Rafael hesitantly walked to the phone. He picked up the receiver and put it to his ear. His friends looked at him in silence, trying in vain to perceive a sound on the other side of the line. No speakerphone function on this device!

Rafael heard a crackling voice coming out of the handset. “Leonard, is that you? I was getting worried!”

Rafael had trouble knowing if the person on the other end of the phone was a man or a woman. He gathered his thoughts before answering in a hesitant voice: “Excuse me. It's not Leonard, I'm his nephew.”

A few seconds of silence passed, as if the voice needed to think, then it resumed: “Rafael is it? This is Paulina speaking. Where is your uncle, why is he not answering my messages?”

“I don't know,” Rafael replied increasingly worried, “He wasn't at our appointment and there's no sign of him at his house.”

“What has that idiot gotten himself into again,” Paulina grumbled. “He was supposed to spend his vacation on proofreading his thesis...”

Rafael frowned, he didn't like the way Paulina was talking. He remembered now that she had never been very nice to his uncle. Why he put up with it always has been a mystery. “What can we do?” he asked her. “Do we go to the police?”

“That's probably the thing to do.” Paulina agreed. “Although it would probably be better to first ask the old fart if he knows where he is. Leonard goes to see him almost every day...”

“Who?” Rafael questioned.

“Alek Dimavski,” dropped Paulina. “An old friend from Russia so to speak.”

Rafael let his gaze pass over his friends who had listened to what they could of the conversation. He had promised to have a drink with Jay but under the circumstances... His friend would understand if he postponed it for another time. He really hoped it was just a false alarm and nothing serious had happened to his uncle.

“Can I come with you?” Rafael asked.“I'm worried about my uncle, this whole thing isn't like him.”

“Okay,” Paulina replied simply. “We'll meet at the nursing home in twenty minutes, we have to hurry to arrive before the end of the visiting hours. I'll send you the address.” She gave Rafael her cell phone number and hung up immediately after.

Rafael carefully put the red handset back on its base. A true relic this thing. His glance then returned towards his friends. “Sorry Jay, this look like more serious than I thought, we'll have to postpone our plans.”

“That's okay, man. Do what you have to do.” Jay dismissed casually. “Besides, I've got two nice girls to keep me company, I should be able to survive without you.”

Ilona reacted right away: “Actually, I'd rather go with him. It's been a long time since I've been on a motorcycle ride. What do you say, Rafael? You and me, like in good old days.”

Rafael froze, unable to conjure up the image. He said carefully, “I don't think it's a good idea. Paulina is only waiting for me, and the nursing home probably limits the number of visitors.”

“To hell with that Paulina!” Ilona exclaimed. “Who knows what that woman is up to? She may even be involved in your uncle's disappearance for all we know.”

Rafael was speechless. Where did this come from? It was ridiculous. Would Ilona be... jealous? No. He shook his head to get rid of that idea. Paulina was more than twice his age, and Ilona had left him. He was losing his mind.

“I said no,” Rafael retaliated in a harsher voice than intended. “You're just going to embarrass me in front of my uncle's friend, what's the point?”

He instinctively contracted his jaw, ready to endure the inevitable explosion of his ex in front of what she had surely considered as an affront. Surprisingly, Ilona settled for staring at him with contained fury. After a few seconds of silence, Rafael finally added “Now, everyone out, I have to go.”

Once at the bottom of the building, he quickly bid farewell to his friends before leaving on his motorcycle. Towards the nursing home.

He easily found the address. The building stood proudly in the middle of a green space decorated with trees and flower beds. The white walls and the big windows, accompanied by this tamed nature, gave a false impression of luxury undoubtedly appreciated by the heirs of the residents. Rafael, however, found the place lifeless. No blade of grass was sticking out, no trace of animals, hardly some birds flying here and there. A striking difference compared to the rusticity of the park in which he ran every day.

Leaving his motorcycle in the parking lot, he went on the wide gravel path that led to the entrance. The doors were imposing, even more than the rest. An illusory symbol for the quality of care this place offered. Palliative care...

Rafael was trying to distinguish something behind the opaque glass of the doors when he heard a noise behind him. A car had just entered the parking lot, probably Paulina. Indeed, the tall, brown-haired woman soon got out of the car, cursing. Her bag had caught on the gearshift when she tried to get out. Rafael told himself that she had not improved with age, but prudently kept that thought to him.

“Hi Rafael,” Paulina said as she approached him. “I haven't seen you in a long time, you're a man now. And how much you look like Leonard!”

