's gray eyes, trying to stay as calm as possible.
“No,” Evanford wasn't completely sincere. He actually couldn't recall anything specific, but at the same time he couldn't get rid of the sense of deja-vu that he felt since entering this room. “What exactly am I suppose to recognize?”
“Ok, look arround for now... And I'll go back to my room. And don't even try to go in there! I need some time alone!” the sound of slammed door drowned in another peal of thunder. When the rumble subsided, Evanford heard the lock in Selena's room clicking.
He had no intention of following her. For a while now, Kevin also wanted to be left alone, to get some rest. Unlike Silver's room, this one had a chair that was standing by an empty desk. But the guest laid down across the bed, leaving his feet on the floor. He didn't want to take his shoes off, and the bed was too small for a person his height either way. The matress turned out to be quite soft and comfortable. The sound of rain was soothing, and fatigue was getting the best of him – eyelids were getting heavy. But Kevin couldn allow himself to fall asleep in some unfamiliar house, and tried not to close his eyes, gazing around the room. A lightning flashed, and someone's silhouette appeared on the ceiling for a brief moment. Evanford didn't understand what it was, he wasn't even sure if he saw anything or not, but he felt an inexplicable anxiety.
His sleepiness was gone. Kevin looked intently at the ceiling, waiting for the next lightning. When it fleshed, Evanford realized – what he saw was just a shadow of the tree branches. One has to be quite frightened and distraught to see a figure with its arms stretched.out in it. Or not arms... The silhouette that appeared to him didn't seem human.
Pinches of worry were getting stronger, even though Kevin realized how groundless they are. Suddenly, another flash snatched the open closet door out of the darkness, and Evanford felt his heart skipping a beat. Vague childish fears were overcoming him once again. But now the monsters that may appear from the closet had a shape – a shape of a creature that Kevin ran into in the Pocket. Not the huge monster, but a shaggy ball with bulged eyeballs. This creature is flying completely silently, and once you close your eyes for half second it'll fly up to you, burning you with its hateful stare, clutch at your face with its tiny chalas and start making its way into your throat to suffocate you... Meanwhile, the other hairy ones will get under the blanket and rub their furry bodies onto yours, tearing up the clothes and the skin.
Those images flashed so brightly before his eyes that Evanford shuddered. Maybe it's better to check that the closet is empty? No, this is stupid. Kevin didn't want to admit that the actual reason why he doesn't move is the sticky fear that glued him down to the bed. Despite realizing how silly the situation is, Evanford couldn't regain his balance. Having a walk and getting some fresh air might help, but where could he go? There's a downpour outside. Wandering around someone's house isn't an option, and neither is pacing the room like a prisoner in a cell – besides, in a condition like that Kevin wouldn't turn his back at the closet. There's no point in knocking on Selena's door – she doesn't want to see anybody, and there's not much she can do either way. The only thing left was to remain there, motionless, and try reasoning with himself.