Third Pov

Anthony didn't like being alone. Or to be more precise,he didn't like having to do something on his own.It caused him to feel insecure and afraid. All these centuries being friends with Raphael must have caused some changes in his personality. Maybehe has become too dependent on his friend's advice and guidance.

When Anthony was released,he started searching for Angelica but to no avail.In the end he decided to contact Raphael and ask him for help.Much to his surprise,his best friend didn't respond to any of his messages or voicemails which was very uncharacteristic of him. Anthony was feeling a bit concerned so he decided to start searching for him as well. After a few days conducting his own investigation, he managed to find someone who by chance had seen these two embark on a ship for New York.

Anthony was suspicious at first because he didn't believe in luck,at least not in its pure form,but then the man explained to him that he had met Raphael in a book exhibition years ago and was delighted,at first,to see him again. But unfortunately,he didn't get the chance to reconnect with Raphael because he was always with his strange new companion who,for an unknown reason, refused to leave his side so he had grown concerned and was keeping an eye on them discreetly.

Anthony believed him at the end because he could describe everything in detail and with sincere emotion. After all,he seemed a trustworthy man and Anthony's instinct was rarely wrong. Speaking of instincts,some things sounded very wrong in this situation.

First of all,Anthony made the mistake of accompanying Raphael to a series of book presentations in Madrid a couple years ago and despite the fact that these days were some of the most painfully boring in his entire existence he had learned one thing. All the book fans knew each other or at least have encountered each other some time in the past.Raphael's "new friend" was unknown to everyone. No-one knew anything about him.Not even his name. However,they described him as a "man with deep and vast knowledge and understanding of books''. How is it possible that such a book lover was not seen before in any book conference?

Also,there was something else that was bothering him since before this whole adventure started. Raphael was,by nature,an introvert. He did not enjoy socializing and he certainly wasn't very good at making friends except if they shared the same passion for books.However,that seemed to change when he met that man. He started keeping secrets from him. Raphael wouldn't even tell him the name of his new friend and that scared Anthony a bit because his best friend used to be terrible at keeping secrets. He couldn't even hide the Christmas biscuits without being obvious where they were.Not only that,but he generally stopped talking to Anthony or informing him where he was going,except if he was going to be away for a lot of days.

In general, Anthony was beginning to realise that Raphael's new encounter was doing him more harm than good. It was changing him,in a way Anthony didn't like,and he was determined to put a stop to it.He was keeping a cool head around Angelica,due to his pride,but now there wasn't anything to hold him back.Once the plane landed he was going to meet Raphael and have a long talk with him.

The moment he got off the plane the first thing he did was open his phone and he nearly dropped it when he saw his notifications. He counted 35 missed calls and 12 unread messages. All from Angelica. He tried to call her but with no luck. He expected her to call back and in the meantime he read the messages

"Where are you?"

"You choose the most inappropriate times to disappear?"

"I sweat,Anthony,if you are strolling around with some stranger you just met,I'm going to kill you"

"Pls,respond. We are in big trouble."

He was busy scrolling down when he received a new message from Angelica.

"Sorry,I can't talk right now. Where are you?"

He would add Angelica's reluctance to complain to the list of things not seeming right today.

"I just got out of the plane. I'm in New York and I will meet Raphael in a while. I am waiting for him to text me the time and place. Where are you? Are you ok?"

"Listen,Anthony,and listen carefully. Im so glad I managed to reach you before you do anything stupid.During your meeting with Raphael I need you to act a bit out of character."

This conversation was not going to end well

"Different how?"

"I need you to try and control your impulsive nature and temper. Don't provoke Raphael,don't argue with him. Just listen and report what you hear to me.Okay?"

"No. No,I will not act as your intelligence agent without you explaining everything to me.My best friend has been practically ignoring me for awhile and if you think I am going to miss the chance to find out what causes these changes in his personality,just so I give you a report then you don't know where you stand."

Angelica's next message didn't arrive immediately. He waited for a few minutes before he saw the typing icon again.

"Okay. You are right,I'm sorry. Just keep your eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary.I must go. In truth,I find it increasingly difficult for me to keep typing and generally using my hands."

Anthony grew extremely concerned when he read the last sentence and he was ready to send Angelica another text pressuring her to reveal the state of her health but another notification popped up on the screen.It was a new message. From Raphael.

"Times Square. 12 o'clock. Don't be late."

Anthony stopped dead in his tracks and checked the name at the top of the screen. Was it really Raphael who wrote to him in such a typical and cold way?Normally his friend would write such long and elaborate texts that would take forever to read. And why didnt Raphael come to meet him at the airport or at least right now? Didn't he miss him?

He put the phone back in his pocket and started thinking how he would spend his time during the next four hours until he met Raphael.

Maybe he would visit a bookshop. After all, you never get bored with memory as your companion, right?