Chapter 12: Oskar's Birthday

May 30, 1983

The Professor pounded the gavel on the table. “May I have your attention, please! We are gathered here to celebrate the Birthday of Oskar, the Boy Wonder, who single-handedly taught Eli how to play Tic-Tac-Toe, and who has done so well at English Scrabble that he has moved from Last Place all the way up to Third Place in the Great 1983 International Scrabble Competition – and the year is not even half over yet. He has further distinguished himself by almost being trampled to death by a moose, and flying tandem over the city of Karlstad at night, without running lights, with a 200 year old pilot in a 200-year-old plane, without a parachute.”

“But first, we’ll have a brief recap of the great Vampire vs Mouse genetic experiment co-sponsored, and conducted by: My humble self, and my two dedicated lab rats, I mean assistants, Oskar, the Boy Wonder, and Eli, the Littlest Vampire. Latest DNA recipients: Littlest Vampire: 1; Mice 10. Oskar – the jury is still out.” To his relief, he saw that even Oskar was laughing.

Dawson sat back in his chair for a moment, then continued “Now its time to get a bit serious. I completed my analysis of the final samples early this morning. I would have completed them earlier with Eli’s help on the computer, but I felt I had to do this one myself. I kept running into a dead end. Everything was there, but I couldn’t put the pieces together properly. Then it hit me.”

“My error was in comparing the characteristics of the cell division of the mice to Oskar’s cell division. They were essentially the same. But the mice are all adults! The changes in their cells that would normally indicate aging, would not include changes in maturation, which would remain the same for adult mice. But Oskar’s cells also remained the same – and he is in the beginning stages of puberty; one of the most significant periods of maturation that humans go through. Yet there were no changes.” He watched Eli as her eyes got big and she put her hand over her mouth, which, by now was wide open in astonishment. She gets it! he thought.

Oskar, may I present you with your birthday present.” He stepped into the kitchen for a moment and came out with a birthday cake, candles lit, and put it on the table in front of Oskar. “Make a wish, Oskar. Then blow out the candles.”

Oskar closed his eyes for a moment. Then he puckered up, looked more closely at the cake, and, looking puzzled, counted the candles. “Twelve. You forgot one.” He looked up at the Professor.

“No. I didn’t!” he smiled at Oskar. “Happy Birthday! Oskar, you will never have a thirteenth birthday; or a fourteenth; or a fifteenth. You are no longer aging. For better or for worse, you will remain twelve forever. Just like your Littlest Vampire friend here.

Oskar looked at him for a minute, blank faced. Then he looked at Eli, who was grinning ear to ear. “But, how … “

“Oskar, don’t you see? We can be together now until they find a cure for both of us!” She got a twinkle in her eye, “Now, what did you wish for Oskar?”

“I don’t know if I can tell you, since only part of it came true so far” Oskar was beginning to smile, as the truth of what the Professor had told him began to sink in.

“Come on, tell me!!”

“The part that didn’t come true yet is the ‘forever’ part” He looked directly into her eyes. She felt a sense of calm and warmth wash over her – a feeling of contentment; a feeling of joy, a feeling of completion.

“Oskar, stop. I can’t stand feeling so happy.” She threw her arms around him. Oskar put his arms around her and hugged her fiercely.

“Oskar, I can’t breathe. You’re squeezing me too tight.”

The Professor said. “Now, there are at least twelve of you in the world. Two juvenile delinquents and ten mice.” I’m going to have to arrange for them to be shipped back to England. I can’t leave a bunch of immortal mice running around loose in Sweden.

“What do you mean, juvenile delinquents?” Eli, asked, frowning.

“The ‘Great Escape,’ remember? Destruction of public property? Disturbing the peace of mind of 20 respectable police officers?”

“Well, this makes my present even better.” She handed Oskar a box with a blue bow around it.

Oskar opened it eagerly, “It’s a big Rubik’s cube! Only it’s 16 squares on a side instead of nine. Thanks, Eli.” He gave her a big hug.

“It looks like you’ll have plenty of time to work on it, now. Maybe you’ll even solve it some year. But of course if you need any help, as I’m sure you will, I’ll be here for you” she said, in mock seriousness.

=====

Oskar and the professor were busy cutting more cake, a third piece for him and a second for the professor, while Eli was already working on the new Rubik’s Cube.

