starting with that; I'm starting with the truth. I will always give you the truth, and it will always be the whole truth.” he smiled gently at me, almost mischievously.
“Thank you. I appreciate the truth and I, and I want to move on too,” I promised sincerely and then walked passed Jericho intending to go to bed; I was suddenly very tired.
I turned around at the doorway though, feeling that I owed Jericho the same honesty he gave to me, “And Jericho,” I started, he lifted his head and turned to me, “I am happy you are going to try to.... well, I'm just happy you're going to try. I smiled at him and then turned into the dark, empty hallway, stumbling around until I found the staircase.
I climbed the stairs thoughtfully, a soft smile never leaving my lips. There was life after Kiran; there would be hope after the death of my first love. That's all Kiran was to me, a first love, and at the very least, I could have one more. I could fall in love again, I could dream again. And after all of this was over.... I could live again.
----
The townhouse looked dark and empty. We stood outside the white brick house that connected seamlessly with identical dwellings flowing down the crowded Paris street, and waited. Jericho knocked three times on the aged, black door and so far, we neither saw, nor heard any movement inside the house.
I was getting impatient. After a three hour train ride and three more hours wandering around the foreign city trying to find the right safe-house, we apparently came at a time when nobody was home.
I tapped my foot rapidly and crossed my arms as if angrily willing Titus to show his face. The lure of Paris was overwhelming and as I stood outside the door, with my back to the still icy waters of the Seine river, I painfully suppressed the tugging desire to explore the city.
I could see the top of the Eiffel Tower in the distance; we walked past Notre Dame on our quest to find this house. I dreamed about what it would be like to wander aimlessly through the Louvre and I could smell freshly baked bread from a little bakery just a block away.
“OK, enough of this,” I grumbled, finally reaching my breaking point after a local walked by holding his elegantly unique pastry proudly in his hands as if taunting my stomach in the cruelest of ways.
I pushed past Gabriel and Jericho who stood politely on the stoop and reached out for the door handle. I heard Jericho start to protest, but before I could figure out what he was saying, I used my magic abruptly on the door, bursting it open. However, something happened when I forced the door to move.
With my hand still on the handle, the brass doorknob fought back violently, sending me flying across the checkered marble floor of the entry way and head first into the ivory wainscoted wall opposite the doorway. At the same time, three masked men jumped from every direction, holding weapons high above their heads, screaming at me. I screamed back, covering my face with my arms and expecting the worst.
“Well done, gentlemen,” Jericho called, clapping his hands, clearly amused.
I pulled my hands away from my face, finding courage in Jericho's sarcasm. The men around me too, paused and lowered their arms slowly. Now that I had time to take them in, I could see that their weapons weren't so much of the dangerous variety and more of the pots, pans and cricket mallet variety. I sat up straightly, pushing myself against the wall, which was now marked with a head-sized hole through it.
“Eden?” one of the men exclaimed through a black ski mask, his voice muffled since the mask lacked an opening for a mouth.
“Xander?” I asked, realizing who the three men surrounding me probably were.
“Jericho?” another one of them asked, and then the three of them simultaneously removed their masks.
Xander, Xavier and Titus all stood around me, suddenly relieved. Titus reached out a strong hand to me, pulling me to my feet and then into a giant bear
“Thank you. I appreciate the truth and I, and I want to move on too,” I promised sincerely and then walked passed Jericho intending to go to bed; I was suddenly very tired.
I turned around at the doorway though, feeling that I owed Jericho the same honesty he gave to me, “And Jericho,” I started, he lifted his head and turned to me, “I am happy you are going to try to.... well, I'm just happy you're going to try. I smiled at him and then turned into the dark, empty hallway, stumbling around until I found the staircase.
I climbed the stairs thoughtfully, a soft smile never leaving my lips. There was life after Kiran; there would be hope after the death of my first love. That's all Kiran was to me, a first love, and at the very least, I could have one more. I could fall in love again, I could dream again. And after all of this was over.... I could live again.
----
The townhouse looked dark and empty. We stood outside the white brick house that connected seamlessly with identical dwellings flowing down the crowded Paris street, and waited. Jericho knocked three times on the aged, black door and so far, we neither saw, nor heard any movement inside the house.
I was getting impatient. After a three hour train ride and three more hours wandering around the foreign city trying to find the right safe-house, we apparently came at a time when nobody was home.
I tapped my foot rapidly and crossed my arms as if angrily willing Titus to show his face. The lure of Paris was overwhelming and as I stood outside the door, with my back to the still icy waters of the Seine river, I painfully suppressed the tugging desire to explore the city.
I could see the top of the Eiffel Tower in the distance; we walked past Notre Dame on our quest to find this house. I dreamed about what it would be like to wander aimlessly through the Louvre and I could smell freshly baked bread from a little bakery just a block away.
“OK, enough of this,” I grumbled, finally reaching my breaking point after a local walked by holding his elegantly unique pastry proudly in his hands as if taunting my stomach in the cruelest of ways.
I pushed past Gabriel and Jericho who stood politely on the stoop and reached out for the door handle. I heard Jericho start to protest, but before I could figure out what he was saying, I used my magic abruptly on the door, bursting it open. However, something happened when I forced the door to move.
With my hand still on the handle, the brass doorknob fought back violently, sending me flying across the checkered marble floor of the entry way and head first into the ivory wainscoted wall opposite the doorway. At the same time, three masked men jumped from every direction, holding weapons high above their heads, screaming at me. I screamed back, covering my face with my arms and expecting the worst.
“Well done, gentlemen,” Jericho called, clapping his hands, clearly amused.
I pulled my hands away from my face, finding courage in Jericho's sarcasm. The men around me too, paused and lowered their arms slowly. Now that I had time to take them in, I could see that their weapons weren't so much of the dangerous variety and more of the pots, pans and cricket mallet variety. I sat up straightly, pushing myself against the wall, which was now marked with a head-sized hole through it.
“Eden?” one of the men exclaimed through a black ski mask, his voice muffled since the mask lacked an opening for a mouth.
“Xander?” I asked, realizing who the three men surrounding me probably were.
“Jericho?” another one of them asked, and then the three of them simultaneously removed their masks.
Xander, Xavier and Titus all stood around me, suddenly relieved. Titus reached out a strong hand to me, pulling me to my feet and then into a giant bear
Similar Books
