Chapter 9: Hibernation

From the first night, Oskar insisted on sleeping with her. He dressed her in her pajamas, because he couldn’t bear the thought of her becoming too cold. He slept with his arms around her, holding her up against him to keep her warm.

Even so, not being able to feel her presence, not being able to talk to her as he had almost every night since they had been together, was almost unbearable for him. The first night, he hardly slept. He kissed her over and over, as he thought about what she meant to him; how she had saved him; how sweet and kind she was to him; how she made him laugh; how much fun it was to tease her and get her mad at him, because he loved the way she looked when she came after him.

He listened to her heart, and by the end of the first night, could tell within a second or two when it would beat next. He would lovingly put his hand on her chest so he could feel the beat and imagine her blood as it moved through her veins, keeping her alive just for him. He talked to her in his mind, imagining that she was listening to everything he said. He discovered on his own that she took a soft breath about every two hours. Even Papa hadn’t found this out yet and was quite pleasantly surprised when Oskar showed him.

On the third day, Oskar carried her into the bathroom and gently bathed her in a tub full of warm, soapy water. He had picked out a nice Rose-scented bubble bath for her the day before, because he knew she loved the smell of Roses. He gently washed her hair, rinsed it, and brushed it until it was dry, because he loved to smell her hair when he was sleeping with her.

During the day, he would lie next to her and read aloud from The History of England, imagining that they were reading it together. He insisted that Papa discuss the day’s chapters with him in Eli’s room, so she could hear. He always left her copy of the book next to the bed, with a bookmark at the day’s lesson.

They kept track of her weight to the ounce. Every morning, Oskar would weigh himself, then weigh himself again, holding Eli in his arms. He religiously updated his notebook several times a day.

===

Dawson was worried. Two weeks had gone by, with no changes other than her relentless loss of weight – about three pounds a week. At a bit under 5 feet tall, she had started out at about 85 pounds and was down to 79. At this rate, in two months she will have lost almost 40 percent of her body weight. No normal child could survive that weight loss without permanent damage. He hoped it wouldn’t last that long, but the double trauma she had suffered over the previous few weeks probably rivaled anything that had happened to her in the past. He was becoming more worried about Oskar too. He was spending way to much time alone with her. Oskar was terrified that she would wake up and no one would be there with her and he felt that he couldn’t take the chance.

Dawson got up and headed upstairs. He and Oskar needed to have a talk about this.

Oskar had just taken her out of the bath as Dawson reached the third floor landing. He quickly held the door for them and followed him into her room.

She looked ethereal, almost sprite-like, as Oskar laid her on the bed and began drying her off. She was like a beautiful delicate china doll; pure white, slim arms and legs; and her angelic face! He remembered the first time he had really noticed her face in his office in Karlstad, when she took off her sweater, grew her wings and confounded him with her inner strength and self-possession. And now, here she was, in stark contrast, helpless and seemingly near death. When he looked more closely, he could see her ribs, her protruding collar bones, the delicate bones in her wrists and ankles normally hidden by healthy tissue, indicating the first signs of excessive weight loss. He helped Oskar dry her hair, and together, they put on her pajamas. Oskar gently pulled the blanket up to her chin, while Papa adjusted her pillow.

When they were finished, he took Oskar’s hand and led him over to Eli’s table. “Oskar, I’m concerned about you. You need to get out and get some fresh air; go play with Jack and Henry. Everyone thinks she’s gone on a visit to see friends in Sweden, so it probably seems a bit odd to them that you’re never out and about. I’ll watch over her anytime you want to leave. Tomorrow I’m installing a sensitive intercom, with a receiver in my study and in both of our bedrooms, as well as one in the kitchen. Any sound at all will be amplified and we can be up here in a matter of seconds.”

“I don’t want to leave her alone!” he protested. “I won’t let her wake up alone!”

“Oskar, you might actually be in danger if she wakes up and you are asleep next to her. She may not be able to control herself. She could hurt you!”

“No! She won’t! She couldn’t. I trust her.”

“Oskar, she almost killed you in your cellar in Blackeberg, remember? And she knew who you were. Like it or not, she sometimes cannot control the creature inside her.”

“But she didn’t kill me! And she loves me now! And I love her too much to leave her alone.” He thought for a moment, “I’ll go outside and maybe go see Jack and Henry, but you have to promise you’ll stay at home, with her.”

