IncuBUST

The Gift

I sat on the couch in the living room reading the same page over and over because I couldn't concentrate with Sissy and her playmates making their long goodbyes by the door. Eventually the Basilisk and the Black Dog made their departure and Sissy closed the door. She spun around, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh. She drifted over and sat down next to me on the couch.

"Did you sleep alright?" she asked. I closed my book and glanced at her. I shrugged. She leaned against me and I took comfort from her warmth.

"I got a confirmation text last night from the Cleaners," she murmured leaning her head against my shoulder and breathing deeply. She did this often.

"The body has been taken care of and the proper authorities have been notified. You have nothing to worry about."

I leaned my cheek against the top of her head and breathed in the scent of her hair. Like sweat and smoke and sex.

"You should shower," I said after a moment and she laughed out loud. She sniffed herself and made a face.

"Yeah, I should!" she announced before jumping off and leaving me to take a shower.

I sighed and stood up. I thought for a moment and then walked into the kitchen. I fetched a decorative box from under the counter and set it on the table. I proceeded to pile one of every pastry into the box and repeated the process until the box was full and then I replaced the lid. I found a sticky note and a Sharpie and wrote "For Octavia" I tapped the end of the marker against my lips and pondered writing something more, but what would I say? "Sorry about last night"? "Please forgive me"? "I hope you're not allergic to peanuts"? I shook my head and looked at the sticky note. The space seemed too empty with just her name. I sighed and doodled a little cartoon dog. Sometimes a doodle means more than words.

Now I had to find what floor she lived on and which apartment. I drummed my fingers against the counter and closed my eyes. I rarely tried to do this. I saw her face in my mind, pale with an olive undertone, wide storm grey eyes, dark brown hair plastered to her face from the rain. It was the only way I knew her. It was like sensing or feeling, but also kind of like smelling, but with the mind instead of the nose, only it drew you from the core like being pulled. It was difficult to explain.

Her energy felt familiar, maybe I had come across her before entering or leaving the building. My brow furrowed as I locked in on her energy field and I opened my eyes. I got up and knocked on the door of Sissy's bathroom.

"I'll be right back," I shouted at her and she shouted back, "Okie dokie!" I walked back to the kitchen and grabbed the gift box full of goodies. I hesitated by the front door and looked at the sticky note. Should I say who it is from? I shook my head. It didn't matter.

I left the apartment still wearing my slippers and followed the warm tug of Octavia's aura. I descended one, two, then three flights of stairs and felt the energy increase slightly. Third floor. I walked slowly down the hall, all the while keeping the image of Octavia's face strong in my mind. The auras of other people pulsed at me from behind closed doors telling me things I didn't particularly want to know. My footsteps slowed even further as the pull of her thread became stronger. Finally I stopped and cocked my head to the right as if listening. I was torn between 319A and 320A. I checked nervously on the confectioneries in the gift box and tried to concentrate. I took a deep breath and suddenly I knew.

I set the box on the door mat in front of apartment 319A and then made to leave. I suddenly stopped and moved closer to the door. I pressed my ear against it trying to hear any signs of life and after a moment heard nothing. She was a child of high school age on a Saturday afternoon, what was I expecting to hear. I sighed and returned to the staircase.