It was Monday and the sky was grey- threatening rain to ruin the day already labeled with the word, ‘blues’. Big Grey Sky was not in a good mood and thus Hot Orange Sun did not want to come out to play.

It was morning.

It looked like dusk had settled.

The wind howled like depraved werewolves into his ears and thus Isaiah hugged himself tighter. The trench-coat was too weak against the assault of the nasty force that sent chills to the bones. Climbing up the grayish black tiled stairs to the entrance, he felt a presence next to him.

His brother was perfectly at ease with the agitated weather. In fact, Isaiah thought Elijah relished such a day, if he ever liked anything. In just a normal working suit, Elijah was walking comfortably- as naturally as he would have done in his own home. Isaiah, a person who needed the warmth of the sun as much as he needed oxygen, was staggering slowly and he expected Elijah to just breeze pass him.

But Elijah did not. Elijah slowed his strides to match his own hesitant pace.

"You should walk faster if you’re cold. Gets you in the building earlier." Elijah mumbled. His stony face was staring ahead, his hands down to his side- swaying slightly with each step he took.

Isaiah needed the sun no more. Elijah’s concerns of sorts had thawed him. He relaxed his hands and smiled quietly. He could not describe the feeling to himself, only that it was a good one, one that he was longing for.

The closeness of brothers.

Three more steps to go. One, two three. Ah! The door! We’re in!

It was indeed warmer inside Tech though the layout gave it an overall disinterested appearance. The agents who passed them as they walked down the platform to the elevators were all in a hurry but Isaiah smiled at everyone and verbally greeted the faces that were familiar. With that one sentence that Elijah said to him, his bad mood from yesterday’s failed investigation- heightened by that of Mr. Lousy Morning Weather- all but ebbed away. He still could not speak to Elijah though. He knew he would sound too happy.

Elijah was still walking next to him.

The two brothers entered their cluttered, empty office- almost side by side because Elijah was only somewhat in front. Isaiah wanted to talk to Elijah about yesterday’s investigations. He and Lynn had not much luck. Alvin’s parents were not at home and his sister, a tall, strapping woman about a couple of years older than Isaiah, refused to talk to them- still grieved by Alvin’s death. She chased them out with a broom screaming that his death was not a suicide. Isaiah tried to explain that they were not there to vindicate Alvin of anything but the gate was slammed shut into their faces and two large Alsatians were unleashed- eyes fierce and drooling saliva, snarling at them hungrily.

They ran for their lives. It was extremely embarrassing.

The moment Isaiah reached his desk; he spotted a beautifully wrapped present. Suddenly, out popped Grey Man, Lynn and a few other agents who knew him pretty well, with a birthday cake stuck with candles, marking his age as twenty-five. As they sang the delightful birthday song, Isaiah kept his head down; rubbing his forehead to and fro with his palm- a little self-conscious while they surrounded him gradually.

He had forgotten.

"…Happy Birthday to you!!!!!"

Isaiah glanced at Elijah who had his brows slightly arched at the unexpected commotion and wondered if Elijah’s kind words stemmed from the fact that it was Isaiah’s birthday. But seeing his brother’s marble expression which was only a small fraction of stunned, he felt that Elijah had forgotten.

Or maybe he had not. He has just forgotten that people do celebrate birthdays.

"Wow…I’m…guys…" Isaiah stammered as Lynn hugged him tightly, shaking him from side to side in exhilaration before extricating herself and kissing him fully on the lips.

"Just blow the candles stupid!" She suggested affectionately. Isaiah could not help grinning at the cake in Grey’s hands. Closing his eyes, he silently prayed a request. His emerald eyes flew opened and he blew out the candles.

There was one stoic flame that refused to be put out.

"What’s up Isaiah, too many candles or cat ate your breakfast?" Ignatius, a sturdy linebacker built kind of guy, slapped Isaiah hard on the back, almost knocking the wind out of him. He did stagger at little forward and the rest of the agents present, minus Elijah, guffawed at his display of physical strength.

Isaiah rolled his eyes and threw Iggy the most cantankerous look before blowing out the last candle.

