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Six days. Six entire sunrises and sunsets had passed, and no one had seen hide nor hair, so to speak, of Mr. Hyde
This gave me quite a gratifying feeling, I admit, and even Poole mentioned not seeing him.
"Mr. Hyde is an...interesting character, sir..."
I laughed out loud. "Do not worry, Poole. I will not be offended, no matter what you may say of him. He deserves it at times."
"If...If you do not find my asking impolite," he said timidly, handing
me my suit for Emma's party that afternoon, "You do not seem to like him
much
yourself...Why do you see him so often? Excluding recently, of course..."
"He had a part in my research," I informed him almost matter-of-factly.
"But you needn't concern yourself. With luck, you may not see him for a
much
longer span."
I took the suit. "Thank you. I shall be in my chamber, changing, should I be needed."
I could not help but chuckle at the fact that I could once more use that expression, and mean only that I was about to dress in different clothing.
~~~
"Won't it be lovely," I mused audibly to myself, resting the suit on the head of my bed, "To see all of your dear friends from the Board once more!"
I sighed as I moved around the bed to the mirror, left of the bureau,
at the opposite side of the room. "Ah, but there is one whom it
will
be lovely to
see...She is an angel for not having left you, an angel!"
I peered more closely in the mirror as I began unbuttoning my shirt,
staring at every line of my face, every fleck of colour in my eyes, and
knowing that
there were secrets behind them that I alone would know...
"And you, Henry Jekyll..." I inquired, slipping an arm out of my shirt, "What are you?"
...And, much to my astonishment, I received not only a reply, but a rather tuneful one at that.
'Henry Jekyll,
You're a devil ...'
The melodious retort was followed by a low laugh which seemed to ricochet
off the walls of my mind...It wasn't a memory of words once
said...No...It was as though a voice was speaking to me directly, and
somehow, I knew exactly whose voice it was.
I winced, not in surprise, but rather in pain...It is impossible to
say, or even guess, what the cause may have been, but I can tell you most
certainly that
his every word sent a pulsating agony through my body.
"Edward Hyde?!" I cried aloud, squeezing my fist in a futile effort to restrain the anguish.
'Oh, Henry, what a marvelous composition!'
"Why...How?...What do you want of me?!" I could no longer stand, and fell crashing against the dresser, stumbling down to the floor.
'Only that you remind me to show my appreciation to your...colleagues...for
that clever little invention. I have never heard the truth delivered in
such
an appealing manner!'
"You'd best make your return to the pits of hell, before you're missed!" I hissed through clenched teeth, on my hands and knees.
'You are ill-mannered enough with everyone else, Henry, you needn't
becomesnippy with yourself!...Now, where was I? Oh, of course: Showing
gratitude...There is a matter I wish to discuss with you. Your last
statement is more than perfect proof of the way you try to make it appear
as though
you loathe me...which, as we both know, you do not. Not entirely.
And if you believe that I hate you, you are much mistaken. You are exceedingly
dull, one cannot overlook that...But nonetheless, you have provided
me with a rather nice frame in which I may perform my...explorations...In
truth,
it isn't a bad bit of work at all!...We have a mutual love of exploration,
Henry; it is simply that our discoveries are in very different directions...No
matter, I would not be in a position to be "researching" anything
without you, and I wish to express my thanks...'
He paused, perhaps considering how he should continue...I had noticed his voice was growing steadily louder, and I felt I could bear little more...
'Every person on this earth is irritated...aggravated...annoyed with
one thing or another...Even towers of perfection, such as yourself...'
he snickered.
'I have decided to make it my task to...eliminate a few of these
things which you find disturbing...'
"What?!" I screamed.
'You mustn'thave these distractions!'
"You wouldn't!" I tried with every fiber of my being to concentrate
on something else, something resplendent, something in complete contrast
with
Edward Hyde...
An image of Emma, surrounded by the bouquets was what first came to
mind...but the more I tried to focus on the picture, the more difficult
it became
to see...In a flash, the gleam in her eyes was a shimmer of light flickering
off the edge of knife...The snowy white lilies were no more, in their place
was what seemed to be a shirt sleeve, and every red rose a staining
droplet of blood....
'Wouldn't I?!' he returned as though my previous remark was intended
to be humorous. 'Oh, don'tworry, don'tworry...We won'tbegin with
anything colossal. It would probably be most sensible to initiate
with the small things...'
"Why don't you leave me?!?" I shouted, no longer able to think...
'You know...this time, I believe I will. You must prepare for your
little party, and I must prepare for...well...'he trailed off into
another sinister
laugh. 'Enjoy yourself, Dr. Jekyll. Run along and play, like a good
boy...'
With that, he retreated back from whence he came.
I opened my eyes, which had been closed the entire time. I imagine,
though, that I would not have been able to see though what felt like the
slashing
apart of my very soul...
I saw that the vase that had been on the dresser had fallen, shattering
into a thousand pieces, a few of which remained embedded in the skin of
my
hands. I brushed some of them off, then used my shirt to dry the tears
which moistened my face.
"Sir?" I heard Poole's urgent shouting and knocking outside of the door. "Sir!"
"Yes...Poole...?" I managed between uneven gasps.
"Are you all right, sir? It sounded as though you were speaking to someone, but I heard no one else..."
"No...No, I simply...fell...and I..."
"Are you injured, sir?"
"A bruise...here and there....nothing serious..."
"Is there any way I can be of assistance? Please..."
"Just....just a moment, Poole..."
I used a drawer handle to right myself, and after opening the door, sat upon my bed, putting my arm back in my shirt...
"Oh, sir...!" I looked up as Poole entered. He was aghast, and rightfully
so. After a moment, he turned away quickly, trying to find some trivial
task to
engage in, and immediately saw the remnants of the vase...
"I'll get it, sir..."
"Leave it..." I snapped, suddenly irritable.
"Sir..?" he questioned, still gathering bits of glass.
"LEAVE IT!" I bellowed.
He looked a bit shaken. "As you wish, sir..."
I put my face in my hands, and I heard the door close as he left.