Better meet me

Drops of condensation rolled down the glass, and Edith felt as if in this stuffy basement she herself would soon turn into steam and run down the wall somewhere in the corner, between the blaring speakers and the straining air conditioner. After all, the "Old Barrel" lived up to its name with its arched vaults - one could hide somewhere in the shadow and hope that at least there they would be able to get rid of the smell of alcohol and burnt oil coming from the kitchen.

The hands of the clock have long since passed half past ten. At such a time baby-blue ballet flats, the airy sundress and even the thin chain with a single tiny silver heart have lost their relevance. The picnic basket remained unopened under the bar counter.

Unlocking the phone again – the frozen one-sided conversation hadn’t changed.

“Is everything okay?”

“Where are you?”

“Max, where are you?”

“The last bus is leaving soon” – about ten minutes ago. The person on the other side hadn’t even read the messages. But Edith waited. Waited for the promised continuation of the date, for a walk under the stars. For Max to walk her home and kiss her right on the doorstep like he did for the past two years.

Max did get her to the entrance of this bar. Pecked her on the cheek and asked to wait inside, so as to not freeze.

“Jay got into something again. I have to sort it out and get him home. It’s close by. You won’t even notice me coming back”

His younger brother really did have a habit of getting into trouble, and everyone was simply tired of dragging their mom into it. The not-so-soft Max was doing a good job of managing a difficult teenager and Edith had to accept it at some point. But was sending a short message so difficult?

Something inside cracked, like a fallen mirror, and everything in it became distorted.

“Well, time to go home” – Edith reached over the counter to ask a bartender for her basket that had been left for safekeeping.

At that moment, right in front of her nose, a glass with a yellowish liquid with a huge amount of ice hit the countertop with a loud clink. The girl recoiled in surprise. She had not made any orders all evening. The bartender glanced at her sideways, pushing the cocktail to the left, where someone's deft hand caught it. The person who ordered it was a short but strong-built man with curly hair, wearing slightly wrinkled clothes. Overall, he looked like a typical office worker, who, for some reason, was celebrating the end of the workday on a Saturday night.

He nodded his thanks to the bartender and said something that was drowned out by the chords of a new song. The man didn’t pick up a glass, but pushed it further to the left, right into the elbow of a person sitting next to him. Their white sleeve trembled, just like Edith did half a minute ago.

Curiosity got the better of her – Edith tilted her head, looking over his shoulder. The final recipient of the cocktail was a guy as thin as a matchstick, with a terribly disheveled mop of black hair. His hands were pressed into the counter, while his back remained as straight as if a rod had been inserted into it. He looked pretty young, but something – besides a strangely formal suit, who even goes to the bar in trousers and suit vest anyway – gave away his maturity. The guy clearly noticed a “present”, but glanced at it with, for the lack of better words, a goofy expression.

“Is it his first time drinking out?”

Finally, he lifted the glass and, instead of taking a sip, almost poked his nose inside. Either he didn't like the smell, or just didn't understand what exactly he was holding - his face wrinkled and started to look like the muzzle of a disgruntled kitten. He put the drink down without even opening his mouth. The man, apparently misinterpreting what had happened, nudged the glass again, said something and came even closer. The unfortunate drinking buddy pressed himself even more firmly against the bar. Even from a distance, shaking in his white-knuckle clutching fingers was noticeable.

“That’s mint julep. Pretty strong, you might not like it”

He almost fell off the chair, hearing Edith’s voice right behind. She had no intention of scaring anybody – just decided to help out a poor guy while walking to the exit. At this rate, he is not far from a heart attack, what a nervous lad… The man with the cocktail, apparently, was not so happy about the new addition to the company either. His face immediately changed from deliberately cordial to confusedly displeased.

“Come on, everyone is already outside, waiting for a taxi”

Gently hooking him under the elbow, Edith pulled the lost green-eyed creature along with her with the sweetest smile. He didn't immediately stand firmly on his own two feet but wasn't in a hurry to resist either. The man, with a slurred tongue, shouted the most unflattering epithets after them, all the way to the door. It was a good thing that his own legs stopped him, clearly not agreeing with the direction of movement of their owner. Few sober people could have overcome the dark high staircase without stumbling.

Only after a dozen gulps of fresh air and two turns did the girl let go of her "load", which, in general, had been obediently shuffling along behind her all this time. In absolute silence.

"Is he drunk after all? There’s no smell of alcohol at all. Maybe he's on something?"

For some reason, the guy smelled of fresh flowers, and his eyes very clearly drilled Edith with pupils of a completely normal size. By the way, standing up, they were about the same height. That’s a bit amusing.

