Trickster

The feeling of impotence ravaged Lis that night. It was past two in the morning and she was in hospital because she found Adrian passed out on the living room. His black nail polished hands and his mouth were stained with blood. This made her think of the worst.

She was still in her pajamas and had thrown on a large burgundy flannel coat, her hair was a mess and her only contact with the outside world was her smartphone. Lis received a handful of text messages including one from her roomie, Daniel and felt the need to call back.

"Hi, what´s up?" said Lis with a rather harsh voice.

"Where are you guys?" he said in a heavier tone.

"Um, there´s been an emergency. I´m at the Saint Vincent Hospital down 12th Street. Adrian wasn´t feeling well."

"Oh great; what´s he done this time?"

"I have no idea. I´ve only been here for a half an hour and it looks as if it´s going to take longer than expected."

"Fine, can I come?"

"It´s best if you stay but I´ll keep you posted, alright?"

"Sure; I hope he survives the night, bye."

Lis deleted the last text message from Adrian which said,

"Help me, I´m in Hell."

It made her feel very uncomfortable as she had been in the scene of a crime. She looked at the current weather in the app,

36 degrees and cloudy

"At least it´s not raining," she said to herself.

Finally she sat down and noticed the hall was almost empty except for a few nurses. There was a middle-aged man in the corner sounding like he was praying. He said,

"Please be alright, Helen, please be alright."

Lis remembered the last decent conversation she had with Adrian.

It was a week ago around late in the afternoon. They walked across the High Line, a giant man-made garden that sprung from an old railroad track in Chelsea.

They decided to sort out a few things after having working hard for the last six months on a new series of paintings. Adrian was this twenty-seven year old skinny boy with long raven hair down to his shoulders, peachy skin and hazel green eyes. He wore an oversized black hoodie which enhanced his personality.

Lisa, Lis for short was slightly younger than him, had long dark brown hair, was somewhat short and this sort and of raspy voice. Actually she was the quiet type but whenever she was around someone she really trusted she went off like a firecracker.

She had been noticing that Adrian was becoming distant and fatigued.

"It was sure a nice idea to come here," he said. "I really needed to unplug."

"Yeah, well I figured this one out by myself," said Lis, "is this the first time you´ve been up here?"

"No, actually I have a friend who´s a kind of grafitti artist who lives a few blocks away."

"That´s great. You do I know why I really brought you, right? Besides getting out of your comfort zone."

"What´s wrong with the neighborhood? It´s so full of history and you know how I appreciate that."

"Right but it´s just that you feel so wrapped up in this that you´ve forgotten about the simplest things. You hardly sleep or eat and I think that Daniel thinks the same way as I do."

"Oh I´m sorry, am I in trouble, officer?" said Adrian sounding upset.

"No, I´m just saying that you shouldn´t go to extremes, that´s all."

"It´s a price I have to pay."

"Why?"

"Because this work is far more intimate than what I´ve done before. You know what it was like growing up in Elyria, right?"

"I remember it dearly, yes."

"Those are the kind of experiences that have a strong effect on you and can´t leave them out. Art never lies and pain is sincere."

"Yes, you´ve told me that numerous times. I just want you know that we truly care about you so much that it would be disastrous to lose you just like that."

"Don´t worry about it, Lis! I´m not going anywhere." He sighed, "why do you think I´m always in trouble?"

She felt truly nervous and unconsciously clinged to his arm, "You would be mad if I told you."

"I´m already mad so I don´t see how this can get worse."

"I thought it through and it has to do something with my grandfather´s death. It was so sudden and he meant  the world to me."

"That´s because he was nicer than your own father."

"I know, right? It can happen and I don´t wanna feel like an exception but you seem like you´re always walking on thin ice."

"I´m chaotic. For me there are no schedules or limitations, probably deadlines, that´s just about it."

"But you´re not made of steel. There´s bound to be one time when you'll fall and break."

