I tried to remember his name, as I approached. I couldn't see Amber or Maggie anywhere. So I thought I'd ask him. When I finally had him in front of me, his name appeared in my mind:
   "Anthony…"
   " Hi Emma!"
   "Anthony, could you tell me if there is a municipal library in town? Because the one at the institute is temporarily closed."
   The young man thought for a moment. He smoothed his dark hair, always combed back, and suddenly his face lit up.
   "Sure! There is a small one, right next to the Alcaidía.
   "And… where is the Alcaidía?" I regretted not having the map of the town with me.  "Is it close to the real estate agency?" I was trying to look for a known reference point.
   Anthony smiled.
   "Actually, it is on the opposite side."
   " Could you give me his address?"
   "I can do better than that. I can take you, if you want."
   I looked at him dumbfounded. Was everyone always so nice in that place? Sometimes, in situations like that, I felt like I was in another world. I wasn't used to being treated so well.

“I would love to,” I stammered. “When do you have time?”
   "Right now, if you like. We don't have Soccer practice today. Our star striker is not there."
   I smiled and accepted.
   "And…, your sister?" I wanted to know as I followed him out of the building.
   "She already left with Amber. I have the car nearby. I was waiting for you."
   I looked at him curiously. Anthony smiled mischievously.
   " It's just... Adam made me promise that she would take care of you these days..."
   " Days?" I couldn't help but ask as he got into his car, an old Falcon similar to the one Alice and I had rented. "When will Adam be back?"
   "Mmmm… Those family reunions never have a fixed date. They can last several days."
   "And… why do they meet?" I asked, trying to imagine what one of those meetings would be like. I had never participated in something like this. My family was only my mother.
   Anthony shrugged.
   "The Alexanders, the Blancs and the La Croix," he said, listing with his fingers while with his other hand he started the engine.  "they own almost everything here in Crescent City. I guess those meetings involve making economic decisions and that..."
   It seemed quite strange to me. But, as I said, I had no idea what was discussed at a family gathering. So maybe Anthony was right. And we set off while I fastened my seatbelt.
   " And… what do you think of our town so far?"
   "Interesting," I said quickly.
   Anthony smiled mischievously.
   "What?" I couldn't help but ask him.
   " That's what Adam said about you, when he met you. He said you're interesting."
   "And… Does Adam have a girlfriend?" I asked as if passing by.
   Anthony looked at me and a strange glow illuminated his dark eyes.
   "I ask this because….," I said immediately. "…because of Maggie…"
   Anthony frowned and focused on the road.
   "Is it that obvious?" He asked me.
   I smiled.
   "My sister has always been in love with him. But Adam has never looked at her that way. They are friends, since they were little. We have all grown up together. But Adam doesn't have eyes for her. And she should understand that."
   Anthony lost his smile for a moment. And we stayed silent. I looked through the window glass. And only then did I realize that it had started to rain. As we passed the forked road, I remembered that he hadn't told my mother. Surely she was about to go to work. I bit my lip. And Anthony seemed to realize something was wrong with me.
   "Emma? All good?"
   " It's just...I just remembered that I didn't tell my mother that I was going to town."
   " Send her a message."
   I blushed.
   "I don't have a cell phone. And she, neither..."
   Anthony laughed.
   "Adam is right. You are not the same as the rest..."
   I felt myself blushing a little more.
   "But you do have a landline phone in your new house, right?"
   I nodded trying to recover.
   “Use my cell phone,” he told me, giving me his device. “Call her!”
   I looked at the phone. It was a flat, black rectangle, without any buttons. I had no idea how that was used.
   Anthony smiled.
   " I'll mark you. What is the number?"
   I hesitated. And then I realized I hadn't learned the new number.
   "I don't…I know," I stammered.
   Anthony looked at me. Then he touched something on the screen of his cell phone. And a few seconds later, he said:
   "Hello Elena."
   Elena? That name sounded familiar to me. It was Damien's mother's name!
   " Yes, I am very well, thank you. Look, I was calling to see if you could give me the phone number of the house you rented to Emma La Rue and her mother."
