Trickster

"Oh God, I went to the ninth level of Hell," complained Lis.

She was still in her pajamas , a flannel burgundy coat and high boots. It was barely three AM on a Saturday and was at St Vincent´s hospital in lower Manhattan.

There weren´t many people in the waiting room except for a middle-aged man who wore a beige corduroy suit and held a rosary between his shabby fingers. He kept saying, "Helen, please be alright, please be alright."

Lis sat and as she sighed deeply and twisted the tips of her lavender, dyed hair she thought, "I knew this was gonna happen sooner or later! Dammit Adrian, you´re so damn stubborn."

She was rummaging through the pockets of her coat and found her smartphone and felt the need to call someone. Instead she got a text message from Daniel, her roommate.

"The house is empty, were are u guys?"

Lis paused for a moment, "Keep yourself together, try to make things sound better."

"I´m at the hospital. I had to bring Adrian in, he wasn´t feeling well."

"Is he alright?"

"Yes," continued Lis, "Only I can be here for the moment. I´ll keep you updated."

Then she ended the conversation.

"Mom," she said in a lower voice. She immediately phoned her mother who was back in Ohio. She could always rely on her advice even at that ghostly hour.

"I´m in a tight situtation..." began Lis.

"Why, what is it, Honey?" said her mother with a sweet, slow-paced voice. "Are you hurt?"

"No, no, it´s not me, it´s him."

"Oh, what has he done this time?"

"I don´t know and I´m scared," said Lis in a more desperate tone, "I found him passed out on the living room. He was still breathing though but there were also traces and blood and..."

"That sounds horrifying, sweetie! Try to stay calm. Did they already tell you what the problem was?"

"Do I sound like I know? Of course not! Maybe it´s because he´s been under a lot of stress lately."

"It´s normal. People can get sick from those things most of the time. It´s like a wake up call so be sure to tell him that when he comes to his senses."

"Thank you, I feel much better now."

"Take care, Lisa."

"Don´t tell Ruth just yet. Give me a few days and I´ll explain, okay?"

"Alright. Bye now."

Ruth was Adrian´s mother but she was usually very sensitive and him being her only son wasn´t going to help much either.

Lis lowered her head as she tried to relax.

"Having trouble, young lady?" said the man in the back.

"Um, I´m fine, thanks," she said as she wiped a little tear. "My friend suddenly decided to almost die on me. It´s just that the way I found him looked a scene of the crime."

"I hope he´s not one of those people who try to commit suicide," he said. "My name´s Mark."

"Lisa but they call me Lis for short," she said as he shook his hand.

"Is this your first time here at Saint Vincent?"

"I guess so. It was the nearest place they could find at this time of the night."

"It´s a very noble place indeed. This is the seventh time I´ve visited. They had to bring my Helen. She has lung cancer and she´s quite a fighter. Right now she suffered a relapse. We may not have much but they sure have supported us."

"I´m sorry to hear about that," said Lis. "I hope she makes it."

"The same goes to your friend. Tell him to stop doing any funny business because life is beautiful. He´s just seeing it the wrong way."

"That´s what everyone keeps asking me to do! He´s always been very strong but now I´m the one who has to be strong for him."

"That´s gotta be one Hell of a friend."

"Hell yeah he is!"

"Well, I think I see the doctor coming. Good luck."



Lis felt nostalgic. When she was about fifteen years old she took Adrian to see her aunt Whitney who had a one-story house down on Marseilles Avenue. She lived on her late husband´s pension but she found some comfort engaging in strange activities like Tarot card reading. She wasn´t the swindler type though; she just grew curious about the unknown.

Adrian was a year older than Lis and was already a very handsome kid. He was notably tall, had hazel green eyes, was quite skinny and started to grow his raven hair. He began to develop a taste for the supernatural after having a series of premonitions. It was about time to find answers.

When he had his first reading the most important card that came up was Strength. Some time later he created a talisman for himself to help him through the bad times. He called it The Rabbit of the Infinite Strength; it was red and had long ears shaped like horns.

"I´m not religious but I want something to believe in," he said once. "If it helped me it will help you. Do you believe in magic, Lis?"

"I believe in you," said Lis out loud and she sobbed.


Roughly about five in the morning and after two lousy cups of coffee Lis an Indian type young doctor.

"Are you a friend or a relative of Mr. Black?" he asked with a rough tone.

"I´m his girlfriend," said Lis unconsciously.

"Sorry to keep you waiting so long. He´s stable now but he will have to remain here for a few days. We need to run more tests to get a full diagnosis."

"Thank God," she sighed, "you don´t suppose you can tell me what he has."

"We believe there´s a damage in the esophagus."

"Is that why he fainted?"

"It could have been from the tremendous effort that came after vomiting. He was also very dehydrated."

"Can I go see him now?"

"Yes but don´t disturb him too much. Come this way."


Her initial thoughts about all of this was that Adrian was developing an eating disorder. He had always been a great liar so it wasn´t surprising how he managed to conceal this for months.