“I’ve heard that before.” I say as I nod uncomfortably. I know that I am supposed to just let them run with it. However, this situation seems somehow a bit more difficult.
Cherie suddenly jumps from her chair and stands in front of me. Eagerly she looks at me as though she is studying me. I am a little uncomfortable; I suppose it is the lack of familiarity I felt when I was with Noah. This is an entirely new person who I know very little about.
“Can we go see the Eiffel Tower today, I’ve been here since Sunday and I still haven’t gotten a chance,” Cherie meekly asks as she looks at me with wide curious eyes.
“Sunday…?” I ask, and then remember that is the odd day they spend in that strange state from the medication. I begin to wonder if every Sunday she believes that she has just arrived to Paris. It seems like a rather cruel trick produced by the machinations of her mind.
“Yeah I know it has only been three days, but it is the main reason I’m here actually.”
I do not know how to answer. I feel like if I say yes I am lying, and if I say no—I am letting her down. I feel conflicted and much more unprepared than I did yesterday. Luckily, I take so much time deciding how to answer that she changes the subject.
“It’s really nice of them to send a Sitter for me while I’m here, you know?” Cherie says as she nods happily.
She has a kind smile that makes me feel better somehow, and her eyes squint in a way that is adorable. For the first time I have to remind myself, never get attached to an Unstable. Not even as I think they are kind of cute in a way—like a stray dog, you never know when or if they’ll turn on you.
“Or is it Caretaker here in Paris?” As she asks as she puffs up her cheeks and looks at me as though she is not getting enough answers.
“I’m your Sitter, I just thought… I like caretaker better,” I say as I attempt to make sense of my own thoughts. “I’m your caretaker.”
“I’m your caretaker,” Cherie repeats slowly.
“I’ll be your Sitter though from now on, even when… we get back.” I say the last part with a heavy amount of disappointment in myself, even though I know that she needs to know that I am her old sitter’s replacement.
“What happened to my first Sitter?”
“I don’t know,” I reply. We never know. Back in training they would always say that nine times out of ten we wouldn’t want to know because the answer would most likely be that one of their cases went Aggro. So new Sitters never know what happened to the old ones. Knowing would do neither of us any good.
“I don’t know.”
“Yep,” I reply shortly as I attempt not to think about the possibilities, although my mind is already full of them.
“Yep…”
I pause the conversation again as I look outside. The rain continues to fall pretty hard.
“So I have to ask, how are you feeling?” I ask, feeling that enough time has passed.
“No changes.” Cherie answers almost immediately as though she has grown used to it.
I realize that it must be hardest on the Mirror and Amnesiac types. Mirrors generally know that they are different but they don’t understand why. Amnesiacs know exactly what they are and what they can become and it causes them the fits of depression that they often get. The Catatonics… well, it’s believed are completely oblivious to the situation, and the Psychopaths are too self destructive to either care or notice. The Manics are believed to always be in a state of disbelief or too fixated on their highs and lows to know their fate. If I had to pick one, I’d probably be a Catatonic. Ignorance is bliss, after all.
“You know then that I have to watch you take your pill,” I say as I run through the drill.
Cherie nods compliantly as she fetches the familiar white and blue bottle from a painted white wooden dresser drawer. It is the only thing that is in there. She walks into the kitchen, pours herself a glass of water and places the pill on her tongue. She makes a special point to show me that the little white pill is on there, and then drinks the water and shows me that it is gone. “Good?”
“Is that what your last Sitter made you do?”
Cherie nods.
“You don’t…” I begin.
“She never trusted me,” Cherie says as she continues to smile happily despite the fact that her eyes look saddened. “I never did anything, maybe she was mad that I went to Paris without her.”
“I trust you, just take your pill, you don’t have to show me.”
“I trust you…” Cherie repeats as she nods once.
“This is only my second day,” I add, hoping it will make it an easier transition to a more comfortable rapport with Cherie. “I’m pretty new at this.”
“Are you hungry?”
“I could make something if you like,” I reply as I do feel like I could eat. “After all, I feel like I’m not really doing much.”
“I do the cooking.”
“Oh that’s right, that was in your file… I forgot,” I say as I shrugged my shoulders. I feel like this whole Sitting job is more of just me making sure they’re taking their pills and doing little else other than providing company. I suppose the company part is important though, I just never figured myself to really be good company.
“I forgot.” Cherie repeated as she shrugged her shoulders.
Without another word, for fear of sticking us into another conversation loop, I follow her into the kitchen. I watch as she gathers different bowls and utensils, all the while wondering what it is that she is planning on preparing. After a bit of silence, I ask.
“Can I help with anything?”
“Can you crack eggs?”
“Yeah,” I say pretty confidently. That sounds like a pretty easy task. I go to the fridge. “…how many?”
“Five.”
“I grab five eggs from a container and cautiously make my way to the marble countertop and set them down beside a bowl. I take a plastic bag from a nearby dispenser and ready an egg for cracking.
Cherie covers her ears with cupped hands and looks away.
“Are you alright?” I say loudly.
“I don’t like the noise,” Cherie loudly replies back, although she is the one with her ears covered and mine are not at all.
I nod in response. Despite the fact that her ears are covered she cringes as each egg cracks open against the bowl. Once finished she lowers her hands and lets out a sigh of relief.
“Is there anything else that bothers you… just so I know for future reference?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Well if there is just let me know in advance, like with the eggs.”
“I don’t like that I can’t leave the house without a Sitter.”
“I’m sorry about that,” I reply as I feel bad for things that are well beyond my control. The government says it is best for everyone. It is meant to stop the instances of Unstables going Aggro in public and killing. Also supposedly, it is for the protection of the Unstable from the groups that seek to harm them out of fear. Although if I saw Cherie on the streets walking, I would never suspect that she was an Unstable. She looks just like any other person. Besides, when an Unstable goes Aggro there is almost always some collateral damage to the public. I suppose some rules regarding the matter are just made to make people feel better and aren’t worth much else.
“People are afraid of people like me though. I don’t know why.”
“People are afraid of anything that is different.”
“Are you afraid of me?”
I look at her. I can see no harmful intent in those kind eyes. Even if I know better… I feel like I should know better. I should have a healthy amount of fear. However, for some reason, perhaps stupidity, I don’t. “I’m not… I’m your caregiver.”
“I’m your caregiver.”