Unknown

When I was six, I was diagnosed with a rare heart condition called xenomutanine. This disease is known to mutate blood as it passes through the heart. It can be fatal, as my doctor explained to me. He also suggested that I spend a few hours a day alone and in a calm place to keep my heart from pumping excess amounts mutagen. At that age, I also discovered a sex shop. I lived in a small town in Illinois. The size and peacefulness of the town allowed me to walk around outside on weekdays after school. One day I was walking downtown, in search of the florist's shop to find a bouquet for my mother for Mother's Day. Instead I stumbled upon a pink building with darkened windows. I assumed the shop was new, considering I always took the same route downtown and never noticed it before. The print in the window intrigued me. "Omri's Oddities: He'll touch your heart before he touches your genitals." Now at the time, I was a very sheltered six-year-old who was incredibly curious to discover what "genitals" meant. Seeing the words "touch your heart" gave me a creative but ignorant idea. I cautiously pushed through the heavy door. Calm, jazzy music erupted from somewhere behind the store, making me jump as it burst the door. Once I collected myself, I found strange and unknown objects hung all over the store. I roamed the aisles, searching for a solution to my heart problem. Unfortunately, I could barely understand what anything was in the entire building. As I picked up a package with "Trojan" as the label, I heard a startled gasp and looked up to see a very attractive man frozen with fear. He quickly scurried over to me, snatched the package away, and scooted me at the door. Panting from his over reaction, he spoke to me with a smooth, caramel-like tone. "I'm sorry, young lady, but you're too young to be in my store." I simply stared at him and shrugged. "I thought you could help me. I didn't mean to break rules." The man flinched, completely baffled. "Help you with what?" I pointed at the slogan on his window. "Help me fix my heart." My finger traveled from the air to my chest. "I have xenomutanine." I struggled to even pronounce the word. His bafflement gradually transformed into pitiful sympathy. "Oh, I'm so sorry sweetheart, but the words don't actually mean really, physically touching your heart." My mind acknowledged his explanation, but my vocal chords ignored him. "What are genitals?" I don't actually remember saying it. It just happened. The man glanced around with red cheeks and cleared his throat. "Um, they're things that... grow as you get older. See, you don't really have them yet because you're still growing. That's why you can't be in my store." "So when I get big you can help me?" All he could do was silently wallow in his helplessness as he looked into my eyes. Finally, and to my surprise, he nodded with a determined tone, accepted my request. "I promise, in time, I will be able to help you. But you have to promise to not go in to the store. I don't want you to get in trouble." I nodded immediately. If this man was confident enough to promise me that he'd help cure me, how could I disagree? I had to know his name though. When I asked, he nervously stuttered out his first name. "I'm... O-Omri." In return, I shook his hand and grinned. "I'm Liliana Leef." He had also told me to keep our deal a secret, which I did well. Our secret never left that store front until I was sixteen. I was still struggling with my disease then. Returning home from school one day, I was handed a box by my mother. She eyes me as I opened it. Inside lied a large jar full of coins and various amounts of bills. Accompanying the jar was a letter. It was addressed to me from an "Omri Assado."