“Oskar, I would never leave her alone in the house. You know that.”

“And I’m going to keep on sleeping with her. I know she won’t hurt me.” Oskar looked at him defiantly.

“I know I can’t force you, but Oskar, you have to promise me that the instant you sense movement, you’ll at least get out of bed and give her a chance to get oriented. Please!” Dawson knew he wasn’t going to win this one. All he could do was minimize the chances he would get hurt. Oskar was becoming as stubborn as Eli on those things he considered important. “And since the intercom will be on all the time, hit the buzzer. I’ll come up the instant I hear it.”

“Deal!” Oskar knew that Dad wanted some assurance that he wouldn’t take chances, so he’d humor him. Actually, he had no intention of obeying – except maybe for the buzzer.

After Dad left, Oskar picked up reading where he had left off the night before:

Norman and Saxon

“My son,” said the Norman Baron, “I am dying and you will be heir
To all the broad acres in England that William gave me for my share
When we conquered the Saxon at Hastings, and a nice little handful it is,
But before you go over to rule it I want you to understand this:

“The Saxon is not like us Normans; his manners are not so polite;
But he never means anything serious ‘till he talks about justice and right;
When he stands like an ox in the furrow with his sullen set eyes on your own,
And grumbles, ‘This isn’t fair dealing.’ My son, leave the Saxon alone.

“You can horsewhip your Gascony archers, or torture your Picardy spears,
But don’t try that game on the Saxon; you’ll have the whole brood round your ears.
From the richest old Thane in the country to the poorest chained serf in the fields,
They’ll be at you and on you like hornets, and if you are wise, you will yield!”

Finally, he closed the book, turned out the lights and slipped into bed with her. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. Eli, are you there? It’s been over two weeks now. Please talk to me; I’m so worried about you. He called to her over and over again. This had become a nightly ritual, and he looked forward to it because it gave him hope. Maybe this one time she would hear him and come home. He called to her again and listened intently. Nothing; but this time, he felt something moving in the darkness – a new darkness, which had suddenly become three-dimensional in his mind – a real world of darkness instead of the flat blackness he normally saw when he closed his eyes. And something blacker than that darkness was moving ever so slowly across his field of vision. Eli? Is that you? Eli?

Whatever it was stopped as it became aware of him, turned, and moved slowly towards him. He could see two black soulless eyes staring at him, curious, but unafraid. “Go away! I wish to be left alone”

Eli, it’s Oskar. Eli?

“You’re disturbing me! Go away!”

Oskar sensed its threatening tone. I want to talk to Eli. What have you done with her?

“Your wants mean nothing to me.” It paused for a moment, as if making a decision of some sort. Oskar sensed a change in its tone as it moved closer, menacingly closer. It was now eyes and two rows of teeth, bared in a sinister smile. He could hear its slow steady breathing. “Would you like to…come in? I have something to show you. I’m quite sure you’ll like it. It’s a secret,” it whispered to him. “You’ll love it forever and ever. Would you like to see? It’s quite lovely.”

Oskar hesitated a moment …Yes.

“Come closer. You need to come closer,” it breathed softly. Oskar moved slowly into the darkness. Two alabaster hands appeared out of the moving blackness, holding something – something bright, something white; holding it lovingly, delicately. “Shh. You must be still or you’ll wake it. Come closer so you can see it better,” it whispered to him, so faintly he could barely hear. Oskar moved forward ever so slightly, craning his neck so he could see. “That’s it. Now …see!” The hands slowly opened and he saw…a child with long black hair, dressed in a flowing white gown, lying in the palm of the perfectly-formed marble-white hand. She was curled up in a ball and was crying softly; a mournful cry of hopelessness, despair, and loneliness. Eli! It was Eli! Oskar’s heart broke for her, and he reached for her, to comfort her, to hold her, but the hand moved away, just out of his reach. “Do you like it? Would you want it? If you want it, first, you must do something for me,” it whispered. “You have to give me something… something in return, because I’ll miss it so much. It’s been mine for over 200 years and I would be…lonely without it.” It smiled at him.

Anything! I’ll give you anything!

“Anything? But of course, you’re right. It is worth MORE than anything, after all; don’t you agree?” it smiled at him again.

Oskar was frantic! She was there, right in front of him. All he had to do was give this…thing what it wanted and she would be his. What do you want? Tell me!

