Encouraged by Mari's laugh, the boy dared to chuckle, taking her advice to heart.
"I'll do my best" he chirped, determined to do just that. For her sake, he'd do anything.
"How would having abilities be 'cool'? Why would you want that?" he inquired, genuinely curious as to why would the girl see his abilities as good things. They did nothing but scare him whenever he dared think about them, so how did Mari manage to see it differently?
"Well, i doubt anyone would let you do it in the first place. I know they usually dont respond too well to that…"
"Oh! yea, right, sure, you can have it" Damien snapped out of his train of thought and handed her the yellow paper. For something almost two centuries old, it still looked in pretty good shape, perhaps indicating the boy kept it somewhere safe in all this time.
One thing that really stood out at first glance was - yet again - the calligraphy. It was different from Damien's soft and neatly organized writing, but at the same time it bore a slight touch of resemblance, somwhere in the formatting of the letters, yet far more elegant and elongated, like the person who'd laid the words on the paper was someone also skilled in art.
Mari laughed softly again and smiled broadly at his answer. “Good.” she said, genuinely glad to hear that. He was just so innocent and precious… She really wanted to help protect that part of him.
She looked at him, brow raised at his question. “How wouldn’t it be cool?” she countered gently. “Honestly… Being just plain human, it gets boring. I’m pretty sure that everyone dreams about having abilities. Flying, shapeshifting… If they're anything like what I've imagined, then they’d be incredible to have.” she explained not caring if she sounded a little naive or like a silly dreamer. “Well, I don't know. Some people might surprise you with that. But even if someone isn't willing to let you… drink from them… There’s blood drives and blood banks now. It would be easy to get a bag.” she told him with a brief shrug. “I can't say it would do anything for the taste but it might be easier if you don't know who it came from?” At least… I think it would help me if I was a vampire.
She smiled gratefully as she took the paper with as much delicacy as if he handed her a priceless treasure. She was definitely very impressed by the good condition of the letter but Damien was a very caring, careful person, so of course the most important thing he received from his father would be well cared for. “Your dad’s handwriting looks a little like yours.” she pointed out as she skimmed the letter once before taking more time to read it carefully.
"I dont know… I just didnt look at it that way i guess…" he eventually responded, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Shapeshifting didnt appeal that much to him, given it would only scare people away and he definitely didnt want to be too far off the ground with nothing to hold him. Mari's view of these abilities was clearly very different than his own, if she could talk about them like they were desirable things. Maybe this was something else that had changed in the time he was hiding away, otherwise he could not explain how one wouldnt be satisfyied by being a regular human being.
"No, no blood. Even if i dont know who it came from, i wouldnt want to drink it. It just wouldnt be right for me to do that" he shook his head firmly, with a sigh. Drinking blood that wasnt his just felt like a really big taboo he did not dare cross over.
"It does?" he said, stretching his neck so he could see the writing on the paper with a small frown on his face. Now that she'd mentioned it, there were a few similarities he'd probably accidentally acquired over time.
The letter started off with "to Damien" written in the left corner, the boy's name being written down with utmost care like each stroke carried unspoken emotions.
The next few lines started with a friendly yet brief introduction, like the writer knew Damien was aware of his existence, yet still wanted to properly introduce himself now that he had the chance to directly talk to him. The letter then went off with various other things like asking him how his day was, if he was happy with his mother, a few other stuff to try and get closer to Damien, before going into an explanation about why they had not met until then.
Mari shrugged a little as she reached a similar realization about how the world changed. “It’s ok. I know people used to think of abilities as… a bad thing and some people might still freak out but powers themselves aren't bad. It's how people use them.” she said, hoping to assure him in some way.
“Ok, ok. If you're really this against it, I’ll drop it.” she said gently. She didn't want to upset him with this kind of information but… She felt he should at least know about it.
She smiled softly and angled the paper better so they could both read it comfortably. The start of the letter was very sweet and proved to her that Damien’s father was a caring person. In a way it reminded her a bit of her own father. Though they didn't need letters to communicate. She paid closer attention to the upcoming part of the letter, curious about what reasons he had for not writing directly to him sooner. And of course, any hints about where he might be.
Damien nodded at her words, his visible eye widening just a few milimeters as if a small bell had rung in his mind all of a sudden, turning towards Mari. What she said did make some sense; people hated vampires mainly because they were doing harm, but he'd never done anything bad to anyone, so technically he was a good person, right?
"But… If i have an ability, what can i do with it? Can i help someone or is it just going to be there?" he asked, genuinely curious. Helping someone else had been the first idea that popped into his head when it came to the use of an ability; other than that he couldnt think of any other 'good' uses.
