Yellow light rolled over the hood of the taxi and flickered over Esta’s hands on the wheel. It passed as he drove under the streetlight but came back again as he drove under the next. He smiled, watching his hands light up and fade into the dark, and wondered if the streetlights felt like sunlight.
“Just up here, on the left,” his passenger told him. “The one with the gate.”
Esta gracefully made the turn and stopped in front of the squat brick building with a big, metal gate. “Thirty twelve,” he said, turning back to face the man in the backseat.
“Huh.” The man rummaged through his pockets. “Not bad. The drivers at Silverlight charge nearly twice that.” A wallet slipped out of his jacket, and he quickly took a plastic card from its folds, holding it out to Esta.
Esta gave the man a weak smile. “Sorry, cash only.”
After a moment, the passenger grumbled to himself and replaced the card with a crumpled wad of bills. Where the card had been offered, the cash had been shoved, but Esta smiled and took it nonetheless. “Have a nice night, señor,” he called as the man pulled himself from the taxi and vanished into the dark.
Esta decided he didn’t like the man much and began to sort the bills. He had liked others less, but also he had liked others more. On the whole, though, he generally liked the humans less. They weren’t worse, per se, but they were usually much more boring. Sometimes they would speak with him; tell him stories, ask about his day. Usually, they kept to themselves. Esta found them to be surprisingly unlively.
He didn’t hear his new passenger get into the backseat, but the small candle he kept on the dash lit itself and he turned to face her when he noticed it.
She was young, maybe in her twenties, and had short, dark hair that stopped just below her ears. Her face had been turned to stare out the window, emotionless and unmoving. Esta shuffled the money he held into the taxi’s lockbox and turned to face her in earnest. He smiled at her and, very gently, spoke. “Hello.”296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODgPxQYiXw
The woman drew breath sharply as if pulled from a trance, and looked at him, returning his smile. “Hello.”
The woman drew breath sharply as if pulled from a trance, and looked at him, returning his smile. “Hello.”
“Seatbelt, please.”
“Oh. Yeah. Of course.” She pulled the strap over herself just before looking back out the window. The warm, kindness in her eyes and smile slipped away as she seemed to get caught again in the emotionless trance that Esta just pulled her from.
Regardless, satisfied with the click of her seatbelt, Esta turned back around and pulled away from the curb. She hadn’t given him a destination, but she hadn’t needed to—the candle had already told him.
Esta took great care in driving. It was, of course, his only purpose, but he took an extra pide in his work. It was his craft, his art. The taxi was a brush for him to guide across the canvas streets of Henson, and the speed limits, stop signs, and red lights were the guidelines of his style. At times, he, for a reason he couldn’t quite understand, found that other drivers did not appreciate his extra care, but, thankfully, there were never many people out this late at night. He wound his way up 5th and towards Garland, heading out of downtown on empty and quiet roads.
At last, his passenger spoke up. “My name is…Rrroooosse…” she wrangled with the word, like a child reading a new word with lots of syllables. “It’s a type of flower.”
“That’s a lovely name,” he told her. “My name’s Estatua. It means statue.”
A minute passed before she spoke again. Her eyes never looked away from the window. “There was a statue in the park. It was a pretty park. My mom would take me and my sister there for picnics when we were little.”296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvukHp6pM1W
“The park? That sounds like fun. Was it sunny?”296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8NU2CYid5
Rose’s lips curled into a smile. “Yes. There was a lot of sun. It was hot, sometimes. Sometimes very hot. We’d play in the fountain when it was too hot.”
Rose’s lips curled into a smile. “Yes. There was a lot of sun. It was hot, sometimes. Sometimes very hot. We’d play in the fountain when it was too hot.”
“Did you ever go swimming?”
Finally, she turned away from the window and faced the driver’s seat. “Only when we saw our grandparents. They had a pool. I taught my sister how to swim when she was old enough.”296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9BsGgCApp
Esta had begun to smile himself. He’d made memories in the year since he’d been summoned, but nothing before that. Especially not childhood memories. He loved it when they talked to him about theirs. He briefly caught her eyes in the rearview. “What’s your sister’s name?”
Esta had begun to smile himself. He’d made memories in the year since he’d been summoned, but nothing before that. Especially not childhood memories. He loved it when they talked to him about theirs. He briefly caught her eyes in the rearview. “What’s your sister’s name?”
Again, she struggled with the word. “Elllllaa...she has blonde hair. Like dad.”
“Is your hair like your mom’s?”296Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyiv5bxRcZ
“Yes. ‘Lucky I didn’t get her curls,’ she used to tell me.” The emotion in her face began to drain again, and she started to retreat back to the window.
Esta let her be for a moment. She likely just needed a moment of rest. It was like she was missing bits of herself, too adult to be a child and to childlike to be an adult. They were always like that. He took Exit 23 and followed the curve out towards Aspenwood. He only had a few more minutes with her. “What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream, Rose?” Constructs like Esta never got hungry. They didn’t need to eat to live, but Esta had fallen in love with the flavor of food, especially ice cream on hot nights. He’d hoped she liked it too.
It took a moment for her to recognize the question, slowly fighting her way out of the trance. “It’s...chocolate. I like chocolate. Simple and sweet.”
“Good choice. I like chocolate too.” He glanced at the clock. She had shown up late, and he likely wouldn’t be able to stop for ice cream and get back to Henson before sunrise. He hoped he would be able to get back at all, but wasn’t worried. Dawn would temporarily disperse the spell keeping him animated, but as long as he pulled over beforehand, his body would turn back into stone and be perfectly safe inside the cab. He was more concerned with being unable to get his passenger’s favorite flavor of ice cream, as was his ritual.
They pulled onto Fairview Ave and the cool, ambient magics of the large cemetery at the end of the street washed over them. Rose jerked her head away from the window. “Where are we going?”
Esta looked at her in the rearview, a soft smile on his face. “You got lost, señorita. It’s my job to take you home.”
Her shoulders sank, and her eyes drifted back to the window. “Oh…”
The cab slowly pulled in front of the cemetery, wheels silent as they rolled to a stop. Esta put it in park, turned the cabin light on, and turned to face his passenger. “Thank you for keeping me company, Rose.”
She looked at him as if she knew him but couldn’t remember where, smiled, and said, “You’re welcome.”
Then the spirit faded away just as silently as she had arrived, and the little candle on the dash went out.
Esta turned back to the wheel and looked at the clock. He had just enough time for one last drive before sunrise. It was a shame the closest 24-hour gas station was too far away to get an ice cream. With one hand on the wheel, he made sure the TAXI sign on his roof was lit and drove off into the night.
ns 15.158.61.54da2 