Her words were simple and direct but Rafael had the impression that they had a hidden meaning. A meaning he could not understand, as if they did not speak the same language. Notably, he noticed a strange glint in the woman's eyes when she called him a man.

He didn't like that.

Trying to concentrate himself on his uncle's disappearance he asked, “This Mr Dimavski, how does he know my uncle? ”

“The old fart?” Paulina laughed unnaturally before continuing. “Leonard picked him up after his last expedition to Russia. His village was destroyed by a private military company, he's the only survivor. He wouldn't have made it without your uncle's help. A real Samaritan, that one!”

Rafael felt the hairs on his arms bristle, and it wasn't from the cold. “A private military company?!”

“Oh yes,” Paulina resumed without thinking about it further. “A turf dispute from what I could gather. The multinational company for which the military worked wanted to exploit the hydrocarbons that were there. The villagers refused all the proposed agreements so...”

Unacceptable agreements, no doubt. Rafael tried to calm down. This was on the other side of the world wasn't it? It was for local resources, no way that it's related to my uncle's disappearance. And there was nothing about it at his apartment.

He was worried about Leonard, sure, but this private military company thing? It literally gave him the creeps. Did his uncle usually get involved in this kind of thing? Was there more to it than just a missing person story? Rafael had the disturbing impression that his uncle had a secret life.

Paulina snapped him out of his thoughts: “Enough of the chitchat, it's getting late. We'd better hurry. Especially if we have to go to the police later!”

With these encouraging words, they entered the nursing home. The receptionist checked them into her file and called a nurse to guide them to the dining room where most of the visits took place. The nurse had a fat body and a smiling face. Her short red hair highlighted the small stones she wore as earrings. She came to greet them. “Hello, welcome to the Rose Nursing Home. Who are you here to see?”

"Alek Dimavski," Paulina replied without bothering to greet her in return.

The nurse blushed and returned to the hostess at full speed under the stunned eyes of the two visitors. They whispered frantically for a moment before the nurse slipped away. “I'm so sorry,” the receptionist said, grabbing her phone. “I'll call someone else.”

Paulina and Rafael exchanged an eloquent look. “What's this about? ” Rafael asked in a low voice.

“I don't know,” replied Paulina who looked as surprised as he was. “It wasn't like this the last time I was here.”

Rafael assessed her with his eyes. “When was the last time you were here?”

“About a year ago I think,” Paulina answered, confirming Rafael's suspicions, “He's pretty boorish, maybe he's stalking her? I've heard that some men have a thing for redheads...”

Yes, she definitely had a particular tone when she talked about men.

Another nurse soon arrived. This one was thinner, and especially much older. Her wrinkled face and the curly white hair that surrounded her face was more likely to put her on the resident side than the staff side. “Hello, sorry for the inconvenience, my name is Gwendoline,” the woman introduced herself.

“That's okay,” Rafael replied, “Is there an issue?”

The nurse motioned for them to follow her and guided them down a hallway before answering, “No, no problem. It's just that some of the young nurses are... impressionable.”

“Really?” Paulina reacted with disdain. “What could possibly impress them about that old fart?”

“Impressing may not be the right word,” the nurse said with a sidelong glance. “It's more like... they're afraid of him.” She was silent for a moment, then added, “Based on his vitals he should have been dead for several weeks.”

Paulina raised an eyebrow and Rafael couldn't help but exclaim, “What? How is that possible?”

The nurse shrugged. “We don't know.”

“The old man was always a tough cookie,” Paulina commented.

The situation was becoming increasingly strange. Paulina's explanations had not satisfied Rafael's curiosity. How exactly had his uncle met this man in the first place? They arrived in a large dining room, and the old nurse hurriedly settled them at a table. “I'll go get him,” she said. “I'll be back in a moment.”

Rafael sat down gratefully. He felt like he hadn't stopped running around today. He was definitively in no hurry for the nurse to come back. This Mr Dimavski should be dead, she said... how could he help us? He mechanically took his phone out of his pocket to check his messages. Jay had just sent him one with a picture. It showed Tiffany and Ilona sharing a drink.

Jay: “They're BFFs now.”

Rafael: “Oo and you're holding the candle?”

Jay: “No, I'm fine. I got Tiffany's number and she even gave me gingerbread!”

Rafael: \o/

The sound of a medical walker made him look up from his screen. The nurse was back with a decrepit old man. His hair was thin and sparse, his skin was dotted with withered brown spots, and he was so skinny you wondered how he could stand. When he saw Paulina, the old man smiled foolishly, which allowed Rafael to see that he was missing most of his teeth.