"No, its okay, i appreciate you trying to help me, but i just… cannot bring myself to do it…" he confessed, still looking away from her. He wasnt too upset at the idea, more like scared by it and what it would imply for him. Damien just wasn't ready for it.
The letter did not exactly specify the reason for not being able to meet up, just that it was 'better for them to stay apart for now, until things cooled down', which could imply a number of things. On the other hand, there was one joking remark about how he'd received Damien's letter and how proud he was that his son knew how to write so early - apparently Damien had mailed something first, when he was younger, and this letter was the father's reply to it.
One sentence that seemed to contain a tiny clue was the one where the author expressed his wish to maybe some day be able to show Damien the cherry trees in full bloom, when their festival rolled around. There should be a country out there that celebrated something like this, right?
Her immediate response of that he could use his abilities for whatever he wanted died on her tongue quickly. “I think… It depends on what your powers are.” she answered, still mulling it over. Most vampiric abilities, according to the stories, seemed pretty self-serving… Flying was something she considered a neutral power, but the others… Well, they could find ways to use them for good.
“I understand. You don't have to explain.” she assured, gently placing a comforting arm around his shoulders. She wasn't scared of him and didn't want him to be scared either.
Marissa raised a brow at the phrasing he used as an explanation. Was he in trouble? Or were there just problems in the area he lived in at the time? “You wrote him…” she noted with a soft smile. “Do you remember that?” she asked gently before she continued reading. It was most likely that his mother had sent the letter for him, but the thought of a younger Damien figuring out how do that himself was just too adorable to ignore. “Cherry blossom festival? I know there's a bunch of cherry blossoms in D.C. … but I don't know if that's what he means.” she murmured thoughtfully trying to figure out that piece of the puzzle. “I think cherry blossoms are a big thing in Japan… Or is it Sakura blossoms? Wait, are they the same thing?”
Damien was rather puzzled by the answer, trying to think of potential abilities and ways to use them in helping others, yet was unable to think of any. Maybe he just didnt know enough to be able to answer it just yet.
He sighed, allowing her to wrap an arm around him, and the boy just gave in to it. Having someone there to lean on just felt so very nice and calming - if only he could make it last forever.
Damien was casually reviewing the letter, sitting next to her when he lifted his gaze to look at her.
"I think i do.. a little bit. I cant remember everything i wrote down, but i do know i sent him something at one point and that it was the first time i directly spoke to him"
Indeed, it had been his mother who had sent it along with hers, and he was able to recall just how excited he was when the response came back.
"I have no idea, sorry… he only ever mentioned cherry blossom trees, nothing more"
“We’ll just have to find out what you are capable of tomorrow and we can figure out how you can use them to help people. If that's what you want.” Mari told him, hopefully clearing up her last answer.
She smiled softly when Damien leaned against her, glad he was accepting the gesture. She could only imagine how touch starved he was from all those years alone… at least he wasn't shying away from it so much anymore.
“That’s so sweet. Do you remember how old you were?” she asked gently, genuinely interested and a part of her wanted to keep a light conversation going. “Ok, hang on.” she said as she pulled out her phone. “Uhh… Ok. The most well-known species of cherry blossom is the Japanese cherry, which is commonly called sakura. So they are the same.” she confirmed after a quick Internet search and showing him the sentence she just read.
The boy nodded vigurously, as it really was what he wanted to do. Her positive talk about having abilities and perhaps being able to put them to good use had inspired him to actually want to try them for real now. Even just to see if he could.
"Would you… um… mind if i hugged you?" Damien sheepishly asked, when he felt his need for a bit of affection boil over. He'd known her for less than two days, yet her constant encouragement towards him and the fact she was always gentle made the poor boy sort of fall for her. Hard. Not in a romantic kind of way, more like the emotional comfort type and given his recent realization of how much he missed talking to someone, he finally dared ask the question that had been on his mind for a bit now.
"Im not too sure, maybe like 7 or 8? i cant remember that well. I do know my age was a single digit number back then, that i am certain." he replied, scratching his head a little bit as he spoke.
When Mari pulled out her phone, he scooted over to try and see what she was looking for.
"Sakura… I think i heard that before, but im not too sure" he murmured, looking at the phone. "They look beautiful though…" He pointed at the picture next to the paragraph. "What are the cherries like?"
The young woman chuckled a little at his energetic reply. He was really a good kid with a kind heart if he wanted to help people… and she was going to help him any way she could.
