Gods And Monsters

2. the minor details

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Dante was elongated on the mauve sofa staring at the ceiling. Alex had painted every inch of the apartment into a paradise. He was currently staring at the stars, home in his mind.

The bathroom was a tropical ocean, waves crashing over the bath tub. The kitchen was in Paris, with shops of all varieties and delicious items of food enticing him. Dante's bedroom was the land of Arabian nights, deserts, and hallucinations, Alex's the lush rainforest with panthers, orangutans and exotic orchids, both real and not sparsely spread in corners. But what Dante loved the most about Alex's choice of decoration, his themed rooms, was the sitting room. A city and the countryside, the dawn and the dusk, with night shining bright on the ceiling. It was like he lived outside. 

The ceiling was what had captured Dante. Stars. Earth stars, constellations, which were accurate, but not turning like the real ones. It was in his bored state that he wondered about this man he had just met, a man kind enough to let someone into his home. What a crazy fool, Dante thought. At the same time, he was entirely grateful towards him.

The flat was technicolour; not a square inch was normal. Dante could see the world within mere paces, and it was all thanks to Alex. He would make Ceci give the creature a reward. When they got back together, of course.

"I'm going grocery shopping, is there anything you want?" Alex called as he gathered his keys from the kitchen counter. He flicked them between his fingers while waiting for Dante's reply. He made a mistake with the keys and cut his finger. He sucked on it, trying to stop the blood. Alex walked to the door. It was no use waiting for an answer.

"No, I'm alright, thank you," Dante replied, snapping out of his fantasies. He didn't know if there was anything he could want, apart from Ceci.   

"Well, goodbye then." Alex closed the front door, but really it slammed. It had a tendency to, as it was heavy and solid wood. Dante had learned this the hard way, jumping every time Alex went to put out the rubbish or get mail. He had followed Alex to work over the first couple of days. 

"Goodbye," Dante yelled after Alex, remembering his quite atrocious manners. His Uncle had raised him this way. 

As if a curtain had fallen on a stage, his expression changed. The corners of Dante's mouth rose high up; he reached inside his pocket and brought out the pack of cards. The opportunity had risen for him to meet with Ceci. He had clung to Alex like a puppy to its new owner for the first couple of days; Dante had realised he knew nothing of life on Earth. 

He placed the cards on the table. It must be noted that to the curious observer, there was no way in which the cards were held together in a neat stack; yet they were. 

"Cards?" Dante commanded with an air of demand to his voice.

The pack began to quake, and then shuffled. The cards blurred till the Jack of Hearts came to the front. Then a pop, and out came a spindly, lollipop white arm. Another pop mirrored the first. A third and a fourth, and legs were born. The final and loudest pop (though still quite faint) brought a little head and top hat out the top. A collection of miniature deep purple and white flowers rimmed the hat, almost wistfully. 

The packet of cards bowed to Dante, removing the hat, and he spoke. "At your service, Master." 

"Ah, Cards, glad to see you survived. Now, I want you to go to Ceci and tell her that we need to talk." 

"That is fairly clique, m'lord." 

"I know, it would annoy her." Dante could not deny that Cards was one of his closest friends and servants. "Bring her to me."