h2>Dating : Bishop
Dedicated to Ryder, Daniel, and Francis, who drowned and whom I never met.
I always thought I’d die, thought the boy, as one more of the victims of an imminent invasion from outer space. I always thought I’d die wearing my favorite green t-shirt. And now I’m here, he thought, drowning in cold, dark waters, and even worse, I’m almost naked.
The boy’s heart felt like a little earthquake inside his chest as his lungs filled and it shook with fear. He was no coward, he reassured himself, but this was death and it was near. He had a vision of the moon, the sun, the clouds, and the morning star. He trembled as he cried some tears for his soul and the souls of those who rested below him. He looked at both his hands for the last time. They were so small, the skin so pale. Figurines not only burn, he thought, they also drown in fear. This was his last consideration before the world exploded into a million pieces. All the space around the boy turned into blackness.
Wake up.
The boy blinked once and then again. It took his eyes some time to notice the man standing over him.
Wake up.
Who are you?
I fell from the sky.
Did you?
The man smiled. No, I did not. My name is Daniel. Some people around here call me Dan. Some people around here call me the Cello man. Choose the one you like the most.
Nice to meet you, Dan.
Nice to meet you too, Ryder. I’ll be your guide today.
How do you know my name?
That, I’ll tell you later. You must be cold. Are you hungry?
Actually I am.
Chocolate drink and cookies?
They walked side by side across the forest. It was a pleasantly warm day. The Cello man was fit and tall, had a strong, square jaw, dark eyes, and a gentle smile. The Cello man wore a cream-colored shirt, beige trousers and a coat that reminded Ryder of the many tones in a lion mane. He smells like wet soil, thought the boy.
You don’t look like a Daniel, he said.
The Cello man laughed. What do I look like then?
Hmm. Like a mister Lee or a mister Chao.
Well, my last name was Cho in the other Earth.
The other Earth.
Yes.
Is that Chinese?
Korean, actually.
Am I really dead, Dan?
Technically?
Yes.
Technically, yes, said the Cello man.
The boy was quiet.
But then, you aren’t.
Are you dead?
I guess you know the answer to that question.
How did you die?
Same as you. I drowned. Most of the people here did. That, or something to do with water or any other liquid. We have a bunch here, twenty-one of them to be precise, who died in Boston in a molasses flood. People say the area still smells of sweet molasses during the hottest summer days. I was swimming with a friend in Lake Geneva, of all places. My legs suddenly cramped, my stomach hurt and then everything went dark. I was on a tour, you know? We were playing in Montreux the next day.
Mon what?
Montreux. It’s a city in Switzerland. Have you ever been to Switzerland?
The boy shook his head.
That piece of land has the most beautiful mountains. We also have great mountains here, you’ll see. You will marvel at the valleys, the deserts, and especially the stars at night. Back on Earth, we killed the stars in so many places. I used to miss the stars so much. Now I don’t. And I remember to look up and enjoy their presence every night. We even have some lakes in here, but no one drowns, of course.
Did it hurt?
To die?
The boy nodded.
Yes, it did, said the Cello man. But much less than I expected.
The boy said nothing but agreed with that statement.
The forest gave place to a meadow full of yellow butterflies and flowers. The boy saw the wooden structure off in the distance. It looked like a dome.
A peregrine flew over their heads.
We are so far, he said.
We are almost there, in fact, said the Cello man.
And he was right. The dome grew swiftly until it was in front of them. A young man dressed in pastel blue was seated on the grass in front of the giant structure. Hi skin was smooth and onyx-black, so black it shone under the sun. What he was drinking from a clay cup smelled of apples, honey, cinnamon, and cloves. Ryder also smelled a hint of lemon.
This is Francis, said the Cello man.
Francis smiled and shook the boy’s hand.
You also drowned?
Drown I did, said Francis. I took the weekend off and went by train from Paris, where I was studying to become and electrician, all the way south. The country they call France is so different to my native Gabon. I wished to see it all. I drowned near Marseilles in one of the Calanques. It was the first weekend of July.
I also drowned the first week of July, said Ryder.
Many drown this month. It is after all the hottest of the year. Dan here also drowned around the same time.
Did you? Asked the boy.
Um-hum, said the Cello man. July 6th, 2010. It was a Tuesday. They buried my dead body nine days later in the memorial park of New Jersey. Anything else you want to ask?
The boy blushed.
It’s such a beautiful day, said Francis.
You took words right out of my mouth, said the Cello man. I will show the boy the boy around if that’s fine with you.
Please, said Francis. The Janitor ain’t here, though. He went to get cookies for the boy.
There were lots of people inside the wooden dome, a few of them wore white, most of them wore either pastel or bright colors. The boy looked up and saw that birds of all sizes and colors flew freely in and out the oculus. They walked side by side, shaking hands here and there, giving and receiving smiles and hugs and visiting the different sections of the dome.
Who’s the Janitor? Asked the boy.
You’ll see, Ryder. Be patient.
You must miss your family.
I do, Ryder. Julia was my wife, my lover, and my best friend. Sometimes we fought, most times we were simply happy. Our daughter Audrey had just started walking and talking when I drowned. I missed them a lot. Julia still talks to me every night, but, just between us, I also miss when she used to write me letters. She used to write me every day, you know. Five years after my death she stopped, though, as it often happens. Julia and the others might not know, he said, we can hear their prayers, words, and whispers, and we can also read them. The worst kind of silence, Ryder, is when those we leave behind stop talking to us. The dead live as long as they’re remembered. Audrey is almost twelve now, and a beautiful young lady. She still cleans the cello and the bow with the small, red handkerchief and waters it like I taught Julia and like Julia taught her: once a month and very slowly, as if you are watering a cactus. She learnt to play it too, and she’s got talent. She’s my daughter after all, said Cello man proudly. Julia never plays it, though. The first time she took out the cello from its case after the accident, she wrote in the journal she used to keep that it sounded like death. It’s Audrey’s cello now, hers and only hers.
I miss my parents too.
And they will miss you too, there is no way around that, said the Cello man. How about those cookies now? I feel the Janitor is here.
The Janitor looked like someone fallen from the sky with grace. He was tall, but not too tall, and he was old, but not too old. His colorful clothes were picturesque, to say the least, but it was his eyes, dark and green and encased in folds of creased skin, that attracted the boy the most.
Now, said the Janitor to the boy after they had greeted each other, before we have that chocolate drink and cookies, there is someone I would like you to meet. The trio walked along a hallway, too long to fit the dome, the boy wondered, before they reached the door the Janitor was looking for.
The boy jumped back when the door opened. There was a tiger in the garden, and it was white.
A beautiful animal, don’t you think? There is wisdom in his eyes.
That’s the tiger, said Ryder. That’s the tiger papa used to talk about all the time. Papa was a soldier, you see. He was stationed near Fort Worth, not far from where he grew up. There was this white tiger in an enclosure near his base, and he would often go to visit. Papa said the white tiger was blind and liked the noise that the few who came see him made, so he was always near the window.
Here he can see, said the Janitor, he can see whatever he wants to. He likes company. You can come visit anytime.
The boy nodded. And then smiled.
Let’s get you some food, Ryder, said the Cello man. You must be hungry.
