Mesmerized | ✓

16

Carl made sure to have a free Saturday afternoon so that he could watch Yuli and Candace perform at the wake even though, of course, the boy hadn't asked for it. The small concert was supposed to take place in one of the lecture halls in the main college building. As Carl entered he noted that the room was decorated (if not a little poorly) with red and yellow roses and there was a makeshift stage in the center with Alice's framed black-and-white picture standing on an easel in the middle.

He took a seat in one of the middle rows and placed his backpack two seats further remembering his promise to Candace that he would save them for her and Yuli after they had finished their performance. One of the students was already up on the stage singing some melancholic ballad that Carl didn't know the name of. He sat there silently with his eyes glued to the stage even though his heart wasn't in it. He didn't even feel that much guilt anymore. He couldn't have stopped that poor girl from getting killed after all.

"A bit ironic, isn't it?" Carl startled as he was pulled out of his thoughts by Mark who sat down next him looking smug in his black tuxedo, as if he was actually attending a funeral. Some people were dressed in elegant clothes but none of them to such extent. Carl himself had a plain white shirt on and a pair of jeans. "Singing for a girl that you killed? Jesus fucking Christ. I can't believe this psychopath."

"How did you even find out about this?" Carl asked, not wanting the reporter to make him rethink everything one more time.

"Please." Mark said with a roll of his eyes crossing one leg over another. "This is my job. Finding things out." He took out his phone and turned on the camera focusing it in on the stage. "Besides, your college published a post about this on Facebook."

"What do you want from me?" Carl asked, already tired of the man's annoying company. "I'm still not turning him in." Those words came out naturally, he didn't even have to think them. There was not any rational reason for him not to want Yuli to end up in jail or maybe even dead. No matter how absurd it was the thought of Yuli being so far away from him, hurting because of him was what would drive him completely crazy.

"Yeah, I figured that much." Mark said still focusing the phone on the stage. "Thought that I would come see this beauty with my own two eyes. Besides, I may post something online about this wake while I'm waiting for a much better story." He had a stupid grin on his face which made Carl want to punch him. Partly because he was threatening Yuli and partly because he was the picture of a perfectly sane person that could still enjoy life. Carl wished he had that privilege.

"Oh, whatever." Carl murmured as he waited for Yuli and Candace to walk up on stage deciding to ignore Mark.

And so about half an hour later the duo appeared, Candace in simple black dress that made her look like the prettiest girl in the room and Yuli dressed in his usual attire. Yet, it was him that Carl couldn't take his his eyes off. Seeing him carry himself with such ease and confidence was like a gust of fresh air. Carl wanted to run up to him, just to touch him, just to make sure that he was still real, still tangible.

"Oh, man." He heard Mark say, clearly barely able to contain his laughter. "You've really got it bad."

"You have no idea." Carl whispered and for a moment he wondered if maybe he should warn Mark that if Yuli saw them together, he could become his next target but when he thought harder about it he quickly came to the conclusion that Yuli wouldn't care, he probably wouldn't even notice.

Carl managed to pray his eyes away from his personal tormentor to observe Mark's reactions but the reporter had still that very same smug look on his face gripping his cell phone as the camera followed Yuli's every movement. He still seemed unfazed. When the music started Carl fixed his eyes back on the stage. At first it was just Candace's acoustic guitar playing the sad song, then the girl's soft singing and then finally Yuli joined in.