“
You are a mysterious lady,” the man offered her a cigarette
and she politely declined. “On the run, waiting for the universe to
reunite her with a lost love. Am I right?”
She nodded.
“You could say that,”
~
The sun was
rising as Carl reached the edge of the city. He hadn’t been back
here in years and he was instantly hit with the memories of running
through the landscape with his cousins. And then he thought of his
parents. He shouldn’t have fled America without telling them. And
he suddenly had a craving to hug his mother. It had been too long
since he’d spoken to her and he was sorry she’d been caught in the
crossfire between him and his father. Still…. She took his side and
that was unforgivable. She should have cared for her child no
matter what any man told her to believe.
As he entered
the center of the city he longed to see Anna again. There was just
about nothing he wouldn’t do to hold her again, to say sorry for
what she’d been through this last week. He couldn’t imagine what
damage it had done to her.
It wasn’t too
far to his father’s holiday home but he had a niggling feeling that
stopped him from going straight there. He thought back to Anna and
he had to be honest in that he didn’t know her as well as he wanted
to. It had only been days, not months or years. But still, he had a
slight inkling as to where she might have been headed – that is, if
she did ever want to see him again.
He remembered
back to a place his parents had taken him as a boy.
“
Don’t forget how important art is to human kind,” his father
had said as he led him up the step. “It can give your mind wings
and inspire you to do anything you think of,”
The art
history museum was close by and it was worth a shot. He had told
her that’s where he would take her once they were in Mexico, after
all. But when he parked the car and looked up at the building as it
shone in the sun, he thought he was being ridiculous. She had
mentioned she loved art, but what were the chances of her ending up
here? She obviously hated him. He estimated it was astronomically
small. She was probably halfway back to Chicago right now with his
cash and his trusted backpack.
He felt like
shouting the word “bitch” but couldn’t bring himself to think of
her that way. She was just doing what anyone would have done in
that situation. Anna was only trying to protect herself in the
craziest of times. He probably would have done the same.
~
Anna walked
into the building as soon as the doors opened and yawned. She
hadn’t slept at all the night before and had spent the last few
hours sitting in a park hiding from people. The man in the beige
suit had eventually left her alone after she lied to him, saying
she had a gun in her briefcase. She didn’t think he believed her
but it looked as though she was more trouble than she was
worth.
The museum was
bright and airy and it was a pleasant contrast to the hot Mexican
sun. Anna was still clad in her big parka coat. It was the closest
thing she had to a friend right now and despite the growing
temperature she kept it wrapped around her. She didn’t care how
peculiar it looked.
Meandering her
way through the museum she loved the healing quality that the
building possessed and the way it calmed her nerves. She loved the
big open walls that were only covered in the most beautiful images
and she loved the sculptures. It was a place of pure creation, a
place that showed the potential of what the human mind had to
offer. Art to her represented a meditational state of the human
psyche. She thought people were in their true state when they
poured their thoughts and soul into making something unique.
After an hour
she found that one painting attracted her attention more than any
other. It was gloriously bright red, abstract and full of
destruction. In a way it reminded her of herself. Sitting down on
the bench across from it, she regarded the painting for a long
time. The more she stared the more her eyes got lost in the
shapes.
Then she felt
a weight on the other end of the bench.
“
She was just some random whore looking for business. I pushed
her away you know,”
Anna felt
goosebumps as she turned to look at Carl. After spending so long on
the run with hardly any sleep or time to think, she felt like she
was in a dream.
“
That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” she turned to
face Carl who looked as though he’d just been through a
war.
She thought
for a second she could see tears in his eyes but then he blinked
and turned away.
“
I didn’t think I’d be happy again until I could look at you,”
he explained. “I can’t even believe this is real,”
“
I made a mistake Carl,” she threw herself at him and wrapped
her arms around his body as tight as she could. “But how did you
know where to find me?”
“
A lucky guess…. When I said I would take you here, I didn’t
think it would be like this.”
They both
smiled as they cosied into each other’s bodies. Then they kissed
passionately.
“
Please don’t ever leave me again,” he begged.
“
I won’t, not ever,” and she clutched at the sides of his face
and looked him in the eyes.
As they
climbed in the car Anna was deeply confused.
“
Where did
this
car come from?”
“
Urgh… I’ll tell you sometime,” Carl couldn’t bring himself to
tell her about Jorge and Jerry just yet.
“
What did I tell you about mysterious secrets!” she was
annoyed.
But Carl just
rolled his eyes and drove away down the open main road.
“
You hungry?” he asked.
“
Always! You don’t need to ask me that, you should just know,”
she laughed playfully and leaned over to run her fingers through
his hair.
Soon they were
pulling into the drive of John Reiner’s holiday home. It looked
just as Carl remembered. Modest, but bright and spacious, with a
lovely front garden covered in an immaculate lawn. Giant trees were
scattered all around.
“
This is gorgeous!” Anna looked around as she jumped out the
car. “Have you got keys?”
“
No,” Carl frowned. “But I’m an expert remember?”
And he walked
up to the front door ready to pull out his multi tool to force the
door open. But as he got closer he realized the door was ajar. He
pushed it open and could sense the presence of someone else, and a
smell lingered in the air. Taking a deep breath he realized it was
his father’s aftershave. Then something caught his eye. A
photograph was lying in the middle of the staircase. He recognized
it instantly as he picked it up.
“
Mom?”
Then Anna came
in the door behind him.
“
Carl… before we go any further I just have to tell you
something. When I was mad yesterday I reported….”
“
Shhhh,” he interrupted her.
Tip toeing up
the stairs he wondered what he’d find at the top. As he reached the
landing he saw the door to his father’s bedroom door wide open. He
could see a man’s foot hanging off the end of the bed and it
appeared to be covered in blood. Walking into the bedroom, he
gasped as he saw his father lying face down on the bed.
“
Dad?”
The End
Selena Black is a yoga
instructor turned
author who loves to share her most intimate fantasies with her
readers!
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