“Very simple really; I want…you of course. Are you willing to give yourself to me? To own her?” It was breathing faster, anticipating a bargain.

Yes! Please let her go.

“Come. Come to me now and she’s yours.” The hand gently moved toward Oskar. He heard her crying, saw her tears as he reached for her again. He touched her arm; he reached for her hand; he caressed her sweet face. In the back of his mind, he could feel its touch on his shoulder, feel it breathing against his cheek, feel the first touch of its lips on his neck, a probing tongue…

Eli’s head suddenly snapped up. Her terror-filled eyes were fixed on him, “Oskar!! NO! He’s lying! He’ll never let me go! He can’t let me go! Only Papa can save me from him! Only Papa! Run! Run! If you love me, go! Go fast!” He saw real tears running down her face. He realized what he had seen before had been merely an illusion – an illusion that became obvious when contrasted with the reality of Eli’s tears. He jerked back, and felt the rage of the parasite as it realized it had lost him. He saw Eli dissolve away, saw her smile at him at the last moment and blow him a kiss. “Soon!” he heard her whisper as the alabaster hand closed into an onyx fist around her and faded from sight.

Oskar was wide awake! What an awful dream! It seemed so real! He remembered her face, her sweet face, as she lay there sobbing. He realized his arms were still around her, just as they had been when he fell asleep – he looked at the clock: 4:00AM – over six hours ago. He reached over her and turned on the light. He had to look at her, just to be sure she was really here with him. He gasped as he saw the real tears streaming down her face! He quickly put his hand on her chest, hoping to feel her normal heart beat. Nothing. And no breath sounds. An awful thought went through his mind as he reached up with a trembling hand and touched his neck. There was a warm, damp spot where that… thing had touched him – pressed its tongue against him! It had used Eli’s body and his love for her to seduce him. The very thought of it using Eli this way disgusted him. He finally understood a small part of the horror that Eli must endure on a daily basis, just knowing that evil thing lies just beneath the surface of her mind, waiting, watching. But he knew now that she had, at least at that moment, been far stronger than it could ever be.

Resignedly, he snuggled up to her again and held her tighter than before, as he kissed her tears away. He knew with all his heart now that she was much closer to him than he had thought and he took great comfort from the knowledge. And even there, in the depths of her hibernation, she had saved his life once again. He decided not to tell Dad about this.

===

Everything was different the next day. He felt happier than he had felt since her hibernation began. He got up early, had breakfast with Dad and went over to Jack and Henry’s house; soon they were playing soccer in the back yard with a couple of Jack’s friends. Jack’s mom brought them snacks as they relaxed afterwards, and Oskar went home content for the first time in weeks.

But his heart was heavy as he walked into her room and saw her lying helpless on her bed. “Dad, how much longer do you think it will be?”

“I don’t know Oskar. But she’s lost another two pounds in just one day. She seems to be feeding on her own body to survive. It’s as though she had suddenly expended a large amount of energy between yesterday and today. It makes no sense.”

It made perfect sense to Oskar. This was his fault! She had used the energy to save him. He was determined not to make that mistake again. It was his job to look after her – not the other way around.

=====

Another two weeks had passed. Eli had become a ghost of her former self. Her gauntness was exaggerated by her hair, which was now almost pure white. Her pajamas were so big on her that Oskar had given up on them, and in desperation, wrapped his own naked body around hers to keep her even warmer, and slept with so many blankets that he woke up drenched in sweat. But it had seemed to work; she was only losing weight at the rate of about two pounds a week now.

He was almost afraid to bathe her because she seemed so fragile he was afraid he would break her. She now weighed only 66 pounds, and looked like a concentration camp survivor; but strangely, her face remained unaffected. Oskar chose to think it was because of his love for her and the knowledge that the essence of what she really was lay just behind her beautiful face. He no longer tried to reach her; instead, he had made a ritual of writing her letters and reading them to her just before he turned out the lights.

=====

“Well, Oskar! Did you have fun?” Oskar looked up at Dad as he took off his shoes and rubbed his feet. “We must have biked 40 miles. I’m starving!” He looked guiltily at Eli. She looked worse than ever, and here he was, worrying about feeding his own face. This had to end! Another month and there’d be nothing left of her. He went over and kissed her on the forehead and adjusted the blanket. “Dad, I’m going to give her a bath now, and then I’ll read to her for awhile. Is that OK?”

