There are few things in life I enjoy more than playing chess in the park with my old friend. Since he's blind, he's one of the few human friends I've been able to keep for a long time without them knowing what I am. It's refreshing. He thinks I'm older than he is, which I am. But not the way he thinks.

As we played in Central Park, I watched the children around us. They were rambunctious and loud. I never had a childhood like that. To run or to play was forbidden. To be loud... I don't even want to think about that. In my childhood world it was best to remain silent, but if addressed, I could only respond in a moderate tone or a whisper.

I remember Nick telling me how he and his mother would run down Bourbon Street at night. How they laughed and teased. Most of all I remember Nick telling me how he would die if anything ever happened to Cherise. How prophetic of him.

It's a pity no one, not even a god, can live a life without regrets. Maybe I should have brought Cherise back. But by them time I found out, it was too late. The die had been cast and Nick had already altered his future to such an extent that even had his mother returned, it was too late to repair the damage done.

And now I'm bound by a promise to her that I can't break. I can't harm him even if he comes at me. Such words spoken can never be undone. I now understand how my sisters felt. Like them,
I'm now forced to wait to see the outcome of what I've done.

I hate waiting.