Huginn

3.Electron libre

FREE SPIRIT.

Minutes turned into hours, hours into days, and days into a week... I knew which day it would be every single morning because Eir'd read me newspapers while drinking his morning coffee.

Underneath all those layers of lying, cursing and threatening to other people, he was a very kind gentleman. I knew he hated speaking about crimes from newspapers because he'd always say about men who committed a crime as 'lousy assholes' or 'trippy fuckers'. I wasn't sure was he thinking of them that way because they committed a crime to begin with, or was it because they got caught.

It might be both.

That morning I knew something was wrong. Not only because Eir wasn't by my bed to wait for my darkness to clear, but also because my skin felt so itchy and hard to handle I would have problems with breathing if there wasn't a plastic mask over the bridge of my nose to below my chin.

In the two past days, I was so close to finally opening my eyelids – even though I felt so tired and exhausted as if I was running for miles with no end.

My whole body felt stiffer than usually that very morning.

Just as a sigh passed my lips, I heard the door opening, then closing softly.

I already knew it was Eir. His steps had the unique sound when he'd walk, clapping the surface of a floor with the tips of his feet. Also, three days ago, he got some injury from which he'd limp slightly with his right leg.

If he'd make a wrong movement, he would hiss quietly.

Although he was so against from protecting me in the beginning, I found myself having a soft spot for that grumpy man.

Not only because I knew he wouldn't hurt me, but because he was physically unable to handle the beeping sounds of machines around my bed.

I heard him moving a table closer to my bed. The scent of coffee made my mouth water.

I really wanted some coffee.

He shuffled with newspapers once he sat at the table really close to my bed. I could practically feel his warmth. ''Let's see what do we have today.'' He spoke.

Eir was that kind of men who'd speak to themselves, which I found rather cute. He was a clever man who knew he only could trust himself.

Perhaps, if I ever wake up, I'll show him he can trust me too.

Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep.

''Our lovely President is refusing to pay government until they pay for the fucked-up wall.'' The humor in his voice almost made me smile. ''Isn't he a lovely-dopey asshole?'' The rhetorical question I'd laugh my heart out if I was awake. ''37 million dollars... For that kind of money, I wouldn't even look down at the papers.''

Beep. Beep. Beep.

''I'm not saying I'm fancy, but let's be realistic... 37 million isn't even enough for one side, one-meter high wall for like, maybe seventy miles. You have to pay the workers, obviously. There is also materials, additional expenses like a meal for workers, possible costs because of an uneven land... I'm not saying it's not enough money for you to like pass with a dollar per day... It's just...'' He rubbed his skin, creating that dry sound in the air. ''He's just stupid.''

He didn't speak for a moment too long before I heard him turning a page. He was probably reading something interesting.

For knowing him that short, even though I never spoke to him, I knew he'd always read for minutes in silence when he'd read about prices on the market, or about animals.