Josh wrapped gauze around his feet so he could gather a good heap of dry wood, set it in a clearing, and border it with stones from around the lake. He tried to start a fire with sparks from a stone. Nadia came back in blue denim shorts, sneakers, and a light blue shirt. A towel draped her wet hair. In her arms rested a can of soup in a pot, a folded towel, a box of matches, and set of clean clothes. Josh took the clean clothes to a far end of the grove.

“Where are you going?”

“To change. I’m not going to do it in front of you.”

“I won’t look. I mean we’re both- well, you don’t have anything that I haven’t had.”

“Still, I’m not changing in front of you.”

Nadia turned away blushing, then fumbled with two matches. The fire started from the third before Josh came back dressed in jeans and a big white shirt. Deciding not to sit by the fire, he waited against one of the trees. Nadia opened the canned soup and poured it into a pot. She swirled it over the fire calmly, heating it evenly.

“How many oranges did you eat?”

“Three.”

“I had two, they were really good.”

Josh crept a little closer to the fire, “Canned soup? Well, at least it smells good.”

The soup was soon hot enough, Nadia poured some for herself in a cup and left Josh eat the rest from the pot.

“I thought about what you said today. It made me mad, but you were right. Mostly. I’ve been acting like I’m the center of the universe lately.”

“You mean you learned something from city scum?”

“So, you’re a city boy? And yes, I did learn something. I really don’t mind this at all, you know, this place, nature. I’ve decided to help you get rid of the Incubus for good no matter what. I want to see what you’d be like without it.”

“Do you really mean that? Because- I would like to be free of it- if it could be done. I never asked for it. Honest.”

“I swear on my honor.”

He leapt to hug her with such velocity that he fell over top of her. She found herself pushing his chest away with her right hand while keeping her cup of soup from spilling with her left.

“Sit boy.”

Josh pulled back immediately, and she finished her soup.

“Josh, you have to treat me like an ordinary guy at all times. Would you hug a guy?”

“No, guess I wouldn’t, unless he told me something like you just told me, even if he was the grim reaper.”

Her face became red, “So I look like the grim reaper to you?”

“Geez, I didn’t- you’re still awfully touchy about your appearance, know that?”

“You’re awfully big mouthed for a stupid jerk, know that?”

The pendant glowed. She placed an empty soup can on his head and laughed, or at least she had meant to place it. Josh passed out. Nadia gasped in panic. A few minutes later he came to with his head on Nadia’s lap. She pressed a moist towel over the bump. He pushed himself up, his skull throbbed. Nadia looked worried and apologetic.

“I didn’t mean to do that. I’m really sorry. I just wanted to place it and forgot myself,” she twisted her arm, “But at least my pitching arm is still strong as ever!”

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“You slammed it into my skull! But fine, I understand.”

She laid him back down on his sleeping bag, put the compress over his head, and tended the fire to keep it burning until he tugged on her jeans.

“What’s the matter?”

“I know you didn’t mean that last one, don’t worry about it. And I didn’t mean to dismiss the stuff you’re dealing with either.”

“You’re not as bad as I thought, so I’ll try, to go a little easier on you. If you want to talk about something, anything really, I’ll listen. We have plenty of time.”

He turned away.

“This is the first day you ever smiled. That’s kind of special, in a way. I mean, I’ve never seen it before so. You’ve been trying so hard to be this stoic pillar that it’s funny sometimes.”

“What else am I supposed to do? Stoicism keeps me in touch with who I really am.”

“Do you even know who you really are?”

Nadia remained quiet.

“Don’t worry about your behavior so much. Just be yourself. You’ll figure it out eventually. You’re strong, so I’m sure you can protect yourself until you figure things out.”

“But why don’t we talk about you for a bit? What’s going on with your powers? What happened? If you don’t want to talk about it though...”

“I don’t remember how I ended up with a demon.”

“Really?”

“It’s a long sob story. I’m not going to bore you with it.”

“Who says your story would bore me?”

“It’s not easy to talk about. Let’s just say that you should probably be grateful to your old man. Not everyone gets good parents.”

He became quiet, almost brooding.

“Oh?”

Instead of saying anymore he stared though the treetops, past the stars that were peeking through. Nadia joined him in star gazing, both of them silent and listening. Then with a brief sigh she stuffed herself into her sleeping bag.

“Time for bed, night.”

“Yah, night.”

She tucked herself in tightly, but continued to move and turn with discomfort, which kept Josh awake. The dishes stacked by the fire were still stained with the remains of the soup, so he took them to the lake. After checking to make sure the barrette in his pocket was still white, he rinsed them. Upon returning to the camp site, he noticed that Nadia’s jeans were hanging on the branch above where she slept. The night air lingered uncomfortably hot. He sat down to nurse the bruises on his head and rub his feet. Then, as the fire waned, he removed his own jeans, crumpled them in a ball that he threw on the grass, and stuffed himself into the long black sleeping bag.

-----

A child’s cry echoed from deep inside the grove. Nadia awoke to it sometime in the early hours of the morning. Moonlight leapt through the trees. Light wind disturbed the leaves. The rhythm of Josh’s breathing accompanied the crackling embers of their fire. Nadia unzipped the sleeping bag, felt the cool night air against her shoulders, and used the last remaining embers of light to adjust her bra and find her jeans. Half dressed; she kicked her sleeping bag a safe distance from the sparking embers. Crying continued from the depths of the grove.

With each sob, she felt a dull pain proceed from her bosom and reverberate through her body. The orange trees themselves responded to the sound by swaying as if in mighty wind. They thrashed with such ferocity that moonlight lost form on the grass. Nadia recognized the cry of a little boy as she came to a spot where the scent of citrus remained heavy, where the oranges that Josh had sent to the ground still lay bruised.

Thick sticky citrus juice stained her bare foot as it crushed one. A boy sat amidst them, a small child in a short brown robe and a pair of worn shorts tied by a withered hemp rope. Nadia knelt beside him and patted his dull black hair, which was dirty and greasy. A faint sparkle of moonlight reflected off his tears as they fell against the moistened soil.

“Don’t cry little guy. Tell me what’s wrong.”

He looked at her cautiously, but didn’t speak.

“Are you alright? What’s your name?”

“Sanguin.”

“You don’t have to be afraid of me.”

“Someone knocked down the oranges.”

Nadia hesitated for a moment, “Well, my friend- No, I’m responsible too. I took a few, and my friend hit one of the trees. If that’s the problem, I’ll do anything I can to make up for it. Tomorrow morning I’ll talk to your parents. Do they own this grove?”

“No, I do.”

“You! You’re not joking, are you?”

The little boy looked at her softly with a happy smile, “You said you’d do anything to make up for it. I want you to be my mommy and stay here with me.”

“I can’t do that, but I might be able find someone to take care of you.”

“I don’t need somebody to take care of me. I need a mommy.”

“Sorry, but I’m not your mommy.”

He stared into her with eyes that glowed with a bright green luster, while her own eyes dulled into a dim, brown, complacency. She continued to watch him until his eyes stopped glowing, then she pushed her hair back calmly.

“Sanguin, my little boy. I love you,”

It felt as if the words were pulled from her mouth, but when the child fell into her arms and nuzzled his head into the warmth of her chest, she fully embraced him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Another presence filled her and took control.

“Don’t ever leave me mommy.”

“I’d never dream of it.”