Time After Time

It was still dark when Rose opened her eyes. She was immediately bugged by the fact that she got her hand stuck on something, but then she realised that her hand was stuck in Gustav's hand. She smiled in the dim of faint light from the lamp beside the table. She sat in silence for a while. It was quiet. So very quiet she could hear everything; the sound of Lestat's body brushed against the bed sheet; the sound of clock ticking outside the room; the sound that Si made when he moved in his sleep; the sound of Ben's arm fell against the side of his face, upon the blankets; the sound of wind that brushed the trees outside; the mumbling sound that Fraser made, followed my similar mumble by John in their sleeps, while they sound really alike; the sound that Gustav made while he nuzzled to his pillow; and finally the sound of herself breathing.

It was a strange silent, an absolute peace, a wicked feeling of being the only thing with consciousness in the face of earth.

Rose breathed and sat. She kissed the back of Gustav's hand softly, admiring his long fingers and muscles below his knuckles before she put his hand next to him and walked out from the bedroom.

She made herself a pot of tea and sat on the veranda. Sun wasn't rising yet and the air was cool. There was only soft blue light that fell on everything outside the house; roof, grass, trees, mountains and hills at distance, and her own toes. She hugged herself, purring happily when she realised that her shirt was so comfortable. She was half asleep with the sound of bird from the distance as lullaby before she realised that someone was sitting next to her.

“Can I have a cup of tea too, please?” Gustav asked.

Rose opened her eyes widely and nodded before she took another cup to pour tea on, too sleepy to answer. Gustav mumbled an unclear 'thank you' before he sighed and spoke, softly, maybe half-asleep.

“I did this a lot, you know. When we were touring on Europe by van... I was the first who woke up because I need to pay for parking fee. There was nobody awake in town—a town somewhere in Europe. I felt like I own the world. Now I get to share the world with nobody awake on it with you,” he said before he sipped his tea slowly.

Rose stared at him sleepily.

“Do you mind?” she said in hoarse voice.

“Not at all. You can share this world with me.”

And then they sat there in silence for a very long time.


After the sun rose, they went back to bed, where Gustav held Rose's hand again before he closed her eyes.

Rose chuckled and she whispered.

“It's okay, Gustav, you don't need to hold my hand anymore. I'm not afraid of the Woman in Black again. There's sun rising outside.”

But he didn't answer. Rose had no idea whether he was already asleep or he just refused to listen. He kept holding her hand until she fell back into her sleep.


“Can I say something?” Rose shouted against the sound of Swedish House Mafia's “Don't You Worry” that blared from the stereo.

Gustav shouted back at her, “Sure, Rose, go ahead.”

“Do travelling on land usually consisted of sitting on the van all day long?”

“Yes.”

“Exactly.”

“Of course.”

“Absolutely.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Rose groaned before she buried her face on her thighs, “I'm so sorry, guys, but apparently I haven't build the skill to do nothing in a trip to Nowhereville.”

Fraser, who was driving, laughed as he turned down the volume of the stereo,“We're going to Goulburn to see the big concrete lamb. It's not that far. It's not ten hours journey.”

“Do you mean ten hours journey exists?” Rose moaned and Young Guns laughed.

It was a sunny day when they had passed almost two hours on the road, watching the tiny city, populated by only two hundred thousands citizen, constructed by parking lots, tiny parks, little houses with low ceilings and red bricks, and new shops on old buildings slowly turned into different little houses with shops on old buildings that are less in uniform. Slowly, the little houses and shops turned into bushes, meadows, and creeks.
When Rose decided to ask question, it was all meadows and bushes outside. They could see horses, lambs, and cows eating grass on the distance. It was a sunny day so some horses were wearing some kind of horse coat that covers their back but left their legs exposed to the sunlight. Some of them had coat that also covers their necks, some of them didn't. Rose was telling Gustav about how in autumn, where a lot of rain fall, the horses will be wearing some kind of rain coat that looked pretty hilarious since they are horses. Fraser was driving and couldn't be bothered with earphone plugs on his ear, just like John, only John didn't drive, he was just sitting and watching the view outside.

Ben and Si were playing games. Twenty minutes ago, their game was named 'What you can do with Rose's hair, tell as many things as possible, the person with more things, and it means more imagination, wins'. Fifteen minutes ago, their game was waiting who fell asleep first and trying to put in order who will sleep first and who will sleep last. In ten minutes, they suddenly talk about what would happened if Fraser were the last person who sleep and then they have to die very awkward death in the middle of nowhere (“Probably crushed on a group of horses with coat somewhere,” Ben gave detailed description). For the last five minutes, what they did was trying to make a mind picture of Lestat, who looked pretty happy considered he couldn't do anything on the car beside stick his tongue out and panting like a dog, if the canine has no fur at all.