Alek Dimavski, since it was him, dragged himself to them and took a chair with the help of the nurse. After that, she promptly slipped away. “Hi Paulina, it's been a long time since you came to see me,” said Alek with an accent you could cut with a knife. “Did you miss me much?”

“The less I see of you, the better I feel, old fart,” Paulina replied to his face. “You speak English now? ”

“I learned!” Alek said proudly. “There's not much else to do in this house of the dead.” Then he let out a loud laugh that echoed throughout the room. Rafael was surprised that such a sonorous voice could come out of this puny old man.

“You promised to be there for me,” Alek continued accusingly. “And I have to wait until I'm halfway across to see your ass? Leonard's chicken, but at least he's loyal!”

“That's why I came,” Paulina said, ostensibly ignoring the attack. “Do you know where he is? He's been missing for several days.”

Alek looked at her in silence, thoughtful. “Is that why he's here?” He asked, pointing to Rafael. “Is that his son? He looks just like him.”

“My name is Rafael,” replied the interested party, a little annoyed that they were talking about him as if he wasn't here. “I'm his nephew, nice to meet you.”

Alek's toothless smile returned to his face. “The kids here, they talk without waiting for permission. I don't know how your society manages to not crumble.” Alek then muttered something and made a strange motion with his hand in the air. “Um, he has potential. With everything that's going on right now, maybe he'll become somebody.”

“Have you seen Leonard?” Paulina asked impatiently, at the same time that Rafael threw out: “What are you talking about, what's going on right now?”

Alek looked at both of them, laughing. “I haven't seen Leonard since last week. Maybe he found himself a new babe to hang around. That would teach you a lesson, right Paulina?” Rafael was surprised to see her blush up to her ears. She didn't have time to answer before Alek added with a sneer: “Don't be sad, moya dorogoia. Come to see me a little more often and I can show you how a real man could comfort you.”

Paulina opened her mouth as if to retort, before closing it without saying a word. Rafael held back a smile, it was quite satisfying to see her lose all her means.

“As for what's going on,” Alek continued, leaning forward. “You'd have to ask what's not going on instead. The spirit world is merging with our own, my friends. Say goodbye to the life you know as it will soon be gone forever!”

“Nonsense,” Paulina replied, turning to Rafael, “He's delusional again, or maybe he's just trying to show off.”

“You'll see, girl,” said Alek, straightening up. “The rules have changed. The things I can do today were impossible before, even with the help of a whole village.”

“You still cling to those old traditions?” Paulina blurted out with disdain. “I thought coming to the West would show you how backward your people were!” She stood up. “Come on, Rafael, there's no point in staying here. He doesn't know anything. Let's go to the police.”

She wasn't wrong. They were here to find Leonard, and Alek Dimavski had nothing useful to tell them. Yet, Rafael couldn't help but be intrigued by the old man. He had disconcerting confidence and seemed to hide many fascinating secrets.

Rafael was about to follow Paulina who was already half-way to the corridor when Alek spoke directly to him, “Come back to me, kid. I'm curious to see what Leonard's lineage is worth.” Taken aback, Rafael looked at him for a moment. What did he mean by that?

Ignoring his puzzlement, Alek continued: “I could teach you some of my tricks, like moves to seduce girls. That's what young people of your age are interested in, isn't it? It's the same everywhere. Oh, and bring me back food. They starve us here with their vegetables, it's their fault I've become so skinny!”

Rafael stood up without answering. Paulina waved impatiently to him. They had to go to the police. “Goodbye, Mr. Dimavski,” he said, taking his leave.

“See you next time,” replied Alek.

As he headed for the exit Rafael heard a whisper, soon followed by the old man's laughter that echoed through the room again. Something wasn't right. His chest was burning him, just where the mirror pendant hung. He pulled on the cord to free the jewelry and the burn faded away. Rafael examined the mirror pendant with a frown. The brass seemed clearer than ever and he could see the reflection of the whole room in it.

And there, just above Alek Dimavski's head, was a smoky black shadow in the shape of a skull.

As with earlier in the day, Rafael felt drawn to the pendant. Without him being able to stop it, his mind got lost in the contemplation of the skull. It seemed to get bigger and bigger by the minute. An intense fear seized him, the fear of being entirely sucked in. Mobilizing all his willpower, he barely managed to tear himself away from his morbid vision. As soon as he succeeded in freeing himself, he fled like a scalded cat in the direction where Paulina had left.

When, out of breath, he finally reached the doors of the nursing home, the shaman's laugh was still ringing in his ears.