A Cold and Heartless Lullaby -Chapter 28

Graham’s weary reflection looked back at him from ‌inside‌ his work locker. His hair was short and grizzled, and wrinkles folded across his forehead. The old mirror remembered the same tired expression on a far younger face. With a sigh, he grabbed a mop out of the locker and slammed it shut. The sound echoed, bouncing off ‌the spacious marble floors and getting lost in the high, arched ceilings before reflecting into obscurity. The new Discovery Council building had even more flooring than the old one, and Graham was supposed to clean it.

Graham sighed again and picked up his bucket of water, lugging it along with him as he walked the cold, barren corridors. Elaborate patterns decorated the floors, matched only by the intricately carved pillars and walls. It never looked dirty. Cleaning the council building felt like trying to polish a puddle. For years, he had pondered the idea of leaving it for a week and then seeing if anyone would actually notice. 

Just like the week before, and the week before that, Graham chose a random spot on the floor, wetted his mop, and scrubbed. Congratulations, Graham thought. Your pristine floors look wetter than before. A decade of growing frustration boiled inside ‌him, but he kept it in check. He focused on the pattern of his mopping and let his mind go numb. 

With a little more force than intended, Graham shoved his mop back into the bucket, and in an attempt to stop it from tipping over, he kicked it over instead. Soapy water sloshed out, splashing his coveralls as it emptied. Graham cursed bitterly, kicking the empty bucket across the floor. It clattered loudly across the marble. At least there was actually a mess to clean up now.

“Graham?” a deep voice said. Startled, Graham turned to see the head Discovery Council scientist standing behind him. Andron adjusted his square glasses, pushing them further up his hooked nose. “May I borrow you for a second?” 

“Boss! I was just- I… was just about to clean this up.” It was highly unusual for Andron to talk to him, let alone seek him out personally. Graham automatically feared his dismissal. 

“Come with me, if you will,” Andron said. Walking as casually as he could, Graham followed Andron through the building, trying to read the man’s mood from the back of his head. His glistening black shoes clacked across the floor, and his trim suit was dark, with long, billowing coattails. 

Graham resented the man. Andron kept himself locked away in his laboratory, completely ignoring the rest of the council. He used his position to do whatever he pleased, claiming it was all in the name of research. The other janitors would mutter rumors behind his back, claiming he was a mad recluse, but Graham had been cursed with Andron’s pity. Andron would go on about Jaylen and how tragic her loss was, all the while cycling through young, female assistants every few months. It made Graham sick.

Andron’s march led them to the nearest break room, where sunlight streamed through translucent window shutters, illuminating a vacant room of tables. He offered Graham a seat at the table in the middle. 

“Is something wrong?” Andron asked. There it is again. Dear old Andron is concerned.

Graham spoke before he could filter his spite.

“I was about to ask the same thing.”

“Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble,” Andron assured, “Actually, I have been meaning to talk to you about something.” His in-person demeanor was timid and quiet, a far cry from the confident stage presence that he usually projected. “You have been working here for a long time, Graham. Longer than many of our interns; in fact, it has been over ten years, has it not?”

“Who’s counting?” Graham joked.

“I offered you a new position, but my assistant told me that you have refused. I just want to make sure that communications were clear.” 

“They were clear, sir, but I don’t want it.”

“Graham… The accident was devastating for all of us. Jaylen was the best assistant I ever had. We all miss having her around. I offered you a position as a janitor because that was all that was open. I know it would not have been your first choice.”

The mention of Jaylen struck a chord inside ‌Graham, and his frustration rose, but he kept it contained. 

“It doesn’t matter. It makes money. The job you offered doesn’t change the pay.”

“It might be good for you to change things up a little.”

“I don’t want to be locked up in a stuffy mail room all day. I’m fine where I am. Thank you.”

“Are you?” Andron pestered. “People have to come to me with concerns about you.”

“Oh, I’m certain that’s not true.” Graham’s spite was starting to show.

“Oh? And why’s that?”

“You want to lock me up in the mailroom so everyone can forget I exist. I’m bringing down company morale. It would be better if you just fired me. I’m a terrible janitor. You still have five more! The fact I’ve even lasted this long is astounding!” 

“I want to help you.” 

“No, you pity me,” Graham countered. “You gave me a pity job, and now you want to give me another. But I don’t want your pity!” 

Eleven years of frustration poured out of him in a torrent. Graham didn’t care that he was talking back to his boss. He was tired of holding it in. Part of him wanted to be fired. 

“All I want is a simple job and a stable income. There’s nothing left for me to advance towards. My life is dictated by an unconscious little girl in a very expensive pod. I mean—you’d think it would have freed me to seek new things. But the minute she went into that stasis, the doctors hit me with a bill! So, now I am stumbling forward, dragging this thing along for what could easily be my entire life. I could be dead years before she wakes up, and I am still expected to fund it.”

 Graham tried to remember what his point was. 

“All of my choices have already been made for me. All I can do is work for as long as I’m alive, betting everything on the slightest chance that she’ll wake in my lifetime. And if she doesn’t, the funding stops, she has no one left, and she dies.”

Graham stood up, expecting to leave, but Andron grabbed his arm.

 “Sit down, Graham.” 

With a sigh, Graham complied. Andron checked over his shoulder and leaned in, “Graham, you have been put in a very difficult position, but what if I told you there was a way to ensure you’re alive when she wakes?” 

There was something about Andron’s tone that stopped Graham in his tracks.

“What do you mean?”

“What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room, understand?” 

Graham nodded obediently, anticipation mingling with the fear building inside him.

“I have been experimenting with functions of the second plane,” Andron said, “I could give you a chance to start over. I could give you a way to stay alive indefinitely.”

Graham felt his heart beating in tandem with his soul. Has he finally cracked? Were the janitors right? What Andron was suggesting should have been impossible, but time and time again, he had proven himself the greatest scientific mind of his age. If Andron had discovered a way to grant immortality, it could change the course of history. Graham could feel the gravity of the information Andron was trusting him with. From the way he was talking, Graham expected that no one else knew. 

“What do you mean?” Graham asked.