January 2, 2015 - Matadero
if u thought the world was ending 2morrow. what would u do?
Salvador had stared at those words displayed on his phone for quite some time after he?d received the message that morning. They had been words to sleep on, to mull over while eating. A question that did not settle well with him. A clue, he knew, to his friend?s continuing deteriorating mental state.
Shortly after finishing lunch, and after a shower, the Spaniard sat himself down on the floor just outside of Rekah?s permanent guest room, put his back to the door, tipped back his head, and sighed. He was well aware of her seclusion and brief emergence. The walls and floors of Matadero told him everything that happened on the premises.
?Rekah,? he queried quietly, even a bit uncertain. Though he knew of her actions, he had no way of knowing who was in the driver?s seat today.
There had been some shuffling and a thud, probably the closet door being closed. Her self imposed solitude was mostly because she wasn?t sure what was going on. She thought it best to work through these things on her own. But, she heard a name. It was one of her names, so she stopped pinning stars to the wall and opened the door. It was dark except for the christmas lights.
?Sal..? her reply was just as quiet and as uncertain, if not a little worried.
?Hi.? Also a normal reply.
Through the soles of his bare feet and the palms of his hands, the floors and walls warned him of her coming. So when she opened the door he did not fall backward into the room. He set his hands to the floor and locked his elbows to keep himself upright, but tipped back his head to peer up at her with a smile.
?Still Penelope?? He only asked, because she was talking. Little clues. He picked things up like that.
?Sort of.? She said and shrugged. ?Not quite sure what is happening in our headspace. But, it?s not unfamiliar.?
Once she was sure he wasn?t going to tip over she opened the door the rest of the way and gave him a lopsided smile.
?You can come in. I?ve just?? she paused, looked around and shrugged again, ?been hanging up stars.?
Twisting about, he grabbed the doorframe and hauled himself up to his feet. Salvador paused before stepping over the threshold and into the room to look up and around with a fond little smile.
?Don?t let Aoife see these. She?ll camp in here forever with you.? Not that that was necessarily a bad thing as far as possibilities went. That said, the Spaniard then stepped into the strangeling girl?s room, and aside in case she wanted to close the door.
Of course, she closed to door. There really hadn?t been too many times it was open. The door to the terrace was propped open. It afforded her a quick getaway when necessary.
?She?s always welcome. She knows this.? She spoke over her shoulder as the door clicked shut. ?As are you.? She handed him a small star then motioned around the room. Meaning at some point he should hang it up.
At some point, he would, but for now he only tucked the little star into the palm of his hand, still with a soft smile, and drifted around the room. His eyes roamed, drinking in the details of all the girl?s redecorating efforts. Clearly, she had been busy.
She couldn?t just be in one place for long and not make her mark on it. While he took in his surroundings she sat on the edge of the bed and watched him walk. She waffled on her next words. But, they sort of tumbled out.
?Did you get my question??
?I did.? Salvador?s investigative prowling took him to the open terrace, where he stopped to look out and feel the biting chill of winter air trickle in. From here they could see the open gates of Matadero. Rekah?s view was the front of the property. North.
?Do you feel like your world is ending, mi amiga?? He looked back at her with a sad and concerned frown.
?Mm. I know. We know something is different? ? She plucked absently at a pant leg. She was, indeed, wearing pants and a giant sweatshirt that swallowed her small frame. He was given a brave smile, because what else was she supposed to do?
?You know how when fall approaches you feel it deep in your soul? You know it?s right around the corner and you just have to brace yourself? I kind of think that?s what I?m doing. Preparing for some inevitable cliff that I?m supposed to walk off. ? She rapped her knuckles to her forehead. ?Or maybe we?re just stopping. It?s hard to tell.?
Her description of Autumn?s effect on him made the Spaniard squirm. Too accurate. He rolled the little star between his fingers in one hand, and reached across his chest to rub at the back and side of his neck with the other.
?Mm.? Salvador turned his head to look back out the open terrace doors again. ?There?s always a bottom under a cliff,? he mused. ?Water or rocks. You?ll land on something, and it?ll hurt. But you?ll survive this, nena. It?s what we do.? Survive.
?It?s more than just missing someone though. No, this is different. I know the difference between missing someone and whatever else this is. I can deal with sadness and being apart. I know he is alive. And we?ll meet again.. No, I just don?t feel right. I don?t know why.? She looked up at the ceiling and watched the stars she had hung sway as a gust of wind blew through the open doors.
?We?re always burning up now. Or falling apart. Breaking apart?? She scratched at her shoulder. ?Losing bits of who we are, who she is.? Shaking her head and out of that train of thought.
?It makes no sense.?
Salvador listened; it?s what he did best, even when he wasn?t looking directly at a person as was the case now. He looked up at the bit of wall just over the open doors, and that?s where he decided to put the star she had given him. He reached up and placed it right in the middle of the wall right there, like a guiding star. Once it was affixed, he stepped back and stared a long moment before nodding his own approval. Then he turned around to look her over.
?I?m not sure how I can help you.? That?s what bothered him most of all. There was the desire to help, to fix her, keep her safe as ever. ?I don?t know what?s wrong either. I don?t know if even I did know that I?d be able to help anyway.? Frowning, Salvador stepped over to sit on the edge of her bed.
She couldn?t help but smile as he hung up the star. But, her mood remained somber as it had been for the past few days. Waiting until he sat down before she launched into her next little speech. She cleared her throat.
