Tap-tap-tap.

He tapped back. She tapped again. He tapped back. Getting up, she put on some clean clothes, tennis shoes, jeans, and a black, Star Wars, sweatshirt. She had seen him wear one like it. He was outside, a few steps from his door, when she opened hers.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hi.”

“What happened to your cheek?”

He had a bandage on it. Fortunately, it was no longer bleeding. Eli was drawn to a bleeding wound, as was a shark to blood in the water. If she were hungry, such a wound could send her into a feeding frenzy.

“Uhhh…I…uh…fell.”

Continuing to walk toward the playground, Oskar passed the jungle gym and sat down on a swing. Eli followed, sitting in the swing next to him. They swung back and forth in silence for a bit.

“Someone did that to you, didn’t they?”

Oskar kept swinging.

“Mmm…yeah.”

“Who?”

“Some…friends.”

“Friends?”

“Well…some guys at school.” He swung faster. “Where do you go to school?”

“Oskar.”

“Yeah.”

“Slow down a little.”

He dragged his feet, looking down at the ground as he did.

“What?”

“You know what.”

Reaching out, she grabbed his hand. He stopped and looked at her. With her other hand, she touched his wound.

“Oskar. Don’t let them pick on you. Do you hear me? Don’t let them.”

He looked at the ground, shaking his head.

“You have to hit back. Have you ever done that?”

A slight shake of his head. “…no.”

“So, start. Hit them back – hard.”

“There’s three of them.”

Eli wasn’t sure why she cared, but she did.

“Use something. Pick up a rock – a stick. Use a weapon of some kind. Hurt them. Don’t hold back. Hit them harder than you dare; then they’ll stop.”

“Yes, but…they’ll…”

“I’ll help you then.”

“But you’re just a girl.”

She knew that’s what he saw, a skinny girl.

“I’m…”

What could she say, I’m not a girl; I’ve never been a girl. I’m not even sure I’m still human.

“I can help you. Trust me. I can do it.”

She squeezed his hand; he squeezed back; as he did, she squeezed harder, giving him some indication of her strength. His eyes widened.

When Eli loosened her grip, Oskar looked down at his hand and then back at her.

“Oh, I want to show you something.”

Taking a folded piece of paper out of his pocket, he unfolded it and smoothed it out; he gave it to her. Eli wrinkled her forehead.

“What’s this?”

“Come over to the light, and I’ll show you.”

“I can see fine; what is it?”

“The Morse code.”

“What’s…the Morse code?”

“Don’t you know anything?”

Eli frowned.

“Sorry. It’s like a telegraph code. We can use it to…like talk to each other through the wall…if you want.”

“Oh, that might be amusing.”

“You mean fun.”

“Yes, fun. It might be fun.”

“You’re a little strange; you know that?”

“Am I?”

“Yeah, but it’s cool.”

“You’ll have to show me what to do, so I’m not strange…OK?”

“Sure.”

“Cool.”

Eli picked up colloquialisms and slang from her helpers like Hakan, but they were adults and didn’t necessarily talk like kids. Besides, Eli rarely talked much with Hakan other than about her need for blood.

Hakan only talked about his need for her.

Oskar and Eli talked, until Oskar had to go in. Back in her apartment, Eli chased Hakan out of the bedroom next to Oskar’s room, and tapped out messages to him. Although she had taped the paper with Morse code to the wall, she learned it after tapping out a few messages, and no longer had to refer to it. She and Oskar exchanged messages, until Oskar had to go to sleep.

When he had, she went into the living room, where Hakan was.

“Do you want to play a game?”

Hakan looked up, amazement on his face.

“A game?”

“Yeah,” she said, which was unusual for her. Normally, she said, “Yes.”

“It might be fun.”

“Fun? When did you ever do anything for the fun of it?”

Eli shrugged. “Puzzles are fun.”

She had never thought about having fun, when she did them; they were more entertaining than fun; but it was the only thing she did that might be considered fun – until she had met Oskar, that is. Talking to him - being with him - was fun.

When she was with him, she felt like a kid; and she hadn’t felt like a kid for two hundred years. At times, she even remembered she’d once been a boy like he was.

She was no longer a boy, but she wasn’t a girl either. It’s just that she looked like one. If she cut her long, black, hair, it was grown back, when she awoke the next night.

She taught Hakan a game she’d known as a kid. It was a silly game, a kid’s game, but it was the only game she knew that the two of them could play. She became angry, when he failed to show enthusiasm for the game. Oskar probably would have liked it; but he was asleep.

She even tickled Hakan, trying to make him laugh, but Hakan didn’t. Oskar laughed. How long had it been since she had laughed? Had she since the change?

