Weeks passed...
Elio continued to work at the nightclub, and each day was a struggle. His body was betraying him slowly as each day passed. He started to lose weight due to his declining appetite. His skin grows paler, and his breath comes in short, painful gasps, mainly when he exerts physical effort. The customers and the staff at the club barely noticed, too caught up in their own lives to see the fragility in his.
But there were moments—quiet, still moments—when Elio allowed himself to imagine "what it would be like to die." He would picture his funeral, a small but modest gathering. Then there's Grimm in the picture, the man who captured Elio's interest. He would be there, standing beside the coffin and paying his respects. Elio would leave the world without fanfare, tearful goodbyes, or regrets. It was just a normal passing, like the flicker of a candle's flame before it extinguished. It was morbid, but the thought of that one single person being there in his wake gives him peace, facing the idea of death without fear.
"Elio!" The sudden call from his manager put Elio back in reality. "Table five! There's a spilled drink there; make sure it's clean before the VIP enters!"
"On it!" He replied.
Elio wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling the sticky residue of the nightclub's chaotic energy cling to his skin. He went to table five with a cloth and a bucket. He bent over the floor and scrubbed away the spilled drink. Elio cannot deny that his body is betraying him slowly; he can feel it. His breath came in short, painful gasps while cleaning, but he kept pretending everything was fine. He has to.
However, that night, someone did notice him.
Grimm, the funeral shop owner who mysteriously pops up at Shallowmoore Alley one day, stands at the bar's edge. His black suit seemed to swallow the light around him but maintained a solemn air of elegance.
Grimm's stunning, sliver eyes scanned the area briefly before landing on Elio.
"So, you're working here?" Grimm called; his voice was deep and soft like the rustle of dry leaves being swept by the wind.
Elio's heart skipped a beat. He turned around to the familiar voice.
"Grimm...?"
Elio panicked. He stood up despite the dizziness and tried to be presentable before speaking to the man. "What are you doing here?"
"I've been meaning to check in," Grimm replied, his eyes glinting with something that could have been sympathy—or was it inevitability? "I wanted to see how you were doing."
Elio was a bit confused. "But why? And how did you know I'm here?"
"You mistakenly wrote your workplace address instead of your home address on the purchase agreement," Grimm explained while Elio blinked in disbelief.
"Oh, is that so? I'm sorry...it was an honest mistake on my part..."
"It's okay." Grimm glanced around the room as if he was observing. Then he turned his gaze at Elio. He looks weak, but he's still holding up.
"How are you?" Grimm asked.
Elio didn't answer right away. Instead, he raised the bucket to his right and wiped his left hand again, "Thankfully, I'm still here." He said finally; his words sounded like a lie even to himself.
Grimm studied him for a moment, then nodded. "I wanted to try some of your drinks. Do you mind joining me?"
Elio blinked twice. Slowly, his face was gleamed with excitement. "D--do you mind me joining you? Are you sure?"
"Of course," Grimm answered, already entertained by Elio's excited reaction. "Elio, wasn't it?" Grimm's voice was deep, smooth, and oddly comforting. It had an edge, but none of that felt dangerous like the other customers he encountered before. It felt...soothing, strangely.
"Yeah," When Grimm mentioned his name, Elio couldn't help but feel his cheeks getting warmer when this man mentioned his name. "You could sit there. I'll get you something, maybe a light drink?"
Grimm smiled. It was warm but elusive. "Sure. But I prefer something strong if that's allowed."
"Okay, right away."
Elio handed the order to the counter and waited for the requested drink. It was a mix of intense wine and something else he couldn't recognize.
"Here's your order." Elio handed out the drink. As he did that, he couldn't help but notice how the older man looked at him as if he was scanning every detail from head to toe.
"I didn't expect to see you here," Elio said, trying his best to sound casual as he spoke. "You didn't look like someone who's into a place like this."
Grimm leaned back in the chair as he sipped the drink. He glanced around the nightclub, where the music thumped in his ears, and the air was thick with sweat, alcohol, and perfume. "Neither did I, to be honest. But I did not come here for this," Grimm slightly raised his hand with the drink, "I came here for...something else."
Elio fixed his gaze at Grimm, his eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"
Grimm's eyes locked onto Elio's, which surprised the young man. "It makes me wonder. You are dying, and yet you are here, still working. Why?"
