I am ashamed to admit that I have been avoiding Alexander since the night of the party. I needed some time to think about everything and consider what I should do next. It hasn't exactly been working out.
On the other hand, Lucy has apparently made it her life mission to mention Alexander at least twice a day, making it very clear that she approves of the union. Even thought I keep remind her that there isn't one, to which she just smirk and respond with a simple "yet". And that's how we found ourselves dining at a restaurant one night, just the two of us, enjoying a lovely dinner. A man approached our table and entertained us with magic tricks with some cars. I was utterly fascinated by it. How on earth does he do that?
"A single playing card, folded elegantly down the center." he says showing us a card, the queen of diamonds to be exact "And torn into two pieces." he rips the card in front of us. "Shown on the front and the back." he says showing us the torn pieces " Now, watch very carefully, 'cause your eyes will deceive you." he advises as he unfolds the card in his hand and reveals to us a perfectly intact queen of diamonds.
I laugh at the revelation, completely fascinated.
"That's extraordinary."
"Yes. This Soup Julienne, is extraordinary." she says rudely sending the man away "So, I should have that and so should you, Mina."
I look at her with what I hope is a you misbehaved look.
"Look, I'm sorry, darling, but I don't know how you can enjoy something as simple-minded as parlor magic." she says clearly not interested in magic tricks.
"So, how's it done, then?" I ask her knowing full well she had no idea as well.
"It's simple, really."
No other then Alexander Grayson himself says appearing next to our table with a deck of cards in his hands.
"Why, Mr Grayson, you have a gift for making London seem small." Lucy teases while trying to conceal, although, not achieving, the smirk on her lips. She probably knew all along that he would be here tonight.
He smiles and then he turns his attention to me.
"Miss Murray, you're looking lovely tonight. As ever." he says and I can't help but smile at the compliment. Truth be told I had missed his company this last couple of days.
"Permit me to explain." he says picking up a card "The card is folded down the middle. And is torn, but not the whole way." he explains exemplifying it for us. I watch attentively. "It is folded back in itself, and you mime, tearing the card in half..."
"Good Heavens." I can't help but say as I watch him do it. It really did seemed as if he had torn the card in half.
"So it appears to be torn." I laugh at the sight "But really, it's still in one place. The rest is purely theater." he explains showing us the card intact.
"It's very good, isn't it, Lucy?" I ask turning to look at her
"Yes, quite." she says politely "Well, if you'll excuse me. I'll be right back." she says getting up and leaving the table.
"I didn't know you knew how do to magic" I say to Alexander with an amused smile.
"I picked it up in one of my many travels." he explains "Not much, just a trick or two."
"Well, it's extraordinary all the same" I reply
"I'm afraid I must leave you know, but before I go..." he says looking for someone "Winston. Please see to it that my friends get the very best. On my account."
"Oh we really can't accept...."
"I insist Mina" he says with one last smile before returning to his own table.
"So....what did you two talk about?" Lucy asks returning after a minute of him leaving. Not suspicious at all. "As he asked you to dinner yet?"
"No. Although he did offered us our dinner and everything we could possibly want." I tell her "On his account."
"Oh my isn't he generous?" she asks teasing me "You certainly picked a good one this time, and certainly not as boring as Jonathan."
"I didn't pick anyone. Alexander is just being generous."
"On first name basis already? I guess Mr. Grayson is smoother than I gave him credit for." she says smiling. She was clearly enjoying teasing me with this.
"How about we talk about something else, and... perhaps see just how much of Mr Grayson's fortune we can drink in a single night?" I suggest
"Darling, you just read my mind." she says clicking our glasses together.
Thankfully I was not hangover the next day, well at least not as much as I was late night. I had arranged with Professor Van Helsing to go to his office late afternoon, so I had some time to treat my headache and be fully functional by the required time. Besides I've been meaning to come back and examine the strange blood cells that he keeps hidden in there. Something like that shouldn't exist and I wanted to find out more about it.
I finally get an opportunity to do so, late at night, after all classes are done and the students have gone home for the day. I prepare a microscope and and I finally take a second look at the hidden samples.
The first sample shows me that the cells are dead, which in itself it's normal, but then I get the idea of adding a little a drop of the blood that is contained in that first jar I saw that dated back to nine years ago. I conduct the experiment and noticed that when the blood merged with the dead cells, it made them turn alive. I watch the process amazed. I pick up the jar and stare at it not understanding what it was precisely.
"What is this? Why is it hidden away?" I ask to myself
Wanting to find out more, I decide to conduct a different kind of experiment. I pick up a dead rat than Professor Van Helsing had kept for class purposes, and inject it with the blood from the jar.
After I do it, I look at the dead rat, trying to see if there was any change. If the dead cells turn alive after interacting with the sample, does that mean that this rat would have the suffer the same outcome? When a full minute passes and nothing happens I lean back in my chair defeated.