   I raised an eyebrow and looked at Anthony. He looked back at me and winked. After a moment he nodded and said:
   " Yes of course I understand. Why don't you talk to him and he explains it to you? O.K. Let's go there. Thank you."
   Anthony ended the call.
   "Due to real estate policies, they cannot give me that information. But he can give it to you. So, if that's okay with you, we'll go to the real estate agency to get the number. And that's what you call your mother. Do you have any identification?"

   " Yes, I have my…," I automatically looked for my backpack.
   My backpack! She had left it in my bedroom.
   Anthony smiled again. Did nothing put him in a bad mood?
   "We can go back to your house," he proposed to me.
   It seemed like an abuse to ask him to turn around. We were already in the center of town.
" What time is it?"
   Anthony checked his cell phone.
   "Almost six."
   "My mother must already be at her work."
   "And where does she work?"
   "At the hospital. She is a nurse."
   "Made! We are two blocks away,"  Anthony smiled as he turned the next corner.
   "Elena is Damien's mother, right?"
   "Yeah…"
   " I thought the whole family had gone to the meeting…"
   "No, this time it's just a meeting for cousins."
   We arrived immediately. The hospital was a three-story white building that took up almost the entire block. Anthony parked near the entrance. And when we were about to get out of the truck, his phone started ringing and vibrating. He had left it on the board. Anthony smiled and answered the call. After a moment he handed me the cell phone and said, mischievously:
   "Is for you…"
   I frowned, not understanding anything, which caused him to laugh in amusement. I took the phone, put it to my ear and said quite curiously:
   "Hello…?"
   Adam's unmistakable voice made me smile.
   "How are you, Emma?"
   It sounded a little far away. But there were no doubts. It was him.
   "Adam!? How nice it is to hear you! But how did you know she was with Anthony?"
   I heard him laugh.
   " It's just...I entrusted him with the mission of taking care of you while I'm traveling. And I see that he is fulfilling it. How have you been? Did you get my note and the candy?"
   I laughed, remembering the curious way he had found of texting me without Maggie noticing.
   "Yes," I said still smiling. " Your History notes were very interesting to me. Now I'm going to go to the library."
   There was a prolonged silence.
   "Adam? You still there?"
   "Yes Yes. I hope you find what you are looking for."
   "When will I see you?" I asked without being able to avoid it. I just realized how much I was missing him.
   "Soon…," I heard. Her voice sounded very sweet. " And I will bring you a gift. Now, will you put me through to Anthony, please?"
   "Yes of course. See you."
   "See you soon, Emma. Take care of yourself."
   I handed the phone to Anthony who had been staring at me while he spoke. He put the device to his ear and listened. A minute later, as he nodded, he replied:
   "Made. Don't worry. I won't take my eyes off her."
   I looked at him amazed.
   "I mean his bicycle," he whispered to me.
   I smiled but, for some reason, I was convinced he was talking about me. And to my surprise, I liked that. Although I immediately thought of Damien. How I wish it was him who was taking care of me like that!
   "Are you ready?"
   Anthony's voice brought me out of my thoughts. Only there did I realize that he had ended the call. We got off the Falcon and headed towards the main entrance.
   "In which part of the hospital does your mother work?"
   "I think…in the Emergencies."
   “It's this way,” Anthony guided me.
   I followed him down a long hallway. We arrived at a reporting table, where two nurses were talking to each other.
   "Good afternoon," Anthony greeted.
   "Hello, Anthony!" one of them answered. She was tall, slender and had long brown hair.
It surprised me that she knew him. It seemed that in that town everyone knew everyone.
   "How are you, Mary? This is Emma La Rue, the daughter of…"
   "…Alice...,"  I said before Anthony's gaze.
   "Sure! But she is the spitting image of her," said the woman.
   I blushed- of course.
   "Is she around here?"
    "Of course, there she is. Alice!"
   I looked up from her and saw her, about to get into an elevator. I walked towards her with a smile.
   "Emma, ​​darling. Something has happened?"
   " No, no, mom. Peaceful. It's just that I came downtown to consult some books in the library and they brought me here to let you know."
   "Did Damien bring you?" She asked me as she looked towards the report table.
