It all starts with goodbye

Chapter 6

"Oh, you are awake again! Great. There is no way you are going to escape telling me the owl's tale." Carrie was sitting on the floor with a book in her hands.

"How long did I sleep?"

"Three days."

"What?" She laughed and stood up, putting the book on the table.

"I am kidding; you only slept for a couple hours. It's still night. It's reasonable since you were, you know? Shot. Twice." She approached the bed while I sat up, grimacing with pain.

"That's crazy, huh? And it's also crazy that you let me in without any further questions. I mean, I could be a psychopath."

"As far as you know, I could be a psychopath." She shrugged, and the smile that seemed to be always present, playing on her face, disappeared. "Plus, leaving you out there to bleed would go against all and everything that my grandpa taught me. About kindness and helping others. It's thanks to him that you are here."

"Well, I am indeed very thankful for him. He has a very kindhearted granddaughter. What is his name?"

"His name was William Carson. I just want to make him proud." She sat on the edge of the bed and hugged her legs. "Grandpa taught me everything. How to write, how to cook, how to take care of wounds. He never cared for the fact that I am a girl and girls are not supposed to do this kind of thing."

"Really? I never thought about it. Is it bad to be a girl?"

"Don't get me wrong; I like to be a girl. But most of the time, it sucks. Many people think they can tell you what to do when they truly can't."

"Don't let them tell you what to do then."

"I wished it were just as simple." Carrie rolled her eyes. "People expect things from me."

"Who are 'people'?"

"People...you know, society. My book was published under the name Richard Adams, can you believe it?"

"Like the singers Richard Marx and Bryan Adams?"

"Yes. Do you know them?" Her jaw dropped.

"Yes?" Even I was not sure if I knew them. "I mean, I guess I can think of a song or two."

"Sing it."

"No way. Plus, we are talking about you publishing your book under such an original pen name; it's an important conversation."

"I know, but I don't like talking about it. It's just so unfair. However, I like to believe that things will change in the future. That we will raise our boys to treat our girls with the due respect they deserve."

"Why not change it now?" I stared at her, and we both went quiet for a second or two. "Why not dare to publish it under your real name?"

"My publishers said no one would buy a book written by a woman."

"To hell with them, Carrie. I will buy it."

"Hey, don't be so agitated. It can hurt you." She reached out and touched the point of my fingers. "Let's change the subject. What do you want to talk about?"

"Sounds fair. So, what are you writing about?"

"That's literally the same topic." I shrugged and waited for her to start talking. I didn't have to wait long.

"I haven't been able to write for a couple of months now. My grandpa was sick, and it felt as if life didn't matter anymore. Then I saw you, and I thought you could die, you know? So I started thinking about death. What if death only knew how amazing my grandpa was, would it have left him here?"

"I was not ready for such a deep conversation, but I think it doesn't work like this. When your time comes, it comes."

"Yes, but what would happen if death ever fell in love?"

"With a mortal, or with something as ethereal as death itself?" She moved her head as if she needed to hear me better, so I tried to explain my thoughts better. "Is death able to fall in love with life? Time? Angels?"

Carrie bit the tip of her tongue in a gesture I realized she did when she was thinking.

"No," she decided. "In my book, death shall fall in love with someone death itself has to take with him."

"So, death is a guy?"

"Yes. No. I mean death can 'dress' itself as it wants to. Sometimes a handsome guy, sometimes an elderly lady or a little kid. Or something terrifying and horrendous."

"I like death. Even though it was not nice to meet it—we had a recent encounter—but I guess I was too handsome and it decided it would be a waste to take me, so here I am." I raised my palms to the sky. "Thankfully fate held my hand and guided me to a yellowish light, and here you were. In the middle of nowhere."

"Fate sounds like a sweet person, doesn't it?"

"I am sure fate is not always sweet, although this time I couldn't complain. Or perhaps it was luck, not fate."

"I don't know, but if you had shown up two weeks ago, or two weeks from now, you would have found the light turned off and this shack empty."

"Wow, really?" She nodded, and I felt the skin on my arms crawl. "I guess I was luckier than I initially imagined. But what are you doing here?"

"My grandfather owned this land. He loved to come here hunting and fishing and would always bring me along, even if I always cried whenever he killed some animals and would refuse to eat them." She gave me a sad smile. "He taught me how to shoot, fight, and treat wounded people if it ever happened to him or me. He died last summer, and his last wish was to have his ashes spread here since this place meant so much to him."

"He sounds like he was someone death could fall for."

"Yes. Grandpa was quite awesome. There is something in you that reminds me of him. I don't know what it is, but it's one of the reasons I didn't take you to the hospital yet, even though I should."

"I am a grown man. I can decide when I want to go to the hospital."

"You don't even remember your age."

"Who says I don't? I am twenty-five years old, and my mom is called Jess," I said in a steady proud voice. Carrie's mouth opened in surprise.

"Your memory...it's coming back, isn't it?"

"Yes, and for some reason getting my memory back is somehow upsetting me."

"If you want to, I can go to the hospital, and you stay here. I can bring the doctors here."

"No." My voice came out louder than I intended. "I don't want to be here alone." I added in a softer tone, "Please."

"I shouldn't agree with this. You seem to be healing just fine; however, if you bleed again, or faint or anything out of the ordinary happens, you will come to the hospital with me."

"We have a deal." I held out my open hands with a smile.

"Plus, you are going to do anything that I say." Carrie grabbed my hand and shook it hard.

"Everything."