Adrian stopped for a few seconds and looked away. He sighed, "I´m sorry to put you through this. I promise it won´t happen again."

"Really?"

"Yeah but there´s a chance I´ll break my promise."

"Oh, come on! Be serious for a moment."

"You´re the serious one, Lis. Smile, it will make your life easier."

And so it became true; he literally hit the ground.

"Why are you taking away from me the people I love the most?" Lis said out loud, "is it because I love them too much, am I suffocating them? Tell me."

The man in the corner reached out to her, "Is everything alright, Miss?"

"Yes it´s just that I hate the waiting; it makes me grow very anxious."

"Do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"Go ahead."

He was a simple guy; he dressed in a beige corduroy suit, was almost bald and had a sort of large face. "The name´s Mark."

"Lisa but my friends call me Lis."

"My wife Helen´s in there fighting for her life. She was diagnosed with lung cancer a few months ago and was going through chemo."

"I´m sorry to hear about that, Sir."

"She was doing well but she had a relapse. She´s a tough fighter though. Who are you waiting on?"

"My best friend Adrian; we live together, actually there´s three of us. It´s weird."

"And what seems to be the problem?"

"You know what? I have no idea but he´s been driving himself to the point of exhaustion. Sometimes I think he does it on purpose to piss me off."

"Then I guess your friend shouldn´t be here; it sounds more like getting therapy."

"You´re so right though he gives me these long speeches that he´s too cool for that."

"He´s sick with pride. Tell him that."

"Thank you."

"No problem. I have to go; I think I see the doctor coming. You have a lovely day, young lady."

Lis comforted herself updating her status trying not to include something too dramatic. When that happens people start to grow more and more curious until they get the truth out of you. So she decided to put a quote from one of Adrian´s favorite books,

"My friend has stopped running today." Watership Down.

That way it would be something a few would truly understand but not speculate.

She rummaged in the pockets of her coat and noticed something a familiar object. She took it out and it was a tiny wood carved red rabbit with the infinity symbol on its forehead. Adrian gave it to her when they were in high school.

"I´m not the religious type but I need to believe in something," he said once, "It worked for me so it should work for you."

Lis finally broke up in tears and squeezed the wooden rabbit. "Please be alright, Adrian, please be alright."

But the hole into which he had fallen was about to get deeper. A few hours later a small, Indian-looking doctor appeared amidst the poorly illuminated hallway and approached her.

"Are you with Adrian Black?" he asked.

"Yes, I´m his girlfriend," she said nervously.

"I apologise it took so long but we had to run a few tests to make sure what we´re dealing with. Apparently there´s a sign of damage in the esophagus."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"It means that he has difficulty swallowing which could also explain why he´s underweight. He was also dehydrated."

"But why was there blood on his mouth, can you explain that?"

"Yes, it was from the effort of vomiting."

"That sounds awful."

"He´s stable but he will have to remain here for some days for observation."

"Can I go see him now?"

"Sure, right this way. I´ll also need for you to sign some papers."


She went into a dimly lit room and found Adrian very calm.

"Look at you," she said out loud, "I asked you to rest but not like this." Then she pulled up a chair and stared at him, "How could I be so blind? I guess you´re an expert at concealing too." She took his hand and caressed it. "Help me out here because I don´t know what to say."

"Lis?" he moaned. "Is that you?"

"Yes, of course!" she cried. "Sweetie, why didn´t you tell me you were feeling this bad?"

He spoked with difficulty, "I told you I didn´t want to upset you anymore. While you were out this Friday I felt this stabbing pain in my stomach. I never felt something like that before so I lied down for a while."

"Damn."

"But the pain didn´t go away, it burned. The next thing I knew I was throwing up several times until I started to bleed and that´s when I called you. After that I don´t remember anything."

"You passed out on the living room," she said, "You can image how I felt."

"I´m sorry, I failed you."

"Don´t worry; you´ll have plenty of time to rest."