?Did you ever own a sweater that started to unravel? Like at the shoulder? And it was easy to ignore at first? Because it was just a bit of yarn so you snip it and move on? But, then you wear the sweater again and the thread is still there and there?s now a hole. So, you try to sew it back together. And that works for sometime but then it starts unraveling in such a way that you can?t put it back together?? She glanced over her shoulder at him and didn?t blink. It was odd. But, she was odd.
?I?m like a sweater, Sal. I?m all sewn together. Maybe I?m just unraveling??
With a groan, Salvador flopped backward, pressing the heels of his hands to his forehead and closing his eyes. The Spaniard did not much like that analogy, because?
?That?s when you throw the sweater out and buy a new one,? he muttered. Couldn?t just run out to the store and buy a whole new Rekah, though. ?You?re not a sweater.?
She gave him a ?well-duh? look.
?I know I?m not an actual sweater.? Penelope-Not-Rekah gave him a long hard look then rolled her shoulders.
?I don?t suppose Rekah, me, whoever has told you where we came from? It?s a weird story even for Rekah. I doubt she?ll tell you. But, that?s neither here nor there I think.? She scratched at her shoulder again.
?Here. Let me show you something.? She veered off the subject as was typical for her. Twisting around and pulling the collar of her shirt out and down over that same shoulder she just scratched at.
Oh good. Salvador had started to become even more aware of that little detail. The scratching. He had been about to ask her, actually. He rolled onto his side, stretching to peer back at the girl, and then to his stomach which resulted in him half sliding off the bed before standing. He stepped around to get a closer look at what was hiding under her collar.
It looked like black ink in some lights and in others it looked like oil on water. It snaked from her clavicle back over her shoulder and was starting to make its way down her arm. She scratched at it again.
?Does that look like decay to you? Or am I just becoming a black hole? Or what is that?!? Her tone had been even up until that question when she sort of shrieked.
?It doesn?t even wash off. I tried.? That statement was weird from her.. Rekah willingly bathing.
Concern etched itself very clearly onto Salvador?s face. Hesitantly, he lifted his hands, the one lower than the other to touch, first, Rekah?s elbow. That was a silent warning that he intended to touch her a little more, because that was the only way he was going to be able to discern anything about this disturbing, spreading mark. Now or never was her chance to pull away before he did.
He set the fingers of his other hand to that inky blackness, and when he did a dim glow illuminated his irises. His lips parted as if he could catch the flavor of the scent of whatever it was washing over his tongue, too. Decay he knew intimately, but what was this?
She sat still. Well, as still as could be expected. But, she watched his face for any sort of clue, or expression that would mean he knew was it is. The decay of magic is something different than the decay of flesh. It surges and retreats not unlike a dying star collapsing in on itself.
Yes, this was new. Salvador knew about it from things his mother had told him before. Everything dies. Even the very fabric of the universe was subject to decay. Wards and protective spells always needed touched up and built back up to keep from falling apart completely, just as a car needed its oil changed frequently or else it would just explode. Maybe Rekah just needed a tune-up?
?You never answered my question. What would you do if you knew the world was over tomorrow??
Her words drew him out of his own head. Salvador inhaled and withdrew his hand, blinking slowly. The hand he?d used to touch the mark was pressed to his eyes, squeezed the bridge of his nose, and fell away when he exhaled. The other hand pulled away from her elbow even before that.
?I?d sit up on my roof and watch the sunrise one last time,? he said, turning away. Simple, maybe even a little romantic. He lived for sunrises. Don?t tell anybody he could be a sap.
She shrugged her shoulder back into the sweatshirt. Then she leaned over and gave him a one-armed hug.
?I think maybe you should watch more sunrises. Or moon sets. Or whatever. But, I like that. ? It was doubtful she would retell this conversation to anyone. She might even forget it by tomorrow.
?I?ll be okay though, Sal. I always am. Right? We?ll get through this like usual.? Statements and questions were better than riddles.
They were, but rest assured he was going to be puzzling over the mystery of her for a long, long time still. Moreso than he ever had before. He was determined now to put her back together. To keep her from unraveling and breaking apart. But for now, he put on his own brave smile and turned around to show it to her.
Salvador took her head between his hands, gently, and leaned over to press a kiss to the top of her hair.
?Always,? he agreed with her quietly.
In moments such as these it was best to put on a brave front. The unknown was a scary place. But, they were the best of friends and in moments such as these they were never alone. She gave him a smile that matched his own and hugged him.
?Always, mi amigo, always. But, we have to go now. We?ll be back. She?ll be back. I promise.? A quick kiss to his cheek. ?And never forget that we love you. Okay? That?s important. I?m not sure why. But, it is.?
She wriggled backwards and hopped to her feet with a natural exuberance that never seemed to fade even in the worst of times.
?Also, can we please get some pasta for dinner sometime? And meatballs??
Laughing, Salvador pressed another kiss to the girl?s forehead as he stepped back. When he released her, his smile was much more genuine.
?S?, mi amiga. How about tonight??
?I was hoping you would say that. I can?t survive off tomatoes and salads and pieces of bread.? Her smile grew. It was one that reached her eyes and made her wrinkle her nose. ?But, okay, we have to go now. Please close the door on your way out.?
Of course, she was going to make her exit via the terrace. Her and the man-eating plants had come to an accord. How? It was hard to say. But, it was working.
Maybe it was Matadero itself, keyed so strongly to Salvador himself. The property knew its own. The worst dangers lurked far, far beneath the surface anyway.
?Stay safe, nena,? Salvador said, on his way into the hall.
She was gone before he even had a chance to close up the room.
But he did close the door as she had asked.
