The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (15 page)

‘Oh, Timmy,’ the
mother sobbed and clutched her boy even tighter. ‘You’re okay.’

Timmy raised a
hand to acknowledge that he was indeed all right.

The father
turned his attention to his son. ‘Hey there, sport!’ Rick said. He took his
son’s hand into his own and for the first time in years, he allowed his tears
to flow freely. ‘Welcome back, son.’

Rick looked up
to thank Simon, but the stranger was gone.

‘Did you tell him?’

Rebecca looked
up at Justin with a blank expression on her face. ‘Huh?’

‘Did you tell
him?’ Justin insisted.

‘Tell whom
what?’

‘Simon,’ he said
with a slight irritation in his voice. ‘Did you tell Simon about the thing I
told you about my past?’

‘What thing?’

Justin clenched
his teeth. ‘Remember how I told you about my past that night we went out?’

Rebecca thought
for a few seconds and then her eyes widened. ‘The abortion thing?’

‘Yes. Did you
tell Simon about it?’

‘Of course not,’
she said. ‘Why on earth would I talk to someone I barely know about something
so intimate?’

‘Well, if you
didn’t tell him, how does Simon know about it?’

‘He knows?’

‘My question
wasn’t whether he knows,’ Justin snapped. ‘It was
how
he knows.’

Rebecca’s
defences shot up. ‘What makes you think that
I
would know how he knows?’

‘Because other
than myself and Sandra,
you’re
the only other person on earth that has
this information.’

Rebecca flinched
as if she’d been physically struck by Justin. ‘Do you really believe that I
would tell anyone about it? Is that the level of faith you have in me? Is that
the level of trust?’

Justin didn’t
answer. He pursed his lips together and raked his fingers through his hair.

‘Is that how
well you know me, Justin?’

‘I don’t know
what to believe anymore, Becky. I don’t know who to trust and what to believe.’

‘If you can’t
trust me,’ she said and moved closer to him. She embraced him in her arms.
‘Then you can’t trust anyone.’

He returned the
embrace. If felt so good to hold her again. He smelled her hair. Fresh shampoo.
That two-in-wonder with the conditioner worked into the formula. Wild flower
extract for that nostalgic smell of home. Justin was home. He was with the one
person that fulfilled him in every single way. But there were too many
unanswered questions; too many weird things happening. ‘You’re right,’ he said.
‘I guess I can’t trust anyone.’

Rebecca broke
away from the embrace. ‘Does that include me?’

Justin didn’t
answer.

‘Are you
seriously implying that you can’t trust me?’

‘I don’t know
who to trust anymore, and your behaviour sure isn’t making it easier for me.’

‘Without trust,
there can be no relationship,’ Rebecca said. ‘I might just as well move to my
parent’s place.’

‘Fine,’ Justin
said. ‘Go to your parents then! It saves me the trouble of moving out.’ He
walked from the room and sighed a loud
Sheesh!
as he slammed the door
behind him. Rebecca sat there for a moment, replaying his words in her mind. A
moment later she broke down and cried.

*    -    -   
-    *

Simon sat on the
soft grass under the massive oak tree in the park, absentmindedly eyeing the
families and friends that either picnicked nearby or just walked past, looking
for just that perfect spot to unpack and spend the next few hours.

It was a good
day. The leaves on the huge tree filtered the rays of the sun which made
peculiar patterns on Simon’s arm.

And why should
we trust you? Rick’s voice echoed in Simon’s mind.
How do we know you’re not
nuts? How much money do you want?

Simon sighed. He
wasn’t even sure at the time that little Timmy would actually open his eyes. He
merely went on faith and obedience, fighting the doubt in his mind and the
butterflies that fluttered furiously in his stomach. Even with all his faith,
he too was just as amazed as Timmy’s parents to see the cardio monitor beep to
life.

‘Why am I like
this?’ Simon whispered to the all-present Creator. ‘Why did You give me these
abilities?’

The wind passed
through the branches of the trees, rustling the leaves gently.

Simon looked at
the book lying next to him. He figured that there was going to be no reading
today. One needed a certain motivation to pick up a novel and continue from
where one left off. Simon had no motivation today. His mind raced with
unanswered questions and doubt. The reality of what happened still vividly
haunted his thoughts.

A shriek pierced
through the void of Simon’s thoughts and he looked up. The shriek was followed
by the laughter of a little girl as she playfully ran away from her pursuing
father. Without much effort the father scooped up the girl in his arms and
whooshed her through the air much to her delight. She approved verbally with
another shriek and more laughter.

Simon smiled.

Out there was a
little boy called Timmy who would be able to share the same type of experiences
with his father. He had been given a second chance, and Simon somehow knew that
both the boy and the father would make the most of it. Simon blinked hard and
wiped at the wet spot on his cheek with the back of his hand. He took a deep
whiff of morning air and picked up the novel. He smiled. It seemed that today
would indeed be a good day to read.

*    -    - 
  -    *

Rebecca clutched
the telephone receiver in her hand. She pressed the first digit and hesitated
before killing the line. Calling her parents proved to be the hardest thing she
had done in a very long time. She replaced the receiver in its cradle and sunk
back into the soft comfort zone that was the couch.

Fine! Go to
your parents then! It saves me the trouble of moving out.

Justin wanted to
move out? Why hadn’t he mentioned it before? Rebecca was forced to finally
admit to herself that Tanya might have been right about Justin having an
affair. Maybe there was someone else and he just needed an excuse. Who could it
be? Someone at his work? Was she blonde? Justin’s ex was blonde. Was he
secretly seeing her again? Who was that person with him in the car when he went
for the interview? She buried her face in her hands and shook as the sobs
escaped from her mouth. It didn’t take long before she regained her composure.
She sniffed hard and wiped at her eyes.