When they reached Goulburn, Fraser said he was tired and he wanted to take a little nap. Everyone was asleep, including Lestat, so Rose walked out of the caravan and watching the quiet town sleeping in front of her while she drank water from a bottle.

It was a hot day and Rose was thinking about going to a building with air conditioner when she saw Si woke up and walked out from the van.

“Good afternoon, Si. Did you have good nap?” she greeted him.

Si yawned and nodded, “I'm just hungry now. Can we go get a lunch or something?” He yawned again as he stretched his hands.

Rose raised her eyebrows. She was nodding as well, “Sure, we can go somewhere to get food. Should we wake up the guys so they can have lunch too?”

Si shook his head, “They will be alright. Just let them know that we're going on a quest for lunch—they're not seven.”


After sending message to everyone ('Si and I are away for food quest. If you want some lunch too, let us know. Rose.'), Si and Rose walked to a little quiet fish and chips parlour. Si ate one and half portion of fish and chips while Rose seemed to be enjoying the process of watching Si eats rather than eating her part herself. When they finished, they bought two cans of cold Mountain Dew and they sat outside, on the pavement, hiding within an old building's shadow while they chatted.

Si was telling Rose about how once they went into a van tour and he was horribly hungry.

“Yeah, I remember I was desperate a lot of time because there was nothing to eat. So I just... sort of... rummage into our old take aways and try to find anything to eat. It was desperation, basically.”

Rose made serious expression before she muttered, “Maybe we can stock bread and Nutella in the van so when someone is suddenly hungry, at least there's something to eat.”

Si laughed, “You really are like a mother, Rose. It's not like I'm dying or something, but, yeah, hunger never feels really good—unless you're Sherlock Holmes who say things like, 'I think better when I'm hungry.'”

Rose chuckled. They sighed, sipping their cold Mountain Dew and wiping sweat off their foreheads.

“You looked really calm today. Well, generally, calmer than usual. Is that because you're hungry?” Rose mumbled.

“I look calm?” Si shrugged.

They were still sitting on the pavements, watching the city asleep while the sun was shining brightly in the sky. Rose was imagining that somehow they got lost in a dimension where people live at night and sleep at noon, maybe because people are no longer people and they are now vampire, and Simon and her are the only two humans left on the face of earth—the only two humans left who can enjoy the sunlight and the silence of the day.

Si stared at the dried trees at the other side of the road when he spoke. It was no more than a vague mumble but it was so clear at the same time.

“I don't know if you know this or not, but... I kind of feel like I need to be happy for people. Specifically, the guys. I mean, they're my friend, but the majority of the time, they're like... a really serious bunch of people that needs icebreaker all the time? I mean, you know Gus. Always trying to be better and good-mannered. And we have John too, who's obviously a tough nut—Fraser's okay and Ben is definitely a blessing.

“Of course, the majority of the time, I enjoy being happy. I love how everyone laugh and I kind of feel like we become one when I make the guys laugh. But, you know, I'm not one hundred percent happy baby that has the ability to entertain people all the time. Sometimes, I need a rest from being hilarious. Maybe this is one of the time where I'm taking my rest, because they're all sleeping now and I'm just with you. I don't mean, like, you doesn't matter or something... it's more like... I can trust you with the fact that I have this side too. We're friend and even though you're not my friend as long as the guys, somehow I feel really comfortable around you, so I think I can let my guard down when I near you.”

Si sighed a long sigh, but then he managed to chuckle in the end of his explanation.

Rose was flattered but she was also confused. “Why are you telling me this, Si?”

Si shrugged, “Because I just know you will accept me for who I am—just like you do to Gus. That's kind of like thing that a mother does, right?”

She smiled and then landed a kiss on his cheek. He blushed a little in shock before he smiled back at her.

Goulburn was still sleeping.


When they were back, everyone was still sleeping. Unless Lestat. He lied down on his dog chair, sleepy and thirsty. Rose took him out, let him eat and drink before she watched Lestat running around, trying to catch lizard while Rose was laughing with Si.

Leisurely, on that slow, sleepy day, the sun set while they continue to moved.

Rose was sitting at the back of the van, her hair was blown by the wind from opened window. The hot day turned gradually into cool, soothing evening when the bright sunlight turned into nice soft dim with shades of orange. She was staring at the view outside before she saught Si was staring at her. It was a different stare—Si that Rose knew before they went out to get lunch at Goulburn and Si that Rose knew after that. There was insecurity with the reality where you give someone else's a piece of yourself and Rose understand that. So she was completely flattered by the fact that somehow Simon Mitchell had choose to give her a piece of him—and now he stared at her like he wanted to make sure that she could keep that piece of him safely with her. And she wanted to let him now that she can.

So Rose smiled.

And Si smiled back.