The Werewolf and the Human

You Would Never Come Back?

I looked down at my hands as Jackie explained what happened when I passed out. She finished, and I still was looking at my hands. “So, maybe I do owe him a thank you card,” I said, giving Jackie a smile.

              “You owe him more than that.” Jackie stood up.

              I followed her with my eyes. “What?”

              She walked a few steps away from me. “He took a risk.”

              I tried to stand, but she quickly turned to look at me, and I sat back down. “What risk did he take?”

              Jackie turned back around and started to look out a window I hadn’t noticed in my first assessment of the room. “He offered you a job. He took the chance that you would be good at this job, that you wouldn’t just shun his town.”

              “That’s not a risk,” I stated quietly.

              “Of course, it is,” she said, turning back toward me.

              “Why would it be a risk?” I looked at her knowing I couldn’t follow. I couldn’t follow her physically, and honestly, I was having a hard time following her logic. I wanted to follow but couldn’t. “It’s the same thing as an employer talking about hiring a new employee.”

              She took a step closer to me. “This is different.”

              I tried to roll my eyes, but I got dizzy in the process. “How?”

              “Because this town doesn’t need you.” That was harsh and extremely rude.

              My jaw dropped open. “Excuse me?” I sputtered out.

              “The town doesn’t need you, and they are still willing to make room for you. Instead of arresting you for vandalism, they offer you a job.” She pointed to the door. She was summoning something inside me, or at least that was what she was trying to do. “You need to be a little more gracious.”

              “I am as gracious as I can be.” I looked down at my hands. Wait, why was I upset about this? Why was I punishing myself for this? “This was a job offer. It wasn’t anything more than that. I was as gracious as anyone who is offered a job could be.”

              She turned to face me again. Her eyes burning. “You know that isn’t true.”

              “Jackie, you know me. I’m not the type to just move to a new city because that’s what others want me to do. I couldn’t do that on my own.”

              Jackie turned to look at me for a moment, her eyes seared into my soul, and it hit me harder than even the argument we were having. “This is hardly a city. Even calling it a town seems like a stretch.” I sat in silence for a moment. I sat trying to figure out what was best in that moment. Jackie was the one to break the silence. “There is a puzzle here. A mystery that needs to be solved. You have questions about this. And you’ll always wonder if you go back.”

              “Wondering is better than putting myself in danger of my own curiosity. Yes, some things don’t make sense. Yes, I would like some answers, but I don’t know if I’m willing to risk my life for those answers.” I dropped my eyes for a second before they sprung up to her. “Are you willing to risk my life for those answers?”

              She didn’t say anything. She looked at me and studied my face. She studied the features that I had. The expression I wore. Was she willing to risk my life for those answers? Was she willing to risk my life in the hopes that I would find those answers? She didn’t say anything, and I kept wondering what she could say that would change my mind. Finally, a smile crossed her lips. “You are willing to risk your life for this. I know you. You will decide to come back up here later. It’s better if you do it now.” She paused. She walked over to me and, with her hand, reached out to me. “Unless you can promise me you won’t want to come back ever. You can say definitively you would never come back. You would never wonder. If that’s the case, I’ll get my car, and we can drive away forever. Can you tell me that?”