Anthony had fallen behind. He looked at us and waved at me while he smiled.
   "No, it's not Damien. This is Anthony…Watson," I made an effort to remember his last name.
   "Ah… He seems very nice."
   "Yes, it seems that in this town, everyone is like that."
   " Although…," my mother scrutinized him from head to toe. "Damien is much better looking."
   "Mum!"
And I knew he had made me blush again. And before it occurred to him to talk to Anthony, I said goodbye and walked towards Anthony.
   " Ready. Shall we go?” I said as he pulled him by one arm towards the exit.
   Anthony guided me to the car and opened the passenger door for me. I looked at him surprised.
   "Did Adam ask you this too?" I asked him with a smile.
   "No, this is on me," he said mischievously.
   I thanked him, smiling, and got into the Falcon. Ten minutes later we entered the municipal library. I wasn't surprised that she was so small. In other towns I had already seen that their libraries were practically forgotten places, with very few shelves and a lady - in almost all cases, elderly - who served behind a dusty table. But this time I was going to be wrong. That town, without a doubt, was like no other I had ever seen. A familiar face greeted me as soon as we entered.
   " Jack?!" I don't know how I remembered his name.
   Amber's boyfriend - Jack Taylor - watched me from a long report table.
   " Hi Emma!"
   How did everyone remember my name? Well, being the new one made their job easier.
   "How are you? Do you work here?" I asked looking at the place.
   All the walls were occupied by shelves full of books. I shuddered. I had always felt that my place in the world was a library or a bookstore.
   " I only work here part time. I leave the Institute and come here. Hello, Anthony…"
   They greeted each other with an elaborate handshake and smiled.
   "Do you want to come and see? Or are you looking for something specific?"
   Of course I was looking for something specific but, for some reason, I didn't want to talk openly about it. I didn't know why but I felt like I had to keep my research low profile. Besides being the new girl, I didn't want to give any more reasons for people to talk about me. And if it was known that I was out there, investigating legends and sacrifices, it could cause them to no longer be so nice to me. And I didn't want that to happen. It was not very common for me to have such a warm welcome in a new place. And I realized that it was very easy to get used to it.
   "I would like to read something about…Crescent City. His origins. His story. To learn a little about where I live now."
   " Of course!" Jack smiled. "We have a whole section dedicated to our town."
   "Sure!”, I thought.
   In that, Crescent City was equal to all other places. And for the first time I was glad that it was like that.
   As Jack showed me the way, Anthony pulled out his phone. The screen was illuminated. A call had come in.
   “I'll be back now,” he told me, pointing to his cell phone. “I have a better signal outside.”
   I nodded and followed Jack to the back of the library, passing numerous shelves packed with books that separated the place into several areas.
   "Here it is. This entire part is dedicated to our history. Are you looking for something in particular?" Jack asked.
   "Mmmm…," he didn't know how to ask her for what he wanted without mentioning those two strange words. Something inside me told me that I had to be discreet. "I would be interested in the times of the founding of the town."
   Jack raised an eyebrow. He looked through some nearby books and pulled a small one from a shelf in front of us. When he was going to give it to me, his cell phone started ringing. He looked at the screen curious. I thought I saw him make a funny face.
   “Excuse me for a moment,” he told me, handing me the book.
   "Sure," I answered.
   And I waited for him to walk away. He hadn't been able to see the screen up close but he was sure it was a call from his girlfriend, “tracking him.” Amber had the face of a jealous girlfriend.
   I immediately forgot about it and quickly read the book's index:

- Geology of Crescent City.

- Native Fauna and Flora of Crescent City

- First records of rainfall from Crescent City.

   I discarded the book immediately. I glanced askance at Jack who was standing with his back to me, several feet ahead. He was still talking on the phone. I took advantage and browsed the nearest shelves. No title caught my attention. I had two options: either I searched book by book until I found what “succubus” and “incubis” meant. There were more than two hundred books in that section. The other option was to tell him specifically what he wanted. I flatly ruled out both options. She could also wait for Adam to return from his family gathering and ask him directly. After all, he had written those two words to me in his note. He wouldn't look suspicious if he asked. However, she had to wait for him to return from his trip. And if there was something I never had, it was patience.
