Death's Apprentice

VII

Dolores asked Tristan to bring her outside again. He wheeled her around the garden once more. Dolores made small comments about the birds she heard or a funny anecdote from when she was in school. She had not been in school since she had gotten ill. Tristan listened to her speak quietly.

"Our maid, she was proposed to last week. I was so happy for her," Dolores began, a new story in the works, "She's worked for us for years and I have never seen her more joyful."

"That's nice. Who is she marrying?"

"Oh, I think his name is Paul. He works at one of the stores in town. I forget which one,"

Tristan listened to her speak about Paul and their maid endlessly. Tristan felt a sense of pity for the girl. She could not go out and live her life like Paul and her maid. She simply had to watch from afar as the world went on without her.

"Do you get bored, Dolores?" Tristan asked abruptly.

"Hmm, yes, sometimes," she replied, "Why?"

"You speak about things so beautifully and with such happiness. I would think you would find the world far more interesting if you were able to be in it,"

"Yes. I wish I could do more, but I'm able to find happiness right here,"

"How so?"

"Tristan, it isn't difficult. Learn to be an optimist,"

"Then tell me, what do you find beautiful about right now?" Tristan said with a slight daring edge in his voice. He felt the need to test her.

Dolores paused for a moment. Tristan came to kneel beside her.

"Well, I find many things beautiful. For example, you are pushing me around the garden. That is beautiful. While the plants are dead, they are beautiful. They won't be dead for long. That is beautiful,"

Tristan watched her closely. She turned to him.

"You are here. That is beautiful," Dolores said reaching out to him.

Her hand touched his shoulder. Tristan felt himself grow warm under her touch. It was odd. Tristan thought about what she said as she looked at him. He applied the rules of her thinking to his own. What do I find beautiful?

Tristan looked at Dolores. He really looked at her. It was beautiful that she was here. She was still here despite everything. Her face was soft facing his. Her bangs were swept to the side messily. Tristan noticed the slight crookedness of her teeth when she smiled at him.

He stood up and began pushing her around the garden again. Tristan thought Dolores was beautiful. Honestly, he hadn't thought much about it until now, but he knew her beauty did not stop with her appearance.

He liked her gentle nature and the roundness of her face. He liked the way her hair fell on her pillow when she lay in bed. He liked the calmness he felt when he walked into her room – just the two of them.