“I’m still thirsty. Professor, would you like some milk?” Oskar got up and headed for the refrigerator, but as he passed Eli, he stubbed his big toe on her chair. “Ouch!!” He immediately spun around angrily, and kicked her in the leg.

Eli looked up, shocked. “What’d you do that for?”

“Well…you were sitting in it!” he rubbed his toe. He looked up at her sheepishly, and grinned.

Eli and the professor started laughing.

“Well! Oskar finally fights back… and misses.” Eli taunted

“I think he hit exactly what he was aiming at,” the professor said, amused.

Oskar, grumbling, refilled his glass, limped over to the table, and sat back down. He thought about his 12 candles. He could still hardly believe it. It seemed too good to be true.

“Is this really true? Will Eli and I really always be the same age?”

“No, I’ll always be 208 years older than you, just like before.”

“No, ‘Grandma!’ Maybe in vampire years, but in human years, I’m six months older than you. Look at your passport. And I’ll always be six months older than you.”

Eli stuck her tongue out at him, “Well… You can’t fly!”

“Yeah but otherwise, we’re the same now.” He grinned smugly.

“Really? Wanna arm wrestle? Wanna try to clean my clock? How about a wrestling match?” She started around the table towards him menacingly.

Oskar stood up quickly and made sure the table stayed between them as she dodged back and forth.

“Ouch!” Oskar stubbed his toe on her chair again as he raced around the table trying to get away from her. She pounced on him in a flash, and sat down hard on his stomach. She grinned at him evilly “Wanna have a fang growing contest?”

“No! No! No!” Oskar laughed. “You win! You win! Let me up”

“Not until you say ‘Eli is stronger, faster, and smarter than me in every way’”

“Ok, ok! Eli is stronger, faster, and more of a smart-aleck than me in every way.”

“Sounds to me like we need to have a fang AND claw-growing contest.” she raised her hands and curled her fingers menacingly. Oskar saw his chance and took it. He squirmed out from under her and scrambled under the table.

Eli scrambled after him and reached the other side just in time to catch a piece of cake right between the eyes. Oskar administered the coup de grace by twisting it until her face and neck were completely obscured by chocolate crumbs and frosting. While she was digging it out of her eyes, Oskar jumped on her and pinned her to the floor. He leaned forward and ate the cake off her neck. “MMM, boy. You sure taste good.

“Oskar! Don’t!” she said, “Don’t even joke about that!”

Oskar smiled evilly at her, leaned down and ate the cake off the other side of her neck. “This side tastes good too!”

“Oskar….” She stifled a smile, then reached up, gently put her hands behind his head and slowly pulled him toward her… then suddenly smeared her face all over his. They rolled around on the floor, knocking chairs over until the Professor reached down and physically pulled them apart. “If you don’t knock it off, I’m going to go get the hose. Then you’ll both lose.” He looked at them and shook his head. “My god, I can’t even tell you apart. Eli, how does that cake taste? I made it myself, you know.”

“EWWWW! No offense, but, EWWWW!” She spit out a few crumbs, got up, straightened up the chairs, plopped down in hers, and wiped her face vigorously with a towel.

“Professor, the cake was exceptionally good,” Oskar mocked, “Especially that last piece. The one seasoned with Eau d’Eli.”

“Enough!” the professor grabbed Eli by the collar as she started for Oskar again. Oskar hid behind the professor and grinned at her.

“I’ll get you later, when your ‘Mommy’ isn’t around to protect you.”

“Well, that’s a new first” Dawson laughed. “I’ve certainly never been called a Mommy before. Now let’s get this mess cleaned up. I’ve got another surprise for both of you.”

===

They sat on the couch together, the Professor in the middle, as he opened the photo album. “This is a picture of our home. This is where you will be living when we get to England.

“Wow! It’s neat!” Oskar said excitedly.

“Where’s our room going to be?” Eli asked

“You see that little round window just below the peak of the roof? That’s the room I think you would like the best. It’s the room I would want if I were your age. And it’s totally appropriate for you and Oskar; there’s nothing easily breakable up there.”

“Ha, Ha. Well, its all Oskar’s fault. He’s always picking fights.”

“What do you mean? Whose toe is broken anyway?”

Your house is so pretty. Is that your car in the driveway?” Eli asked.

“No, that was my daughter’s car. The picture is a bit old, but the house still looks the same.”

He turned the pages and showed them different views of the house.

“What pretty flowers! Wow! You have a swimming pool! Is it always cloudy there? Do you get snow? Is it warm in the summer? How far do you live from London?” they barraged him with questions. “Will I have to go to school?” Oskar asked.

