The Everborn - Nicholas Grabowsky [127]
“Ah, Simon....it’s so good to finally and formally make your acquaintance,” The being said to him. “I am your mother. I am Salvatia.”
“My mother?” Simon said back to her, bewildered by the very sight of her presence and overwhelmed by the backdrop of frying Divine Jesus Christ kids on both sides of her.
Salvatia shrugged her shoulders in an imitation Jewish oy-vay. “Okay....in a manner-of-speaking, your mother. Abolish the details. I am your mother, when you abolish the details and think about who has been the most notable influence on your life! Surely you remember me...our time together, when I took you in, when I let you go, when I entered your dreams and realities with little Nigel. Why, if it wasn’t for me, these nice innocent young ones around you wouldn’t be having the time of their very young lives! Simon, don’t you remember me?”
Her voice, to Simon, was like the voice of a narrator for a public broadcasting segment featuring a Safari on wild animals. She was certainly educating, but she resounded with a monotone much like a voice-over reciting a scripted page...as though she was paid to talk, as though she had a motive behind her words....
“Yes,” Simon said bluntly, deliberately, almost bitterly, “I remember you.”
“Good,” Salvatia told him, slowly approaching him, the torrent mist upon which she hovered devouring the metal chairs in her way, “I knew you would. I apologize for my use of the timing with which I chose to show myself, but with all this chaos going on I thought it was perfect timing. You see, I require many distractions to come to you this way, live via satellite, and believe me...you are my satellite...because the closer I get to you, my son, the greater the potential of my being seen by anyone. I figure if I should risk being seen, I may as well make it so that people are distracted by something worse if they should see me. Otherwise, they’d lose they’re fucking minds. I think they’re distracted enough. What do you think?”
Simon transferred his gaze to the room about him, to the screaming children toppling over each other in effort to flee out the door, a frantic Malmey following afterwards, fearfully glancing to see if the creature within the room was coming after her. It was to a profound degree apparent that Salvatia was indeed being seen.
“Oh, well, so they can see me now,” Salvatia responded to all the hullabaloo. “What the hell; they’re tripping!! I suppose, though, I better make this short. Dammit! We never spend much time together, do we? At any rate, I have a proposition for you. You’re a promising young lad and have done every single thing I’ve told you to do so far. Told you to do, however indirectly. I’ve been shaping you, Simon, seasoning you to my ultimate recipe. I need you, my boy, to help me break the barrier and get me back into your world once again.
“You see, Simon, I was a part of your world once, and I was doing very goddamn good in it. You are my only hope to emerge back into your world triumphant, and knowing what I learned over hundreds of years, I can make it so that anyone else like me, trapped within the same inhospitable dimension as I am, can return to your world as I will do, but only through me and me alone. You can make this happen for me, Simon. I, in turn, can give something back to you. If you help me, I can earn you back your right to eternal life. You must help kill someone for me, Simon. You must help me kill your brother.”
“My brother?” Simon said, quite dismayed. His alertness was at its pinnacle with this creature before him, as was his confusion. Perhaps brother was a manner-of-speaking as well as her referring to herself as mother.
“No technicalities, we haven’t the time,” Salvatia waved her hands in dismissal. “Besides, you still have a lot of training to do. You’ll be hearing from me often until then, until the day arrives when you are ready for me, I assure you. It’ll make you get used to me. There’s so much to plan and prepare for. By the way, we don’t have to fret over the consequences of today’s Children’s Study lesson.