‘Oh, Justin,’
she said and almost lost it again. ‘Why?’

Rebecca picked
up the receiver again and dialled the number. A moment before it rang she
slammed down the phone and dashed to the toilet where, on her knees, she threw
up.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘Did Rebecca
talk to you about the abortion?’

Simon looked up
at Justin but didn’t answer.

‘Did my wife
tell you about the abortion or not?’ Justin insisted.

Simon shook his
head. ‘No,’ he said. ‘She didn’t.’

Justin raked his
hands through his hair and sat down on a seat across Simon. He leaned forward
and with a lowered voice asked, ‘Then how on earth did you know about it?’

For a long
moment Simon only stared at Justin. He slowly raised a cup and filled his mouth
with bittersweet coffee. Too much sugar; not enough milk. After swallowing the
coffee, Simon lowered his cup and locked eyes with Justin.

‘I don’t know
how I know these things,’ he finally said and shrugged. ‘I just do.’

Justin searched
Simon’s eyes for an alternative answer, but found none. ‘Then what’s the use?’
he finally asked.

‘I’m not sure I
understand what you mean,’ Simon said.

‘What’s the use
of having this...gift or whatever, if you don’t know how to control it?’

‘It comes when
it needs to,’ Simon said. ‘If I could control it, nothing would stop me from
abusing it for my own personal gain.’

‘Moral ethics
would.’

‘And if I were
raised by immoral parents? Or if I had immoral friends?’ Simon shook his head.
‘Do not be deceived, for bad company corrupts good character.’

‘Whatever,’
Justin huffed and stood up. He turned to leave and then paused. ‘I want you to
switch it off when it comes to my private life,’ he said over his shoulder and
walked off.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘So you’re
really considering moving out?’ Tanya asked. Normally she would have been
ecstatic about the idea. She would immediately offer up her spare bedroom and
would elaborate on how much fun they would have living together. Her actual
reaction was more serious.

Rebecca nodded.

‘Does Justin
know?’ she asked and slowed the car to a stop in the parking spot in front of
Rebecca’s home.

‘He knows that
I’m thinking about it,’ Rebecca said. ‘He just doesn’t know that I’m actually
going to follow through with it.’

‘This is
serious, isn’t it?’

Rebecca took a
deep breath and exhaled slowly. ‘He’s changed,’ she said. ‘I can’t keep up with
him anymore.’

‘What do you
mean?’

‘It’s hard to
explain,’ Rebecca said. ‘Since the miscarriage he’s been so distant. You know
about the longer hours he works. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want to come home
anymore. And then there’s the part where he doesn’t believe or support me about
the strange happenings in the apartment.’

‘What exactly
is
going on in there?’

‘Nothing,’
Rebecca said. ‘You’d only think I’m crazy too.’

‘Nonsense!’
Tanya said. ‘Just because Justin is too blind to see something is going on,
doesn’t mean that I am too.

Rebecca wondered
if she should tell Tanya. She figured that it could do no harm to try. ‘I see
things in the corner of my eye. Shapes standing there, looking at me. I see
shapes outside my bathroom window. The light fixture fell down and almost
crashed on my head.’ She paused for a moment. ‘You know, now that I’m saying it
out loud, I can understand why Justin would think that I’m crazy.’

‘Stop talking
like that!’ Tanya rebuked her friend. ‘You’re not nuts!’

‘Well, I sure
sound like I am; believing in the unbelievable.’

‘If that is an
indication of insanity,’ Tanya said, ‘then we are all insane.’

Rebecca looked
at her friend. ‘Why? What do you mean?’

‘You remember
Timmy?’

‘Little Timmy
that got attacked by the dog?’

Tanya nodded.
‘Well, apparently he died the other day.’

Rebecca held her
hand to her mouth. ‘Oh no…’

‘The insane part
about it,’ Tanya said, ‘is that it turned out that he’s not actually dead.’

‘Wait. Is he
dead or not?’

‘He’s not dead.’
Tanya said. ‘He
was
dead. But not anymore.’

Rebecca still
didn’t understand. ‘How did he...what happened?’

‘From what I
heard, the kid died. Some guy just walked into the hospital and brought the boy
back to life.’

‘You’re joking,
right?’

‘Nope,’ Tanya
said. ‘It’s been all over the news this past week. There’s a case of fraud
being investigated against the parents.’

‘That’s
terrible,’ Rebecca said. ‘Who was the guy?’

‘That’s the
strangest part of the story,’ Tanya said. ‘The parents claim that they can’t
remember his name or even remember what he looked like. That’s why they’re
being investigated. According to a nurse, she saw the man every other day, but
also can’t seem to remember his name or even some of his basic facial
features.’

‘And little
Timmy is better?’

‘Not even so
much as a scar on his face,’ Tanya said. ‘And that’s exactly the point that I’m
trying to make.’

‘You are?’

‘Strange and
unexplainable things happen around us every single day. Just because Justin is
too blind to see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. My personal opinion is that
moving out might not be such a bad idea.’

Rebecca bit her
lip and nodded. She knew that despite Tanya’s grudge against Justin, she spoke
the truth. Moving out might just be the best option after all.

*    -    -    -   
*

Justin sighed
before turning the key in the lock. He was tired and just wanted to go to bed
and sleep until the next morning. But he was also married and thus sleep
wouldn’t come for another six or seven hours. Maybe he could convince Rebecca
to join him. Maybe she was just as tired and also needed some rest.

‘That stupid
bird just bit me,’ Rebecca said as he entered the apartment.

Maybe not.

‘It went
ballistic for some reason and bit me.’