"What about the exhibition?"

"It´s almost done. It´s all downhill from here."

"Man, I´m so sore I feel like I was run over."

"Try not to move so much."

"They didn´t open me up, did they?"

"No. Are you afraid you´ll get a scar on that lovely skin of yours?"

He smiled maliciously.

"Daniel asked about you. Why wasn´t he with you when I was out?"

"He had something to attend and I was busy in my studio."

"Because normally he would have lured you into going clubbing."

"Well it looks as if that´s not gonna happen for a long time."

"The doctor will be here soon to explain to you about your illness. He asked you to be completely honest, you think you can handle that?"

"I´ll try."

"Listen, I need to head back to the loft and tidy up a bit then come back. I love you."

Then she kissed him on the forehead.

Lisa Summers was a mere assistant to Adrian but working for a life long friend was very rewarding. In fact he approached to come and work for him not so long ago. They so happened to be in the same city. They lived in a less glitzy, quiet part of Soho down Mercer Street in the last floor of the building. She took a cab thinking of getting a real cup of coffee and not from a worn out vending machine.

Around six the next Saturday morning Lis arrived visibly restless and greeted the guard on duty named Leo.

"Morning, Miss Summers, up so early?" he said.

"Yeah, I went jogging," she said sarcastically, "no, seriously I just came from the hospital."

"Oh, I see. That explains the ambulance at roughly three in the morning. Is everything alright?"

"It´s Adrian. Apparently he wanted he wanted to be all alone when he had a little accident which could be mistaken for a suicide attempt. Then again it wasn´t; he´s just very sick."

"I´m sorry to hear that."

"He´s human afterall."

"He´s what they call the eccentric type, how you put up with that?"

"I have a knack for hanging around mad people."

After reaching the sixth floor she still felt a huge weight on her shoulders for this experience felt like an extended night and it wasn´t morning for her at least until eight o´clock.

The apartment consisted of two levels and on the main one there was a small foyer and living room, the kitchen and Adrian´s studio on the side and on the second one there were three bedrooms and one large bathroom.

Lis found Daniel sleeping on the leather couch with his phone by the table. He was younger than Adrian and from the looks it was almost like his boy toy. He was a model with a slight tan, brown eyes and a small mohawk. Unlike Adrian he was more ripped and had the libido of a fifteen year old.

"Hey gorgeous," said Lis. "And how was your night?"

"Everything was swell until you hit me with the bad news," he said. "How is he?"

Lis sighed as she plummeted into the couch, "The only thing I can say is that he has been spending some quality time practicing the art of self-destruction."

"Oh God, he didn´t slit his wrists or take pills?"

"No."

"Did he OD´d?"

"I wish it were that simple. You didn´t notice anything strange before you left him? Did he look sick to you?"

"Perhaps. He just said he was very tired because he hadn´t slept for days so I guess it makes sense. He kind of avoided me anyway."

"He was avoiding you? Oh my God, that is serious."

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Though..."

"What?"

"It may sound funny but he kept rubbing his stomach. He said he was tense but I didn´t buy that story."

"He said he didn´t want to upset anyone."

"Well the little bastard sure got me upset!" he cried, "So what´s next?"

"He´ll be alright; he´ll be on medication for about two months so he´s not gonna like that. We´ll have to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn´t do any stupid things."

"Believe me I tried!" cried Daniel.

"Maybe you could talk some sense into him. Go visit him as soon as you can. I just came to take care of a few things."

"Don´t worry, Lis; I´ll get to the bottom of this even if it hurts."

And after having had some real coffee, dark roast to be exact Lis quickly showered and slipped into her usual weekend attire which consisted of a large grey blouse, black leggings and large furry boots. It was still cold but not so much to stay indoors. Lis loved this kind of weather because it gave her more pep.

Before she left the apartment she decided to go towards the studio. She fetched Adrian´s phone which was a bit stained with blood. As she cleaned it accidentally unlocked.

