Lantern

   They walked together in silence for some time. Jaleel in his head, and Chante, wondering what was going on up there. Usually, she needed to drag him out of his apartment kicking and screaming. He hated leaving his place given an alternative. More often than not, she only got in touch with him when she went there. Yet, here he was, as if without a care in the world.

   Jaleel was too busy focusing on what was ahead to allow his mind to wander off. Perhaps it was that desire which continued tugging him through time to somewhere his pursuers still called home. Had escape not been the main reason that he remained in the cold despite its affect?

  Before, his body had difficulty controlling its overachieving temperature. Following the departure of most of those he held dear, Jaleel’s body refused to retain any heat. His only option was to fully embrace what was left, and leave everyone wondering how he survived. As extensive as his time travel was, Jaleel knew just how many would make it through the day. Jaleel had no time to waste on those temporary fixtures.

  Names Jaleel would rather forget call to him from the tombstones they are etched. Depending on whom you asked, they were all either lost friends or victims of his. A couple of them might have even been where those groups crossed paths. For Jaleel, they were some of the many roads he followed through time.

  Chante observed him wind his way through the stones to his most accustomed kneeling place in front of one. Of all the graves here, he annually visited this one first. When she asked about it, Jaleel would smile and reply,

“The woman in white who brought darkness to my life.”

  Most found those cryptic responses to be evidence of his madness while they just drove her mad. Not mad as in the way most thought him, but maddening in how she thought it showed him more sensible than most of them. He grieved his loss as if he lost a part of himself back then, like an amputee with phantom pains. Generally, others dismissed their wrongdoings and emphasized those committed against them. Jaleel seemed to accept responsibility for his actions along with a few perpetrated against him and wallowed in whatever blame anyone placed on his shoulders. A rare spark in a world growing dark.