The Sinner
You won’t do much sleeping then, either.
“I wish yo
ur insomnia would give you a break.”
“You and me both, but it’s actually useful now. The deadline for the June issue of Art for Life is racing at me like a runaway train.”
Cole was editor-in-chief of his university’s student-produced visual arts magazine—a huge honor for a second-year post-grad.
“I’ll let you go if you’re busy.”
“Nope, I need the break. Plus, I always want to talk to you, Luce.”
Love for my friend flooded me. He never complained, was always kind.
If someone deserves all-consuming love, it’s this boy.
“Well, you’re the smartest person I know, and I have a question. It’s silly, really.”
Silly. God, I was getting tired of that word.
“Shoot,” Cole said.
“Do you believe in reincarnation?”
“Haven’t thought about it.”
“You’ve never been curious?”
He shrugged. “I figure there’s no way to know what happens when we pass on, so there’s no point in serious speculation.”
“But lots of people believe in it, right? There are stories of kids who can speak languages they can’t possibly know. Or people having vivid, detailed memories of past lives, from different eras in history that come to them, maybe…in dreams?”
“I guess. But there’re also stories of white lights and ancestors gathering to welcome them on to…wherever. Like I said, no one knows for sure. It’s not like there’s anyone around to ask.”
Yes and no…
“Right. Okay, one more question. Is there something special about the number eleven? Like, in an occult kind of way?”
“Occult kind of way? What does that mean?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “I just meant, do you know if eleven holds some special meaning. Seven is lucky, thirteen is unlucky and eleven is…?”
“A character in Stranger Things? Cute kid. Bad haircut.”
I snorted a laugh. “I’m being serious.”
“So am I,” Cole said, the silvery-blue of his laptop reflecting in his black, square-rimmed glasses. “But while we’re chatting, this numerology article is telling me that the number eleven represents intuition.” He read from the screen in front of him. “It asks us to look beyond our senses and be receptive to hidden meanings. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, a lot. Actually.”
He read on. “Eleven may also indicate transgressions, indiscretions, and sins.”
“Sins? It says that?”
“Yes, and it talks about being drawn to something unknown. Something unresolved.”
That was the perfect phrase to describe that strange, déjà vu feeling I got when I was around Casziel: something unresolved.