“I’ll be in charge of your education. If we were to put you in school, Oskar, your teachers and friends would notice pretty quickly that neither of you are getting any older. You would have a couple of years at the most. We’ll decide later whether or not we’ll go that route. Eli, of course you will have to be tutored at home, although I have some ideas as to how you might be able to go outside in the daytime. If that works out, you might be able to join Oskar at school some of the time.”

Eli turned the page. There were several photos of a woman and a small boy that appeared to be about seven years old. They were sitting on a couch in the living room; she recognized the couch from other photos the professor had shown her. “Who’s this?”

The Professor looked up, “That’s… my wife and son.”

“Where are they? Why didn’t they come with you?”

“They died in a car accident about a month after those pictures were taken.” He quickly turned the page, and showed them a picture of Trafalgar Square. “We’ll be sure to go here after we get settled in. The National Gallery is beautiful. You’ll both love it. And we’ll visit St Martins-in-the-Fields for their summer music program…”

“I’m sorry. What happened?” she sensed that something else was wrong – that something really bad had happened. She leaned toward him and reached for his hand.

“Eli, please don’t. I know you mean well but there are some things…” He looked at her, and saw how worried and concerned she was. “It beats me how you do that.” He smiled at her. “You can’t read my mind, but you can read my soul.” He shook his head, Wow! That sounded stupid even to me.

Her expression didn’t change. She waited. He looked at her and sighed, “Eli, sometimes you make me feel like I’m the child here and you are an ageless seer. He held out his hands to her. She took them in hers, put them in her lap, and looked into his eyes, questioningly.

“My wife Anna, and my son Richard, were waiting for me at home. Richard had his final district championship soccer game that Saturday afternoon, and I was coming home from work early to take them both to the game. I was going over the final proofs of my latest book and lost track of the time. Anna called me, and I was so close to being done that I was irritated with her. I told her to go ahead without me and I would meet her there. I was so absorbed in my work that I forgot that she didn’t like driving our daughter’s car because it had a stick shift and the brakes were a bit stiff. When she started to explain, I was impatient with her.” He paused. Eli tightened her grip on his hands. “They died! I got a phone call from her brother a half hour later. A car pulled out in front of them, and she couldn’t brake in time. She hit the car broadside. Their car burst into flames and they both died in the fire. If she had been driving my car, they would have survived. If I had been driving them to the match as I should have been, they would have survived. They died because of my selfishness and vanity and stupidity.”

Eli had tears in her eyes. Oskar held his arm tightly. They had seen it all as he had remembered it. She saw clearly the connection between his tragedy and his dream. She saw that he spent almost every day living in the shadow of the mistakes he had made that day. She saw the loneliness and guilt he had felt when he came home after the funeral. THAT she fully understood. There was nothing they could say that would help; she knew that. All they could do was comfort him. She would have forgiven you. She would forgive you if she knew what you have done; how you have helped us, how you have put our safety ahead of your own, how you have taken risks that could ruin your name and your career for us, how you love us – how you loved them. She would forgive you. How could she not?

He smiled at them. “I guess it will be impossible to keep secrets from you two. It’s fortunate for me that I’ve lived such a dull, uninteresting life – at least until now. There’s nothing else about my past that should interest you in the least, except maybe as a bedtime story to put you to sleep. Now! Let’s talk about all the places and things we are going to see this summer! Eli, where have you been that you think Oskar might be interested in seeing?”

========

The kids were asleep. Dawson was deep into the details of planning their future together. He knew that eventually Eli’s past would have to be revealed, but how? He would eventually die and somehow he had to provide for them and keep them safe. After Oskar had injected himself, he had frozen the remainder of both batches, including the one he used to inject the mice, to be used as his ultimate bargaining chip if necessary. The possibility of living an ageless life, weighed against imprisoning or destroying Eli. He knew human nature well enough to know that, once the public knew the options, the choice would be easy for them. Of course the longer Eli was kept from the public, the more likely the relatives of those Eli had killed would die off and the killings would become abstract historical facts, rather than ongoing unsolved murder cases. He figured that 75 years was a conservative estimate, after which things would be much easier for them. He had to find someone to take over for him in the event of his death. But how? The problems seemed insurmountable.