   I was in that dilemma when Jack's voice made me jump. And I almost dropped the book from my hands. I noticed that he had a strange shine in his eyes and still had his cell phone pressed to his ear. And when he was going to talk to me again, Anthony appeared from behind.
   " And good? Have you found what you were looking for?"
   Jack looked at him for a second, then at me, and held out the phone to me.
   "Amber wants to talk to you. She says that she wants to ask you something about I don't know what subject, taking advantage of the fact that you are here..."
   "Ah…," I was surprised that Amber wanted to talk to me. But at least she hadn't mistaken me. It had been Amber who had called him.
   I put the phone to my ear as Jack put an arm around Anthony's shoulders and pulled him away from me, speaking softly.
   "Hello, Amber…," I said looking at the titles of the books again.
   "Hi Emma…"
   That voice left me cold. I had to hold on to one of the shelves to avoid falling from the shock.
   " Damien?!" I said barely in a whisper, glancing askance at Anthony, who was now talking to Jack at the briefing table.
   "Hello…," he said to me again. That voice was so sweet that for a moment I felt like it was hard to even breathe. "How are you?"
   "Good," I stammered.
   There were a few seconds of tense silence.
   "And you?" I asked.
   "Looking forward to returning…"
  " Then come back quickly," I bit my lip when I heard myself. He hadn't meant to say it out loud. I had only thought about it.
   " I'll do that…"
   "When?" I bit my lip again.
   "On Monday I picked you up to go to the Institute. Of course, if you want…"

“Yes, yes,” I said, seeing that Anthony was coming towards me. “Of course, Amber,” I said, raising my voice a little and trying to smile. “I'll give you those notes. Don't worry.
Anthony's over there, right?"
   “Yes,” I said, laughing as if he had told me something funny.
   "See you then on Monday. And don't tell Anthony you talked to me."
   "Don't worry, Amber. See you Monday."
   "Emma…"
   " Yeah…?"
   "I'm looking forward to Monday…," Damien told me with a terribly manly voice.
   I felt his legs go weak again.
“Also, I,” I stammered and ended the call by touching various places on the screen at random. He handed the phone back to Jack, who was looking at me with a mischievous smile.
   "And? How are you doing?" Anthony asked me.
   "Good. But...I didn't get what I was looking for."
   "And what are you looking for? I can help you…"
   "No, do not worry. I prefer to go home. I have a lot of homework behind. I'll come another day with more time."
   " I'll take you then," Anthony seemed determined.
   I couldn't think of any excuse to say no. So I accepted. Anyway, I didn't know how to walk from there to the road. And even if I had known, my thoughts were so mixed that I wasn't sure I would have arrived safely. I couldn't get that voice out of my head. Had Damien talked to me? Or had I imagined it? How had he known I was there? He probably heard Adam and called Jack.
   As I climbed into Anthony's Falcon, I had a million questions. What was that strange conversation about? His words left me wrapped in a pleasant and unknown delight, perhaps because everything had the flavor of the clandestine. I looked at Anthony, searching for a sign that he had realized something. But he got into the car and smiled at me like always.
   We arrived in a few minutes. He left me at the door of my house and put it in reverse. I waved and smiled at him as he made me look for the keys. When the vehicle disappeared from sight at the fork and reappeared beyond, taking the road, I walked away from the porch in the direction of the beach, which faced south of the house. Just as Adam had suggested in his note. I was very curious to meet it and in the process see some succubus or incubus, just as he had mentioned. Although I still didn't know what those two words meant. Maybe some strange poisonous plant? Or perhaps a wild animal? I didn't remember studying them in my Biology classes. Still, I felt afraid. Weren't new species found almost every day? If so, if it was something dangerous, wouldn't it be more prudent to leave the beach and return to the house? But I dismissed the idea immediately. First because curiosity was stronger and second, because I completely trusted Adam even though I had only known him for a day. I trusted him and was sure he wouldn't put me in any dangerous situation.
Furthermore, the “causation” of having found those same words in two different places, with no apparent connection and without deliberately looking for them, had convinced me that I should keep track of them. I looked at the sky and saw that it had stopped raining momentarily.
