Page 60 of The Gargoyle in the College

Epilogue

Laura

It has been a while since I’ve been on the campus.

“Look at you. You just can’t be bothered to clean yourself, huh?” I climb onto the base of the gargoyle statue at the gate. It has been a while since I’ve been here.

There’s a low hum in my chest, the way Gisett talks to me. “I miss you. You left me hanging. It has been a week.”

Yeah, it’s just a week, but it feels like a lifetime.

I snort a laugh as I run the towel over his wings. The warm sun at sunset rains onto us. There are occasional chirps from thebirds nearby. Some of them are also heading home. “We’ve been talking every day.”

“But it’s different. I need you to be here with me.”

“I told you to come with me. You have your magic anyway. It’s not like you’ll have to fly to cities to find me.”

“You know I can’t leave here.”

“Magic, come on.”

“Haha, as if it’s that limitless. It gets tiring to keep teleporting.”

I wet the towel again. “You could have come, regardless.”

“That’s another gargoyle’s territory. I can’t be there without an invitation.”

“Fine, fine.” I make sure I pick off the last piece of leaf from his back. “Are you looking forward to the start of another school year?”

He grunts. We are still in public, so he’s still a statue, but I can feel his warmth. He says, “Not at all. I’m not looking forward to the next batch of students to mess with me.”

I chuckle. “It’s okay. I’ll fix you.”

“You’re lucky they won’t mess with you.”

“No one wants to be in my place after all.”

“Well, they should learn to appreciate the architecture.”

“You’re only saying that because there are gargoyles inside the museum.”

“Maybe.” The statue does nothing, but I can imagine Gisett’s grin. “Are you done cleaning me?”

“Someone’s not very patient.”

“I’ve been patient. It has been days.”

I get off the base of the statue. “We’ll wait at home.”

“Sure, sure.”

And... given how much I know about him. We aren’t staying at home for long.

Maybe it is luck, the museum on the campus was hiring when I graduated, so I applied. Turned out, they think that I’m good at managing the place. Gisett and I have been worried about my graduation. If I couldn’t find a job in the city, it would be tricky for him. He can’t even show up secretly in another city that has gargoyles, which are pretty much everywhere. He said the other gargoyles would find out, even though I don’t believe that’s possible. But we don’t have a problem now.

I get home. He’s already there. He grins so widely that I can’t see his eyes. I go to him and he puts me on his lap. He sniffs me and kisses my neck. “I miss you. You have no idea how much I worry about you.”

I hug him, enjoying his warmth, which I miss a lot. “I miss you too, my big gargoyle.”

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