She

The Past At Your Door

Speechless she stood unmoving not sure if this was real or a product of her dreaming mixing with reality. Her face stayed straight as a storm of emotions raged behind her eyes, His face had barely changed from the last time she remembered looking at him. He stood still as he waited for her to say something. Finally, she managed a hello that came out much rougher than she wanted.

“Hello Niecheva, it is…”

“That is not my name”

“Nie…”

“How did you find me?” she interrupted.

“Niecheva”

“That is not my name. I’m sorry but you need to leave…now.”

“I can’t, I need to talk to you.” He pleaded.

“How did you f*****g find me?” she bit out.

“I can’t …just let me in and we can talk.”

“Just leave.” Her voice flat. He took a deep breath and took out his card to hand to her. “Here, when you’re ready to talk.”

She stood there unmoving gripping the door. He placed his card in the mail slot and walked to a black Mercedes GT C Edition. She caught a glimpse of its custom fitted deep purple interior with red lights when he opened the door. The tinted windows made him indistinguishable as he drove away while she wished she was naive to believe that she would never see him again. She closed the door with enough force to betray the look of nonchalance she wore on her face. Sharon made her way to the fridge for a bottle of water and pressed it to her forehead. After taking a deep breath, she went back to the door and took the card from the slot. It seemed like it weighed a ton in her hand as she walked across the kitchen to sit on the steps. Staring at the card she tried her best to not let it drag up old memories, even though this day seemed to be full of them. It was a bit too many though, maybe she was slacking in her security. She took a deep breath and listened to the sound of the water running in the upstairs bathroom. Just then the alarm on her phone went off, flashing ten forty in neon blue. Damn if she didn’t hurry, she would be late and if there was one thing she hated; it was being late. She ran upstairs to take a quick shower and decided that she would tweak the security when she was done. Today was turning out to be a long day and would soon realize how much longer it was going to get.

#

The little girl had just stepped out of the shower after watching some of the interaction between Sharon and the man at the door. He had locks that reached beyond his shoulders. There was something familiar about his eyes that she couldn’t place but they were some of the prettiest eyes that she had ever seen. She knew she had seen him somewhere before, but she could not remember where or when. On his blazer, there was an interesting design that had caught her eye and resonated with her. All the different things about him that struck a familiar chord did not sit all too well with her and it was frustrating. She would try to find out more about him by herself because she doubted that Sharon would easily help her. Especially after the angry conversation she watched.

She decided that it would be a mission-oriented day, and that called for camouflage. She picked out her camouflage outfit that consisted of camouflaged designed sweatpants, a black shirt, camouflage hoodie, and black waterproof sneakers and got dressed. Just as she finished packing her backpack, she sensed that something was off, so she grabbed the emergency backpack that Sharon had her keep in her room and placed it at the foot of her bed. She proceeded to sit down and take notes on everything that was going on the best that she could. Suddenly six loud bells went off in her room. She froze, only for a half second and grabbed her emergency backpack. She stuffed the notebook in it and grabbed the other backpack as well. She went to her bookcase and pressed the button on the lowest shelf. Numerous important items were lowered into secret compartments beneath them and sealed in tamper, fire, water, and disaster-proof safes.

She counted in her head how much time was left since the number of bells lets her know how many minutes away the intruders were. Sharon had planned with her if something like this were to ever happen. She was supposed to wait there for only half the amount of time for Sharon to come and get her. If Sharon didn’t make it, she was supposed to leave and meet her at the rendezvous place. She counted down the two and a half minutes that were left. She stayed an extra thirty seconds hoping and wishing Sharon to come through the door. Suddenly, the door busted open.

#

Sharon had just come out the shower when the bells went off in the bathroom. “Six bells, six minutes, and she did not have much time” she muttered to herself. She wasn’t going to make it if she had to go through the house the regular way. She opened a panel to the left of the sink, grabbing her emergency backpack and simultaneously pressing a green and purple button on the wall in the passageway. One opened the rest of the secret compartments protecting some very important items and the other opening a hidden nook with clothes. She took out her hoodie and sweats and got dressed. With only a minute left she dashed through the tunnel and made a left. Her footsteps echoed in the dark tunnel, mimicking her quickening heartbeat. She had to…absolutely had to make it, she thought to herself. Pushing forward she finally reached the spot and hit the panel opening the wall. Reaching her hand out, she snatched the little girl up and into the tunnel. Quickly she closed the wall as a foot came through the doorway.

