Dating : Candy Hearts

Cindy was sitting at her sturdy mahogany desk staring blankly at her door when a sharp knock at the door to her office shocks her out of her trance. Blinking a few times, she smoothes the non-existent wrinkles from her tight black pencil skirt and straightens her crisp white dress shirt so that the scar of her neck was covered. Slowly, she gets up from her desk and opens the door slowly, careful to make sure the door hid her unkempt office.

“Good morning!” Cindy says cheerfully, the cobwebs that were just her mind gone. This was her job, she had to be perfectly sharp. Careful of what her face gave away, she made sure she had her poker face on, with years of practice, none of her foggy brain and tiredness showed on her face.

“Yes,” the man answers slowly, almost too slowly.

Leaning on the intricately carved door frame, he continues, “I’m looking for Cindy Locke.”

“Yes! Yes! You have come to the right place.” Cindy says, oblivious to who the strange man is and what he wants from her, but sure he was someone she didn’t, couldn’t displease. She opens the door to her office wide, telling the man to come in. She steps gingerly around her desk taking a seat in her chair and indicating the man should sit in the chair across from her and the desk.

The man looks from the doorway confused, not sure what to do next. He had not prepared for Cindy to be so welcoming and kind, for he had expected her to closed off. He was told by his superior that she was the worst of her kind, the very threat to their existence. He had not expected a petite yet sturdy woman with curling hair the color of ivory, had he not expected her to sit in an office and work in office clothing that were 20 years out of fashion. The desk looked imposing and expensive, but on top of it was piles upon piles of paperwork, a stained glass vase with dry and shriveled up flowers, and a huge bowl of candy hearts.

Cindy watches the man take in her messy office, embarrassed that she had not thought of straightening it beforehand. Had she known that such an important client would come in, she would have used her fancy office. But for now, she will have to make due with the mess, hoping the client will not have a bad impression of her work. She was proud of work. She never failed to deliver whatever the client needed, fake files to state of the art science labs, she has never failed a job. Trying to calm her nerves, she starts absentmindedly reaching for her bowl of candy hearts.

This client seemed more challenging than the rest, his crisp victorian suit and the artfully concealed knives were something more than just blowing up things or failed experiments the rich humans liked to do. He wanted something more from her, she was sure of that.

Surely he was human, the pulse of blood on his neck and breathing. Breathing, Cindy thought, how long had she not needed to breathe? How long had she become something less than human? The thought of blood and breathing made her want to cry. How long had she not been able to cry? Trying to push the thoughts out of her head, she turns to the man, now sitting down, done with his survey of her office.

“What will you be needing today?” she asks, like there was nothing wrong, acting like she was just as human as he was.

The man pulls out a sheet of parchment, thinner than anything she had ever seen. The light shone through the parchment, almost transparent. She could see none of the veins that she usually saw when thin parchment was presented. This parchment was special, it had no inconsistencies that human made objects had. How did this man get his hands on this? The parchment alone made for a valuable asset, surely he was not giving her that.

“I want you to translate this,” he says calmly, with no emotion in his voice.

“Surely you know better than I do that I cannot meddle in things like that.” Cindy says coldy.

The man looks surprised, the cracks of his poker face showing. The once sure man was taken aback by how quickly Cindy had seen through his act. So quickly, but he could not bolt or it would confirm what he knew Cindy was thinking.

Not saying it outright, Cindy examined the ancient writing on the parchment.

“I-,” she starts slowly, “-I could translate this, but it will take time. It will take time and money, something you don’t have.”

“How much?!” he blurted out.

Plucking another candy heart from her bowl, she says, “3 copper stones.”

His face immediately fell, he felt her stare, knowing full well that it was impossible.

“But-,” he tries to say, but then closes his mouth. He sees a tiny smile crack on Cindy’s face. She knew full well that copper stones were rare, there were only 2 stones that were found and confirmed genuine, and both of those stones were locked up somewhere he could not get to.

“I told you, you cannot afford me,” Cindy says smiling slyly, enjoying the sight of a fully trained agent squirm under her stare.

The silence in the room became hot and sticky, Cindy reached for another candy heart. “Play” the first one read, “puppy love” the second one said. Maybe it was trying to tell her something. Returning her attention to the man, she could see sweat breaking out and wetting his collar. Such a pity, what a wonderful suit he had worn, not it will surely be yellow with sweat.

Signing, she decided that she didn’t want to be so cruel today.

“Here, I’ll offer to translate the first line,” she says unwillingly, but the words still came out.

“And the price?” he asks, too hopeful.

Cindy pulls another candy heart from her bowl before answering.

“You.”