Shane, again, didn’t reply, and Dante narrowed his eyes meditatively.

“…Unless…”, he murmured, “…could it be… the doctor?”.

He smiled and nodded.

“Sure….”, he grinned, “…Sure, the doctor”.

Shane bowed her head shyly, and he sat back on the bed.

“Oh, she’s pretty. Very, very pretty, huh?”, he considered, winking.

“Who are you?”, Shane asked harshly, looking up.

Again, Dante sneered.

“This is good. This is what they call ‘serendipitous’…”, he laughed, “…Look that up in the dictionary, you’ll see a picture of you and me”.

”…My mind wanders endlessly
On paths where she’s leading me
With games that she likes to play
And words that she doesn’t say
Not when we’re alone
And she’s dressed in black…”

***

They managed to sneak away from the hospital like two secret agents. For Shane it was obviously quite simple, given her invisibility. But Dante, well, he had to hide from several nurses on duty and cover his hospital vest with a tracksuit.

Dante took Shane into an almost deserted Seven-Eleven, not far from the hospital and not far from the beach. They sat at a table in a corner and Dante ordered almost everything that was on the menu.

“Thank you”, he said politely to the waitress, as she placed the plate on the table.

“Ready to deal?”, he added then, leaning forward Shane, who sat uncomfortably right across the table, “Because I can answer all your questions, friend”.

He bit into his sandwich and chewed, delighted.

“How’s the French toast?”, Shane asked, smirking.

“Fabulous”, he moaned, still chewing, then stretched out his arm, “But first I guess I should introduce myself”.

Shane didn’t move. She just stared at the hand that he was holding out.

“Come on, give me your hand!”, Dante chuckled, letting go of the toast and grabbing Shane’s hand, “Alright. Put it in mine. There you go”.

He started shaking.

“Good. A little tighter. Tighter. There you go”, he grimaced, “No, that’s too much. There you go. Good grip”.

Shane smiled.

“Dante Bizzarri”, he said, “Glutton, hedonist… former celestial body, recent addition to the human race”.

He let go of Shane’s hand and concentrated again on his sandwich.

“I don’t believe you”, Shane said, quietly, shaking her head, and he looked up.

“You want proof?”.