Is Deo Human? Are you Certain?

Cal felt guilty. He had known from the first moment he had met Adonis that the guy had been through a lot because of his sexual identity. Cal shouldn't have attacked him for being gay. It was a low blow. He checked Adonis' room, but the guy was nowhere to be found; his door left unlocked in his haste to leave. The room was surprisingly neat and carried a sweet scent—lavender. Cal strolled around, waiting for Adonis to return so he could apologize. Cal prided himself in being an honest, well-mannered individual. He hadn't meant to insult Adonis' sexuality. It was the mother that had tried to assault him. Adonis was innocent in the whole matter. Cal found letters stacked on the dresser in Adonis' pretty writing. He picked up a few:

Gregory,

I think the film 'Silent Bird' is somewhat stimulating. I think you should watch it. It's twenty-four hours in the life of a bird in the Amazon forest. You can watch it sleep, eat, think, daydream. At the end of it, you feel like you have become the bird.

~Adonis.

***

The writing changed, the letters were more angular, plain, and straightforward, taking up less space on the page.

Adonis,

It seems like you got tricked into watching twenty-four hours of a bird's life. I'm not an idiot. No thanks.

Gregory.

***

Gregory,

I assure the life of a silent bird is something we all must watch. It brings up so many questions. What is a bird? That which we call a bird by any other name is still a bird, isn't it? Last night, I dreamed that I was a bird and woke up feeling quite odd. What if I'm a bird dreaming about being human, and in that dream of being human, I dreamed about being a bird, which is what I actually am?

~Adonis.

***

Adonis,

You are mad. Goodnight.

Gregory

***

Gregory,

I am mad, but only half as mad as you.

~Adonis

***

Cal put the letters down. They were wrinkled in places and curled at the ends. They had probably been rolled into a tight cylinder and delivered. To his left, there was a metal hummingbird sitting on a wooden perch. Its eyes were sapphire stones. Its head hung as if it were sleeping. Cal had heard of this bird. It could be used to deliver messengers, work as an alert system, or be programmed to hover about randomly.

He heard footsteps on the stairs. They grew nearer until Adonis walked into the room completely covered in the mud. Some trickled off onto the floor from his black raincoat. He glared at Cal and muttered, "You're still here?"

"Where else would I be?" Cal asked. "What happened to you?"

"You were packing to leave an hour ago. As for my messy attire, I fell in some mud, not that it matters to you."

Cal felt a wave of guilt. He said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like I was attacking you for being gay. I have no issue with you or your sexuality. It's just.... It's weird to say this aloud, but your mother touched my crotch, and I'm not that guy, you know? I'm not going to do whatever you guys want because you pay me more than my previous job. I like you; I think you are a good guy, but I'm not going to have sex with your mother."

Adonis' expression softened. He let out a slow sigh. "Shit. So, that was why you were mad. Sorry, I snapped at you. I get in my head sometimes and think everyone hates me because I'm... well, you know. To be fair, I'm usually right." He smiled sadly.

"I don't hate you," Cal told him.

"Maybe you don't hate me today, but there's always tomorrow. And I did not give my mom permission to do anything like that, I swear," Adonis said. As Cal searched Adonis' eyes, he saw no trace of deceit. Adonis placed a hand on Cal's shoulder. The boy said, "I'll talk to her. I invited you here because you seemed like a good guy, and you stood up for me. I wanted to repay the favor. I sincerely apologize on her behalf; I'll get down on one knee if that helps you forgive me."

"It's fine. I know you had nothing to do with her actions. That's why I decided to stay. That and I have stolen a few of your books and don't feel like giving them back." He smiled.

Adonis asked, "Did she do anything else to make you feel uncomfortable?"

"Well, she showed me her whole naked body which is something I'm likely going to take to my grave. I will not forget that any time soon." That earned half a smile from Adonis, who understood his pain. Cal continued, "So are we back to where we started?" He held out his hand. "We're alright?"

Adonis shook it. "Yeah, I was wrong this time. You were the one that got taken advantage of, so I owe you another favour. Steal another book if you want. I've read them all. I'm going to talk to my mother about what we can and can't do to our new employee."

Adonis went into the hall, leaving Cal to scan the many shelves filled with books. There were over a hundred titles ranging from fiction to non-fiction—math, science, geography. Cal cocked an eyebrow. To have read all this, Adonis must have a lot of free time on his hands. He had an equal number of DVDs—those were no longer made, but Adonis had an old-fashioned DVD player that he had set up next to a projector. A white sheet covered one wall which Cal suspected was the surface for the projected film.

Cal picked out a book called War and Peace, then left the room. He felt that staying there brought him closer to Adonis. You learned a lot about people from the books they read and the letters they wrote to their friends. He smiled as he thought of the playful banter between Gregory and Adonis. Was that a friend or boyfriend? Cal hoped Adonis would avoid any more trouble with boys. Cal wouldn't always be there to get him out of it. He didn't want Adonis to get raped or murdered as a result of trusting the wrong person.