"That´s funny," she thought, "he usually sets up passwords." He was about to update his status with a phrase that didn´t go through. It said,

"I´m a rabbit in your headlight, scared of the spotlight, you don´t come to visit, I´m stuck in this bed."

She knew what that meant because he explained that to her a while back. "Was he planning to post before he fainted? I better ask him." Lis also grabbed a red sketchbook that he used frequently for studies of his paintings and thought it could be useful.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital he grew into a much better mood. The sun was already up and it was almost ten AM and there was a swarm of people in the hallways.

“I don´t remember why I put this but it´s quite harmless,” said Adrian, so he posted it anyway. “It´s part of a song; it doesn´t mean anything in particular. I just like the way it sounds, imaginative and mind-blowing. What do you think it means?”

Lis sighed, "You explained to me that it meant what happens when you feel abandoned. If in dreams you become sick and look jaded it´s like a cry for help."

"I hope you didn´t find this misleading let alone take it literally. I was actually describing something else."

"Like what?" she said upset.

"Perhaps all the things that needed attention and were pretty much unresolved like demons." Adrian paused to gather some strength, "They explained to me why I possibly became sick and it sure brought back some painful memories."

"Such as?"

"I was sent to therapy once when I was in high school and they determined I had an eating disorder."

Lis froze. "You never told me that."

"Why would I?" he paused and sobbed, "I had enough problems already and I felt it was too much to handle so that was the only way to cope with the pain."

"This is getting weirder."

"Try to understand me!" he shouted as his eyes watered, "I´ve been battling this for so long I thought it was over. But then the doctor said that it was something that would follow me forever. I just can´t explain why it came back since I was doing so well!"

"Hey, it´s okay," said Lis as she approached the bed, "no one´s making you feel bad. It can be something hard to explain sometimes. The point is that you realized that you don´t to harm yourself anymore."

"It´s not that, it´s just..."

"Nothing. You will get better, trust me but the healing process also involves healing the soul."

"You have saved my life so I´m debt."

"I think we´re even. I have never been exactly the damsel in distress so I had to man up most of the time until you came along." She pulled out the sketchbook from her bag and handed it to Adrian. "I thought we could pick up where we left off."

"Twenty-three," he said in a lower voice as he opened the book.

"Excuse me?"

"The number is marked here to remind myself how many pieces I agreed to deliver," he said as he kept browsing. "There´s an additional one marked twenty-three."

"Do you want to do another one?"

"No, it wouldn´t make any sense. Twenty-two is fine. Maybe I could use it later. It just seemed out of place."

"Out of place?"

"Yeah. I wasn´t working on anything new yesterday; I was just recording samples but I haven´t finished them."

"I´ve experience with that! I could help you out if you don´t mind."

"Sure, of course I´ll have to make some annotations for what I want to send. It´s almost October and this problem came with such bad timing."

"Oh, that reminds me I´m supposed to meet with Edie later this afternoon."

"I like that girl. She seems more upbeat and cuter than you!"

"Oh, come on!"

"It´s the truth. You did introduce me to her."

"That hipster girl from the Gagosian? Sometimes I think she´s so predictable. Let´s say Edie sees things I don´t."

"And I love those women; the curious ones who have an inner child bursting out of their eyes; those bright sapphire eyes...Anyway, pay attention because I´m only going to explain this once so I need you to be a very active listener."

Lis quickly grabbed her tablet and began taking notes and most of them involved taking still of the paintings yet it had to be done with great care and with superb natural lighting conditions. Coincidentally the forecast for the following Sunday was clear skies. She only needed to get up early to finish the job.




You care for something so vacuous like fashion yet you´re spitting out the same words I taught you. I expect nothing but greatness from you
So do I. There´s a point where your thing and my thing meet and don´t ever wanna let it go.
Is that all you think about?
No, it only happens when I´m around you
Then turn around because you´re about to feel my thing