with
him, off to his house. I remembered arriving and an elderly woman
greeting me with worried words like shock and exhaustion. I
remembered her guiding me into this room and my sinking into the
folds of the soft, welcoming bed.
And then I remembered nothing.
I glanced at
my watch. It had been almost four hours. Had I been out that long?
And if so what had happened since? Had the police found out the
identity of the person in my car? Were they looking for me? Was I
now a fugitive?
I stood up and hurried towards the glass
doors, pulling aside the white fabric. The view of the tree-studded
hills was breathtaking and the only sound was the melodious warble
of a magpie.
The quiet
surprised me. There were no police cars, no reporters, no sticky
beak spectators. Not like the Alice Polinski incident.
I returned to the bed and caught sight of a
piece of paper lying on top of a bedside table along with my beaded
handbag. The neatly folded object had my name scrawled across it. I
grabbed it, opened it and began reading. There was something
reassuring upon discovering the letter was from Mel.
Claudia,
I’ve brought some of your things for you.
You were sound asleep, so I didn’t want to wake you. Anything else
you need, please call me. Your parents are going ballistic but I
think Saul has calmed them, at least for the moment.
The world seems to have gone mad! Please, Claudia, whatever
you’re thinking, just stay put. It’s the best place to be right now. Don’t even think about
returning home. It’s chaos there! Heaven knows how you’re handling
all this. Just remember I’m here for you. Call me when you
can.
Love Mel
p.s. Really like this Saul character. He
assures me he can help you. Listen to him and for goodness sake,
Claudia, TALK to him. This is definitely not going away!
p.p.s. He’s also
really cute! Ciao.
I rolled my
eyes. Was there any man alive that Mel didn’t think was cute? I
re-read the letter. I couldn’t bear to think about my parents’
emotional level; I could scarcely think about my own. Mel was
right. The world, my
world , was going mad.
I thought
again of the man I met today, and wondered why he was at the
complex. Was it because of what had happened? And if so, how did he
know? Who was he really?
A week ago, I had avoided him. Today, I had
completely entrusted myself to him, allowing him to remove me from
the scene of a crime and bring me to his own home without one
observable sniffle of dispute.
This is not like you, Carino. I
could hear Papa say. What
have I always taught you?
Never to get in a car with a stranger. I know,
Papa.
I thought of
Tony Braga, of Matty Galloway and Mel and whispered, but he’s not a stranger… not in the
real sense .
And I wondered if Papa would agree.
I redirected my thoughts to Saul. I recalled
his promise to help, the sincerity in his calming voice, and the
concern in his eyes. A strong part of me considered that perhaps,
this time, I should accept the support that he seemed so prepared
to give.
An even stronger part of me was now
regretting I hadn’t done so earlier.
I entered the wardrobe, instantly struck by
the amount of clothing Mel had brought. Thumbing through the items,
I wondered, with some unease, at how long she thought I was
staying. Were things so bad that returning home in the near future
was such an unrealistic option? Or was she just being overly
cautious?
Some of the
items she had packed, my togs, dinner wear and even several lacy
G-strings took me aback. What did she think? That I was on some
island holiday? I shook my head, knowing that this was so typical
of Mel. However, I did thank her for the several packets of pink
musk sticks alongside my bras.
Looking past
my so-called necessities, I noticed a rather out of place object, a
rectangular wooden box, one that I had owned for many years. Inside
it were things of personal value. I wondered why Mel had brought
it.
Deeming
every minute now a waste, I pushed the box as
him, off to his house. I remembered arriving and an elderly woman
greeting me with worried words like shock and exhaustion. I
remembered her guiding me into this room and my sinking into the
folds of the soft, welcoming bed.
And then I remembered nothing.
I glanced at
my watch. It had been almost four hours. Had I been out that long?
And if so what had happened since? Had the police found out the
identity of the person in my car? Were they looking for me? Was I
now a fugitive?
I stood up and hurried towards the glass
doors, pulling aside the white fabric. The view of the tree-studded
hills was breathtaking and the only sound was the melodious warble
of a magpie.
The quiet
surprised me. There were no police cars, no reporters, no sticky
beak spectators. Not like the Alice Polinski incident.
I returned to the bed and caught sight of a
piece of paper lying on top of a bedside table along with my beaded
handbag. The neatly folded object had my name scrawled across it. I
grabbed it, opened it and began reading. There was something
reassuring upon discovering the letter was from Mel.
Claudia,
I’ve brought some of your things for you.
You were sound asleep, so I didn’t want to wake you. Anything else
you need, please call me. Your parents are going ballistic but I
think Saul has calmed them, at least for the moment.
The world seems to have gone mad! Please, Claudia, whatever
you’re thinking, just stay put. It’s the best place to be right now. Don’t even think about
returning home. It’s chaos there! Heaven knows how you’re handling
all this. Just remember I’m here for you. Call me when you
can.
Love Mel
p.s. Really like this Saul character. He
assures me he can help you. Listen to him and for goodness sake,
Claudia, TALK to him. This is definitely not going away!
p.p.s. He’s also
really cute! Ciao.
I rolled my
eyes. Was there any man alive that Mel didn’t think was cute? I
re-read the letter. I couldn’t bear to think about my parents’
emotional level; I could scarcely think about my own. Mel was
right. The world, my
world , was going mad.
I thought
again of the man I met today, and wondered why he was at the
complex. Was it because of what had happened? And if so, how did he
know? Who was he really?
A week ago, I had avoided him. Today, I had
completely entrusted myself to him, allowing him to remove me from
the scene of a crime and bring me to his own home without one
observable sniffle of dispute.
This is not like you, Carino. I
could hear Papa say. What
have I always taught you?
Never to get in a car with a stranger. I know,
Papa.
I thought of
Tony Braga, of Matty Galloway and Mel and whispered, but he’s not a stranger… not in the
real sense .
And I wondered if Papa would agree.
I redirected my thoughts to Saul. I recalled
his promise to help, the sincerity in his calming voice, and the
concern in his eyes. A strong part of me considered that perhaps,
this time, I should accept the support that he seemed so prepared
to give.
An even stronger part of me was now
regretting I hadn’t done so earlier.
I entered the wardrobe, instantly struck by
the amount of clothing Mel had brought. Thumbing through the items,
I wondered, with some unease, at how long she thought I was
staying. Were things so bad that returning home in the near future
was such an unrealistic option? Or was she just being overly
cautious?
Some of the
items she had packed, my togs, dinner wear and even several lacy
G-strings took me aback. What did she think? That I was on some
island holiday? I shook my head, knowing that this was so typical
of Mel. However, I did thank her for the several packets of pink
musk sticks alongside my bras.
Looking past
my so-called necessities, I noticed a rather out of place object, a
rectangular wooden box, one that I had owned for many years. Inside
it were things of personal value. I wondered why Mel had brought
it.
Deeming
every minute now a waste, I pushed the box as
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