The Story of Samo: Chapter Four, Part Five
Samo sat by Professor Lasci’s bed, watching him. It was getting late into the evening. He supposed Tarat had finished his business and gone home, although Tarat was, in fact, still speaking with Detective Giesa. Lasci wasn’t moving, but Samo didn’t want to take any chances. If the man woke, he wanted to be there. If he didn’t wake up, well, Samo prayed that he woke. He had never imagined that he would be sitting at the bedside of the man who hated him more than almost any other, praying for him to wake up and find him there. The nurses and doctors went through like clockwork, taking care of their business as if he weren’t there. He had already received permission to stay there, at the hospital. In fact, the head doctor had practically ordered him to do so. No one wanted him out in the streets right now, not when two people connected to him had been attacked, and one of them killed. As far as they knew, he could be the next target. He may have been the next target, in fact.
He tried to piece together memories of the two men and their connection to each other, but mostly to the Inventors. Gianan, he knew, was a member of the order. Lasci, he wasn’t sure about. He knew that Chancellor Naram was an Inventor, because he told him. He told him? Lasci came to the garage sometimes, and would talk with Gianan for hours. He knew that the two were friends. Naram never came over. Gianan’s favorite dish was roasted beef liver with apple and onions. Yech. Why did he have to remember that? Lasci commented on it once. At least Samo and Lasci shared that in way of views. They both thought Gianan had no taste in food.
As he contemplated, he heard a knock at the door. The nurses and doctors didn’t knock. They ignored him. He looked up and saw Kiara standing there. He smiled and motioned for her to come in. When she sat next to him, he said, “What are you doing here?”
“I heard about what happened, and wanted to come see you.” She wrapped her arms around his and said, “I was scared.”
Samo inhaled and discovered, for the first time ever, what a woman smelled like. Like anyone else, only nicer. Much nicer. She did smell a bit of grease, which he knew was unlike most women, but he liked that. He shook his head and said, “Did Tarat tell you?”
“Tarat?” She lifted her head and said, “What does he have to do with this?”
“He was attacked at Lasci’s house and knows all about what’s going on. At least,” Samo said, put his hand to his forehead. “He knows what’s going on as far as I know what’s going on.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder and said, “And how far do you know about it?”
He sighed. “I—no,” he said. “I don’t know if I should tell you.”
“Samo,” Kiara said, taking his chin between her forefinger and thumb and turning his face to hers. “You can trust me. Please believe me when I say you can trust me.”
“Why are you holding on to me?” He looked down, as if just noticing for the first time that she had practically latched herself onto him. “I mean, I—it’s not that I don’t-”
She smiled and said, “Do you trust me?”
He nodded. “I think I can,” he said. “It’s hard for me. I didn’t know if I could trust you or Kia. I wasn’t even sure if I could trust myself.”
“Why?” She backed away slightly and looked at him, worry streaking her face.
“People call me crazy,” he said. “I’m not sure that they’re wrong. What if I did kill Gianan, and that the man in the night was an illusion? What if it was a hallucination that I came up with to hide the truth? What if-” His words were cut off by his mouth being smothered with hers. When Kiara pulled back from the kiss, he looked at her with shock and said, “Wuh?”
She smiled faintly. “I don’t kiss murderers,” she said. “Now stop talking like that before I’m forced to smack you around.” She wrapped her arms around his torso and said, “I know you didn’t kill Gianan, just like you had nothing to do with Lasci’s attack. You weren’t even there. The guy was probably the same one.”
“Why do you like me?” he asked. As her head was by his shoulder, he rested his head on hers. She was silent for a long time, and his stomach began to knot as he waited. At first, he thought she had fallen asleep, but then realized she was thinking.
She said, “I don’t really know. You’ve interested me since we met, and you just grew on me.”
He said, “So, I’m a lichen?”
“What?” She lifted her head and looked at him. “Where did that come from?”
“I grow on you, like a lichen grows on a tree.” He looked at her befuddled face and smiled. The thought amused him. He giggled at it and stopped, asking, “So where’s Kia?”
She said, “I don’t know. He said he had some business to take care of, someone he was going to meet. I think he may have a secret girlfriend he doesn’t want me to know about.”
“That doesn’t seem like Kia,” Samo answered. Before he could say more, he had a thought that caused him to start enough to jump out of his seat. “That idiot is going to get himself killed,” he muttered. “Come on, I’ll explain on the way.” He grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room.
