The Gift

“So who is she,” the sultry feminine voice ask from my right.

I ignored her for the moment, instead choosing to focus on the A4 parchment before me. I wanted to get this done as soon as possible. Literally every minute was important. A courier would arrive in due course to whisk it and the other document away to my lawyer. 

As to the legal interest in my home, I penned out in my well practiced calligraphy. Done with a custom formulated ink that included drops of my own blood, I wasn’t about to leave anything to chance. Though, as I finished the holographic will, I realized that the fact the ink did contain parts of my own essence would probably put my sanity into question. Which is why I had a psychiatrist drop by my home earlier this morning to certify that I was indeed sane and rational. If anyone knew what I had done to get to this point they would disagree, but that would be my little secret. Finishing up I signed and dated the document. I then sprinkled a little pounce powder to quickly dry the ink that was still damp. With that completed I looked up at the voluptuous beauty standing before me.

“She is my daughter,” I said finally answering her question. 

The woman raised a single eyebrow in query.

“Do you really want to know this?” I asked.

“Satisfy my curiosity.”

I nodded slowly thinking that someone should know the truth, even if she would probably never tell anyone. 

“Very well,” I began. “Twenty years ago my ex-wife walked out on me taking the kids and half of my fortune. If that wasn’t enough of a humiliation she managed to convince the courts that my boys would be better off without me in their lives.”

“Considering the depths of your depravity that isn’t surprising,” she commented. 

I glared back at her

She waved a dismissive hand. “Sorry, continue.”

“Anyway…” I said pausing to collect my thoughts. “I sold off all my stocks and other investments, resigned my position, paid off the wretched woman her blood money in advance. Then left the country and traveled the world. I was in Japan when I encountered a young woman who I admittedly had an affair with. Her name was Ren. I spent a couple of months with her living in a Tokyo hotel room and suddenly one day she vanished. I tried seeking her out with the assistance of a private investigator.” I paused in my story to sip my scotch I had poured earlier, the ice fully melted. “Unfortunately, the effort proved fruitless until a few months ago. Imagine my surprise when I find out my little lotus flower turned up in a Buddhist convent in California as a twenty-nine year old monk named Hana.”

The woman smirked. “Interesting choice of names,” she commented.

“Indeed. And even more interesting was the fact that her fourteen year old daughter was with her.”

The woman cocked her head as she did the quick math in her head. “So…this Hana, formerly Ren, was—“

“Yes, yes,” I said cutting her off. I didn’t need to hear the depth of my mistake spoken aloud. I knew just how much I’d screwed up. It wasn’t the only time I had performed actions that could have landing me in jail for several years, though I would not regret this one. Ren had brought a joy to my life that I had thought lost. “In my defense,” I paused thinking how stupid that sounded considering the situation. “She told me that she was nineteen. Even had identification to prove her claim. It was part of the reason she had eluded me for so long. When she fell pregnant she panicked and ran to the temple seeking redemption for her own transgressions. It was pure coincidence or perhaps dumb luck that I happen to be at the temple myself seeking some meaning for my life.” I sighed. “So much has gone wrong and I was just looking for answers, ya know?”

The woman chuckled. “It seems there is a lot of that going around,” she mused.

We sat in silence for several moments as I sipped the rest of the whiskey. I had grown fond of it over the years. Not to the point of alcoholism, but just a taste I really enjoyed. If there was one thing I was going to miss it was this.

I slipped the documents into a manilla envelope and then into a padded outer envelope to hand off to the courier. Just then the door bell rang.

“Right on time,” I said getting to my feet. The woman trailed behind me by several feet as I handed off the documents. I leaned with my back against the door realizing the finality of my actions and those about to come. 

The woman continued to follow me as I padded up the stairs to my bedroom where I laid myself out. 

“You sure you want to go through with this?” the woman asked leaning against the doorframe.

I turned my head, giving her an annoyed look.

She raised her hands defensively. “I’m just clarifying. There isn’t any mulligans. No second chances.”

I snorted. “Who would’ve thought,” I said to the ceiling. “I managed to summon the only demon in existence with a conscience.”

She stomped a foot like a young girl I once knew in protest. “I’ll have you know that succubi are not demons.”

“Tomato tomáto,” I replied. “You are essentially both vampires of life essence. Your kind just happens to bring pleasure in the process rather than pain.”

She didn’t look happy at the comparison but didn’t protest any further. Instead she sat next to me on the bed and traced a well manicured nail along my jaw line.

“By the contract,” she cooed, “you are giving me your remaining life essence.” She began unbuttoning my shirt as she continued. “In exchange I am to ensure that the will you just finished is uncontested. Is that right?”

I nodded. Then a thought occurred to me. “Won’t you be free of the contract once I’m dead?”

She shook her head. “Not until the contract is completed.”

“In that case, I would like you to also stick around for a bit and make sure nothing…untoward happens to my daughter.”

“Like a guardian succubi?” she asked smirking.

“Is that possible?”

She shrugged. “Sure. Why not. I could stand hanging out here for a few years. Things are so boring back home anyway. Maybe we can be girlfriends.” She giggled at the thought.

“Fine. Works for me. I just want her to have a good life and leaving everything to her seems like a good first step. I only worry that she will go crazy with it,” I said thinking aloud.

“So mote it be,” she said. I felt a mental weight fall upon me as the contract was sealed. “Are you ready?”

“I am Rhelixia,” I said.

She pressed her hand on my chest. There was a slight glow from her palm. My body and mind were filled with a euphoria that I had never known in life. Then the world went black.