They would have to move regularly. The neighbors would eventually see that the children never aged. It could take as long as five years if he kept them from sight most of the time but after that, there could be trouble. By dying their hair he might be able to convince outsiders at some point that they were his grandchildren, but that would be iffy. The best outcome would be if he found a cure for the Vampire parasite in Eli. If she were no longer a “clear and present danger,” society might be a bit more understanding. But the odds were against him. Maybe in 75 years…

He also had to have a long talk with Oskar at some point. Oskar didn’t realize the consequences of not aging for someone so young. And Eli has had much more to worry about than the strain that not aging would have on her friendships. She had probably never even thought about it, until Oskar. The two of them will never be able to have long-lasting friendships with their peers. They will only have each other and some relatively long relationships of a different kind with adults, but even these will end eventually. Immortality forever distances them from the rest of humanity. In order to be with Eli, Oskar has given up more than he realizes. After 200 years, it still amazed him that Eli was able to reconnect on any level. Once again, it spoke to her strong, grounded, inner character, something she surely had before she was turned. But that reconnection is going to have consequences for her too. I think she IS capable of realizing what she had inadvertently given up after 200 years of isolation, especially now that she has reconnected. Oskar will have to learn to deal with it, with my help. They had plenty of time to work on it before it gets too far out of hand.

========
June 5, 1983

Oskar was working on the new Rubik’s cube and Eli was almost done with her reassembly of the Egg. She only had a few pieces remaining. She had finally made a decision and was trying to work out how to present it to the Professor in a way that he would accept it. She snapped the last piece in place and held it up in front of her, inspecting it carefully.”Ok, let’s go.” They both headed for the study.

The professor looked up as they came in. Eli stepped up to his desk and put the egg down in front of him. “I want you to sell this to the man in Denmark,” she said firmly.

“But…I can’t do that! You love it too much and we don’t really need the money.”

“Yes, we do. Oskar and I have talked it over and want you to use the money to set up a research lab to make it easier to find a cure for me.”

“Eli, we’ll find a cure, and both of you now have plenty of time. If I don’t find it, someone else will. You just need to have patience.”

“I want to do this! I want you to be there when it happens. It won’t mean anything if you’re not there.”

“Eli, finding a cure for you is what’s important. Not whether or not I’m still alive when it happens. I don’t think it’s a good idea to use your egg for that. We have no guarantee that the money will help that much and you may need it to survive after I’m gone.”

“I don’t want you to be gone! I want you to be there!” Eli was becoming more and more upset. This wasn’t going the way she had hoped. Why wouldn’t he listen to her?

“Please, do this for me.” She pleaded.

“Eli, this is one time I’ll have to be firm with you. I won’t sell your egg unless we absolutely have to, and then only with your permission.”

“I’ll sell it myself!! Then you’ll have to take the money!!” she yelled.

“Eli, what’s really going on here? What is it you really want?”

“I…I don’t know!!” she turned and ran out of the room.

“What’s wrong with her, Oskar? Has she discussed this with you?”

“Yes, sir, but I’m not sure I can explain it to you”

“Well, try your best. I’ll go talk to her after she’s calmed down a bit.”

“I think she doesn’t want you to die – ever. She didn’t say that, but that’s what I think. She asked me yesterday if I thought she was selfish because she wanted a family. She was so happy that I would be with her now, and she said that made her want – other things for herself. She asked me if I thought she was a bad person for being so selfish.”

Dawson thought for a moment, “Ok. Oskar, wait here, and I’ll go talk with her.” He started for the door.

“Professor?”

“Yes, Oskar?”

He looked down at his feet, “I don’t want you to die either.”

The professor looked at him for a moment, touched. “Thank you, Oskar.” And he really IS only 12 years old; yet he understands Eli perfectly.

He went upstairs and quietly opened the door to their room. Eli was lying on the bed crying, her face toward the wall. How could I have been so stupid! As adults, we’ve learned to accept death. Children do not have that capacity – even this ageless child. In spite of all the death she has caused herself, the death of her family is still an almost unbearable memory for her. My death will likewise be a terrible tragedy for her. She loves me. “You become responsible forever for what you have tamed.” He smiled as he remembered the lesson from “The Little Prince” It was time for him to fully accept that responsibility. Eli was their beautiful wild creature, who had been tamed by Oskar’s love, and then by his own. And he had been tamed by theirs.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed her back.

She sat up and put her arms around his neck, sobbing. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry!”

“Eli, I think you’re right. We’ll sell the egg.”

“What? Do you really mean it?!”

