Of Angels and Demons

Chapter Four: Ivan

Chapter Four; Ivan

It’s Sunday morning, and Ivan sits at his desk, deep in thought, an open copy of George Orwell’s Animal Farm in front of him. One of his Angels, Toris, is playing Uno with one of his Demons, Feliks, to pass the time, while his other Angel, Katyusha, and Demon, Natalya, nap.

His grandfather is at the door, tapping his foot. Toris looks ready to mention it, and his grandfather is just about to clear his throat, when Ivan looks up and turns to his grandfather, violet eyes cool.

They stay like that for a while, both obviously waiting for the other to speak first. With each tap of the grandfathers foot, Toris becomes grows anxious, and Feliks more amused.

The grandfather’s Shoulder Spirits, a pair of old codgers who had been married in life, and had died side-by-side in a car accident, are on their respective shoulders, also tapping their feet as they scowl at the “young” (Feliks and Toris are actually older than them, if you go by years of experience, and Katyusha and Natalya are just as old, or even a little older.) “troublemakers.”

Ivan isn’t a fool. He knows that his grandfather either wants something from him, or is upset with him. And, since he can’t remember doing anything he considers wrong, or even something that might upset his grandfather enough to justify a lecture, rather than a note on his door detailing punishment, he assumes that his grandfather wants something from him. And he isn’t going to be the first to speak and make it easier for his grandfather to admit that he is in need of something.

Of course, even if he had known of his grandfathers complaint against him, it wouldn’t have made any difference. His grandfather would have never believed that he was innocent. After all, one can imagine that Ivan’s track record did nothing to promote his character. And his grandfather trusted no one in the house, other than his own Angel, so none of the others would be able to vouch for him.

Admittedly, his grandfather had good reason. Katyusha and Natasha were both too infatuated with Ivan to ever betray him, and his mother was hardly better, though her main motivation was guilt. Besides which, she was always out shopping anyway, so she could hardly be called a reliable champion. As for the others, his mother’s Shoulder Angel, Raivis, and Demon, Edward, along with Toris, were too intimidated by Ivan to do so either, under normal circumstances, though sometimes Raivis would blurt out compromising information without thinking. And even though Feliks was not intimidated by Ivan, or even particularly fond of him, he was a Demon. Ivans grandfather did not even trust his own Demon.

And though his grandfather was insistent on sending his Angel to watch Ivan often, she could hardly watch him every moment.

That’s why, when his grandfather finally breaks the silence with accusations, Ivan stays silent.

Ivan hadn’t taken either the money or the food, though he wasn’t in trouble for that. As his grandfather puts it, he doesn’t care if Ivan wants a snack sometimes, but Ivan needs to stick to his allowance when it comes to money. His grandfather never complained about his mother’s spending habits, but that was only because Ivan’s mother was insufferable. As far as his grandfather was concerned, Ivan would not be allowed to take money without asking.

Nevertheless, if his grandfather had paused to think, he would have realized that, quite apart from this not being Ivan’s style, Ivan, who had a steady allowance despite the fact that he rarely bought anything, had no reason to take any extra cash. And that, even if he had, he would have admitted to it, since Ivan never really understood what upset his grandfather so much about what he considered to be, if anything, simple noncompliance. And even when he did something so heinous that even he recognized it as a misdemeanor, he was surprised by the strength of his grandfather’s reactions.