Elijah had gone back to his seat and switched on the computer, choosing to be oblivious and uninvolved in the mini-celebration. Isaiah was baffled. After all, Elijah had been the nicest he ever was to him in the morning and had chosen to walk alongside him- even though it was in silence.

Nevertheless, everyone ignored the block of stone and went about clapping Isaiah on the back, dividing up the cake and smearing Isaiah’s face with fresh cream. It was seldom anyone could find secret agents acting like juvenile delinquents but in the tiny, stuffy office that blustery Monday morning- laughter held supreme. Even Elijah’s frost could not freeze the room that was graced by Joy.

As the others were trading dirty jokes- with Lynn giving them scowling looks at intervals but still joining in nonetheless, Isaiah- who never found such degrading humor humorous- took an unblemished slice of cheesecake to Elijah and offered it to him. Elijah looked up briefly before shaking his head.

"C’mon, it’s my birthday. You’re thin enough…a little sugar won’t make you fat…" Isaiah coaxed smilingly but somehow, Elijah’s usual indifference brought him discomfiture. Elijah stopped typing into the PC and gazed into Isaiah’s eyes.

Isaiah could just feel a verbal assault coming.

"Babies came into the world crying. I don’t think birthdays are happy."

Elijah’s voice was sharp but soft; his expression still a blank. However, he was obviously loud enough to be overheard. Isaiah shuffled his feet awkwardly, pained by the statement that was in a harsh contrast with the walk up the stairs. A dead silence descended and Lynn stepped over to Isaiah who was still holding on to the plate of cake.

His hands were trembling so badly.

"Let’s leave the party pooper alone. You did not come in the world crying. Crying can also be an expression of happiness." She slipped her arm through the hand that was not occupied with anything after shooting Elijah with a resentful look and led Isaiah away. The rejected slice weighed a ton in Isaiah’s hand and he just felt like flinging it against the wall in damning frustration.

His friends welcomed him back into the circle of reborn jokes and chuckles, though they were quieter now, affected by the wintry air that had finally succeeded in blowing chill into their merriment. Isaiah jest along with them but his heart was wrenching. Whatever had caused Elijah to be almost friendly to him one moment must have been short-lived. Slowly, the joviality trickled down and the agents left one after another until the only sounds that could be heard were faint conversations between Grey, Lynn and Isaiah who were discussing about the case which had not made much promising progress and the tapping sounds of the keyboard from Elijah’s desk.

The slice of cake offered to Elijah was left untouched, like a piece of cursed charm. After Grey Man told Isaiah and Lynn to ‘crack the case fast,’ and went back to his office, Lynn picked it up and threw it casually into the dustbin.

Elijah did not even lift an eyebrow at her symbolic act.

***

He observed the boy from a distance and caught himself. Dan Oswick should be about twenty-years old, hardly a boy. Elijah was not much older himself, not even twenty-three yet, so he could not call Dan a boy.

After some discussion, they had decided to ditch their FBI personas. A trip down to the "Make- Over" department in ‘Tech’: Network, reborn him as a brown-haired young man. Brown-hair was common. The wig was most natural and flattering.

So were brown eyes, made possible with contact lens. All the changes together with his eye-brows plucked into a different shape- manly still but different- transformed his mien into that of a handsome stranger who resembled him greatly but who was not him. The beautician had advised him to smile more.

He simply blinked in response.

The offer of a lift from Isaiah was not accepted. Elijah drove his rented Mustang to Eaeshore himself, overtaking his brother’s Lexus along the way.

Now dressed in a long-sleeved plain white sweatshirt that melted into his alabaster skin and a pair of jeans, he blended in well with the college population. His spectacles with a rectangular plastic frame rendered him as a ‘bookish’ kid. It was alright. Books were his best friends in college.

He smiled as he strolled into the Internet Café located in the Central Forum of the rundown campus. When he was not Elijah, he could smile. Elijah Raily could not smile but Edison Davies could. Edison Davies could be friendly.

There were only two female students in the functional Internet Café of Eaeshore that Monday afternoon. Yellow curvy chairs and white long tables were arranged in an octagonal shape. There were about sixteen up-to-date terminals, two on each table.

