Dear Citlali [Completed]

Chapter 32. Dovi

February 14th

Lee still hasn't said a word. She walks in the house now. She makes dinner sometimes. She sits with a coffee in the garden. She even looks me in the eye. But she doesn't say a word.

I don't ask questions. I just tell her "Hi" or "Thank you". I bring her a blanket when she seems cold. But I try to give her time and space.

It's strange to have someone in the house with me. I'm so used to being alone. Not that she takes a lot of space, but there's a presence when I wake up and when I go to sleep. I even thought for the first time about the house as "home", which felt very strange.

 I was at the grocery store and I looked at the time on my phone. When I saw it was already 6PM, I thought I didn't want to leave her alone for too long and that I had to go home. It was as simple as that.

February 17th

I took the habit of reading to her. She sits in the library, her arms around her knees and her eyes closed. And she listens to me.

Tonight I took a chance, when I saw tears flowing on her cheeks. I put the book down. I sat close to her, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She curled up onto me and laid her head on my chest, while she kept sobbing. And then, she said: "Thank you".

"Who's Lee?" Kai asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know." I browsed briefly through the following pages. "All the entries seem to be about her."

"Maybe we should go back a little," Citlali tried. "Can you find the entry when Lee moved into Ameyal's house? It sounds like it was a recent event."

I searched the previous pages, and I quickly found what seemed to be the first reference to the woman. I kept on reading.

February 9th

Someone rang my doorbell today. It was the middle of the night. The noise woke me up, and I felt immediately it was an immortal. I checked who it was before opening, quite tensed, and I saw a young woman, shaking, with blood on her face.

When I opened she looked at me as if she didn't remember she was the one who rang at my door. I recognized this look of utter terror and confusion. I was sure she had just become immortal. 

In her panic, she was going to go. However, I stopped her and asked her to come in. I told her that she might have come to me because she had sensed my presence. Her eyes were haggard, and she didn't answer.

"Did you just die?" I asked. It was abrupt, but I didn't know what to say.

Her breathing raced up, and I thought she would faint. I told her my name, and that I was like her, and that everything would be okay. I led her to sit on the couch and I brought a blanket, something to wash her face, and a tea.

She let me check on her. And when I asked if she was in pain or hurt, she just shook her head.

She's sleeping in the guest room now. I hope she'll feel better tomorrow.