“Close…too close” she uttered as they stumbled back into the tunnel. She placed the little girl down.

“You made it!” she said in relief.

“Yes, but we have got to keep moving, they are close” she responded.

They moved quickly and quietly through the dimly lit passageway. Sharon was depending on the maze of tunnels to slow down whoever was after them. They made their way to the hidden backup garage. It was just big enough to fit one car and was lit by only a couple of floor lights. They hopped into the car and drove down a short corridor that expanded slightly to an uphill ramp. As she got closer to the exit, she pressed the button on the visor to open the doors that were created to camouflage with the woods. As she drove onto the hidden path in the woods, she pressed the button again and the doors disappeared into the background. Sharon drove for a few miles before hitting the paved road.

Finally, she broke the silence that enveloped the car. “Are you alright?” she asked the little girl.

“Yes, are you?” she responded.

“I’m alright as long as you are,” Sharon reassured her.

“Who were they?” the little girl asked with growing concern.

“I do not know yet, but I will be sure to find out, okay.” Replied with a determined look in her eye.

“Does it have anything to do with the guy that was at the door?”

“Most likely, but again I am not sure. However, until I am, you are to stay away from him. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand” she replied in a barely audible whisper.

“Good, now we are heading to Uncle G so get some rest.”

Instantly the little girl looked up at Sharon more hopeful than before and nodded her head. She curled up the best she could and closed her eyes. Sharon turned to the road, watching for tails and cops as the car steadily pushed ninety-five only slowing down for idle cop hot spots. She cleared her head and forced her body to visibly relax. She would need a clear mind to get through the storm that she knew was coming. She drove on the main road for another hour before turning into a side street that leads to what looked like a dead end in the woods. Sharon shifted to all-wheel drive and pressed her way through the thickened woods. She had driven through here many times before but never with the little girl in tow. She smiled a little as she caught a glimpse of the little girl now awake and fully engrossed in the landscape that surrounded the car. It was close enough to touch if they weren’t in such a fast-moving car. The trees were a blur of green that blended in with the swirling blue sky like a Van Gogh painting and the sun danced on the river that ended in the middle of the woods. It was a perfect picture of peace in the middle of the storm.

After driving another fifteen minutes of twists and turns, they arrived at a dilapidated house that looked structurally unstable. “This is where Uncle G lives?” the little girl asked as she looked at the house skeptically. “Yes, but looks can be deceiving, or in other words, there is more to it than what you see,” Sharon replied. Still confused the little girl got out the car and grabbed her bags. Sharon grabbed the rest of their things and walked to the door with the little girl following her.

Just as the little girl reached up to knock on the door the handle jiggled, and Sharon smiled. As confused as ever the little girl the little girl looked up to Sharon to ask her what was going on. But before she had a chance a rather impressive looking man opened the door. He was six foot two, with just enough muscles to make a lady feel secure, as he likes to say. His clothes were worn, raggedy and plaid like the outside of the house. However, his hair was cut short and lined up perfectly to his beard that was neatly trimmed. After closing the door behind them he turned to Sharon and said: “Morning, you made it here quickly.” Without waiting for a response, he turned to the little girl and scooped her up! Well, don’t you look beautiful my precious little one.” “Thank you!” she beamed at his comment. He kissed her on the head and put her down. He hugged Sharon and she lingered in his arms for an extra moment as his familiar scent slightly cased her tensed up body. He let her go and they all walked to the steps. “Let’s go inside,” he told them as he started his descent down the stairs. They got to the bottom of the stairs and walked into a well-lit and a living room with very modern furniture. It was a drastic difference compared to the dimly lit room they first walked into, that held only two pieces of rundown furniture. The room they were in was spacious and well decorated. It held a large I-shaped sofa, coffee table, chairs, revelation screens and a desk in the corner. He walked into the kitchen and turned on the water. “You guys get settled in and I’ll get some tea started” Sharon walked out the room into the hallway and the little girl followed suit. Sharon brought her to the second room in the hallway and explained that they would be here for a while and she should relax. Sharon was going to figure out what was going on but first, she would have a talk with Uncle G. Before she left the room, she turned on the T.V. and handed the little girl a backup Tommy that was in one of the bags. She left the door slightly ajar as she left the room and went back to the kitchen. Sharon entered just as the kettle went off. She turned to him and said, “Let’s Talk.”