Elio looked at Grimm for a long time as if there was something beneath the surface that he had never fully acknowledged. "I'm here because... I'm just trying to survive. That's all I'm doing right now."
"But... are you okay with that?"
Elio eventually confessed, his voice barely above a whisper as he uttered the words. "Honestly, I...don't."
Grimm observed him for a moment; his gaze was fixed on him. "I understand," he replied softly. "But I can see now that you're just waiting for everything to end. That's quite dangerous if you're gonna ask me. Waiting for death to come instead of living while you still can is like...a planned suicide."
Elio laughed bitterly, though it didn't reach Grimm's eyes. He did not want to admit it, but Grimm had seen something in him, something he didn't dare to acknowledge: loneliness.
Grimm took another sip of his drink and then set it down, his eyes never leaving Elio's. "Do you ever think about what happens after? After you die?"
Elio swallowed hard. "I don't know. I don't have time to think about that stuff." Elio lowered his gaze, trying to be honest with himself and Grimm. "That time when I went to your shop, the only thing in my mind was to prepare for everything. I have been alone for quite some time, but it hasn't bothered me. Sometimes, maybe. But when I think about it now, there's a tightness in my chest that I can't seem to comprehend..."
"That's fear." Grimm leaned back in the chair, his eyes never leaving Elio. "Fear doesn't disappear if you keep pretending it's not there. It will fester you beneath the surface until it finds a crack to slip through..."
Grimm said these things to Elio without hesitation. For the first time in a long while, Elio let go of the suffocating fear that had held him in place. He let the conversation flow about what he truly feels, about his thoughts, about death. It fears him. He did not know what to do. The tears started to form in the corner of his eyes, but he couldn't let himself cry in front of the man he barely knew.
Grimm put away the half-drank glass of wine mix off his hand. He could sense the younger man's silence while trying to weigh the words. Grimm knew that Elio hadn't thought of those things before until that moment. He can see how the young man had been so focused on surviving and getting through each day that he hadn't permitted himself to live.
Then, in the middle of Elio's moment of silence, he felt Grimm's hand over his, creating a comforting presence that let Elio's mind be at peace. And said to Elio, "I'm so sorry if it seems like I'm intruding on your personal life."
"I--it's okay. It doesn't bother me." Elio's pale cheeks somehow turned red. "Thank you for your visit and being a good listener."
"You're welcome. After all, I promised to assist you with anything as long as possible." Grimm's gaze moved to Elio, locking his silver eyes into the younger man again. "After all, you captivated me the moment I first saw you at my shop..."
Elio felt his heart race. Then he realized he was already clutching his chest, trying to stop it from beating too fast and pumping a generous amount of warm blood that could be felt in his cheeks. Captivated is...kind of a strong word...he said to himself.
But there was something oddly comforting in the way Grimm spoke to him.
Elio couldn't explain it.
But there's also a sense of lightness he hadn't experienced before. He didn't feel as consumed by the disease inside him. He felt a sense of peace for the first time in a long while.
Grimm's presence had brought him something unexpected...
But in a good way.
-----
That same evening, Grimm sat alone in his dimly lit office, feeling disconnected from the world around him. He was so focused on running his fingers over the handwritten words of an old journal that he did not seem to care about the time he spent reading. He scanned the text with his eyes, searching for clues to shed light on some questions racing in his mind.
But for some reason, his thoughts suddenly drifted in somewhere.
Or someone.
Beside Grimm was an hourglass, almost halfway through its cycle. He watched its grains trickle down like a countdown, which reminded him of a person...
Elio.
Grimm's hand reached for the hourglass; his fingers grazed in it. Then he turned his gaze toward the clock on the wall, the seconds ticking away, but his mind was elsewhere.
While Grimm was in the middle of his thought, one of his staff entered the room and handed him the accomplishment report for the day.
"By the way, Mr. Grimm..." The staff politely added, "Mr. Adder called a while ago. He requests a status report about the additional staff he asked the other day."
Grimm's fingers drummed lightly on the desk, his thoughts drifting back to Elio.
"Tell him I've been considering a few possibilities," Grimm replied, his voice steady, betraying none of the inner conflicts within him. "...and tell him not to rush me. Or else I won't give him any updates."
"That will be noted." The staff politely exits. The door closed.
Grimm stood up from his desk, his gaze lingering on the hourglass. It reminded him of how quickly things could change and time could slip away.
"Maybe," Grimm muttered, "Elio is worth the risk."