TAU
The room was plastered from wall to wall with posters of scientists, Manga and comic book characters. He seemed to be a huge fan of Superman; under his posters there was a pile of comic books. Just from looking, I guessed that he had probably thousands in his collection.
"It's probably worth a fortune..."
I instinctively looked for Action Comics Number one, Superman's first appearance, but I couldn't find it. I noticed that these were used comic books, not collectors' items kept in their original condition. There were food stains on them, and some pages were worn out. He was really a fan, not just trying to make money from selling them.
There were some action figures on his bookshelves, again all of them opened and used. He also had A Rake's Progress, one of the precursors to comic books. I found a poster of Warhammer and some miniatures on a shelf directly next to it, which also housed some Ciaphas Cain novels inside it.
The entertainment center right in front of the bed had a collection of Aeon Flux videos, even in VCR format, as well as Invader Zim, The Tick and Mythbusters. There were even some other obscure comics I didn't recognize: a bunny with samurai attire and a sword. I noticed a framed picture hanging on the wall that looked old and worn out. It was Maggie and him, dressed in the style of the 'fifty's. Maggie wore a pretty dress, black, of course, with a sad expression on her face. William was smiling, wearing the same glasses he showed me. They were in the diner where William and I had kissed for the first time. It looked like there had been a party there.
I just couldn't believe it. It was like this was my dream room, but instead it was his.
"Oh my Cat!" I said out loud.
"He hadn't been lying. He was indeed one of us!" Gabe said gasping.
Brie was speechless, as Gabe suddenly was. Only Elle, as usual, was aware and unsurprised. She had known all along that he was telling the truth. She had felt it.
The dawning of this discovery weighed on me.
I sat on the bed, feeling a bit dizzy and hyperventilating. I lay down trying to get my air ducts opened I looked at the ceiling. I saw that it had a solar system with all the constellations painted on it, with glowing paint or so I thought. This had to be some sort of magical enchantment, because there was a comet running across the space with different dates depending on the position. It looked like he had been tracking the trajectory of Haley's comet for a long time.
"A thousand years…" Elle said, remembering his age.
I suddenly felt a movement under the bed. I got scared for a second, then hopeful the very next.
"Maybe William is hiding under it."
I took a peek, and all I could see was the blackest cat I had ever seen with deep green eyes like William's. His pet tag had an engraving of the same tree William had. I tried to lure him out, but he just looked at me with a bored expression and turned away.
I sighed and climbed back on the bed, resting my head back on the pillow to fight the lightness I suddenly felt. I placed my hands under it. There, I grabbed something that felt like a piece of light cardboard and a small box.
I knew that I shouldn't continue snooping, but then I was sure William owed me an indiscretion or two. At this point, if he came back just to yell at me for stalking and trespassing. I would have been more than happy to take it just for the chance of seeing him again. I took what my hands found and the cardboard was a picture. My picture.
I'm not sure how he took it, but it was the same day I was wearing the red dress. The day he kissed me for the first time. I looked surprised, but there was a glow around me that I hadn't seen on myself before.
I could barely hold it. My fingers felt numb. I felt a sudden shock of emotion, and I let