0146

"So, Susan, how do you like the house?" Sol asked the little girl in the car with him.

"It's nice."

"Do you like the furniture that Mary bought you?"

"Yeah, I helped pick it."

"Hmmm," Sol said in agreement. He didn't know what to say to Susan. He wanted to ask about Sabastian and how they met, but it didn't seem right to him.

As Sol was thinking, Susan said, "You can ask."

"Ask what?"

"About how Sabastian and I met."

Sol was shocked by this statement. She seemed to be able to read his mind, and that disturbed him greatly. After noting that he had to guard his thoughts more carefully around Susan, he asked the question.

"He was there when my mom died," Susan replied.

"He killed your mom?"

"Not really. He saved her from herself. And he saved me, too."

"Do you know why?"

"Because he loves me."

"I meant do you know why he killed your mom."

"I know what you meant," Susan responded.

"He killed your mom because he loves you?"

"Yeah. I visited him a lot before that. When my mom's friends did bad things I would see Sabastian. He'd help me."

"I don't understand," Sol said.

"I'd see him when I dreamed."

"You saw him in your dreams at night?"

"No, usually in the day. When the bad things were happening."

"Bad things?"

"Yeah, but I don't wanna talk about that. I don't have to because Sabastian saved me."

"By killing your mom?"

"And adopting me!" the little girl exclaimed.

"You know what we are, right?"

"Yeah."

"Does that bother you?"

"No."

"Can you tell me what we are?"

"Some people call you vampires. Claudia says you're death. I think of you as cups."

"Cups?" Sol asked.

"Yeah, cups. Because you hold the people you kill inside of you. And one day God's gonna drink the souls up to heaven."

"And what if the souls don't belong in heaven?"

"Then the devil gets them. But most souls belong to God."

"And how do you know that?"

Susan looked at Sol, who turned his head from driving, and said, "I just do."

Sol quickly looked back to the road, but was obviously bothered by the piercing look Susan gave him. He felt as though she had walked into his soul and looked around.

"How do you know they don't belong to God?" Susan asked Sol, turning the tables on him.

"I don't."

"Then why can't they belong to God?"

"I guess I don't know. But how are you so certain that there is a God?" Sol asked Susan.


[Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005. All rights reserved.]
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