Behind the counter that was facing the entrance was a scrawny kid of about twenty- long, unkempt light brown hair had fallen over his face, covering his eyes like soft, shredded curtains. He was wiping the counter top which had a transparent bottom; displaying all sorts of strange coolers that Elijah had no inkling of and was not the least bit interested at how they would taste. The lighting was the usual orange and white mix- the design and layout in the café was most uninspired

"Hey… you Dan?" He leaned against the counter and drummed his fingers on the table top. His eyes darted about like he was trying to see if there was another guy around who could be Dan. Of course the boy was Dan. Lynn had hacked into the college’s system with relative ease and brought out students’ profiles. Dan Oswick. Majoring in History. Twenty-years of age. First year student. His photo was shown as well. Frightened, haunted eyes. Light brown eyes that were looking at ghosts the moment the photo was taken.

The kid looked up with blurry eyes and had to stare at him for a while before offering the weakest hint of a smile and gestured around vaguely.

"It’s... half-price ...for students and staff, full-price for the... general public." He brokenly reiterated like a practiced refrain on a scratched CD- his manner of speech a little slower and jerkier than average. Sleepy brown eyes refused to focus on Elijah. Elijah knew his question had not registered.

"Are you Dan?" He asked again.

The dazed eyes fluttered before the diffident reply, "Yes…I am… I’m Dan."

"Good. I was told I can find you here." Elijah curled his lips, as if he was bothered by something. "It’s weird…but…I hmm… I’m a friend of Leonard’s from New York City, Edison Davies…call me Eddie… and ahmm…"

Dan Oswick’s eyes hooded over immediately and Elijah saw tears glistened in them. Best friends. Death could not sever that bond, could it? Mortality, it was so pathetic. But the spiritual bonds made during one’s brief stay could cause so much damage.

No matter how perverted those bonds could be.

"Daddy! Please…wake up! No! NO!!! DADDY!!!"

Elijah, or rather, Eddy, hung his head, deeply affected. "We were pen pals but lost touch for a while. And then I heard the news but had something else urgent to attend to… and… well. In his letters, he mentioned about you. I was hoping someone could show me where…

"Where the Grave is. Where the bodies are buried, no longer animated.

"Where I can honor his memory."

Dan began to listlessly wipe the counter again. Elijah noticed a drop of tear fell onto the table but was immediately debased by the dirty dishcloth- its molecules now all over the too shiny surface.

Elijah waited.

"I’m…not… not off now…" It was yet another timorous reply in semi-reluctance. The death was barely two weeks ago. It was still devastatingly crippling for those left behind. The veracity of never ever seeing a person who had been extremely dear was too thorny a morsel to swallow.

Elijah indicated to the empty seats in the corner of the café- empty seats meant for dining only.

"Alright. But can we talk about him? I don’t know… but… well… it’s just… I feel like… I don’t know. It’s too sudden. The news about the murder…"

Dan nodded slightly. Another drop of liquid crystal fell, its remains joining that of its deceased kin. He raised his head up finally and gestured more specifically to a lone table at a back corner of the café. Exiting from the counter, he shakily walked towards it, with Elijah following behind, slowing down his normal respective rhythm. In his mind, mental notes about Dan Oswick were already jotted.

He took a seat opposite Dan. Sensing the fellow’s awkwardness, his character tried to ease the tension with a warm smile that hurt his cheeks. Dan, who had his head downcast the entire time, looked up vaguely. He saw the smile and relaxed a little- his own lips pulled up in a flitting, shy one of his own.

Then Dan bit down on his lips again and fiddled around with his fingers. While he was slow in speech and reaction, Elijah noticed that he was restless and jittery, like someone in anticipation of something bad.

"I’ve never met him for real. We were supposed to meet this Christmas. Just to, I don’t know; bring a face to the written words though we did exchange photographs but it didn’t feel the same. Never expected…" Elijah, a.k.a. Eddie shook his head dejectedly and pulled his lips into a tight line. "Never…"

"It’s…ok. We…we learn to de...al with…loss. Leonard…went to a go...od place." Dan stuttered. His speech much heavier and thicker now that he was allowing the touch of pain to affect him, pain that Elijah was pretending to feel as well. Loss.

The pain of Loss.

Maybe he did not need to pretend. Maybe by being Eddie, he was allowing himself to recall how it felt like to suffer loss. Tragic Loss. The memory of the nature of the Loss was long filtered out. It had slipped through his mental sieve into a forgotten dustbin.