“What's your name, oh the lost one?”

Silence as a response. Instead, he took a cautious step back. This won't do. Edith sighed heavily.

“Where should I take you? How about the bus stop, we can call a real cab from there?”

The longer Edith spoke, the more miserable the guy became. He pulled his head into his neck and shrank all over. A little more and his eyes will be wet. The spitting image of a rescued puppy from Internet video.

"Did he run away from somewhere?"

There were no dirt spots or bruises on him - at least not in sight. Despite his thinness, he couldn't be called sickly either - his cheeks were rosy, and his hair gleamed in the light of the street lanterns. The thing is - stomach let him down, very persistently and loudly demanding food.

The contents of the basket would soon go to the shelves of the refrigerator anyway, if not straight up in the trash bin, so at least someone would appreciate the fruits of her morning's labour. Edith opened the wicker lid, searching around for something that had more or less survived the day. A cinnamon roll stained her fingers with dripping icing. That will do.

“Here, take it,” She placed a sweet-smelling pastry right into his hands. “Baked it myself, so I hope it tastes good”

A culinary failure would definitely be the final blow. For the sake of the experiment, Edith even fished out a second one and took a bite. Yeah, they turned out pretty good. Definitely not on the level of a trendy bakery, but with the right tea, in front of a crackling fireplace, it would be just right.

The guy, apparently an impressionable character, was imbued a little more than he should have been and finished his sweet treat in record time. Only crumbs left to be stuck to his palms. He hurried to wipe them on his own trousers, leaving smeared spots on the cloth. Not very graceful, are we? Edith wanted to say something but thought that the issues of the cleanliness of someone else's clothes could be resolved after their owner was delivered home.

He, however, was not going to move and only looked at the basket with interest.

“Come on, I'll take you to the police station.” Edith grabbed him by the elbow again, dragging his body along with her towards the park. He let out a sharp sigh and fell silent.

In any case, she would have to walk home that way. Apart from public transport, which had already stopped running, the only way to the other side of the town was through a forest. That's probably the reason they cleaned it up - marked out paths, installed benches and lighting. Even at night, people walked here, relaxed after a day, visited the open-air cinema. The first dates with Max were right on the grass, with a poorly filmed romance with a very cliched title...

Edith did not notice when she stopped dragging the man along, because at some point the guy simply began to walk next to her, step in step. He even slowed down and quickened his stride at her pace and, to admit, a few times she deliberately skipped a step or, on the contrary, began to mince. Silence hung between them, becoming more and more heavy with each passing second.

“I have a philosophy lecture tomorrow. The teacher is annoying...” To lighten the atmosphere, Edith simply began to speak her thoughts out loud. “There is always something he doesn't like. Sometimes it’s an essay not written right, other times...”

She talked about everything imaginable. About how the fat gray cat Nils was probably waiting at home. Not waiting for her per se, but rather for a filled bowl. And about a pack of new coffee, a gift from a friend who returned from abroad. About the university, the increasing wind, her parents' garden behind the house.

The new acquaintance did not maintain the dialogue, only glanced in her direction with interest, from time to time. It was not clear from his face whether he understood the problem of adding caraway seeds to the pie, but at the right moments - when the tone of the conversation changed - he either frowned or relaxed instead and seemed to smile a couple of times with the corners of his lips.

The monologue about the cost of new curtains in the bedroom was interrupted by the sound of a messenger notification. By this time, they had just approached the local lake. About ten minutes from their destination.

The chat with Max was still silent, the message came from a different number. The profile picture showed a teenage guy in a hoodie, who stuck out his tongue and two fingers out at the camera. Edith had seen Jay enough times to know who was writing to her. Or rather, sending a photo.

"Looking for this?"

The photo was clearly taken sneakily in a hurry, so it was a little blurry. But what, or rather who was depicted on it was beyond doubt. Max, wearing the same shirt he was wearing during the day – a gift for their first anniversary – is sitting on the couch in his living room, hugging an unknown girl by the waist. They are watching something on TV, enjoying a bottle and snacks on the coffee table.

Edith simply locked the screen of her phone and sank onto the nearest bench. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, though not as many as there could have been. Everything was already clear and obvious, the evidence just became the final nail in the coffin. Ironic that it happened right here, almost at their spot. Or maybe it had never really been "theirs"...

Soft fingers almost weightlessly wiped the moisture from her face. Edith looked up and saw other’s eyes very close. They were filled with so much worry as if the ground had just cracked beneath their feet. The guy froze, holding his hand midair, unsure of what to do next, then, as it seems, made up his mind and placed it on her shoulder. In a friendly way, as if they’d known each other for a long time. He tilted his head, silently but clearly asking a question.

