Immortal

The Name

"I know what you're thinking about," said she, smiling awkwardly.

I suddenly got the feeling that I've met her before.

"Oh, really?"

Her eyes were a mixture of two colours, brown and green. I recall it is called heterochromia. Although I feel very familiar with her eyes, I don't remember having a friend with heterochromia.

"What am I thinking, then?"

Forget that. She's just a stranger I met an hour ago on a random alley. Who could she possibly be? I'll just try to focus on the conversation. Alright, she was buried in snow for two days. How could she not die?

"You were thinking: How could this girl not die? She was buried in snow for two days."

"Exactly. May I ask you that? How could you not die?"

I found a girl freezing on the street. She stopped me when I tried to call for help without any particular reason. I took her to my flat out of pity. Now I know she has some kind of super power. What could possibly go wrong?

"Long story."

I knew that she was hiding something. Should I trust her? No - could I trust her?

"Relax. I'm not a ghost or anything supernatural. By the way, we still don't know each other's names."

"You can call me Alan."

She stared at me in an uncomfortable way.

"By the way, you look messy. You should take a shower," I said, trying to change the topic. "The bathroom is over there. My sister just moved out. I think there's still some of her clothes in the closet right there. She is about your size."

"Thank you."

She took some of my sister's clothes and went into the bathroom. Not so long after then, I could hear the sound of running water. I poured another cup of tea, waiting for her to come out. I also need to take a nice shower. I looked at the clock above the bookshelf. It was almost eleven.

"It's late. You should be going home. Take my coat with you. You can return it some other time. You remember the way to this place, right?"

She nodded.

"Where do you live?"

"Somewhere."

"Somewhere... Where?"

"Nowhere near here, but somewhere."

"Uh... Okay, I guess," I said. Actually, I didn't really understand, but  well, I didn't think I would meet her again, so it didn't really matter.

"Well, bye. Thanks for all the help. Good night."

"Wait!"

Why did I say that? Oh, right. I wanted to know her name.

"Um, yes?"

"What's your name?"

"624."

"Sorry?"

"624. Yes, my name is 624. Six-two-four, six hundred twenty four... I don't really care."

"Is it an alias? I mean, don't you have a real name? A normal name?"

"I had a normal name once. I... Forgot what it was. Anyway, bye."

There was the sound of the door closing, and after that, nothing more, only silence and the questions in my head. She 'had' a normal name? What was she trying to say? What is she? I stared out the window next to me. Both moonlight and starlight was blocked by clouds and snowfall.

***

It was cloudy Sunday morning. Alan woke up to the sound of his doorbell ringing.

"Give me a minute!" He shouted. He quickly dressed up and opened the door. "Oh, it's you."

"Yes, it's me," said 624, with Alan's coat on her hand. "I'm here to return this. Thank you very much."

"Alright. No problem."

Alan was about to close the door when something crossed his mind. I'm a very lonely person, he thought. I haven't got many friends, and It's been a while since the last time I'm with a girl. I don't have anything to do today, should I ask her to- I don't know, walk around town with me?

"You're new here?"

"Yes, I suppose. I came here last week."

"Let's go for a cup of coffee," Alan said. "There's an excellent cafe just a ten-minute walk from here."

"Alright."

The weak sunlight shined on the snow-covered roads, making it glow. It was very quiet, for the chirping morning birds were nowhere to be seen. Icicles surrounded the fences, the tree branches, and hanged on leaves of bushes and roofs of houses. It was not a very cheerful winter indeed. Alan and his new acquaintance walked down the newly paved sidewalk, sometimes accidentally stepping on the frozen grass which surrounded it. The cold breeze blew on their faces. Alan tightened up his jacket and decided to start a conversation.

"624."

"Yes?"

"Where are you from?"

"If I told you now, you wouldn't believe it. By the way, stop calling me that."

"Isn't that what people call you?"

"Oh yes, most call me subject-624, but I'm not really comfortable with that. In the past I'd ask for a name, if we talk often."

"Then, what is the name your friends gave you?"

"You mean what are the names. I've been Jenny, Daphne, Jean, Hillary, Maria, Katherine..." She paused for a while. "My names changes with every circle of friends. People die, so, yes, I've got a lot of names. Some even gave me a full name, like Alicia Taylor and Samantha Georges."

"You said people die, but don't you? Aren't you human? And how could you forget your name?"

"You know what? Let's keep that for later. Now, please give me a name so we can talk more, you know, comfortably," She replied to Alan's question in a very relaxed way.

"Six-two-four... six two... sixty two, four... erm, I dont know."

"Come on, think up a random name."

"Six two four... alright, from now on you're Stacy Farr, okay?"

"Alright."