“Of course you can.” she said softly, almost feeling her heart break at his tone. Honestly, she cared very much for Damien… Almost like another younger brother, despite his being a few centuries older than her. He was just too precious. “You can hug me anytime you want.” she assured him as she opened her arms for him.
She nodded with a sweet smile as he explained. It was such a cute story and she could imagine it was a cute letter that he had sent too. “It’s ok if you don't remember that. I have a hard time remembering my single-digit years too.” she assured him. “Though my parents enjoy embarrassing me with stories of that time of my life.” she added with a light blush.
“Yeah, they are beautiful. They're one of my favorite flowers.” she agreed, before scrolling down a little more to show him a picture of the fruit. “Cherries are pretty good. They're both sweet and a little tart, depending on how they’re served.” she explained as the picture came up.
"i honestly cant wait for tomorrow…" he murmured, actually excited for something in his life after years of monotony.
With the confirmation, Damien didnt take too long to act. Soon enough, his thin arms were tightly wrapped around her, his cheek pressed against her shoulder, enjoying the warmth her body gave out.
"Thank you…"
Talking about his past had started to bring back some of the memories he thought lost, and he was honestly grateful for it. There was more fun in being able to retell his life experiences than keep them for himself and slowly forget.
"Why would they do that though?" hw asked, confused as to why her family did that. Was it a bad thing?
"Hmmm.. i dont think ive had any before, or at least none that i can remember." The boy continued, looking at the pictures - at least he now knew what his dad had wanted to show him all those years ago; and he was a bit glad in a way, that he saw them, but also kind of sad that it had to be without ever meeting him.
“Me too.” she agreed, matching his tone with a wide grin. Tomorrow was going to be an exciting day regardless of what they found out.
Mari wasted no time in returning the hug, wrapping her arms around his small body. She was still gentle with him but was more than happy to hold him close. “You’re welcome.” she whispered, resting her cheek on the top of his head.
She chuckled a little at the question before answering. “Because they think those stories are cute and they like remembering when I was that old. I think most parents are like that.” she added with a little shrug.
“I can bring some over for you.” she offered in response to his comment about not having cherries before. It would be easy enough to get both the fresh bag of cherries and the ones that you put on ice cream Sundays so he could figure out which ones he liked better.
As he was basically just drowning in the comforting feeling the hug gave him, Damien gave her a little squeeze, not by too much but enough for it to be barely noticeable. It was oddly relieving for him, being able to make physical contact with someone else willingly and he relished the wave of warm calmness that washed over him, not ready to let go any time soon.
"Oh, i see. But then if they're harmless why would you be embarrassed by them? They're memories of you, aren't they?" he asked, curious about the new strange combination the girl had suggested.
Another opportunity to try out something new? You bet he was going to say yes.
"Sure, of course! But only if its okay for you to do it. You shouldnt press yourself to buy things for me." he added coyly. Mari was very nice to bring him all those things and educate him on them, but he was unsure how he could make up for everything.
Mari smiled with a soft hum at the squeeze before gently returning the action. She was more than happy to hold him as long as he wanted to, but kept her grip loose enough that he could pull away whenever he wanted.
“I don't know.” she admitted, chuckling softly. “I guess it's because I was a kid and didn't know any better at the time. It just… feels embarrassing.” she tried to explain even if she didn't really understand the reason for the feeling.
She shook her head. “It’s no problem, Damien. Really.” she assured him. “You’ve been showing me your world in this house. The least I can do is bring you little pieces of mine, until you're ready to see it yourself.”
With his head so close to hers, the faint smell of fresh plants the boy's hair bore became a little more noticeable. It wasn't exactly like shampoo, rather a faint sweet fragrance coupled with a fresh smell emanating from his soft greenish hair. Given how he was pressing his cheek on her shoulder, one could only speculate on what thoughts were going on through his mind as he did so.
"I think stuff we do as kids are sort of fun to think of sometimes. I mean, you could be embarrased if you did something a little stupid, shall we say, but i dont think theres many things like that. But then again, maybe thats something thats normal now, i wouldnt know" he spoke, trying to figure out the situation. A lot of the behaviours he once thought normal turned out to have changed over time, so this one could have been part of them as well. But who knew for sure?
"i- thank you…"
Damien was left with few words. So far he hadn't considered his tour of the house as "showing her his world' but not that he thought of it, it kinda was just that. Everything surrounding him had basically been frozen in time along with him, and Mari's arrival made it apparent. As for her sharing bits of her world, the boy was actually kind of grateful for it, as it gave him some ideas about what was now outside.