"I'm o… No, you know what, I'm not okay. And I probably won't be for a while," Edith wiped her own tears. "It seems our relationship over these years never reached the stage of real trust. I need to think it over. Sort it all out in my head."

She felt for the cold pendant on her chest and pulled at it. The silver links surprisingly broke easily, and the charm rolled into the grass. 

"‘I give you a piece of my heart.’ Take it back then." The chain flew into the water. The guy just watched as it sank, until the final "plop" echoed.

He slowly turned around and spread his arms in a universal gesture. It took Edith a few seconds before she realized what he meant. The hug was very awkward - too strong in the ribs, too weak in the back. But she managed to cry her heart out into his shoulder so that a wet spot even creped under his vest.

“You don't understand what's going on, do you? Didn’t get a word?” Edith smiled weakly, tearing herself away from the fabric. As if to confirm her words, the guy again bowed his head in question.

“Here.” The girl pointed to her forehead, near her bangs. “You should hide them better. Although, they are cute”

He copied the gesture. His palm hit a hard growth peeking out from under the hair.

“Hey, no, leave them!” Edith grabbed the hand that was ruffling the black strands to hide the neat, shiny horns of the same colour. Just like those of young goats, maybe a little longer, with gray spots.

“You're not from around here, that's the thing...” She should somehow apologize for today's misunderstanding.

“FOUND YOU!”

From such a scream, the night birds fluttered into the air. Edith was immediately pushed behind his back. How tables turned...

“LAUR! There you are?!”

A long figure fell out of the bushes onto the shore, almost hitting the ground with its nose. Miraculously, it straightened up, turning into a man in the same formal suit, but with very slicked gray hair. Laur - that's what his name is - immediately relaxed and made a sound similar to a cat purring for a second. The one who came running, not paying attention to Edith, immediately appeared next to him and began to turn the guy around, examining him for damage. After making sure that there wasn't even a speck of dust, he exhaled and seemed to deflate.

“Edith” the girl calmly extended her hand to him.

No one in her life had ever agreed to a handshake so hesitantly. It seemed that this gesture pleased Laur and he repeated his incomprehensible rumbling again.

“I can't believe that I'm asking this, but are you hurt?”

“No, no. On the contrary, I had to save him from some...circumstances. I think he'll explain later.”

“Laur... I told them that taking you to Earth was a bad idea!”

“Sorry for prying, but... Does he really not understand what we're talking about?”

The man was clearly expecting another question. Or questions. Or screams and holy water in his face. In the same place as on Laur, his horns began to grow, around temples and going behind the back of his head. So, that’s because of the emotions…

“He shouldn't be here. His department has nothing to do with the collection of souls on Earth, of course he doesn't know a word in human. It's just the circumstances…”

He continued to mutter something under his breath. Words from different languages ​​mixed with a throaty gurgles and hisses. Laur nudged her shoulder with his head. There was nothing left to do but scratch him behind the ear and under the horns. The latter made him stretch out and close his eyes. Max and his new pair faded into the background - the issue of lost demonlings... No, he said something about the department, which means Laur has a job. The issue of fully grown lost demons was more interesting. Creatures of hell are not an everyday occurrence, unlike nasty individuals.

“I need to get him back, and very urgently, so please excuse us.” He repeated the same thing in his language and Laur drooped. He even hissed but was immediately interrupted by a stream of very displeased gurgling. Edith stopped the scratching and pushed forward.

“Go, they are waiting for you,” She pointed at another demon.

“Thank you” She put her hand to her chest. Laur, despite the urging rustling, mirrored her.

The two figures were moving further and further away from the shore, and Edith remained sitting on the bench. The fresh air sobered up her brain, overloaded with events. Another five minutes and she would definitely go home...

The grass rustled wildly under someone's feet. They were clearly running in this direction.

Laur rushed towards her, clutching something in his fist under his heart.

“Aren't you- ”

“E-dhi-th!”

He could have fallen, but he managed to stop. The demon continued to repeat her name with a lisp and very distortedly. Suddenly he grabbed her palm and put what he was carrying in it. He squeezed the fingers back, to be sure, repeated the name one last time and again disappeared into the night.

The gift felt cold on her skin. Carefully unclenching her fingers, Edith almost dropped it in surprise.

On her palm lay a silver pendant in the form of a gillyflower. So detailed that any high-class jeweller would envy it. It exuded the scent of a night blossom - light, almost imperceptible. And at the very tip of the top colour, a tiny stone sparkled. It perfectly matched both blue ballet flats and a sundress.