"Yes. And such a strong man of faith…" Elijah ventured a guess from what he had observed in Leonard’s room. "I’m always amazed by his knowledge of the different religions around. He’s the only JW that I know."

"He…he’s very…nice. I don’t…have friends…people…make fun of me…but…he…talked to me in class…and we…got along well…. I’m…not stupid…just…a little slow...he listened patiently…always a gentle man. He did…did… try to conve… convert me but I… I already got my faith… and… protects me. Lenny always protects his… his slow… fr…friend." Dan did not seem to be listening to Elijah anymore. He was speaking about Leonard out of need to talking to someone about the dead. The dead who was once so dear to him. His voice was a channel that was articulating his remembrance- his precious memories.

In that few seconds, Dan had placed trust into a complete stranger, a non-existent stranger called Eddie. Elijah thought that to be amusingly poignant since Eddie did not exist and thus, Dan was talking to nothing more than a specter from Elijah’s strangely vivid imagination.

"He wrote a lot about you too. You must be very important to him…"

"And he comes here…comes here so… so often. I give… give him free hours…so… so he can type his… his essays and stuff. He’s… he’s doesn’t… doesn’t exploit me. I… I help him out of free will. He’s not… not like Ben. Ben exploits me. Ben… Ben knew I give Lenny free hours and… and threaten to tell my boss. I’ve got to give him free internet hours as well… and free drinks out of my own pocket. But I need the job…. Lenny doesn’t know… if Lenny knows…"

Elijah cringed. Yes. Elijah. Not Eddie. Dan had spoken to his heart. The sorrow was evident. The bullying just because he was different. Because he was seen as weak. Alone.

Elijah swallowed a bitter lump before letting Eddie takeover.

"Ben? Who’s Ben?"

"Lenny’s project member… last… semester for Intellectual…Intellectual Thoughts and Wars…. Lenny’s smart. He’s doing Honors this year. Ben doesn’t like Lenny and Ben hates me. But they come by here often to discuss their project because it’s quiet… and convenient here. Lenny, Ben, Shelly and their mentor… Al…Alvin. Their project was… good. They all got into Honors. Lenny was the smartest. He was heading for First Class." Dan sounded proud of his late best friend. "First Class."

There was a pause as the two young men contemplated about different matters.

"I wish … wish…it was last semester again. Everything was simpler… then."

But Elijah was not concern about the pride. Elijah heard familiar names. Shelly and Alvin. The name of the girl who had spotted Isaiah and Lynn, and the name of the thesis writer who was dead- respectively.

"Alvin Skyner?"

"Yes…how…how…you know…?" Dan’s head tilted to one side in almost innocent bafflement.

"Len wrote about him. He had a brilliant thesis. Len wrote about Shelly too."

"Lenny likes Shelly… a lot. She … she’s a witch…" Dan’s words were not soft and remorseful now. In fact, it was with bitter resentment, as sharp and cutting as his slow speech could allow.

"Witch?" Elijah narrowed his eyes.

Dan shook his head. "I… I can’t talk anymore… I hope… hope the cops find out who killed Lenny. Find out and stop the man… I shouldn’t be slacking…"

"Wait. What do you mean by…" Elijah pressed on. Witches. Sacrifices?

"I’ve got to go… the… the boss’s… here…" Dan stood up slowly and Elijah looked over at the counter. Sure enough, a shriveled man with milky blue eyes was there, glaring at Dan. Elijah stood up as well. He could always catch Dan another day.

Passing by the counter, he paused and bought a cooler from the owner of the café. Dan had returned back to his humdrum-dumdum activity of cleaning up the place. Now, he was wiping the glass panels. Before Elijah left, he stopped Elijah with a very soft touch as Elijah walked passed him.

"The… the grave. It’s behind the Church on Small Road…"

Elijah made another mental note.

"Thank you. I’m sorry for your loss."

The unfocused young man continued chewing his lower lip. A lower lip with many bite marks already branded onto it.

"It’s ok… Like I said…we learn to deal… deal with it after a while. You… you take care too…"

Then like the ghost he was, Eddie floated away after a brief nod.