Blood of the Pure (Gaea) (19 page)

I blushed when the others looked at me and Joe’s annoyance seemed to melt away.

“She talked about me?” he asked, sounding excited by the idea. “What did she say? That I’m great and simply amazing? That I’m a hunk of a man? That must be it, right?”

“Joe!” I scolded, louder than I’d usually do, and my face burnt, turning red. They all laughed at my embarrassment.

“And to think Mari talks about us,” Albert commented with a dreamy look.

“And to think Mari talks at all!” Sarah added, sitting beside him, and I understood that, without knowing exactly why, I’d become their target.

“Come on, guys, don’t be like this,” Joanne requested, but the smile on her lips denounced her true intentions. “Mari is just selective with who she speaks to.”

“Well, she talks to me,” Steph informed with a superior look while Albert and Sarah made faces.

“And with me,” Michael added, looking at me with that dazzling smile, and I hid my face between my hands, knowing that it couldn’t get any redder.

“Enough already!” I pleaded.

“This is punishment, Mari. Who told you to go around talking about others behind their backs?” Joe asked, still laughing, and although I’d probably never felt more embarrassed in my entire life, I was still happy.

To my relief, the conversation ended up turning towards more trivial matters. As expected, Michael ended up having to answer a lot of questions, but never anything related to his past. They were all common questions, the type one would ask when trying to know the other person better. And so our lunchtime went by, while we laughed and played.

I didn’t even notice the moment Gabriel left. When I realized he was already gone, not even his tray had remained. I still looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of him, but he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I doubted he’d simply disappear in front of all those people, but couldn’t be sure. In truth, no one else seemed to notice his absence, not even Steph now sitting beside an empty chair, and who, just moments before Michael’s arrival, had been happily chatting with him. I felt slightly sad at the fact that someone could just vanish without anyone even noticing and recalled his words. He’d told me that once the Contract was fulfilled everyone would forget he’d even existed. At the time I thought it impossible. How could he possibly erase all the memories from all the people with whom he’d crossed paths? However, sitting at that table, I couldn’t help thinking that maybe it would be even easier than I thought. Maybe he wouldn’t even need to use Magic. Michael’s light was simply too strong and now I could clearly see that I wasn’t the only one being absorbed by it.

I repressed my unusual feelings of compassion, making sure I reminded myself that Gabriel wasn’t even Human. He didn’t belong there! And turned my attention towards what Albert was saying, making sure that I too forgot everything about him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“I can hardly believe it!” Steph was whispering as she dragged me by an arm towards the classroom. I’d just said goodbye to Michael and we’d agreed to meet again after class, which had left me utterly absent-minded.

“Same here. I still can’t believe it. It’s really better if I don’t ...”

“Don’t be silly! Didn’t you see? He came just to meet you!” Steph went on, trying hard to keep her voice down and I winced.

“No. He came to meet you guys. I understand that perfectly well.”

“What are you saying? That doesn’t even make sense.”

“But it does. Sure, he came to meet you because of me, but not in the way you’re thinking. What he said ... it’s all true. I noticed it before. His friends are constantly protecting him, almost like bodyguards. Even from afar, pretending they’re not there, they’re always watching him. And it’s not like I can’t understand. In the end Michael is pretty much like a child. His memory of events and experiences is only one year old. All he knows is the right now. I think ... I think my words made him curious about the people outside the small circle formed around him. And I think he was very honest in what he said.”

Steph took a deep breath and her tone became more serious. “I know he was honest. If he wasn’t, Joe wouldn’t have been so pissed. But just more the reason, Mari, because he doesn’t know anything else, I don’t think he’s able to understand his own feelings.”

“Steph, just stop it. I don’t need you filling my head with extra-puffy, pinky clouds.” I complained, knowing her words would come back to me at night, when I was alone, making it impossible for me to asleep.

“You can call it whatever you like, but I know what I saw. Still, you’ll probably have to be very patient with him. And maybe he’ll never come to understand it on his own. But one thing is certain, Mari. That guy is in love with you,” she stressed, releasing my arm to open the door, and we went in.

