#mag02

He began as he would continue to for years to come.

“Statement begins”, he said. Cynicism lacing his inhale. Pure investment as he read. It was funny, then, that he identified himself as ‘Head Archivist’. I suppose at the time that’s all he was. That’s all he knew. Do my job, respect my promotion, go home. It’s a pity Elias never let on how truly deep this job goes. Maybe Jon would have run if he knew. He probably would have tried. 

I vividly remember the recording of this statement. I remember wanting to laugh at the way Joshua tried to hide the extent of his inebriation. A youth’s life. Ah, the freedom they hold between their very fingers. The horrors of aging far ahead of them.  

The reality of monsters creeping ever closer.  

I couldn’t tell you how aware Jon was as he read. His eyes locked onto the words with sniper precision. The words passing his lips like they’d been waiting centuries for their release. He only looked at me at the end, when the spell wore off and his defensiveness sprang back to the forefront of his mind. The way he raced to dismiss any aspect he couldn’t physically prove always left me uneasy. Perhaps I had the hindsight to know better. Perhaps I was already jaded from decades of statements on monsters and mysteries. Maybe I simply knew that man was to become just another statistic.  

Do not open. A simple instruction. Joshua had a surprising number of brains, I thought. To avoid disobeying direct, succinct instructions carved into a coffin on mystery origin. Especially when it began to sing. I know a shamefully large collection of people who would do the very opposite. Human nature, I suppose.  

He was admirably creative, too. To resist accidentally unleashing God knows what but making it too damn inconvenient. Freezing a key so that even possession couldn’t overcome the raw effort needed to open the box.  

The old adage rang particularly true for me that evening. ‘Good things come to those who wait’. A good enough thing came to Joshua Gillespie when he had the good sense to wait out his coffin. Anything can blend into the background if you long deeply enough for normality.  

I was grateful Jon shared a fact about himself, even if just in passing. Even if he didn’t know I could hear. Understanding where he can from felt like the beginnings of the bond for us. At least, I like to see it that way. 

The future watcher connecting to his eternally ceaseless listener.