The Conductor

“Tyler! Slow down. There’s no need to run.”
Of course he didn’t listen to me, but I didn’t blame him.

It is his first time outside after all.

The stitches have finally healed, however they have left pale scars on his skin.
He will be fine as long as I can keep them hidden.

I watched him spin around, fully taking in his surroundings with astonishment.
I had to stop him, however, when he almost collided with a man and a woman walking together.

“You must slow down, Tyler. You’ll have plenty of time to explore, but I must complete my errands first.”
He gave me a sheepish smile and apologized as we made our way to the market.

The hustle and bustle of the townspeople. Various vendors shouting about their produce.

I had to stop Tyler again from dashing into the crowd.

“Stay close for now. I have to make sure that you’ll be okay here.”
“I’ll be okay! I promise!”

I ignored his statement and held onto his arm as we made our way into the crowd.

We first stopped at a fruit stand occupied by a small old woman – she smiled towards Tyler and gave me a wary eye.
I bought a pound of apples from her and we made our way to the next stand.

The hushed voices return.

“There he is again!”

“Is that his apprentice?”

“I don’t remember anyone moving into town.”

“Why would he work with such an unnerving person?”

“Most likely his next victim.”

“Those people are looking at us and whispering.” Tyler spoke up.

“Ignore them.”

“What do they have to hide to speak at such a volume?”
“They’re cowards. They will not own up to their words.”

We left the crowd in a hurry, most likely adding more fire to their suspicion, walking towards the art vendor.
I purchased the usual materials for the marionettes and quickly left.

Tyler was nowhere to be seen.

“Tyler?!”

I quickly dash through the alleys, hoping to find some trace of him.

What if he’s lost?
What if he got into trouble?

What if he…

I shook those thoughts from my head as I continued my frantic search.
I stopped abruptly when I heard familiar laughter, coming from behind a building.

He was conversing and laughing with the young woman – this was the fourth time I caught them together.

“I still cannot understand why you stay with a man like him.”
“He’s my friend. He’s the closest friend that I have.”

“Is he the only friend that you have?”

There was a moment of silence.

“I think so…”
“Well, that’s no way to live!”

Another moment of silence.

I shouldn’t be eavesdropping. I should be stopping this conversation before something troubling is said!

“I’ll be your friend if you want.”
“Really…? I thought you were already my friend.”

“Well, now we can confirm it. Two friends are better than one, and it’s nice to have a change of scenery, correct?”
“I don’t know…Michael is going to be angry with me for running off. I disobeyed him again.”

“He can’t keep control of you forever, Tyler.”

That is when I decided to step in.

Once again, the woman fled in fear as Tyler looked up at me with guilt.

“I’m sorry for running off.”
I didn’t answer him as I gently grabbed a hold of his arm, leading him back home.

In the corner of my eye, I saw the woman watching us from behind a corner of a nearby building.

| x | x | x |

Work was silent.

Tyler assembled and painted the bodies of the marionettes without hesitation.
However, I could feel the guilt emitting from him.

“I’m not angry with you, Tyler.”
“You’re disappointed in me.”
“I’m not that either.”

He looked up from his work to make eye contact with me.

“…I was worried. I thought that I had lost you.”
“Why would you think that?”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

“I don’t know…”

A small clatter of wood and tools followed by footsteps.
He was standing in front of me, relatively close.

“Are you afraid that I’m going to leave you?”

I didn’t answer.

He moved a little closer.

Our eyes were locked; his eyes had a different light to them – I couldn’t place it – and it was slightly unnerving.

However, the sound of the door opening gave me enough courage to move away from him
A customer – a tall man with a handlebar mustache – entered, and Tyler’s question was never answered.

| x | x | x |

“April 24th,

Tyler’s stitches have completely healed, but there are scars left behind – I have to conceal them now, and the mirrors are still hidden.
There are no noted complications with his body – it is safe to say that the revival was a complete success.

His nightmare comes back every so often, but he has yet to identify the man who ‘ripped out his insides with a smile on his face’.

Perhaps it is someone from his past?
Perhaps that is the way he died?

I still cannot draw any conclusions.

Tyler’s development is still at large. He now has the intelligence of a twenty-one-year-old man, and the mindset of a fifteen-year-old.

The mindset troubles me however.

I can already sense his nature to rebel and that woman that he meets up with doesn't resolve anything.

He doesn’t ask many troubling questions, but I still fear that he will be full of them.

I hope that the decision to let him outside for the first time today would stop those questions for the time being.

For I will never be able to explain to him what his is, and he will never understand.”