Was it Oskar? What was it about Oskar? Hungry for his blood, she had intended to kill him, but she hadn’t. Why hadn’t she?

Was she tired of her life, her existence, caring about nothing but obtaining more blood? Possibly, he reminded herself of the boy she’d been, but physically, they were nothing alike. Oskar had blond hair and blue eyes. She had black hair and eyes so dark that they appeared to be black.

Was it love? Was she capable of love?

Disgusted with Hakan’s lack of enthusiasm for the game, Eli walked into the bathroom, and took a bath, her second in as many days – her second in a year.

She walked out of the bathroom naked, expecting Hakan to be in the bedroom, but he sat staring at the bathroom door.

“Oh, what are you doing out here?”

“You’re beautiful.”

Eli had seen that look in his eye before.

“Thank you.”

“Will you turn around for me?”

“Why?”

“I want to look at you.”

“No; why don’t you go into your room?”

“It’s only my room, when you’re not tapping out messages to that boy.”

“Go to your room. I want to get dressed.”

“If you’ll do this for me, maybe I’ll do something for you.”

After looking quizzically at Hakan, Eli turned 180 degrees, looking back over her shoulder at him. Hakan swallowed and licked his lips.

“Are you hungry?”

Eli turned around, facing him.

“Yes.”

“I’ll do it for you, but you have to do something for me.”

“What?”

“You have to give me one night.”

“OK.”

“I can have it? Lie next to you? Touch you?”

“Yes.”

“Can I…”

“No, no more; but you can do that.”

“Tonight?”

“If you do it for me. You have to do it first.”

Hakan didn’t return.

The next night, Eli heard Oskar tap, E.L.I.

Eli tapped, H.I.

G.O.I.N.G. O.U.T.

C.O.M.I.N.G., Eli tapped.

They met outside the entrance to the apartments.

“You look different. What did you do to your hair? You have white streaks in it.”

Eli ran a hand over her head.

“It’ll go away.”

Hunger did that to her, put white streaks into her hair and drew her skin tight against her bones. Blood fleshed her out, and Hakan hadn’t returned to bring her any.

“What do you want to do?

Sticking his hand into his pocket, Oskar jangled some coins.

“I got paid for delivering the circulars.”

He’d told Eli about the job he had delivering advertising circulars.

“Let’s go to the store. I’ll race you.”

He took off running.

Eli could have caught him; she could have passed him easily; but she hung back, watching him. As hungry as she was, as delicious as he smelled, it took all her will not to fall upon him and rip out his throat. Out of breath, Oskar stopped outside the store.

“Oskar…”

He turned

She stared at his throat; she heard the beating of his heart, saw the pulsing of the blood in his throat. It would be over in a minute. He was just a boy. How many had she killed over the years – too many to count. How foolish of her to think she could have been friends with him. He was food; nothing more.

Reaching for her, Oskar pulled her close, his cheek next to hers.

“I – I…”

Her mouth dropped to his throat. Feeling her fangs grow, she closed her eyes.

But she didn’t bite. Relaxing, she put her arms around Oskar and hugged him back, broke away and stepped back, shaking her head, trying to regain control. It had been so close; she had almost killed him, but as much as she wanted his blood – even now – she wasn’t sure she could live with herself, if she did kill him. She had changed. Meeting Oskar had changed her.

They went into the store; Oskar bought some candy, and joked about how much the clerk looked like a monkey. They both laughed, giggling behind their hands, so the clerk wouldn’t know they were laughing at him.

I was laughing. When’s the last time I laughed?

Eli had a photographic memory, but she couldn’t remember when it had been – before the change?

“Want some?”

Oskar held out some candy.

“I can’t eat candy.”

“You want something else. You look hungry. I’ll buy you a sandwich, if you want, or I’ll fix you one when we get home. If you don’t want to come over, I’ll bring it over to your place. Is your dad at home?”

“No, he went out.” She looked up at him.

They walked home, stopping outside the door to their apartments.

“Oskar, do you like me.”

“Yeah, a lot.”

He was aroused. She had felt his erection pressing against her, when he had hugged her. She knew she turned him on.

“If it turned out I wasn’t a girl…would you still like me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just that. If I wasn’t a girl, would you still like me?”

He shrugged, lowering his eyes, seeming to look inward.

“Yeah…I guess so.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I would still like you. Are you…a guy?”

“It’s…complicated.”

At that moment, a window to Oscar’s living room was opened. His mother poked her head out.

“Ooooskar!”

Eli drew back against the wall. Oskar ran out to where his mother could see him.

“What is it?”

“The show’s about to start.”

“I know.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

“It’s…”

“Go back in. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Before he turned around, Eli slipped away. She needed blood; she had to find out what had happened to Hakan.