To Hell With It

A Phone Call Away

As I drove back to my home in Gala’s Grove, I couldn't help but sigh and shake my head occasionally. Was it all a dream? Am I crazy? My slight moment of distraction almost caused me to collide with another driver as he tried to merge in my lane. The continuous honking of the horn and the screaming of the driver, who'd actually pulled down his window, caused my migraine to worsen. I quickly pulled over to the side of the road and paused just for a moment to recollect myself, I closed my eyes and did breathing exercises. When I felt that my anxiety was at ease and I was calm enough to drive, I carefully continued my journey on the highway. As I proceeded to go along with the traffic my mind suddenly began to stray again, trying to use all the knowledge I'd gained from childhood till now, desperately wondering what kind of organization, gang or cult this could be, or have any relation to. I snapped my mind out of it and then tried to concentrate on the road, this would have probably led to an accident if I kept this up. I need to call someone, anyone to get my mind off this. I scrolled through my phonebook and searched every name I thought was good enough. I stopped at one particular name and dialed the number.

 "Well, well, well if it isn't Little Miss 'I'm too efficient', how was the interview with the holy man?"

"You sure know how to make your employees feel like they're doing a good job Mr. Lian. I didn't get to do the interview, Father Johnathan had some external business with  his boss upstairs, at least he makes him feel appreciated for being Jesus' sales rep."

 "Ah…That's too bad, cause the deadline for the story is this Friday, did you reschedule?"

 "Can we talk about that later, I actually need you to just keep me occupied while I'm driving. Can you at least do that for me and not spurt so much nonsense."

 He gave a chuckled on the other end of the line and I could picture his dimpled face smiling at the ground

 "Now don't you think you're being unfair? I ask for favors all the time and you've never had second thoughts about them. What makes you think I'll help you out?"

 Maybe it was a bad idea to call him…he'll never let this go.

"I don't think it's appropriate to make a comparison between a whimsical request for dinner, which by the way goes against the work code for employees, and helping me stay focused so I can travel home safely on a busy highway."

 He laughed again and sucked in a shallow breath.

 "It really is unfair, how you always cheat and I let you get away with it. I understand you only feel like your work is important but-"

 I gave a short sigh and cut his reply off.

 "Let's have dinner tomorrow."

 There was a long pause on the phone and I could only imagine the dumbfounded look on his face. I waited for a few moments then he suddenly replied stuttering.

"A-a-are you serious? Christine, don't play around with me I-"

 "I'm not playing, since you feel entitled to a compensation then I'll go on a date with you, so you can stop pining over it, now hurry and accept before I change my mind."

 Without hesitation Mr. Lian accepted and our conversation afterwards led me home safely.

 As I drove through my neighborhood I took the time to finally pass and observe the place where I'd lived for so long. The suburban area had clean cut walkways and cypress trees planted at every other elaborate house in the district. There were not many vehicles outside, but that was because everyone parked them in their double spaced garages, probably afraid the night dew would fog up their windows or the breeze would blow scratches on them. I parked in front of my small iron gate and got out of my car, unlike most of  my neighbors I never had an overly elaborate house with unnecessary yard space, fountains or rooms, perhaps that was another reason they parked their cars in their garages so often, because they feared that the few neighbors they have like myself would one day deface or try to hotwire their vehicles and drive to the Canadian border or something and I would often refer to that mentality as extreme upper class paranoia. I paced towards my two story home, which was not as extravagant as most people would expect. A cream colored, two story building home with hardly any yard space and adequate rooming, enough for myself and a guest or two. I searched in my purse for my keys and opened my lightly stained cherry wood door.

There was a sense of relief yet uneasiness that wrapped itself around me as I stepped through the doors. I had tried so hard to mentally block the images I'd seen for the day out of my mind but eventually they all came pouring back into my sub consciousness. I sluggishly rested on my couch and sighed heavily, trying to release all the tension and stress that had piled up within me. I clasped my hands together and rested my head on top of my thumbs with closed tired eyes. My mind then reverted back to the horrors of the actions, blood spills and the faces that I'd seen. I listened to the cries, the screams and the repulsive rejoicing that had been recorded by my ears. I then flashed back to Father Johnathan's face when I was attempting to run him over with my car. He said something, something that I couldn't entirely decipher, something he seemed to have had pleasure in saying, because of his sinister smile at the end of his sentence.

I opened my eyes and rested my throbbing head on the couch now staring at my white ceiling. I closed my eyes again and slowed down the movement of his mouth with my mind as best as I could. As I slowed them down I also tried to mimic the words in an audible whisper,  "Videtis...vos...sentire". I never was good at Latin in college, at most I could only translate “videtis”  to meaning something about “seeing”', but as for the rest I was at a loss. I sat up and rubbed my temples from frustration and confusion. I paced towards the bathroom and opened my medicine cabinet for some aspirin. I popped two in my mouth and  pulled out my phone to check any messages or calls I might have missed. Nothing. I then walked over to my work desk and got on the computer. I waited a while for the damn thing to boot up and when it did I clicked the internet icon on my screen. I had this strong eerie feeling that I was being watched. I looked around carefully and made sure I wasn't going crazy. I swallowed hard and continued with my search.