Chapter Seventy-Seven: Spring:

I remember the first spring with Ami. I had to stay in the living realm to see her. It was a challenge to try and slip away from Judith and her spies. She kept a tight leash on me. (She still does believe it or not. I know that she means well, but still…) That didn’t detour me. I still had to try.

So one day in March of 1959, I got up from my desk and walked out. No one was really doing much that day. I think Judith was away on family business. Ha! Judith with a family. I know it’s hard to fathom. But yes, she does have a family. I’ve met her husband, actually. He’s really nice. He doesn’t really talk much though.

Back to my spring with Ami.

They didn’t stop me from walking out. Most of everyone was gone from the palace at the time. I didn’t know and I didn’t care. I just wanted an excuse to get out of my office. Maybe I would find Ami again. I was going to have to try. I just slipped out the back door and made my way out of my kingdom. I didn’t run into anyone trying to stop me. I didn’t look back until I found myself in a back alley in London. I breathed out. Free at last. I causally walked out of the alley.

I learned that Ami was working in a library in London. It didn’t take me long to find her either. I just went on a hunch.

“Excuse me,” I said, stopping an old lady on the street. She turned and looked up at me.

“Do you know where the library is?” I asked.

“Sure, just go down the street, take a left, take another left, and there you are,” she said.

“Thank you so much,” I said. I made my way down the path so pointed out.

I stood in front of those doors for about ten minutes. What was I going to say to her? It had been days since I saw Ami. I didn’t even think that she was going to recognize me. We did only meet once. I don’t think I left that much of an impression.

I stopped in my tracks. Why was I acting like this? I was Lucifer! I was a king! I could have any girl that I wanted. I would get Ami to fall in love with me at any cost. I puffed out my chest and walked into the library.

I found her at the front desk. Ami was checking out a book for a little girl. She looked up and saw me. I tipped my hat.

“Good afternoon, my dear,” I said. Her cheeks turned bright red.

“What are you doing here?” Ami asked. “How did you find me?” I shrugged and walked up to her.

“I just figured I would come here,” I said. “I wanted to see you again. How are you?”

“F-F-Fine,” she said. She wouldn’t look up at me. I frowned.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked. Ami shook her head.

“Then… what’s the matter?” I asked. I tried not to think of the worst. Did she find out who I really was? There was no way. I didn’t even tell her much about myself yet. Ami took me by the hand. I quickly looked up.

“Meet me in the garden in a few minutes,” she whispered. She slipped her hand away from mine. I stood there, staring. Ami turned to the next patron coming towards her.

“Uh… yeah, yeah, yeah,” I said. “Sure.” I turned and walked away from the front desk. I didn’t leave the library though. Instead, I just wandered around and through everything. I was going back to work in my kingdom. I couldn’t risk them noticing that I left my office. They would report back to Judith and her control would be choking me tighter. I didn’t dare to risk that. It wasn’t like I wanted to explore the library or anything. I have tons of books in my own library. I just didn’t want to go home yet.

Ami and I met up in the garden around lunch time. We didn’t speak at first. I caught her glancing over at me. I dropped my shoulders.

“What’s the matter?” I asked. “Did I offend you or something?” Ami looked down at her lap.

“Who are you really?” she asked. I froze.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“You are Lucifer, king of Hell, aren’t you?” Ami asked. Her voice trembled as she spoke. I tried to reach out for her hand, but she pulled it away. I sighed.

“Yes,” I said. “That is me.” Ami stared at me.

“I didn’t lie to you,” I said. “We just met. We didn’t get time to get to know each other.” It felt like the more I spoke, the more I made things worse. She was probably going to avoid me from now on. I couldn’t risk that, but I didn’t know how to sway her otherwise. Ami stared at me with a stern look on her face.

“Are you really evil?” she asked at last.

“No,” I said. “Is that what they are saying about me?” Ami nodded once. I found myself struggling for a response. What just happened here? When did I become the villain in the story of the world? I finally just threw up my hands and dropped them in my lap. Suddenly, Ami just leaned over on me. I about jumped at her sudden movements.

“Uh… W-W-What are you doing?” I asked.

“Shhh,” she said. “I believe you.” Huh? I looked down to see her looking up at me. Any other questions that I had were washed away. I lowered my hand. I don’t know how like she stayed like that, but I knew that I had to see her again.