“Of course, Oskar. I’ll bring you up some dinner in the meantime.” He quickly got up and headed downstairs. He had just restocked her refrigerator, and removed all the expired blood – blood that even as food, was no longer good. For the last week he had made sure there were at least two pints of viable blood available for transfusion, even though acquiring it had been a bit risky. He was seriously considering doing it if nothing changed by the end of the week. He was becoming genuinely alarmed by her deteriorating condition.

Oskar filled the tub, checking the thermometer to make sure the water temperature was as close to 99 degrees as he could make it. He pulled back the blanket and, as per Dad’s instructions, turned her over and examined her closely for any indications of bruises or ‘bed sores’ just to be sure. No point in taking any chances. He cradled her in his arms, gently carried her into the bathroom and placed her in the tub, watching as the warm sudsy water enveloped her. He loved bathing her because it made him feel closer to her; letting her somehow know how he really felt about her, how beautiful she was to him; how he loved everything about her, her strength, her vulnerability, the purpose she gave to his life when he could do these small things for her. He held her gently, cradling her head under his arm as he washed her. He could feel every bone as he moved his hand up and down her arms and legs; and he could count her ribs as he washed her chest.

As he turned her and began washing her back, she suddenly took a deep breath, startling him so much that he almost dropped her, face-first into the water. He quickly turned her over, but her eyes were still closed, and she appeared lifeless once again. He patted her face and gently shook her, to no avail. It was as though nothing had happened.

He emptied the tub, refilled it with clean water and rinsed her off thoroughly. But he didn’t see her eyes open as he turned to get a towel off the rack. He didn’t see her cat-eyes follow him as he laid the bath towel on the floor next to the tub. Her eyes closed as he reached for her and lifted her onto the towel, picked her up, and carried her to her freshly-made bed. He dried her off, then sat on the bed with her head in his lap and dried her hair, brushing it, getting the tangles out and finally laying her on her back with her arms by her sides and pulling the blanket up around her. After a silent dinner and another letter read to Eli, He took off his clothes and turned on the shower. He felt useless. He really couldn’t do anything of substance for her; he was just going through the motions. The bottom line was that she was doing this on her own, as she had for over 200 years.

He stepped out of the shower, dried himself off and climbed into bed with her. He pulled her close to him, put his arms around her, pressed his cheek up against hers, and slowly drifted off. He didn’t see her cat-eyes open; didn’t feel her slowly nuzzle up against his neck; didn’t see her fangs grow; didn’t see her mouth move slowly to his throat or her eyes begin to get that far-away look they got in anticipation of her approaching nirvana.

“Eli! Is that you?!” Oskar suddenly felt her flood back into his mind. Her hunger overwhelmed him for a moment, but the enormity of her actually being there, so close to him filled him with joy. He turned and kissed her fully on the mouth, oblivious to her fangs, oblivious to her half-closed reptilian eyes, already rolling back in anticipation of feeding, oblivious to the powerful force that drove her instinctively toward his neck. He kissed her again and again and squeezed her and stroked her face until she melted in his arms and he looked into her deep blue eyes once again.

He jumped out of bed, jerked open the refrigerator door, grabbed the two bags of viable blood, and rushed back over to her. She was lying exactly as he had left her, so weak she could barely move. He put his arm around her, raised her up and put the tube in her mouth. Her eyes fixed on his as she began drinking; slow at first, then more rapidly. Her eyes never left his as he unclasped the second bag and put the tube in her mouth. As he moved to get another bag, he felt her iron grip on his arm.

“Please! Stay! Please!” He could see tears of joy in her eyes, as he turned and pressed the buzzer on the intercom. Within seconds, Papa rushed into the room, saw Eli and rushed over to her.

“Thank God!!” We were about to go out of our minds with worry.” He saw the two empty bags lying on the floor. “Good for you, Oskar. You gave her the best of it first.” He rushed over to the refrigerator and pulled out two more bags, unclasping one as he returned. She sat up carefully, still tightly gripping Oskar’s arm, and let Papa hold the tube in her mouth. He watched in astonishment as her hair slowly turned from white to black beginning at the roots and propagating outward as though ink were flowing through tiny hollow tubes. He saw her ribs disappear as her chest filled out, saw her collar bones become smooth ridges rather than bony crags around her neck. He wondered if her weight were magically increasing at the same time – impossible on the face of it. She had only taken in a pound or two of sustenance. How could she possibly gain more weight than she took in…he refused to think about having to rewrite all the basic Physics books. He smiled at her, just thinking about all the paradoxes she so nonchalantly presented to the real world, and how fascinating it all was and how alive it made him felt to be witnessing it all.