He heard Adonis' mother shouting. Glass shattered against a wall or a floor. More shouts followed. Cal started to walk towards the sound. Two maids pretended to clean outside the door of the master bedroom, dusting a single vase. He heard Adonis yelling, "Learn some fucking self-respect, woman, and if you touch him again, don't count on me to protect you. You can rot in hell for all I care. I won't give you a fucking penny." The door opened, and Adonis walked out, fuming. His nostrils flared as he exhaled. Blood dripped down his right hand, running along his fingers; Cal went over to help him.

"Are you alright?" Cal asked, reaching for the hand.

Adonis pulled away. "It's fine; it's a tiny scratch. She won't bother you again." He glanced at the hardcover book in Cal's hand. "Good pick." Adonis strode into his room and coolly shut the door on Cal's face. The lock clicked.

Drops of blood dotted the floor.

Cal stood outside the room, wanting to go in but not sure how to deal with an angry Adonis. He had never seen Adonis angry before and had no clue what to do when the boy got like this. Cal said, "A small scratch doesn't bleed that much." The door didn't open. The maids hurried downstairs, and Cal, tired of waiting, retired to his room. He realized that he didn't understand Adonis as well as he thought. He was definitely more than that 'gay' guy.

***

The hummingbird chirped three times. Adonis woke up tired and fuming; it had taken an hour for her hand to stop bleeding. The cut wasn't deep enough to require stitches, but she bandaged her hand to keep it from getting dirty or wet and tried to keep it elevated. Her mother had thrown a glass cup against the wall. It had shattered, and one of the pieces had scratched the back of her hand. Blood-stained rags covered the floor; she tossed them into the bin and checked her watch.

It was two-thirty.

She had slept for four hours, but she had to get going, or Deo would fire her as a student. She yawned; today was going to be hell. Adonis skipped the shower and dragged on a tracksuit. She covered it with Deo's poncho in case it rained on the way there. On her way out, she grabbed a protein bar from the kitchen.

***

Deo was every bit of a commanding asshole as Adonis had thought he would be. He made her do squats with a weighted bar till her legs threatened to give out. She followed the squats with lunges. The river took her mind off the pain. She liked to watch it cut through the land, flowing and twisting in all its majesty. Its sound was a soft song against her eardrums. A gentle rush. The sky was dark, but a brilliant array of stars twinkled overhead. She named them as Deo watched her do a hundred sit-ups, shouting insults at her every time she took a break.

She wanted the show him her middle finger but resisted the urge.

Lamps hovered close to them, illuminating a ten-metre radius. Their jets gushed air ever so often to keep them afloat.

Deo worked out alongside her. He was like a machine. He moved from one exercise to the next, taking few breaks in-between. He tried to get her to do pull-ups with a tree branch, but she was worried about aggravating her recently closed cut, so she declined. Deo sighed. Crickets chirped in the surrounding forests.

"Fine, how about jogging? You alright with that?"

"Okay."

They sprinted up the hill, and she trailed behind him as they traversed the tricky landscape with its rises, depressions, rocks, and protruding branches. He was faster initially, but half an hour into the jog, she started to catch up. That made him break into another sprint. She chased him. The ferns on either side blurred as they raced back to the starting point. The lamps followed behind, tracking Adonis' and Deo's heat signatures and gushing air to propel them forward. The incline made Adonis' thighs burn, but she refused to fall further behind Deo. They neared their starting point as the sun rose, a subtle orange spreading across the sky.

Sweat coated Adonis' skin and soaked her clothes. Wet hair clung to her forehead. She noted that Deo hadn't spiked his hair that morning, but parted it to one side, making him look like a handsome, well-mannered nobleman. His innocent appearance was a lie; he was the devil in disguise. His tan skin was covered in sweat.

He slapped a tree, reaching the finish line nearly a minute ahead of her. Her chest ached as she crossed the last hundred metres. She wheezed, sucking air into her lungs as she collapsed on the grass. Her thighs ached something terrible, and so did her shins. She was grateful for the break. She lay on her back and watched the orange sky; Deo rose up from the earth at a ninety-degree angle to her body. It was and odd view. One lying down; the other standing. He wasn't breathing heavy; it was like he had gone for a slow walk around the garden.

She envied his stamina.

Deo glanced at her bandaged hand, opened his mouth to say something, then shut it, and stared at the river. They were both quiet for some time. Deo checked his watch. "An hour till six. We've been at it for two hours. That's good enough for today; we'll work on your legs till your hand heals." He paused then added, "Tomorrow, we'll review kickboxing."

Adonis asked, "Don't you ever get tired?"

Deo shrugged.

She asked, "Are you a real human, or were you made in a lab?" Deo glared at her, so she added, "My highness."

Deo said, "Go home, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, my king."

Deo smiled.

He disappeared into the woods, taking his two lamps with him. Adonis clucked her tongue distractedly; she was not looking forward to tomorrow. This was the definition as hell. Her legs were so sore; they refused to move. She slapped them back to life, and unsteadily got to her feet. Two years from now, she would participate in the Relar games; she had to be ready. She chugged her bottle of water then walked towards her bicycle lying on the grass. She picked it up and rode it over the uneven earth. Her legs wept, but she ignored them and focused on getting home.

***