Temporary offer

I called Andrés inside today. Told him Renato was having a nightmare after another. He woke up from one just to fall sleep again as if he was being sucked into a hole and the rigmarole of the nightmares started all over again.

No wonder his sleep was rather troubled after an encounter like that with the Obscure Police. Andrés was angry with that. He didn't expect so much confusion. Not to mention there was still no sign of Miguel anywhere near here. Also there was no sign of hope it'd be possible let alone easy to find him.

I took the Mayor to the guest room to show him the sleeping boy scout. As I opened the door, both our horror and astonishment were complete: the two black kids I saw coming out of his tent were silently watching the boy in the dark, one at each side of his bed, as tiny and heinous succubi. As I turned on the light, they were not there. As I turned off the light, they were there again.

"They're using the boy's own energy to watch him", said Andrés, whose astonished eyes let fear and concern shine through.

I called the Police. Anderson was the first lightning rod I found on my way. I told him what they were doing was an absurdity. I had promised to hold myself back and not to criticize them, but there was never a chance for self-control when it came to the Obscure Police. I called Renan and repeated the speech. I went back to the guest room to finally find the scout sleeping soundly and calmly again. No shadow of the two black kids at his sides.

Andrés was puzzled at how fast I got the Police to release Renato from their fatal charm using nothing but a telephone. I told him when we know the origin of the problem it gets easier to get to a solution. I said that besides telling the two off I had promised to give them some eats and drinks at the end of the day, more precisely at six. Andrés didn't like the story very much. Said I could bring out a habit in them as, for instance, giving food to a saint or entity to get them to solve your problems. I told him I thought it reminded me a lot of candomblé or umbanda, Afro-Brazilian cults in which food is exchanged for advantages, whatever they are.

"They'll end up eating breakfast, lunch and dinner whatever time they show up, so what difference does it make?", I inquired him.

Andrés said they could grow more and more demanding in time, but let the discussion about my offers die away. I thought of myself as a medicine woman putting up offers in food for gods somewhere in the city limits of Taurinos. Not to mention it was almost like giving them a prize for what they did, instead of punishing the duo for abuse of authority. So the tiny little night creatures would come and have coffee with me.

Renato spent the rest of the day sleeping. We spent the rest of the day looking for Miguel to no avail. No sign of him anywhere.

I told Andrés he could stay and eat with us if he wanted to. The scouts were reunited around a bonfire in front of my house, at the center of the circle they had formed with their tents. Andrés stayed. When they're invited to eat, these boys from Taurinos are always so sane and punctual. Six o'clock and the sound of the horses was heard. One or two minutes later, the two were knocking on my door. They walked in, complaining about the boy scouts they called hipsters. I thought they had no good will lost between them towards those people. They just asserted again the boy scouts were a bunch of obnoxious hipsters.

They were eating and staring at me and Andrés. Andrés and I were eating and staring at them.

"Don't you stare at us at this time of the day", warned the blacksmith.

"Well, so stop staring at us at any time of the day", asked Andrés.

"Did Andrés have to be here too? Why is he here so nosy?", complained Renan.

"For your information, Miss Grisam invited me especially for the event", clarified Andrés, eyes turned to me.

"How cute, Miss Grisam invited me especially for the event", Anderson scorned Andrés, "she promised the meal to us not to you."

"I promised the meal to the three of you that are with me now."

"But this is just not fair, Miss Grisam, it was us who…", Anderson started.

"…were torturing the scout? I know it was you."

"It was not what I meant, Miss Grisam", he was embarrassed.

"But this was what you had to say. It gives me the impression I'm rewarding you for that load of shit you did last night."

"And why did you have to do that shit to Renato? The fella is always so peaceful, does no harm to anyone…", Andrés questioned furious.

"This is not wat I came here for", Anderson stood up. I told him to stay and finish eating. Said it so assertively he seemed to be frightened. The younger one didn't feel intimidated. Said Renato was cheeky enough to give them moral lessons in the middle of the street. I said the scout was only saying something obvious to them. I asked him if he would find funny to find himself trapped in the Sanctuary again.

"No one here was laughing at your situation. not even the ones who trapped you into the Sanctuary. So you think it's a reason for laughing? Or what if Anderson disappeared, you'd be all concerned about his disappearance; can you picture us laughing at you in a situation like this?"

There was a huge, extended, almost eternal limitless never-ending pause. The two kept on eating and drinking normally (of course a bit sulkier than before). I knew it was going to be that shitty, it was always that shitty but I have to say that sometimes I toggled to a fuck off mode and let it all fuck off. They finished their meal and they'd have gone away in silence if Renan didn't ask me to talk to the boy scout.

"Tell the fellow to show some respect to people he doesn't know."

"No one failed to show respect to you or anyone else in town, dude", Andrés stared at Renan and just shook his head.

They uttered no other sounds and went away to patrol the town. I was doing the dishes and Andrés was staring at me in the kitchen. He seemed to see a ghost in me or something of the kind. I don't know if the offer I made to them worked out. The umbandistas live on the physical plan and their entities live in a kind of heaven called Aruanda. They'll always have a way of knowing if their offer worked out and brought them any benefit. I live on the same plan as these entities. Still I never know for sure if the agreements we make work out in any sense.