COMPLACENCY. (continued).

I got a text message from my cell this morning which belonged to Edith...funny way of communicating now through gadgets, this results so cold and impersonal , I suppose she´s giving me a hard time until I come around.

It said; "I have something important to tell you, I´ll see you at night. "

Just like that, no more no less. I´m tired of these stupid mind games she pulls on me but that´s what you get for hanging out with a smart girl who loves to toy with the human psyche. How perfect because she claims to have discovered how I deal with my relationships...saying I´m a psychic vampire, that I suck the energy out of people just because I´m too weak to live with my own self. Ironically this keeps attracting others...I surround myself in sadness all the time to ignite the compassion in others. Today was like that; Damien offered me a few of his life lessons and now it was Janie´s turn.

She was staying with some friends until it was time to go back to Tokyo. A few hours later I received an invitation from her which sort of seemed like a date but I wouldn´t go that far, unless she was aware that I wasn´t in a relationship. Oh snap, I just realized I updated my online status to It´s Complicated. No wonder I have been getting comments all day.

She insisted she wasn´t trying to take advantage of the situation; after all, I had to complete a piece for an exhibit names Nendo No Usagi or Year Of The Rabbit, so I heard.

Janie convinced me to go to Chinatown; haven´t been there in a while and I felt sort of nostalgic, besides I couldn´t think on an empty stomach.

And speaking of gut feelings, she did have something rather important to tell me. I first explained about my current situation on the love department because I was lifting too much controversy. She looked as charming as ever; short, golden brown hair, gorgeous uplifting smile and wide eyed, especially when she looked at me.

"Green tea?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you."

"What a wacky night that was back at your house, huh?" she giggled. "So how have you been? I noticed your status changed, was that intentional?"

"Pro-ba-bly," I said. "Are you familiar with the term psychic vampire?" I asked.

"Hmm, no, not really, but it sure sounds like something taken from a zombie movie!"

"That´s what Edith called me. It´s stands for someone who cannot tolerate living with his own shadow thus he hunts other people´s personality and uses them for his own benefit until they are sucked dry. Then when the time comes he dumps them and goes out with someone else."

"Huh, huh!" she cried like a child. "That´s waaaaay out! But it sounds more like someone who just hangs out with the popular kids at school because he´s too afraid of not getting noticed."

"Yeah, I understand. Maybe she came to that conclusion because every time I am in a new relationship and I take everything from them, even little things like the music they listen to. Then it´s like when I´m alone I have no identity."

"Oh, that reminds me of that book, Perfume, remember?"

"The killer with a strong sense of smell, yeah, sure, what about him?"

She continued, "You see, in the last chapters after he decides to travel to Grasse he notices he didn´t have a scent of his own, like he was an empty, soulless creature, that´s why the nuns were afraid of him."

"Mmmm, yeah, so, am I a soulless creature like a demon or something?"

"No, silly boy," she patted me on the head."

"What if I said I´m the White Rabbit? Would that help?"

"Then you will suffer his same fate, which is that you will lead others through dream worlds and blur the lines between what´s real and what´s not in order to find some kind of spiritual growth."

"You sure know a lot of things for someone your age, how come?"

She giggled again, "My grandfather grew up in a Shinto temple, he used to teach me things like that all time when I went to visit for the summer. Which brings me to the reason why I actually brought you here in the first place."

She paused and had a sort of worried look; " Listen, I know you´re one of the very few persons who I can share this with. I´ve been having some very strange dreams lately..."

"Dreams are strange, unless they are different from what you usually see, what are they?"

"I don´t know, it´s a lot like getting up in the morning and watching the news. All I saw was a small village being eaten up by the sea. Children and mothers crying for the loss of their houses. It keeps waking me up in the middle of the night."

"Do you think something bad will happen?" I asked politely as I continued sipping some the green tea she gave me.

"Well, having visions is not normal for me, but then again everybody has them. It´s just probably the anxiety for going back home, that´s all."

"I´ll remember that. I never forget."

"That´s so sweet, Adrian-chan! I won´t forget you too! Best friends?"

"To be honest I never had a best friend before; Edith´s the closest thing I ever had..."

"Then you´ll have to define what she means to you..."

"I already have my hands full with these new projects and all, but I promise I will try."

"Don´t promise anything, pretty boy , just do it."

Wow, her words truly caused an effect on me, even stronger than any other drug.

 (continued)...