Ghost City Blues: Love and Death in the time of Corona Virus

Sixteen

The Red House, New York State. USA. March 2020.

Dylan, in the form of Mercury, flew in low over the misty countryside which surrounded the Red House.

Anna was out in the fields with her grandfather, who was slowly fading into the coming day. Far away, over the tree-line hills, the sky was turning purple. Soon the sun would come and grandfather would go but his work was almost done. Anna was skeletal too, slowly wielding her sword as her grandfather stood nearby, but her skin was forming, her hair growing back.

"Good, Anna, good. Control. Control. Always be in control. You are the sword. The sword is you. You are in control. The sword is a part of you. Slow movements, all the time with complete control. Good, good. That's it. That's the way."

Both looked up at the sight of Mercury streaking over them in the sky. When Anna turned back to the dewy grass in front of her, her grandfather was gone. She heard his voice in her mind saying: You are Pinyin.

"Pinyin?"

The sun was coming up behind the Red House, lighting the roof up with orange fire.

Dylan was walking out towards her and Plague was drifting down from the sky.

"What a trip," said Dylan when he arrived. "Was that your grandfather with you?"

"He's training me." Anna nodded. "That was you, right? The firefly?"

"Seems my name's Mercury," said Dylan.

"I'm Pinyin. Whatever the hell that means."

Plague joined them. "Welcome to the new world, guys."

"Hey," said Dylan. "Thanks for running off on me." He saw Plague's bashful look. "No, I mean it. I mean thank you. Really. Best thing you could have done."

"Glad it worked out for you."

"This is so crazy," said Anna as she turned her sword, more to herself than any of them. "But so good."

"Well, I'm sorry to break up the party," said Plague, pointing at Dylan. "But your mom's here and she's pissed. She's giving Redmond so much shit it's unbelievable."

"My mom?" Dylan put his hand on his forehead. Oh, right. He was Dylan again. A human, with all that brought with it. "I still gotta have one?"

"Until you can't change back." Plague shrugged.

"When's that?" asked Anna. She too had taken her human form. The dawn was on them now, warm light and birdsong too. The magic of night had gone. A cow lowed nearby.

"When you can't change back," said Plague. She added, jokingly: "Duh."

They walked back to the Red House together in streams of the sunlight which lit paths for them in the sparkling, neatly cut grass.

"Mom?"

"Oh my god, there you are! Where the hell have you been?"

Redmond, in his dressing gown and cowboy hat, trying to sip his morning coffee, echoed Nora Kane's words. "There you are."

"You come here with me right now," said Nora Kane. She grabbed Dylan by his shirt. "Come upstairs with me, young man. I need to talk to you."

Nora had slept in Anna and Dylan's room but now, when she got upstairs, they found Anna getting unchanged. Anna screamed at them and slammed the door unceremoniously in their faces, shouting, "Some privacy please!"

Gart and Juliet's door was open and Nora dragged her son in there. Both of them ignored Gart who was still in bed, the bedcovers drawn up to his chin.