Steph didn’t even bother to explain our tardiness. Joanne had just arrived a few minutes earlier.

I walked toward my place feeling my body stiffen in robotized fashion. Why did she have to say something like that? From the corner of my eye, I noticed Gabriel hadn’t missed class and, worse, his dark gaze was fixed on me. My stomach tumbled and I hurried to take my seat.

My mind was a mess, I concluded with an exasperated moan. I couldn’t be happier about Steph’s assumption, but just thinking about it made me shiver. Cold fear seeped into my cells anticipating our meeting after class. He wasn’t going to make some love confession, right?

I squeezed my hands together.

No. Even if Steph had been right — and my heart jumped just thinking about it — she’d also said he didn’t know what he felt. And I wanted, and didn’t want, for him to know.

I felt my brain about to explode.

The truth was, I wasn’t the slightest bit ready to fulfill my part in that Contract, should it be fulfilled. And, for the first time, I realized I didn’t know for sure what Gabriel had in mind when he said that he’d make it so my love was retuned. What did that mean? Just a feeling? A confession? A kiss? What gesture or magic word would make his part in the Contract fulfilled?

By the time the bell rang I’d decided it best if our feelings weren’t mutual. What it meant to fulfill that Contract needed a long and careful preparation, mental and emotional.

Mark was expecting Steph by the door and I went down with Joanne and Kevin, noticing that Gabriel had remained in his seat, talking to a girl who, lately, I’d been seeing around him a lot. I took a deep breath, relieved at the notion that he didn’t know about my meeting with Michael, and said goodbye to my friends, telling them I still had to go by the library before returning home.

I rushed to our meeting place and saw him as soon as I turned the corner, standing by the glass door, his blond hair shining under the cold light coming from outside. He smiled as he noticed me and opened the door to let me pass. For a moment I just stood there. That gesture was exactly the same as Gabriel’s, I thought with a shudder. Michael looked at me intrigued and I smiled awkwardly, stepping outside.

“Um, now we can talk at ease,” he told me, walking beside me, and I felt truly nervous.

“Yeah,” I replied timidly, but neither of us said anything. We walked in silence until we reached the tree Gabriel had used to attack him two weeks ago, and he sat down on the floor smiling at the touch of the cold grass against his hands.

I followed his lead, sitting beside him, and our silence became strange and uncomfortable.

“You know, what your friends told me ... is true,” he finally said in a grave tone. There were no bright smiles on his face and his green eyes were distant. I couldn’t help feeling guilty.

“You shouldn’t take them so seriously.”

“No. They’re right. Not that I’d never thought about it. But, in the end, I’m just too weak, always needing someone to reinforce my own ideas and thoughts so that I’m able to actually act according to them. Steven, Joe, Kevin ... you.” He looked at me.

“Me?”

“Yes,” he confirmed with a soft smile. “I feel right near you.” My heart raced. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to survive that. “You’re the first person I know that’s really honest with me.” I wanted to ask him what he meant, but the courage failed me. I knew he didn’t like questions. And right away I felt sad.

“You’re wrong. I’m not honest at all,”  I confessed, recalling all the things I was hiding from him, from everyone.

“Oh, but you are. I’m not saying I believe you have revealed your entire life to me. I say you’re honest because your words and your feelings are as one. When we talk you always tell me the truth about what you’re thinking, and you always do it without fearing what I might think or feel.”

I pulled my knees up and rested my chin on them.

“I’m not that sure that’s a good thing. I can be a bit ... insensitive at times.” He laughed lightly and leaned back to look up at the sky.

“Believe me, it’s a good thing. It was that honesty of yours that gave me enough courage to walk into that cafeteria today.”

I couldn’t help feeling dirty because of all my lies. He was so pure and bright. How could I even dare to wish that someone like him would love someone like me? A girl who had to belong to another, a demon.

