Kyle had shown up at 2:30, while the last of the lunch rush was clearing out. He had thought that Aaron had just dumped him and wasn't willing to confront him about it. But if this Ruby was, as she said, "setting his affairs to rest"...
That certainly boded ill.
He had actually worked here for a couple of months, back when he was fresh out of the Hedge, before he had gotten his life back and put together to his liking. The food was good, and the tea was excellent. The blinds were drawn during peak business hours, giving the room a dark, exotic feel. Now they were opened to let in the afternoon light. The occasional dust mote danced in the air like a tired ballerina, made visible only by unfamiliar sunlight. The air smells of baking Fortune Cookies.
A lightly woven bamboo privacy screen blocks his booth off from the rest of the room. He sits with his back to the wall so he can watch the entrance of the restaurant. A semi-solid streamer of steam rises from the small porcelain cup as Kyle adds some tea to his sugar. Kyle waits, and thinks.
What secrets was Theo hiding? Did he whisper of the mysteries beyond the walls of the Anaetheum? Or did he simply keep a life, where so many others threw theirs away when they stepped down from the Watchtowers?
She brings the North Wind as witness, a friend in case of trouble.
Control Air. Forces 3 Conjunctional
Expends 1 Mana
2009-08-12 18:14:00
Ruby rolls 12 to Gnosis+Matter+HS-4 (10 Again, WillPower)
1, 10, 3, 7, 2, 6, 3, 1, 3, 1, 8, 9, 9
4 successes
Ruby parks in the lot, carefully eyeing the restaurant and gripping the letter between her fingers like a treasure. As she steps outside, a stiff breeze follows her her heels, a hound unseen and wild.
As she steps inside, a whirling gust spills in for a moment, rattling bells and threatening to scatter zodiac placemats.
"My name is Ruby, I'm looking for a Mr Franesco." She asks, and then directed towards a bamboo separation turns towards the corner with wind wrapped invisibly around her like a shawl.
Kyle flips his placemat over as the woman approaches, the little maze for children completed with a pen while he waited. He stands up when she approaches, and nods his head in greeting. He's dressed in a single-breasted charcoal suit with a light blue shirt and pink tie that sets off his eyes. "I'm Kyle Franesco, you must be Ruby" He smiles and those eyes light light up, hiding all but the faintest traces of worry in them. "I hope you don't mind, but I've already ordered. A proper zha jiang mian takes awhile to make, but I've always liked it. But please, order something before we get down to..." He pauses nervously. "Business, I guess. There's tea, if you like."
The human mind is a strange thing, an organ which behaves contrary to expectation. It is the seat of all thought, and as such, when its function deceives us, we often have no recourse to correct it.
The worst of its crimes is when it divides against itself, when the deeper genius of intuition scurries away thoughtful revelations to protect our delicate preconceptions.
When Ruby first lays her eyes on Kyle Franesco, this is the thought which her brain buries away from her conscious ego:
My God! So That's what Theo saw in him.
Her grip on her spell loosens, and a flutter of air looses over the place as her guardian diffuses without her attention.
"Why yes. I'm Ruby," she breathlessly affirms. Her dappled caramel sundress and rhinestone studded leather flipflops embarrassingly under-dressed in comparison to her company.
She takes her seat as if ensorcelled; murmuring, "I'll just have the egg drop soup." She grips the letter firmly in front of herself, knowing only the feel of it.
Kyle beckons over the waitress and relays Ruby's order. He also asks for a appetizer platter of pot stickers while they wait. "I used to work here you know. So I like to do a little bit to keep it in business. I don't know if you've ever had spicy mustard, but it's an interesting flavor. Ruby is an interesting name, is it a family name?"
"My name? Yes, well I actually had it changed. It's a funny thing, it didn't sell art very well. Mr. Franesco... I think I've made a terrible mistake. You aren't Theo's lawyer are you?"
My GOD, finally! Ruby, you're nearly there! Why is it taking you so long?
Ruby slumps. Acceptance is the final stage of grief after all. Her whole face comes unglued as an expression of pity and sorrow washes over it.
"Well..." she whispers, searching for the right words. "I guess nobody's perfect."
The letter slides over across the table.
"Theo-" an eternity hangs on his name "-had an accident. I'm sorry."
Kyle's
Dear Kyle,
I apologize if you ever read this because I hate to think that I would cause you pain but you deserve to know I'm gone. Meeting you, knowing you, has been the best thing that's happened to me. You're the most human person I've met. You told me once that if you believe something, it's probably true. I hope you'll know that I believe that with everything that I am and I care for you in ways didn't know I could before. I never could have imagined the joy you've let me feel just by saying my name. You've shown me the world is more vibrant and full of wonder, possessed of a magic that has nothing to do with spells or fairytales. I'm eternally grateful. I don't know how else to express it that I haven't done already.
I love you.
Draft this Post