"What in the world was I thinking?" I say to myself putting everything away. Clearly I wasn't thinking at all. Even so I take the blood jar with me.
I go home and I try to put everything behind me but the only thing I put behind me is my sleep, because I spend the entire night awake thinking about the possibilities this blood could bring to the world while at the same time wondering from where exactly did the Professor collected this blood from? Unable to rest, when the sun starts rising in London, I make my way to the University, before any of the students or the Professor arrive.
I enter the hidden laboratory in the Professor's office and try to put the jar in the same place where I had retrieved it from, yesterday.
"What are you doing?"
I turn around surprised by having been caught and hiding the jar from his sight, behind my back.
"Professor..." I hadn't thought on what to say in the eventuality that I was caught "Erm..."
"That will be all, Miss Murray. I no longer require your assistance." Wait, what?
"You're discharging me?" I ask again. Was he really discharging me from being his assistant because I had found his hidden laboratory?
"That will be all." he says harshly
I hesitate for a few seconds still processing his words and their meaning. I exit the laboratory but wait in his office. The blood jar still in my hand.
"I conducted an experiment by adding this substance to human cheek cells, and the dead cells reanimated." I confess bravely showing him the jar in my hand
"That's not possible." he says closing the door to his office, leaving me on the other side of it. But I don't give up.
"No, I repeated the experiment and the results were identical." I reveal, wanting to get some sort of explanation as to how that was possible.
He hesitates for a moment but then he opens the door and let's me in.
"Have a seat." he says. I do say and await fir him to start talking. "Your mind is impossible to contain,
Miss Murray." he says walking to the other side of the room "Unfortunately, enthusiasm does not always lend itself to accurate results." I put my head down feeling as if I was being taught a lesson for misbehaving "This substance you found...Is actually an inert medium
containing a microscopic parasite I obtained in Sumatra." he explains
"I would've observed living organisms." I say watching the jar in my hand, trying to make sense of his explanation.
"Normally, yes, but these creatures are too small
to be observed even with a microscope."
"No, I... I don't see how..."
"So, you see, my dear..." he interrupts "what you call "reanimation" is nothing more than the effect of cells being attacked by thousands of voracious parasites." he admits approaching me
I lean back defeated. I really thought...but is explanation had some foundation to it. I laugh at my stupidity.
"I apologize." I say "The truth is my mother died when I was very young."
"I'm sorry." he says slightly confuse as to why I had brought it up.
"Cancer of the stomach." I confess
He stays silent for a while pondering what he should say next.
"You wish to cure cancer?"
"No." I deny turning to look at him "I wish to cure death."
"So, you've read Dr Freud's latest paper and his theory on a phenomena he calls projection..."
"By which, objective observation is distorted..." I continue
"By subjective desire, yes." he completes
"I am sorry I wasted your time." I say handing him the jar back.
I leave his office feeling awful with myself. Clearly all this thinking of reincarnation and the ability of coming back to life is messing with my mind.
Lucy convinces me to spend the rest of the day with her, but as we talk in my bedroom I can't help but think back to my earlier conversation with the Professor.
"Mina!" Lucy calls out to me "Could you at least pretend to be interested on what I have to say, if only for appearances sake."
"I do... I mean, I am." I try to convince her but the reality is that my thoughts are far away from here.
"Is it Alexander Grayson who occupies your thoughts?" she asks teasing "Mina, darling I never seen you have such a crush before."
"It's not Alexander. It's just...I think I'm being deceived." I confess
"By whom?"
"Professor Van Helsing." I admit
"What would he gain from lying to you?"
"I don't know. I suppose I haven't been a beacon of honesty myself." I realize "This substance that I've been working with, it has some astounding properties. Characteristics that could revolutionize medicine. Why would anybody want to conceal such an incredible discovery?" I ask her really not understanding why he would keep such a thing to himself.
Lucy comes to lay next to me.
"Perhaps he doesn't want to, but then he feels that he should. Speaking of such notions is taboo." Lucy tries to reason
"I'm sorry." I say smiling sadly at her. I tenderly push a strand of loose hair from her face "All this talk of science
and research and cures, you must find it all intolerably dull."
"Not when you're speaking of it."
I laugh.
"You're kind to humor me."
"It's not kindness, Mina, but love." she admits placing her hand on my cheek "I love you, Mina."
"I love you too." I tell her emotional "We are dear friends, we're sisters even."
"Yes, sisters." she agrees smiling at me "And as your sister I am telling you to let it go, the professor must have it's reasons to keep that substance to himself, perhaps it's contents are too dangerous to be exposed in world."
"You might be right" I never thought of it like that. "Thank you"
"You're are quite welcome." she says "Now you can make up to me by actually listening to what I was telling you before."
I laugh. Lucy really was the best friend I could have asked for.
This is it for this chapter! There isn't much of Mina in this episode so I decided to just leave it at this, and continue on the next chapter as the next episode.
I hope you liked it and as always do not forget to VOTE, COMMENT, and SHARE!