Love and Magick, A Short Story Double Feature Read Online Free PDF Page A

and
grabbed my hand. Her fingers curled inside mine. Her touch was
warm, gentle. We walked, holding each other.
    An hour later I pulled in front of the
hospital and parked the car.
    "Thank you for today," she said. "I wasn't
expecting it."
    "You’re welcome and…neither was I. Look,
you'd better go." I was feeling anxious about keeping her out. She
was sick.
    "When will I see you again?" She asked,
beautiful green eyes staring into mine.
    I hesitated. As much as I wanted to see her
again, I knew I could never commit to anything. Not because of her,
but because of me. "Jasmine, I don't know. I can't--"
    "I understand," she said. "I'd better go.
Thank you again Steven. It meant a lot to me." She grabbed my hand
and squeezed and then disappeared into white hallways.
    I sighed and went home.
    The following week was torture, but somehow
I made it through. My despair and dismal state of mind was
alleviated only because of the day I'd spent with Jasmine.
    I was changing. I appeared the same and
pretended well, but felt as though something inside of me was about
to burst and when it did I would…lose control, go insane. I didn’t
know. And I wasn’t sure if that was fear I felt, or excitement.
    Not one day--no, not one hour, passed that I
didn't think of Jasmine. But with the thought of her came the
hopelessness that was the crux of her circumstance: she was dying,
maybe already dead.
    What was the use?
    I lay there one Sunday night when that
feeling crept over me: a total resistance to Monday. I pushed it
aside, but just as I did, I remembered Jasmine's big, green eyes,
her smile and the warmth of her touch. I toyed with the idea of
seeing her again. I had imagined it a thousand times since we'd met
and yet not until now did it seem to me that I might actually do
it.
    I was going to do it.
    Suddenly I had to see her. Just like last
time. I had to be with her. And so as unbelievable as it sounds, I
without thought, but with full comprehension, pulled the Blue Moon
Monday from its confinement.
    I fondled the fabric. I read the card and
felt stupid all over again. A hoax? I didn't care. A fool? Yes. And
then, just as I had done before, I wished for the Blue Moon
Monday--over and over again I wished. And then I thought of
Jasmine, her green eyes and white skin, her warm touch and
beautiful smile.
    ***
    "You might as well go home," Anderson said
the next morning.
    "You sure?"
    "I'm sure. I.T. says it will be at least a
day before they can get you back on line. It's just a glitch that
seems to only be interested in your unit's machines."
    Of course, I was the only one in my
unit.
    "Well," I said, "maybe I can use a…forget
it."
    "Yeah, what's the difference? It's not like
you won't get paid. Besides, when was the last time you had a day
off?"
    As I drove I mused over the situation. Did
the Blue Moon Monday really work? Or was this just simple
coincidence? Coincidence, maybe, but it stood that here I was off
on a Monday after the Sunday that I had wished for "no more work to
ensue". But then again we had been having computer problems for
months and everyone was just waiting for a system crash.
    Did I believe in Chinese proverbs now?
    I pulled my vehicle up to the hospital where
I had dropped Jasmine off. Anxiety stung. What if she were already
gone? I unlocked the door. It was time to find out.
    The attendant at the front counter smiled
with fake friendliness as I approached. Long red nails told me she
had little else to do with her time. I leaned over the counter and
tried not to notice her cleavage. "I'm here to see a woman named
Jasmine, late twenties, green eyes, don't know the last name."
    "Inpatient or out?"
    "In."
    "What unit?"
    "I don't know. She has Leukemia."
    Fingertips bolted across the keyboard like
painted spiders as she checked for the name. Then she stopped and
stared into her screen.
    Did she die?
    Again the spiders marched to the sound of
typing but fell silent within a moment. "Sir, I'm sorry, seems our
system is