She held up her hand as Papa started back for a fifth bag. “I’m ok, Papa, really. I’m ok now.” she paused, then said softly, “Thank you for keeping your promise to me. I…don’t know what else I can say….” She closed her eyes for a moment, then leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Papa breathed a sigh of relief as he felt her warm kiss. Her body temperature was already back to normal. She was going to be ok! He took her wrist and checked her pulse. Everything seemed normal; the long nightmare of uncertainty was finally over, and their Eli had survived. “Eli? Is this the way it ends? Are you in any danger of dropping back into hibernation?”

She smiled at him, “No Papa. It’s over now. I hope it’s over for a long, long time. I’ll try not to get bitten again.”

“See that you do that.” He smiled back at her. “This was almost as hard on Oskar as it was on you, I suspect.” He started for the door. “I’m going to leave the two of you alone for a while. You have a bit of lost time to catch up on.” He gently closed the door behind him as he left.

Eli turned and lay next to Oskar, her face close to his. Oskar could feel her breath and hear her heartbeat. He reached out and ran his hands over her body, feeling her collar bones, her arms, her legs, her chest. He ran his hands down her back lovingly. “I like you better without all the bones sticking out.” He smiled gently at her.

“Oskar, what did you do all that time? Did you go out and do things? Did you have any fun?”

“I had great fun with you, Eli. I’ll show you.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her, and she saw everything. She saw day after day of his tenderness, his love, his patience, his selfless caring for her, her long baths, night after night in his arms, his constant worry, Papa’s fears, all their sacrifices for her. She saw him reading to her every day, talking to her at night, and reading his letters to her before he went to sleep.

“Oskar, I…”

He got a gleam in his eye, “You’re so much easier to get along with when you’re hibernating. I can always get in the last word, and I’m always right when we argue. I win all the wrestling matches and beat you at Scrabble every time. And you’re always so reasonable and you’re never a smart-ass. I’m sort of sorry it’s all over now.”

“Smart-ass? I’ll show you how easy I am to get along with! We’ll see who has the last word this time!”

He leaped out of bed grinning ear to ear, ran for his own room, slammed the door behind him and got under his covers. She had the door open before he was half way across the room and almost beat him to his bed. She grabbed him tightly with one hand and pulled the covers off him with the other. She then tickled him mercilessly until he cried out in desperation, “Stop! I’m gonna pee! Uncle!”

She stopped immediately, got off him and grinned at him smugly. “See how reasonable I am?”

She sat down beside him. “I missed you a lot!” She took his hands and held them in her lap for a moment, then slid back down beside him. He kissed her on the neck, then bit her gently.

She giggled, “Oskar, what‘d you do that for?”

He whispered to her, “What would happen if I bit you hard? Would I infect you the way you would infect me?”

She laughed, “You’re just a normal person, and I ALREADY live forever! What would you infect me with? Oskar cooties? A candy fetish? I know! My hair would turn blond!”

“Let’s see!” Oskar bit her harder.

“Ouch! Oskar you almost made me bleed!” She put her hand to her neck, which was already turning red.

“Eli, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to.” He jumped up. “Let me get you a bandage…” he grinned sheepishly. “I guess I don’t need to, right?”

“Ta Daa!” she removed her hand, revealing … nothing. “Oskar Bites heal faster than anything. They’re so wimpy.”

“That’s not fair! If I had fangs like you, I bet it’d be a lot harder for you to heal.”

“Well, if you had drawn blood, you might have had fangs by tomorrow. Be careful, Oskar! If you had a sore in your mouth and got my blood on it, you could get infected.”

“Sorry, Eli,” he snuggled up against her and put his arms around her.

She took his hands in hers and held them tightly to her chest. “Hah! I still got in the last word.” He whispered to her as he kissed the back of her neck.

She squeezed his hands and pressed them even harder to her chest. “I love you, Oskar.” She whispered.

He decided to let her have the last word this once.

She smiled to herself. She was so glad hibernation was over. Maybe things would stay quiet for a while now. She could only hope. She thought about what Oskar had done, what she had said …and I ALREADY live forever…Hmm! I wonder…