Dear Citlali (ONC2024)

Chapter 8. Dovi

I joined Kai in the office, and Citlali followed me. There was a good chance for us to find what we were looking for there. I was secretly hoping for another letter on the desk but there were none.

The office had an industrial style, all black metal and dark wood, mixed with cozy elements that warmed the room. The soft blue carpet occupied most of the floor and some pillows of the same color laid on a massive leather couch near the window. Two of the walls were covered with shelves and the others with black and white pictures.

There were so many notebooks and stacks of paper. I didn't know where to start. Kai opened the desk's drawers, while Citlali watched the photos on the walls.

A heavy black notebook caught my eye, and I opened it. I understood immediately what it was. It is very common for supernaturals to keep traces of their life, in diaries or, retrospectively, in memoirs. At some point in our lives, memories fade, and keeping a sense of self through millennia can be tricky. There is something reassuring in having the story of your life, or at least part of it, stored somewhere.

"I found Ameyal's diary," I said. "Well, one volume of it anyway."

Kai and Citlali came closer, and we looked at the pages together.

"This one is from the 80s," said Citlali.

I was torn between the desire to read what I had in my hands and the need to check the rest of the room to find a more recent notebook, which could more likely answer the questions we had.

I put down reluctantly the diary, and the three of us checked all the other ones.

"There are older notebooks, but I can't find her current one," Kai sighed.

I nodded. "The most recent ones seem to be from a few years ago."

"I've never seen her write on notebooks," Kai added. "Maybe because she was writing on her computer now."

We looked around. No computer in sight. "Perhaps it is in another room."

We split up to search the house but there was no trace of a computer. After a while, we gave up and sat back in the living room.

Kai took off her glasses and put them on the coffee table. She pinched her nose and closed her eyes.

Citlali stared at her before looking at me. Kai was indeed upset, as Citlali had warned me. She tried to soothe the immortal's nerves. "I think we won't have answers quickly. But they are here."

"Ameyal wanted to give us access to her life," I added. "And the house is going to tell us this story. We just have to take our time to explore it."

Kai opened her eyes. "How can you be so calm? It doesn't bother you to be here, in this empty house?"

"Oh, I'm not calm." I smiled. "I'm very upset. Ameyal was a dear friend of mine. I miss her more than I can say. And the simple fact of being in a place so full of her presence but I didn't know even existed breaks my heart. But I think you're wrong. This is not an empty house. We are here together. I want to honor my friend's memory. I want to explore the house but I also want to listen to you talking about how you knew her. This is why we are here."

Tears rolled down Kai's cheeks. She brushed them off and nodded. "You're right. That's what I want too. It's just so hard."

We both looked at Citlali but she said nothing. Her jaw clenched in a sad smile. There was a story in her eyes, definitely. But maybe one we wouldn't want to hear about.