“Yes, I do. But under one condition. I will set up a trust for you and Oskar, which will also include a portion of my own estate and book royalties. Only then will I put a penny of what’s left into a research project. And any profits that result will be in your and Oskar’s names. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” She looked up at him gratefully, then laid her head in his lap. “Professor?”
“Yes, Eli?”
She hesitated, “When we get to England,… can I call you Papa? Would that be ok?”

“We’re a family now. I would be honored for you to call me Papa.” His eyes were shiny as he stroked her hair.

==========
June 15, 1983

The day had finally come! The house was empty except for a few essentials. They were scheduled to leave for the airport at 10:00PM. With connections, it was only a 2 ½ hour flight to London, where his car would be waiting at the airport. They would be safe at home before daylight. Dawson was going over his last-minute checklist before going to bed. He could hear the kids talking quietly in their room, probably too excited to get much sleep themselves. He had arranged for their room, empty since Richard had died, to be readied for them. He had installed two computers, an additional bookcase, and a small lab refrigerator.

==

Eli had just finished drying her hair. She was thinking about the flight to London and the fact that she had never been on a plane before. What fun this will be! I wonder if the plane flies higher than I can. I know it flies faster. Maybe I will be able to see even farther from that high up. She was a little worried about Oskar, though. His life was going to change completely all over again. “Oskar, are you afraid?”

“A little. I just hope my English is good enough. I’ve never been anywhere so far away before.”

“Its going to be great fun! We’ll be able to go places and see things, and no one will be looking for us.” The whole idea excited her. She and her family. Her family! Me and Oskar and our new Papa. She looked at him fondly, “I like your hair blond and short; it makes you look so cute.”

Oskar blushed, “It doesn’t either!”

“Yes it does! You’re cute, cute, cute!” she pinched his cheek.”And you’ll be cute forever!”

Oskar smiled in spite of himself. “I like your hair too.”

“Mine? But it looks the same as always – messy.” I really should take better care of it. I’ll start doing that when we get to England.

“I know. But it reminds me of the night you solved the Rubik’s cube. You know; the night you almost had me for dinner? I remember how beautiful you looked, how pretty your eyes were.”

“But Oskar, I almost killed you! Why would you remember that night?”

“Because I know you never, never could have done it. I know it! I can feel it! And then you showed me how to solve the cube, but I wasn’t paying any attention, because you were so so pretty!!” Oskar paused, and looked at her seriously, “You don’t mind if I think you’re pretty do you? I know you’re really not a girl. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

She took his hand, “But Oskar, I’m not a boy either. I love that you think I’m pretty. I think you’re pretty too. Does that bother you?”

Oskar blushed again, “No it doesn’t bother me, either – but please don’t tell anyone else.” He smiled sheepishly at her.

“I won’t. I promise.” She kissed him on the cheek.

“Let’s get under the covers!” They both scrambled into bed, fluffed up their pillows and pulled the blanket up over their heads. “Can you see me in the dark?” Oskar asked. “I can just barely see you.”

“See for yourself.” She took his hands in hers.

Suddenly Oskar was looking at himself through her eyes as though in a mirror in broad daylight. “That’s neat!” He moved toward her and kissed her on the lips. It looked like he was kissing himself in a mirror. He sputtered and burst out laughing. “Eli, stop it! That’s awful!”

She started laughing, “Do it to me! I wanna see!” They looked through each other’s eyes over and over again, crossing their eyes and making faces at each other as they kissed. After a while, they got quiet and lay on their backs staring at the ceiling.

Eli was deep in thought. I’ve got to figure out how to get Papa to inject himself. He’s the only person I trust to take care of us. I’m not going to let him die. He can’t die; he just can’t. Maybe I can do it myself while he’s sleeping. He’ll never know and won’t have to worry. I could tell him after a few months, when it wouldn’t matter anymore! …But I couldn’t do that! It would be like lying to him. I have to convince him to do it, but how? She felt herself getting drowsy. I’ve got plenty of time to decide….

Oskar felt happier than he had ever felt before. He would never lose Eli now. And they were going to a new place where everything would be different. And he had a new father! One who loved him and cared about him. He smiled to himself as he nodded off to sleep….

...Oscar dreamt that he was on a train, looking out the window as it pulled away from the station platform. He could see the reflection of Eli’s beautiful face in the window as she sat beside him with her arm around him. They were at the beginning of an exciting journey together.

END?