“I’ve got corn flakes but you can have bread if you want.”
“They’re… crispy little flakes. You eat them with milk in a bowl and a spoon.”
“Something so fancy for breakfast?”
“It’s not fancy at all.” Ka Li put what Jackie assumed to be a bowl in front of her and then put a rustling box on the table.
Ka Li poured lots of those flakes into the bowl and it sounded like stars falling. Then she poured hot milk all over and put something metallic next to the bowl. Jackie picked it up and found it was a spoon.
“Do you need help?” Ka Li asked.
“No, no, I’m good.” Jackie said. Maybe if she could get a quick lick of the table and the bowl so she knows where everything is. It’s hard to tell whether Ka Li was looking away with her being just an orange cloud. It stirred for a second and Jackie interpreted it as turning around to get cutlery for the others. She flicked out her tongue to lick the side of the table. No reaction. She was good. She then licked the bowl, more careful to not tip it over.
“My, you’ve got a long tongue.” Damn it.
“Yeah, uh, happens I guess.”
“You a Tamali, then? Or is that one of those Cluthenika superpowers. It’s hard to keep up with what people can do and why nowadays.”
Patrick nudged her. “You should just come clean dude. Part of the plan was to be accepting as who you are here. And Ka Li is a nice old lady, no worries.”
Ka Li sat down and poured herself some corn flakes too.
“It’s uh, my kind is called New-English. Don’t ask me why, I’ve no idea. We’ve got tongues like that, they’re kinda important to us.”
“That’s fascinating. I actually thought you were a normal human like me!”
“I still identify as human, a bit. Like, we’re not a separate species, we bite others and turn them into one of us. I believe Vampires work similar?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of Vampires. I didn’t know there were more of that. How did you get turned then?”
“I don’t actually remember my pure human days. I just woke up like this one day. I believe I was… ten years old then.”
“Oh. That’s strange. Could nobody tell you what happened?”
“I was alone… Okay, this might be a bit freaky but I’m not actually… from here.”
“From a different planet?”
“Dimension even, I think. My homeworld is much harsher and brutal than this place.”
“Hold on, you’re from another dimension? Like the Shanttari?”
“I don’t know who those are.”
“Guess we got a lot to talk about to get each other up to speed.”
“Thanks for just believing me all this crap at face value. It must sound crazy.”
“I expect anything these days. My whole life I thought we humans were the only creatures on this planet. Then suddenly there are like ten other species and Gods and aliens just popping into this dimension and one day the sky ripped open and a bunch of demons killed half the human race.”
“I know right. You should eat your flakes before they’re cold, dear.”
“Oh, right!” Jackie quickly stuffed her face and it tasted so good. Like the sun and clouds. Well, like she had imagined them to taste like when she could still see them.
“Why did you lick the table though? Is that like a sign for feeling comfortable?”
“Oh, uh, no, it’s so I could see the table.”
“What do you mean, see the table?”
“I’ve got a really good sense of taste. So good that I can taste the table in the air around it and how far it is away. But only if I know which taste to look for.”
“Oh… so… you basically got… taste echolocation… but you need the frequency of the objects first?”
“I understand. Did you lick the rest of the house then? I don’t want you to run into walls.”
“Not yet, I wanted to ask first.”
“You know, Corey, my son, is blind too. If you bit him, could he use this taste-seeing too? I mean, he’s been blind since birth and was never bothered by it and I don’t think he needs to be fixed, not at all, but maybe it’d be nice to offer it to him?”
“Amazing. I haven’t had such good breakfast since…” Jackie almost dropped her spoon. Suddenly she became aware of the spare money she still carried in her pocket. A heavy sadness just overcame her.
“Everything alright, Jackie?” Ka Li asked.
“Where’s the bathroom? Just give me directions, I’ll find it myself.” She sounded meaner than she wanted to but at least it hid her quivering voice pretty well.
“It’s just forward, first door on the left.”
Jackie stood up and went straight ahead. Her hand found a wall and then a door. Then the handle, opened it and quickly shut it behind her again. She found a key in the lock and turned it too. Then she fell on the hard floor, pulled her knees up and her hood over her head and began sobbing.
An arm appeared on her shoulders.
“It’s okay, Jackie… I miss him too.” Patrick whispered, as if anyone could hear him.
She could tell him how it’s not fair. How after all this time she should be over the death of an old man. But she just let him talk.
“I see a lot of him in you, you know? You’re such a kind heart too. You’re afraid of that aspect of you, as it’s such a vulnerable one but it’s also such a strong one.”
Jackie tried to get a grip on herself but couldn’t.
“I’m sure he’d be damn proud of you, Jackie.”
Jackei just kept weeping until it didn’t feel relieving anymore. She hoped she didn’t leave Ka Li alone for too long. She found the sink and washed her face as if that washed away the signs of crying. Maybe it did. She washed her blindfold too. It had felt so dirty after crying. For some reason she always felt like she cried blood.
Finally she returned to the table. Ka Li was still there, standing in the hallway. Did she listen at the door?
“It’s okay. Do you need a hug?” Jackie tried to walk past her and just sit back down but was reminded that she wasn’t as strong as she thought she was and fell right into her arms. No more tears though. Just absorbing her warmth. She stroke her bony back and Jackie felt so safe.
