The Walk
You weren’t happy with the “let’s go for a walk” thing Mattie proposed you. You were looking forward to the moment you would be entering your room and taking a long relaxing bath. But that is not going to happen anytime soon because, sadly, you had left the room just a minute ago and if the look on Mattie’s face means something, your walk would last a good amount of time. Mattie is walking as graceful as always, her face in the right inclination so her skin is kissed by the sunlight, giving her the “I’m a Greek goddess” look that follows her wherever she goes, apparently. You take way too long time to realize you were staring at her, staring at your “was once an ancient vampire that tried to kill you” roommate. You look down immediately, praying God she hadn’t caught you staring.
Apparently, she had not, cause she just keeps walking down the street, as if all of this is normal to her, like she does it frequently. IT being walking with girls that would give their left hand to be anywhere but here. Then it hits you that she probably had other roommates in the past and probably all of them changed rooms. That would totally explain why it looks normal to her walk down this street with a girl that doesn’t like her, she must have done it a lot of times already. A couple of minutes later, she interrupts your thoughts, and you notice you arrived at the park. It’s a sunny evening, so that’s probably the reason the park is crowded, you think. You look around, scanning the park a little more. You see the ice cream van parked not that far from where you are, and you also see the crowd of kids that circles it. That makes you remember of the times you and Lafontaine were five and laf bought you a strawberry ice cream and a chocolate one for themselves, but they dropped theirs soon after they gave you yours. Their sad face was so heartbreaking that you offered them yours, but they only accepted after you agreed you’d both share. You smile at that memory, but Mattie interrupts you as she turns at you as she speaks:
- Those cupcakes of yours were very savory, baby mouse. I’m flattered you made them just for me, and you don’t even like mulberry. – Even when she was thanking you she looked so full of herself, it’s what you hate the most in her. Everything she said was right thought, you did make them just for her, and you do not like mulberry. But even if she’s right, you don’t have a clue about where this conversation was going, and that scares you. – So, according to my values, is my duty to return the kindness and I know exactly where to take you. – she gives you her arm and, even though you think this walk can’t end soon enough, you take it. She starts walking again, leading you to the smallest of the streets here, the fancy one you never wanted to know. Of course she would take you there, is so her to do that! Who else would go to fancy restaurants when you could cook your own meal? Mattie Belmonde would!
You look at her as if asking why you’re here, but she doesn’t seem to notice, or maybe she just ignores you. She doesn’t even look on your face until you are in front of a too fancy to have good brownies coffee shop. It’s not that it doesn’t look great, cuz it does, it’s just that everybody knows that homemade bakery is always better, no matter how expensive the coffee shop might be. If you weren’t excited before, now you almost couldn’t hide your lack of enthusiasm. It was all so evident on your face that if she wasn’t so satisfied with herself for thinking in bringing you here, she would have noticed for sure. She gives you space so you can enter first, and follows you right after. “Now she wants to be nice?”. But her moment of chivalry ends right after that, when she guides you to a table a little bit too isolated to your taste.
If you’re still alive you would probably have asked to change your table, stating that if a fire began you would probably die or if any of you wanted to use the toilet you would need to cross the entire place to do so. But you’re not alive anymore, you remind yourself, nothing could kill you because you’re already dead. So, instead of being stubborn, you just sit down and start to read the menu. It doesn’t take long before you realize that an awkward silence was hovering among you two, and that realization made you pull down the menu and look at Mattie. She was looking at you, back straight, with her fingers delicately rested on her chin, and her other hand on her lap. She looked like a empress right now, beautiful but powerful, intimidating even. You try to maintain her stare, but it gets uncomfortable very quick and your eyes travel around the place. Since she failed in keeping your attention on her, she decides to speak
. - Liked the place, kitty cat? – “Not really.”
- Hm.. Yes, it’s very, hm, different. – Gods, you hope she doesn’t feel offended. You don’t need a former evil vampire to think you offended her. She doesn’t look offended though, which is good. She just gives you a small smile and continues her talking.
- Yes, I thought it might be different to you. – “Is this an insult? Is she trying to humiliate me?”- That wasn’t an insult, sweetheart. – “is she reading my mind?” – And I’m not reading your mind, you just have a very expressive face. You can’t hide your emotions very well, you know that? – You curse yourself internally, and try to compose yourself again so you can have a conversation where she doesn’t know your answer before you even say a word. - I noticed how you’re always doing home stuff in our bedroom, when you’re not baking, you’re cleaning, and when you’re not cleaning, you’re baking. You never take time to something that might bring you some entertainment, that’s why I brought you here, dear. I thought that since you don’t have fun on your own, I could help you with that bringing you to the best coffee shop here.
You should have thanked her, you know you that, she was trying to help you, in a Mattie way, but she was. But you couldn’t help yourself of being caught up in the commentary she did about your life. You do know you spend a lot of time of your afterlife cleaning and baking, but you never realized it was that much of time. When you’re alive you always had an injured Lafontaine to take care of; or a test you needed to study to; or even a fairy queen you needed to defeat. Now, without Lafontaine and without all the supernatural things around you, you had nothing to do. No injured best friend to take care of, because your best friend were alive; no test to study to because the dead don’t need a degree; and no fairy queen to defeat, because fairies don’t exist for the dead and you lost your power when you sacrificed yourself. You’re alone, bored and powerless. All you have now is a terrible roommate and all the time in the world.