"You have a visitor," said the guard. I shook my head. This couldn't be happening, not so soon after the…
Oh, wait…A normal person might have been confused by the strange reprieve I'd received. However, I was not normal. I knew what a normal person would do in my situation. But me? I couldn't be bothered to do normal things.
I heard the voice again, this time a little louder. I couldn't help but notice it seemed to be familiar -- even if the thick accent that rolled off the guard's tongue did disguise it slightly. It was light, well-tuned, and most of all, female.
She had arrived.
I turned around, ready to respond with a healthy dose of hostility. Instead, I smiled expectantly. After all, it was a woman.
"I'm so glad to be here," she said bashfully. This was it. She was finally here. She had come.
"You are welcome," I said, my voice sickeningly strained. "I hope you don't mind your presence is a little late." I nervously fiddled with a loose thread on the blanket I was lying on.
"My dear!" She practically squealed. It was so…adorable. "You are far too harsh on yourself!"
"Ah, well…" A tense silence fell over us as I waited for her next move. No, no…she wouldn't. Absolutely not. My hopes were coming true, even without the formalities.
"You are a darling!" she shouted.
"So you think me worthy of—" I began.
"Of course!"
"And you would do me --"
"Of course!" she repeated.
"Why?"
She smiled at me, and I was treated to a chorus of rainbows crashing into a bed of treasures. "Because you made a promise."
I frowned. Oh, wait. A normal person would probably have caught on. Yes. I was the most frustrating person in all of existence and…
The woman sighed. "Your memory—"
"What?" I said, giving her a quizzical glance.
"Your memory is terrible. For a man, you remember everything. For so long now, you were so set on that promise…" She lowered her head. "That promise...I have wanted to fulfill it for so long, but I could never…"
I began to understand. This must have been the last part of the deal. She only took me in because I promised her…wait a minute.
"Please understand, I cannot break it."
I shook my head. "This, of course you cannot." I absently turned over a page in my book to look for something to say. Perhaps this woman was right. I might as well go all the way with this now and not worry about the details later…
I thought about how beautiful she was, her dark-brown hair, her shimmery eyes, her perpetually cheerful attitude…
Abruptly, I went into a deep, distressed trance. My eyes rolled back and I passed into a dreamless slumber. I would imagine this as she counted down until she would be finally united with me.
I smiled against my pillow.
One.
"Hello?" she said.
Two.
"One…" I said softly.
Three.
"No, no! It's four," she said.
Four.
"Oh. And four," I said.
Five.
"Oh?"
Six.
"Nothing."
Seven.
"Well, nothing seems to have changed. Nothing changes." I grinned. "None."
Eight.
"Over two weeks since you last talked to me! Now I'll be forced to let the brigands out of the jail they placed you in!"
Nine.