Mari hummed softly at the new scent, breathing it in and trying to figure out what it was. Maybe it was something he had growing and just made into a shampoo like substitute. For all she knew, it could even be the reason why his hair was that unique color… If it wasn't naturally that shade.
“They are. Especially at the time.” she agreed with a soft chuckle. “But you’d be surprised how many stupid things a person can do in their lifetime. When you're a kid and no harm’s been done, it cute. Even a little funny to look back on.” she added. “But it's still embarrassing because you didn't know any better.”
“Ah, de nada, chamaco. You’re welcome.” she smiled at him assuringly. Honestly, she thought this was a better use of her money than spending it on whatever silly things she would normally buy. She glanced back at the letter to see if there was anything else that might be important.
After what felt like forever, he slowly let go of her, retreating back to his corner of the couch, looking considerably relieved, though still somewhat coy.
"Thanks…" he nodded, grateful she allowed him to hug her, albeit for a long time.
"Oh, i wont doubt that, a lifetime is a long period one can fill with bad decisions, but surely it cannot be that bad, can it? Surely that person eventually learns from their mistakes, no?" Damien said, with a slight nervous chuckle and a small shrug. "Kids are innocent, they will do things like that. Even i had my own moments, like the time i fell asleep outside and burned my leg."
"What do the other words mean?" he inquired, genuinely curious about the language.
Past the cherry blossom line, the letter ended with the author's gentle words about how he'd hoped they would meet soon enough, in the near future, while also hoping the boy would enjoy the little gift he'd sent him
“Anytime.” she said softly as she let him pull away. She didn't mind the length of the hug, in fact, she enjoyed it almost as much as he did.
Mari shrugged a little at the question. “It depends on the person. Some people take repeated attempts to learn… Though that’s not always a bad thing.” she admitted. “A lot of great inventors had to try and fail several times before they succeeded.” she added before chuckling at the reminder of his small scar. “Yeah, they are. Which is why some of what they do is often so cute.”
“They mean the same thing. De nada is Spanish for “you’re welcome” or “no problem”.” she translated with a small smile in his direction shifting again to show him the letter. “It says that he gave you something with the letter. Do you remember what it was or if you still have it?” she asked, silently promising to find a way to bring the two together.
Calming down his relieved emotions, Damien dared chuckle slightly, as he exhaled happily. It had done him some good to be able to act on his impulse, he felt a lot more stable now than he was before.
"Could i… do it again another time?" he asked, shaking his head so that the hanging hair on his face went almost over his nose and with his hand, tucking the other half behind his ear.
The boy pouted a little as she answered, looking past her at the floor, admiring who knows what.
"well, at least they learn in the end dont they? theres nothing bad in repeating mistakes until eventually learning. At least you are left with something" he commented, not moving his gaze. "Mom used to say all big inventors built their careers on repeated failures and retries, so i guess yea, mistakes are good"
He let out a small puff, shaking his head before looking back at her.
"So, people today consider kids doing dumb things cute? Thats new…"
Informed, Damien nodded with a look of "i got it" on his face. He liked learning brand new things after all.
When again showed the letter, the boy paused for a few moments, seemingly digging through his memory, before finally replying.
"I do remember actually. It was a cloth bunny, with long ears, i think grey… I lost it before coming here though, probably somewhere in the woods… I dont remember too well, there were multiple things happening at that time."
Now that he remembered the bunny, the guilty feeling of losing it also washed over him - he'd actually loved that thing, it was honestly his most beloved item, especially since it came from his father, whom he had been really eager to meet, and had also been a very good companion after the separation from his mother. All the days he'd spent hugging the bunny like it was his only comfort, he could recall them now and could feel the knot in his stomach caused by the toy's absence. If only he hadn't dropped it when he did
“Of course, you can. Anytime you want.” Mara smiled with a soft chuckle. Watching him straighten his hair, brought back the memory of the scent it carried. “By the way, I have a somewhat random question for you. What do you wash your hair with?” she asked.
She gave a half nod at that. “Well, you make a good point so I'm not going to say you're wrong. Someone does always learn; either from personal or first-hand experience or they learn from watching or reading about someone else's experience.” she told him. “Your mom was right. There’s a lot of them too. And they changed the world.” she said with a small smile thinking of a few of them. ”To an extent, yeah. As long as they don't get themselves or someone else hurt.”
