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"Hi!" he spoke sadly. "I knew I'd be met. Are you taking me somewhere now?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I'd love to, though it's impossible any time soon. But as soon as there is a chance, I'll come back for you and take you to the other side. I promise!" I thought that a promise that would be kept was important to the guy right now.

"All right," he shrugged. "Do I have to wander the Earth until then?"

"Yes. I'll find you."

He smiled sadly and disappeared. Everything unfroze again. I heard the cheerful chatter of my friends and Jackson's witty answers. But all I could feel was bitterness and awkwardness. I was worried that I could not help every soul appearing in front of me. I had no answers and no suitable words because I knew nothing and could not convince them that soon everything would be fine and they would find peace. It was not my fault but only my duty, all other thoughts and desires were secondary. Perhaps, Eugene was wrong about my role. I did not feel myself the way I used to. I was changing, and it was faster than I expected. My priorities and feelings were changing. I felt the Force inside me better and better with every hour, as if it was becoming a part of me, not just a guest. This world was becoming less real than the one I was in just a few hours ago.

"Hey! Are you ok?" Jackson put his hand on my shoulder. I listened to my feelings and sighed with relief. His touch, as usually, seemed warm, dear, and delicate.

"Yeah! I'm still sleepy," I smiled and bent down to gather the shards of the broken cup. "Ow!" one of the fragments was too sharp and cut my palm until it bled. A few crimson drops fell on the tile.

"You need to wash it immediately!" Jackson began to fuss.

"It's okay! Leave it! It's just a little scratch!", but Jackson ignored me and stubbornly held my hand under the flowing water.

"I'll bring bandages!" Jackson said and rushed to the bedroom.

"No, it's all right!" I shouted, but nobody was listening.

As soon as I pulled my hand out of the water, I saw that there was no trace of a cut on it. In fact, that's what I expected, and that's why I convinced Jackson that everything was fine. But now I had to explain this miraculous healing, given the fact that the cut was bleeding just a few seconds ago, and now there's no trace of the incident.

I could not think of anything else but cutting my hand once again right before Jackson took the antiseptic to disinfect the wound. But the new cut healed right in front of my eyes, my hands were shaking, and my disturbed boyfriend was even more worried and did not notice anything until the bandage was applied.

By that time, Rosy was lying in a subconscious state because she could not stand the sight and smell of blood. It seemed to me completely illogical that she went to the medical faculty having such a phobia. Mickey vigorously fanned her friend with the booklet. The scene was worthy of the London Theatre stage. I just rolled my eyes and went to the bedroom. I had plans for today and needed to get ready.

"And who's interviewing on Saturdays?" Jackson murmured since he would love to spend the day otherwise rather than to drive across half of the city for a five-minute interview at the local supermarket.

"I didn't have a chance to choose, because my classes start on Monday, and yesterday I had the interview in the INC company. I had no choice but agree for an interview on Saturday," I shrugged and hugged Jackson.

After a small incident in the morning, my friends vanished hastily, and we were left alone. The silence of the bedroom and Jackson's soothing embrace were just what I needed. It seemed so right to stand like this as if everything that had happened this moment was a bad dream, and I went back to my normal routine, to my boring human life without the Murky Shadows, Nefarious, and other creatures. I was sure that I would always enjoy this, and the dear smell of Jackson would always make me want him, and his hands would calm and excite me at the same time. This was constant for my life, and no immortality would change that.

"I love you!" I whispered in his ear. "I will always love you no matter what happens."

"Babe, I love you too!" he soothingly was caressing my back. I suppose he thought that my words were caused by the nerves before the interview and the start of the classes. But this was not the case. I was really scared, but not of the trifles that he thought about.

"Can I call You Darsy?"

"Sure, that's my name!" I laughed nervously. There was no pint in worrying about this meeting until I saw my boss-to-be. It was an African-American fellow of almost 6 feet and 7 inches high and of about 440 pounds. He grinned from ear to ear, and his entire appearance made me feel creepy.

"Darsy, I get that you need a job to cover your tuition. But why should we hire somebody with zero experience for the money-related position?"

"I graduated high school with A in math," I blurted out. Given the circumstances, it was quite a silly thing to say. "In fact, it means that I'm a fast learner and take responsibility for everything that's important to me. And this job is important to me!"

"The next year you'll be able to apply for a position in a law firm. You should wait and try in a year. Since we can't afford to hire a person for a year, and then to look for a replacement," that bullshit was meant for silly schoolgirls, and I was the one for him.

"Listen, Mr…" I paused, remembering the name of that man. I would not remember it even if I wanted to because I was impressed by his appearance.

"Robert Litt," the manager reminded me.

"Mr. Litt, I get that you have candidates lining up for this position at the beginning of the semester, and you have no reason to hire an inexperienced freshman. But I can guarantee that You won't find a more hardworking and reliable employee than me. Why is that? It's because I have no other options, and I'm very interested in this position. It'll give me a chance to pay my bills. That's why I'll value this job more than those who are hired for the practice or spending this money on entertainment and parties."

For a moment, it seemed that Mr. Litt believed my words. He began to ask questions typical for the interested employer during the interview. Our conversation lasted about another half an hour, and we seemed to come to a positive conclusion. Mr. Litt shook my hand and told me that he needed to meet with a couple more candidates, after which he would make a decision.

"We'll contact you anyway."

"Thank you a lot! I'll wait for your call."

Coming out into the street, I quickly got into the car – Jackson looked worried.

"What took you so long? Did they interview you for the position of the director?"

"No. They take hiring personnel seriously. The last employee was fired because of the tidy sum of money missing from the cash desk. They don't want to make the same mistake, and given the fact that I have no experience and just graduated from school, their considerations have grounds."

"If you say so… What're your chances?"

"Better than in the INC company, but I'll keep searching for other options, just in case."

"Your mother called. She worries. You couldn't call them last night though you'd promised…"

"My God, Mary!" I bit my lip in annoyance. Most likely, the baby girl was upset when I did not call and made a hell of a scene for our Mom.

I quickly dialed the number and, after some beeps, I heard my Mom's voice.

"Darsy, thank God it's you! We were worried. Jackson said you got lost. He was looking for you, but I suggested him to wait for you at home. Do you remember when you were little and ran away from me in the store, and then you came home by yourself?"