16
On Saturday morning, Shizuka was going to sit down with Katrina and chat about music and immortality. It was standard inception—start sowing the seeds of ambition, and desire will invariably bloom of its own accord.
But Katrina was not sitting down. She was bringing out breakfast.
Astrid smiled and shrugged.
“She wanted to make us breakfast. How could I say no?”
The rice was perfect, the eggs fresh. There were hash browns, bacon, blueberry yogurt, and slices of fresh apricot.
“You must have slept well,” Shizuka said.
“I had a dream about my violin. She was jealous because Martha has a name.”
“So? What are you going to name her?”
“She told me in my dream! Her name is Aubergine.”
“Aubergine?”
“Yes, didn’t she choose a beautiful name?”
Ambition and immortality would have to wait. Shizuka glanced at Astrid, who smiled, but was far too polite to laugh.
After they finished, Shizuka watched Katrina help Astrid clear the table, which none of her previous students would have done—and even if they had, they would never have enjoyed it so much.
Shizuka had begun to look forward to Saturday afternoons. Lan would call, Shizuka would drive them to El Molino Park, and they would feed stale donuts to the ducks.
Often, Lan would discuss the Galactic civilizations. Shizuka learned that the Minamians had their own version of tofu. She learned that the Asobians smelled like Earth’s raspberries.
She learned that interstellar travel on a self-contained ship took expert navigational skills, plus additional power to pierce the space-time barrier, and that for most travelers, stargates were far safer and more economical. Thus, stargates dotted the galaxy like on-ramps and off-ramps on a galactic superhighway.
Occasionally, Shizuka would try to chat about violins, and music and favorite composers, and the rush she felt when she played in front of crowds. But since that talk at the noodle house, Lan hadn’t seemed interested in what she had to say. Shizuka was a little disappointed, but less than she might have imagined. In fact, it was kind of nice not to talk about damnation, hers or otherwise.
So, although in the world of music, souls, and violins, she was the Queen of Hell, here at the park, Shizuka would sit, listen, and learn about everyday life in the Galactic Empire.
Today, the weather was nice, and the pond was lively as always. Some new ducks were at the lake, but they quickly learned the folly of challenging the scores of fish that ravaged each donut. Shizuka wondered what Lan would chat about today.
However, Lan was silent.
“Lan?”
Lan inhaled. Finally, she spoke.
“I am new to this planet, and I have no idea who to trust, or what your customs are. But might you please explain?”
“Explain?”
“What happens to your students after you take their souls?”
From her tone, Shizuka realized that this would be their last Saturday afternoon.
“I see that you’ve done some research,” Shizuka finally said.
“Yes. But tell me anyway.”
“Their contracts I give to a demon. His name is Tremon Philippe. When they are ready, they leave me for their careers, their fame, or whatever else they were promised. But it never gives them happiness or fulfillment. So they die in various ways—often cursing my name with the last breath they take. From there, Tremon declares the contract final, and one of his associates drags them to Hell to suffer forever.”
Lan got up.
“I do not know what is permissible on this planet. But I could never sacrifice a child—for any reason. Nor could I be with anyone who would.”
“I see.”
“That’s all you’re going to say?”
“Is there anything I can say?”
Lan turned red. She began to tremble.
“What is wrong with you? What is wrong with this planet? There are gamma ray bursts, a Galactic War, the Endplague coming for us all.”
The Endplague? Lan mentioned it often, yet it was the one thing she never explained. It was probably quite important, but it was nothing Shizuka would ever know about. Her time with Lan was over.
“But what do you do? You play games. You make up stories. You dwell on each other’s mating habits, on what is consumed for dinner. You die over useless things … like this stupid music. And you’ll have Katrina die for nothing, too? How can you be so cruel?”
“I think you should stop now,” Shizuka said.
Lan paused. Her captain’s intuition was telling her something was wrong. Nothing in Shizuka’s voice or attitude suggested malice toward her student.