As she listened, the young woman swore she felt her heart nearly burst. The gift sounded so sweet but the fact that he lost it… “I’m so sorry. That's terrible. If there was a chance of helping you find it, I would.” she said sympathetically, wanting to hug him again. Chances are by now that poor cloth rabbit was in poor condition after a few centuries in the elements if not fairly disintegrated. She did have the option to always buy him a new one but it would be in no way even close to the same.
Bearing the smile her reply had brought to his face, the boy stopped playing with his hair mid way, blinking a few times as if he was making sure he heard the question correct.
"What do i wash my… Uh, i think soap? Like, regular soap you can make? I just add a little bit of Sweet flower juice to dim out the chemical smell, why?"
"If someone ends up learning then i guess its all good, since that's the point, right?" he concluded, shrugging softly. Most mistakes he learned from were his own, given he had to learn to live by himself.
"Speaking of, what are people trying to invent today? im curious."
With some effort, Damien was able to control the tears he could feel coming, fuelled by the memory.
"Its okay… Thank you but, im pretty sure we couldnt find it even if we tried… i dont remember where i dropped it, and its been so long… It was most likely destroyed or taken by someone else by now. Thank you for the offer though" Damien gently turned her down, managing to sketch a smile in order to mask his pain. He did miss the doll a lot, but he had to also be realistic about its fate. The only thing he regretted other than losing his only companion, was the loss of his only connection with his father
Mari gave a soft chuckle. “Why am I not surprised that you make your own soap? I was just wondering because your hair smells really nice.” she told him, to explain the reason for her question. “Most people just buy their soaps now.”
She nodded a little, not really sure how to answer that. “Yeah, learning from mistakes is very important.” she agreed. “Umm, I'm not sure what people are trying to invent now… As far as I'm aware, I think people are still trying to get to Mars… We've sent some robots but not people yet.”
“I understand.” she nodded slowly in understanding. The pain of losing something that special, Mari could see right through his mask this time. “It’ll be ok.” she assured, the urge to give him a comforting hug growing at the sight. Maybe she would buy him a new one. It wouldn't be to replace the old one but hopefully it would help… At least until she kept her new promise. Damien and his father will meet and she would make sure of it.
"Oh?" the boy uttered, grabbing several strands of hair and sniffing them. He'd taken a bath pretty recently, but he didnt expect his hair to still carry the scent as strongly as before.
"Thats not the soap smell, its just my hair.. It always smells like this." he commented, looking back at her. As for the soap, of course he made it himself, otherwise how was he supposed to wash?
"Wait, Mars? Like, the planet? They managed to send robots to Mars? That's incredible!" he squeaked, genuinely surprised. To him, that had always been a total fantasy one could only dream of.
"Its okay though. Its been a long time, im kind of over it by now…" he forced a little smile, trying not to worry her. It was true he missed that toy, but no amount of grief could bring it back
“Wait, really?” Mara asked in surprise. “Your hair just smells like that? I can't get my hair to smell that good unless I use scented shampoo and conditioner.” she told him.
She nodded, smiling at his excitement. “Yes, the planet. We've already sent people to the moon and have a space station in orbit.” she said, wondering if she should also mention the satellites they had. Though she wasn't sure how to explain them very well.
She sighed and shook her head slightly. “I… It's ok if you're not though. Something that special… I would still miss it too if I was in your position.” she assured him.
Confused, Damien just nodded, looking at her with a slight frown as if she'd just told him the sky wasn't supposed to be blue.
"Is it not supposed to smell like that? I thought everyone had a scent like that" he said, scratching his cheek with one finger, unsure of his own knowledge. Whatever small memories he had of his mother were always accompanied by her soft fragrance.
"That's so cool… I always thought that place only existed as something out there in space, that could not be reached, because it was so far away. To think it was actually possible to reach the moon… What's it like there? Is it bright? How did people get there? The robots, what are they like? And the space station thing, how does it work?"
The notion that man had made it that far into the unknown both scared and intrigued him, seeing how it felt so hard to achieve, especially for someone as small as him - he may not have wished to personally go there, but his self image surely had a hand in his doubts, leaving him only with the option to dream about it. Therefore, his curiosity had peaked almost violently when this life long imaginary dream was finally realized.
The boy nodded lightly, understanding she knew just how much the loss had affected him, or at the very least had an idea about it. And he was honestly glad she did. Damien really wasn't completely over it, not by a long shot, - had it been just that he probably would have gotten over it, but having lost it in the quick succession that had deprived him of all he'd ever known and had, it was ten times harder - yet for her sake he was trying to put on a slightly more brave face. He didn't want to pour all of his life's misfortune on her from the second day he knew her.
"Mhm…" he hummed in understanding, glad she shared the same feeling as him
