Amelia sat on the Light Street bench, facing the harbour, winding a small and terribly thin piece of thread between her small and terribly thin fingers. The thread was a deep forest green, pulled from her coat of the same colour. She continued twindling and pulling at it until it was finally tangled into a small irregular ball, this she dropped to the ground.
She sighed a long sigh and looked down the street both ways, pulling red hair away from her face where the wind had given it a good tussle. She pushed her hair behind her ears and pulled her green knit cap down a little further, trying to tame the unruly locks. She checked her watch, rubbing mindlessly at the myriad of scars along her left arm, and stood up to walk to the waters on the other side of Light Street.
"Late! I know I'm late! I'm sorry Lili!" A strained voice called from beneath the overhang of University Hospital. It was a man in his early thirties perhaps, wearing a gray pea coat with black slacks. His hair trailed behind him in long black waves, bouncing and fluttering as he strode. "I'm so sorry, please don't go, it's been ever so long!" He stopped just a few feet away from her, panting. "Lili?"
"You're fine, Arthur. I was just about to get a bite to eat. Why don't you walk with me, hmmm?" The pair walked to the corner of Light and Lee and waited for the traffic warden to cross them. As they arrived on the far side a powerful smell rose up from the waters of the harbour, something awful and indecent, reeking of foul death.
"Oi, Amelia, that's wretched! What on earth is that?"
"There was a particularly nasty strain of foreign algae that wandered into these waters recently. Killed a lot of the fish in the bay. All the rotten bits are floating near the docks, the tide won't carry them out."
"Oh God, it's dreadful. How can you stand it?"
"Scent is tied to memory,? she began, taking a draw from the air, ?I believe it reminds me of Florence."
"But the last time you were in Florence they had a touch of the plague right? From the merchant ships?"
"Yes." Amelia closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the old city. It was a dreadful time for all of Italy's mortal folk. The dead were numerous and the survivors hadn't enough energy or manpower to tend to all of the bodies. Wild dogs that were formerly house pets had taken to the streets, growling at anyone who came too close to their garbage stacks. Rats were rampant, and cats were dying at the paws and teeth of the local vermin. The flies were having a day of it though; their population grew in number so quickly that in certain districts they hung in the air like a disease ridden fog. Still though, if you were properly attired to fend off the nasties, it was rather quiet, rather peaceful...
"Lili? Could we move on a bit? I think the smell might turn my stomache if we stay much longer." She opened her eyes and gave him a look of pity, like a teacher who realizes that the student won't ever learn the lesson.
"Sure. Follow me, if you please." She led him in the general direction of the aquarium, upwind of the rot in the waters. "Arthur, what have you been up to all these years?" She glanced back at him. His eyes lit up and a huge smile broke open across his face.
"Oh, it's been wonderful! First I got a job at University, and then I started teaching the night classes. The girls there were so impressed with me that I hardly had a moment of free time! Ah well, I suppose you wouldn't care about that.? He blushed and rubbed at the back of his head, embarrassed by the outburst. ?After a decade of that I found a little band that was playing night clubs, and you know how I used to play in the orchestra for Old James? Right, well they recorded a few tracks with me and the album sold huge! You know, huge for a local band of course. The lead singer got married and had a few kids. We stopped playing, but we sold a few copies of the old record through the computer and made enough to put his little girls through college! Sarah is going to graduate next month, hopefully the weather will be right warm by then, I think she fancies me. Too bad though, her dad wouldn't approve, no sir! I don't know how old he thinks I am but he always says 'I gotta go to your doctor' so I think he thinks I'm about his age."
"Whoa now, slow down. We have all the time in the world."
"Right, right. I'm just so happy to see you, it's been ages after all. But you're right of course, I love the way you always stay so calm. You look great by the way, as if hardly a day has passed. And green suits you, I've always thought that. Really, you look wonderful."
"How about a nice lunch then?" She led him up to a side street restaurant, where he continued to jabber on about everything. She listened patiently, sipping on a warm cup of coffee, interjecting a few kind words here and there. When at last the food came, Arthur shoveled it down happily, and Amelia took this time to broach an idea that she had been pondering for quite a while.
"Arthur dear, I want to go to Ireland. At least for a few years. Would you like to come along?"
"Ireland? Well I had just gotten used to America really, and this country is finally starting to get interesting. Not that it wasn't interesting all along, but now it's really jumping. And the food is getting better, too. Why do you want to go back to Ireland?"
"It's just been so long. I grow weary of the cities. I just want to find someplace nice and quiet, maybe a cottage or the like, write down all of these things we've seen."
"D'you think anyone would believe it?"
"I'd title it as a fiction of course. It's much more believable that way. I'd give it a nice formal title too, like 'Amelia's Guide to the History of the World' or something like that. Maybe change the name, use a pen name or a pseudonym, a nom de plume if you will, or a nom du guerre. Is that how you pronounce it? That was a tricky language, haven't had need to use it in some time."
"Yeah, I gave it up. You know what I miss though? Latin. That was a good one. Pretty straightforward."
"Indeed. I suppose I could write it all, from the very first bits. I could put you in the story too, as the plucky side kick."
"Oh Lili, really? That would be wonderful! Are you sure I couldn't be the dashing hero though? I am rather fit you see, and there were a few times I certainly saved the day."
"Sure, of course,? she laughed at his boyish posturing, ?but I'd keep to the truth, tell the real stories of how we got where we did, and all that happened around us. I think it would be great fun. Won't you come along? I might need to flesh out a few details with you. I don't know how you're doing for money but I've collected a fat purse from the stock market. I put the funds in a holding company, so you wouldn't need to work unless you wanted to."
"Oh, I'd love to, but I want to wrap up a few things here first. I made a lot of friends, I'd hate to just run out on them."
"You'll have to eventually, or see them off as it were."
"I know, I know. I could come and visit, and stop in a bit if you need some help."
"I suppose, but it gets harder and harder to find decent forgeries every year. I won't even be able to use this passport much longer."
"I haven't had too much trouble, I've gotten along on the computer you see, and as long as I'm careful and don't pick the wrong person, I just get the documents I need and keep moving. Nobody seems to mind as long as you're not using their credit. What a strange concept that is... I could show you how."
"Perhaps."
"I tell you, I love the idea of the book. I think you should do it. We should plan to meet again, no matter what, one day off in the future we'll get together. Do you remember that bar in Kilkenny? The one with the huge fire place? I think we should meet there, same interval."
"If it's still there. Well, I do remember where it was at least, I could find it without a map. Yes, no matter what, we meet there. You should stay for a few days around here, my treat. Then I'll head off."
"Like always I suppose. All right then. Let's have a toast; to 'Amelia's Guide to the History of the World'. May it be a best seller for the next century." Arthur raised his glass and gave her an enormous smile. She returned the expression and lifted her own, nodding to him as he took a long sip.
"And may we still be here to enjoy it."
rating: 5
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