   I walked without being quite sure where I was going, following the footsteps of the pebbles, always surrounded by a group of tall, leafy gray fir trees. As I got closer to the sea, the air seemed to get colder. I shuddered but continued with a firm step. I closed my jacket up to my neck and put my backpack on my shoulder better. As I left the tree line, I saw what lay ahead of me. I stayed without breath. Adam was right. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. A large expanse of thick, wet sand appeared as if from nowhere and, about twenty meters ahead, caressed a mass of delicate, blue water. The beach was crowned by the foam of small waves that washed the coast and died with a last, delicate sigh on a group of rocks that were scattered for many meters in all directions.
   I sighed. I had always wanted to live near the sea. But the closest we had been was when we lived in New York, although we rarely saw the ocean while there. Our apartment was too far to walk and we were there much less time than anywhere else. New York didn't bring back very good memories for me. Albert had found us very soon. It was early morning when we had to flee. As luck would have it, my mother saw him, from afar, that same afternoon, in Central Park. Certain that he hadn't seen her, she came home and we packed our bags. Which wasn't difficult since we never unpacked our luggage too much. And we boarded the first bus that left the Terminal.
   I came back from that memory with a shudder. But the wonderful atmosphere of that place, with the low, dark clouds, almost touching the ocean, quickly enveloped me. I walked over to some large rocks that were nearby and sat on the flattest one, not caring that it was wet. I sighed again as the salty air caressed my face and played with my hair. I closed my eyes for a moment and forgot everything: Albert, the succubus and incubi, and the tasks I had to finish. Everything left my head. Everything except the sweet, warm voice of Damien Blanc.
   I opened my eyes. And I wished that he was there, by my side and that we could share that wonderful sunset. He had talked to me! I still couldn't believe it. He had conspired with Jack to talk to me... And what was it that he told me? “I'm looking forward to Monday.” And it had not only been his words but the way in which he had told them to me. Almost in a whisper. Like an urgent desire that he had escaped. As if it were a promise. He wanted to see me. He missed me! I shivered with sweetness. But also pain. A terrible and sudden pain.
   I couldn't fall in love with Damien! In reality, I couldn't fall in love with anyone. I would have to leave soon. Goodbye was inevitable. And it wouldn't be fair to him or me if I let things progress any further. And I felt bad. Sad. I knew I had to be honest with him before things got serious between us. If that could be... Well, not even in my most impossible dreams would I have wished that someone as beautiful, as perfect and as sweet as Damien Blanc would notice me. Me…, insignificant, ugly, without any special talent. In his eyes-and compared to him, to the angelic image of him-I felt totally unworthy.
However, something in his words, in his way of acting towards me, something in that call, in the way he took care of me - like in his nightly visits - or in his eyes told me that this time it could be... That This time a miracle of love, he could transform me into someone interesting in his eyes.
   I shuddered even more and got lost in those thoughts. Maybe I was getting my hopes up. Maybe I was just imagining it. And he didn't feel anything for me. I didn't want to face that pain. To the pain of unrequited love. It had already happened to me once. A long time ago. And looking at him coldly, from a distance, I could assure that it had not been true love, but rather an infatuation, the kind that occurs when you are not used to a smile or a sweet word, which is only said out of courtesy.
   That had made me cry long nights. And it had taken me a long time to forget about that pain. So I had promised myself to be more careful from now on. And now, there I was, letting myself be carried away by a smile and a few words - which may have been just polite and I was surely taking them out of context again.
   I jumped to my feet. I felt like I was making a fool of myself and I was ashamed of my attitude. And I wished that in that conversation, Damien hadn't noticed my emotions. I tried to go over my words in my head, but I couldn't reproduce them. And yet I remembered perfectly every word Damien had said to me. I bit my lip, nervous.
   Some black clouds were approaching from the north and threatened to arrive quickly. Without hesitation, I returned to the house, returning to the pebble path. And I sighed for the umpteenth time. I had to distance myself from Damien - and especially from my fantasies - but it would be the next day. Because I knew that that night his sweet words would follow me even in my dreams.