The Prize of Dysprosium

Chapter XVIII: Her Name Was Garmen

I wake in the night to someone moving beside me and the absence of a warm body. I groan and try to pry open my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Anton whispers in the darkness and takes my hand. "Go back to sleep."

"What time is it?" I mumble and blink to adjust my eyes to the darkness. I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be doing something right now, but in my euphoric state of mind, with my skin smelling like Anton's, I can't remember what.

"It's late," he says. "I'm just going to get some ice cream from the kitchen."

"You're kidding me," I mumble.

"I never kid about ice cream," he says seriously, and then grins in the dark. "Wanna come?"

"Only if you've got pear and blue cheese," I mutter and he laughs. I borrow one of Anton's shirts and a pair of shorts before we tip-toe into the kitchen, which turns out to be a good idea seeing as we're far from alone.

"Well well well, look at what the cat has dragged in," Paula Saito says. She's sitting at the kitchen table underneath a single light in a red kimono and with a mug of what smells like tea in her hand. On the other side of the table, also with a mug of tea, sits Hera Thelonious in a nightgown with her hair in a low pony tail. I've never seen her without make-up on, but in the dim light of the apartment kitchen her face is all clean, making her look incredibly young.

"Mum," Anton says and I can see his cheeks flush again. "How, how was the meeting?"

"It was okay," Hera says with a smile. "I haven't decided whether I'll accept yet, but we're having another one in a few days. And we found your glasses in the living room. You aren't usually so careless with them." She reaches out Anton's glasses and smiles at me. "Good to see you again Noah."

"Hold up, you two know each other?" Anton asks as he takes the glasses and puts them on.

"She uhm, she was the one who told me about the test a couple of days ago," I say. I forgot to mention that detail.

"Seriously?" Paula says and glares at the first wife. "You want to tell him where the Government hides all of their radioactive weapons too?"

Hera chuckles and rewrap her hands around the mug. "Don't judge Paula, the boy deserved to know about his sister."

"But you were so upset yesterday," Anton says. "Why were you so angry if you already knew?"

"It's a longer story," I say and scratch my neck.

"Well I want to hear it," Anton says.

"Yes, please sit down," Paula says icily. "And afterwards you can tell me how you plan on paying for my vase and table."

Anton gets two more mugs from a cabinet and pours us some tea from a pot. Then he makes me sit down and slides one of the mugs over to me. It's awfully comforting having something boiling hot between my hands, and just enough to get me through telling them all about how my sister switched our tests, that I don't know how she found out about it, and that I'm the reason she died.

"That's not true," Anton exclaims the second I mention it.

"It's actually quite true," Paula mumbles and takes a sip of her tea.

"No, it's not," Anton snaps at her and takes my hand. "Noah, there's no way you could have known about that test. It's not your fault."

"Just like there's no way you could have known about your mother's abuse," I say softly and touch his hair. Anton stares at me and I can't help but smile. Strong moral compass sure, but too much self-sacrifice too.