Hallon Seed Day 03-04

Julia searched for some factor by which she could offer a disagreement, but she found nothing. Even the tear rolling down the demon's cheek could have been a lie.

"And even if it were all true, who would be the host," he added. They sat in silence.

"Me," Julia said, staring at nothing in particular.

"Yeah," Mark said, somberly. "I figured you'd say that." He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

"So, what does the ritual, or whatever entail," Julia asked

"I don't think we'll need one, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. From what I can tell, the ritual stuff is all about getting a demon's attention. Basically a, hey, you, come here. Ours is already here and knows what's going on. In our situation, saying the name is more a sign of commitment and acceptance."

"Of course," he continued, "Potential problem number one: It's the wrong name, and we're getting the attention of a completely different demon. Number two, ours not remembering its name renders the whole thing null. I mean, when you think about it, we're just hoping that hearing it will suddenly override the memory wipe. No guarantee of that."

"In any case, we're not doing it tonight," Mark told her. "I need more time to think. No point jumping on it right away. None of us are going anywhere."

"Definitely a matter worth mulling over," she agreed. "Hungry?"

"Absolutely. Let's open some cans and have a proper meal."

"That's definitely a good plan," she said.

They both opened and warmed up a full meal of meat and vegetables, and ate in the basement. That also chatted with the demon, asking it questions about what life was like at various points in history. They even played some card games, during which they realized that Go Fish was not the wisest choice of game to play with someone who remembers everything flawlessly.

They decided to stay up late, and had no idea what time it was until the fire along the wall suddenly dimmed and extinguished.

"I guess it's midnight," Julia said. She turned on a lantern and Mark got up, and relit the fire. She looked at him curiously and jokingly asked, "Afraid of the dark, suddenly?"

"I want to stay up a little more. One way or another, tomorrow will be a significant day. I'd like to do some things differently. Feels appropriate. Let's turn the mattress so... she... can sleep in the middle. It's not so bright that it'll keep us awake."

"Sounds good."

They spun the mattress ninety degrees left and pushed the head up against the wall, aligning the center with the iron chain plate. The excess chain was stuffed between the wall and the mattress. Since the demon never changed positions, there was no concern with it uncomfortably laying on the chain, at any point while they slept.

Mark and Julia changed into their bed clothes and crawled into bed. Julia wanted hold the demon's little body against herself, to feel its heartbeat through its back. To just give it another good memory of a cuddle.

Mark brushed the side of its face, looked it in the eye and smiled. "I hope you do have pleasant dreams."

"Thank you," the demon said and closed its eyes.

Julia was sleepy, but the fire light did keep her from falling asleep as quickly as she probably would have in the dark. She lay with her eyes closed, thinking about what it might be like to share a body with a demon. Moreover, the fact that Mark didn't really object to it.

She recalled when she had told him that she wanted him to do something for her, and he had said he would do anything. That was no insignificant thing. He trusted her as much as she trusted him. If she decided to allow this demon into herself, then she would be giving it the same trust.

Was she making the right decision? Was it a wise thing to do?

She was suddenly reminded of something Mark had said a couple of years ago, although she didn't remember the context. He had said it off-handedly, and she didn't give it much thought, at the time, but it seems to be ringing true, here and now.

"Knowledge can let you rule the world. Wisdom can let you choose not to."

When he said he would do anything for her, he handed her the secrets of the atom in his universe. He granted her the power to create and destroy. What kind of power will she be granting this demon?

She felt mentally exhausted. She decided to focus her attention, instead, on the steady rhythm of the demon's heartbeat.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Mark opened his eyes and found Julia and the demon in the same positions in which they had fallen asleep. He turned over onto his side and faced the demon, just watching. He had to not care about time.

He was not certain how much had passed, but Julia began to stir, and then she woke up. She pulled her armed away from the demon and then stretched. She yawned aloud.

The demon opened its eyes, and in an instant almost too quick for the conscious mind to capture, Mark saw joy. And then he saw that joy give way to fear, and then sadness.

"Good morning," Mark said quietly with a smile.

"Good morning," the demon replied, flatly.

Julia reached across the demon and cupped Mark's face. "Hey," she said. "She awake?"

Mark looked at her and nodded.