“Do you remember what Kevin told me?” he suddenly asked, sitting upright, and I nodded surprised by the change in his tone. “He told me only I could choose who I let in my world.” I nodded again. “I’m choosing you.”

“Me? But ...” I stammered, once more feeling guilty that I didn’t deserve his trust, but he simply smiled and all my resistance was gone.

“Can I ask you to listen to me?” he asked me so softly that all I could do was nod. “The only other person I talked about this with was Steven. Did you know I met him while I was still in the hospital? It seems there was an afternoon when Father Jorge couldn’t visit me and, since he had promised me he would, he sent Steven in his place. I still clearly recall his shocked expression when he looked at me. At the time I wasn’t looking all that great.”

“Michael,” I whispered, wishing he would stop, wishing he would see I didn’t deserve those words, but he kept smiling and went on.

“My accident ... no one knows exactly what happened. The police investigated it for quite some time, but they never reached a conclusion. From what I was told, I was found one morning in a small park, practically covered in snow. I had cold burns all over my body and the doctors were quite surprised that I wasn’t already dead. Besides that, almost every bone in my body was broken, as if I’d fallen from somewhere high, but there were no buildings around and the trees were too short to verify it. I spent almost a year hospitalized. First to recover from my injuries. Then to recover my motor skills since I had to be completely immobilized for a long time. And, like everyone knows, I lost my memory.” A twinge of anguish squeezed my throat when his smile became slightly bitter. “It’s nothing you need worry about. It’s just how things happened.”

“But it’s hard for you to talk about it,” I reminded him.

“Yes. But, on the other hand, secrets are too heavy,” he told me and I looked away. I was the one keeping secrets, not him.

Michael went silent and I understood he wasn’t going to say anything more. He’d noticed that his story had disturbed me and, although he wished to share it, he’d rather not upset me.

“Your memories,” I muttered, resuming our conversation. If he wanted to talk about it I didn’t want him to keep silent because of me. “Are they all really gone?”

“Basically, yes.” His answer dared me to look at him and see his reaction. I was faced with his bright green eyes and a soft smile touched his lips, making me blush once again. “However, our brain stores memories in different places. The memories I lost were stored in specific areas. So I was lucky to keep what they call academic knowledge, or I couldn’t even be here.”

“You mean things like knowing how to write?”

“Yes. It goes from knowing how to walk, talk, get dressed, tying your shoes or using a fork. All that was kept intact. The things I studied at school, too. However, things that people might have told me are gone. All the situations involving people were completely erased. I don’t remember my teachers nor my schoolmates, not even my family. I don’t remember which school I used to go to, because that would imply remembering the faces of those who also studied there. I also don’t remember my house, nor any other house for that matter, not even a walk in the park or common places like a restaurant.” I felt sad for him. Although I already knew about his situation, hearing it from him was depressing.

“Then you can’t also remember smiles, or tears, or arguments, or even a moment of affection,” I added and he smiled sadly.

“No. Nothing like that, nothing human. Ah, that expression. Are you feeling sorry for me?” he asked with a slight touch of criticism.

I shook my head. “No. I was trying to put myself in your place, forgetting my mom and all the times I argued with her. And all the times we made up. And all the times we sat together to watch TV. Or even all the times she woke up earlier just to make me breakfast. Forgetting all that would be very sad.”

He seemed satisfied with my answer and took a deep breath.

“I still feel like that sometimes,” he said. “In the beginning I felt like that every day. Not knowing who I was or what I’d lost. But now Steven and the others fill part of that void. They reaffirm my existence every day. And now you, too. It’s really scary, the feeling that you suddenly ceased to exist. That suddenly there’s no one in the world that remembers you, that recognizes you, that knows who you are. I felt really lost when, after months of search, the police informed me they were giving up on my case, that they’d done all they could, but no one had come forth to reclaim me, as if I were something unwanted that someone had just thrown away. It was a really devastating feeling. As if the entire world had closed over me and I couldn’t breathe.”