Julia lifted the chain. "Turn over," she told the demon, holding the chain out of the way, and then setting it down behind its head.

Mark rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.

'Well,' he thought, 'that was the only test I had, and you passed it. But then, if you can read minds, then of course you would. Being a mind reader would have let you better please Phillip.'

'But then you would also be able to know your name from his thoughts. Or you currently do know your name, and it doesn't really matter. I'm clearly not smart enough or clever enough to sort this one out.'

'Julia will, naturally, agree to let you in, and I will, naturally, agree to let her. Your escape is inevitable, and I will have no way to stop you, if you are still evil. I do have one request, however, if you can even hear me.'

'If everything goes to shit for us, and the cat is well out of the bag... I'd like to know what happened to all the spiders. It's just weird that I haven't seen any, anywhere.'

Mark turned his head to see Julia propped up on an elbow watching him, smiling. He nodded to her. Her eyes widened slightly with surprise, knowing exactly what the nod meant.

Julia lowered her head level with the demon, caressed its cheek and smiled. "Good morning, Ashmedai."

Mark saw Julia's hand relax, and she was silent. He raised himself, to see over the demon, and found them both unconscious. His heart thumped hard in his chest. He reached over and jostled her, but she did not wake up.

"Julia," he said. No response. He changed to a cross-legged sitting position and waited intently, unsure of what else he could possibly do.

Minutes passed, and then Julia's eyes fluttered open.

"Oh, thank you," Mark expelled with a sudden breath. He held the side of her face. "Julia?"

She looked confused for a moment, and then realized where she was. "Mark."

"Yeah. Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"It feels weird. It feels like a tiny echo in my head." She giggled. "Ashmedai says it will fade in time. We still need to fully synch up. So weird." She grabbed Mark's hand and stood up, excitedly. "Come here," she said, hurriedly pulling him along with her up the stairs and out the back door.

She looked all around her at the sky and trees and grass, smiling at every thing.

"She's happy, Mark," Julia said with delight. "She's happy, and I'm happy she's happy, and that makes her more happy, and-" She suddenly giggled uncontrollably for a few seconds. She put fingers to her mouth. "Oop. Feedback loop. Still got some kinks to work out."

Mark smiled, but was still concerned. He took her hands into his and looked her in the eyes, wanting her to focus on him.

"That's great," he said. "Is everything... good, though? I mean... I know this is a stupid question to ask, at this point, but... can we trust it?"

Julia's smile all but left, and her eyes darted slightly, as if listening to something else. After a moment, she focused on him again.

"She wants to talk to you, okay? I'm gonna let her talk."

"Okay," Mark acknowledged.

Julia's expression changed to something more flat, but with still a hint of happiness.

"I understand your concern, and I know that there is nothing that I can say to truly alleviate those concerns, but I am now able to experience the joy that I have long sought, without fear of discovery. Julia and I trust each other, but there will be no joy without you, which means your trust. I am begging you to be happy."

Once again, it comes down to trust, Mark noted. There was no real precaution he could take. All he could really do was remain observant, as he usually was of Julia, and not assume the worst. Mark didn't want to live his life waiting for the other shoe to drop. All that would do was hurt their relationship.

Another slight change in expression signaled Julia's return. She looked into his eyes, and he simply nodded. She leaned in and stood on her toes to kiss him.

"I think we can go home, now," Julia said. "We don't need to be here anymore. But there is one thing we need to do, first." She released one hand and pulled him with her back into the house with the other.

In the basement, they both stared at the small, motionless body that the demon had once inhabited.

"Lift her up, please," Julia asked.

Mark picked the body up in his arms and held her while Julia pulled all the coverings off the mattress. She unzipped the sleeping bags from each other and then laid hers back on the mattress. Understanding what she was doing, Mark set the body back into place.

Julia leaned over and put her ear to the chest.

"The heart is still beating," she said, somewhat sadly. "Created to live forever in pain." She sat up. "The body still will, I suppose. The only consolation is that no consciousness will feel it."

Julia turned the body onto its side and moved the arms and legs to make it look like it was sleeping, and then she zipped the sleeping bag around it appropriately.

"Sweet dreams, kiddo," Julia said, and after a moment, "You're welcome."