Carolina Dance

Chapter 1

1.I remember what it was like to express love and to show care toward others. I remember how liberating it felt to put others before myself. Despite how fresh on my mind those great feelings of sharing and caring for others were, though, I couldn’t bring myself to reunite with them. I believed for so long that the world was a cold place that taught some chilling lessons, especially to the weak, sensitive man. Maybe that’s why I have become cold, cantankerous, and maybe even a little lonely. Maybe this is what the world and life have molded me into. Looking around, I haven’t seen many males I would consider real men, role models, or heroes. Even reading the news, I can’t find any great examples of men. Particularly men with brown skin like mine; they typically only become negative headlines. They say if you want to see more love in the world, you have to show more love to others. I agree with this concept, but most of the time I’m not able to apply it.

On this day, I did what I do every morning after contemplating those various thoughts. I got up from my bed, laced my fingers together, and pushed my palms up to the ceiling to stretch my body while yawning. I then made my way to the bathroom to wash my face and looked myself in the mirror, asking myself, “Do I really have to go through another day?” After covering my tank top and boxer briefs with my workout clothes, I made my way downstairs to my gym in the basement.

My house was a nice size—two floors and a basement. Very well kept and clean, and very quiet and empty. I flipped on the light switch in the gym. I could see the small dust particles hit the light. It was an early sign that the gym would soon need to be cleaned. The smell of sweat, musk, and hard work filled the air. I glanced around and saw my punching bags, weights, treadmill, Jiu-Jitsu and Wing Chun dummies, and my meditation area where I reluctantly practiced yoga and various internal martial arts. My weapons rack was just as I had left it: filled with swords, staffs, daggers, you name it. I had just about every weapon you could name except guns, but I had gotten enough practice with those back in my Special Forces days. I breathed in the heavy air. “Shall we dance?” I said aloud, and began my stretching and warm-up exercises.

After gulping down a bottle of water, I took a shower. I put on some clothes and made my way downstairs to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Sometimes I have tea, but today I was craving a cup of coffee for some reason. I looked inside the dark but organized cabinet and found the coffee container. I grabbed it and shook it about. It felt light in my hand and when I took a look inside, it was empty. Not one coffee bean. Great. I was really not in the mood to go outside before having my liquid elixir, plus I didn’t like dealing with people so early in the morning. I set the coffee container down on the countertop with the rhetorical question, “How does an empty coffee tin spawn all of these emotions?”

I then walked out of the kitchen, through the living room, and to the front door. I grabbed my wallet and keys from the console table next to the door and placed them in my pants and coat pockets. I picked up my cell phone which was charging on the console table and unlocked it to check for any missed calls or messages, which I rarely had. “Well, what do you know? No missed messages.” I then unplugged it and started to put it in my coat pocket. Well, I don’t have many people contacting me, and I don’t think I would like it if I did… I sarcastically thought to myself. I laid the phone back on the console table and walked out the door.

Outside, darkness covered the clear sky and morning dew coated the grass. The smell of the air was refreshing. I really liked the early mornings. It was quiet and peaceful with hardly any people outside. There was not another single individual I could see from my driveway. It was great. The solitude has to be the reason I like the early mornings so much. My car was parked in the garage, but since the coffee shop was just a few blocks from my house I figured I’d walk there. Just as I was about to turn onto the sidewalk I heard a noise. It was comparable to what you would hear from someone when they’re jogging—a light pant. I looked towards the sound. Across the street, I saw a young girl on the sidewalk running in the opposite direction which I was heading. She was wearing dark loose clothing which looked like pajamas and she steadily looked back over her shoulder as if someone was pursuing her. I looked up the sidewalk and didn’t see anyone. Not a person, animal, car… not squat. It was hard to make out whether the girl was black or white. She actually appeared to be a mix between the two. She never even glanced in my direction as she continued to make her way up the sidewalk. I just watched as she passed by.

Hmm, she can’t be more than twelve or thirteen years old, and it’s a bit too early in the morning for her to be heading to school… I shrugged and continued walking. After all, it wasn’t my problem. The little brat didn’t belong to me.

I made it to the coffee shop, a medium-sized building on the corner. Centered above the front door was a large sign that read Don’s Coffee. I’ve never met the owner but I may have seen him once. There was a time, maybe a couple months back, when a gentleman pulled up in a nice limo—a limo like the ones celebrities pull up in for their red carpet moment. The gentleman was Hispanic, dressed in a nice and what appeared to be expensive dark blue suit. Between the suit, the shiny gold watch, the fancy sunglasses, and the dark oak-colored shoes, I’d say he was wearing about five thousand dollars. I remember this gentleman entered the coffee shop in a hurry, headed to the back, returned with a pouch and stack of papers, and exited the coffee shop just as fast as he had come in. I assumed he was the owner because I heard one of the coffee shop employees say, “Bye, Don.” I remember that the experience made me wonder how a coffee shop owner could afford all that, especially considering that Don’s Coffee had only one establishment; but I didn’t know his business and didn’t care to learn, so I just ignored the incident. The coffee and food were good, and that’s all I cared about.

I walked toward the door of the coffee shop. Just before I entered, I took a peek through the foggy glass and noticed there were a number of people inside. Why are so many people up this early? I grumbled to myself. As I stepped into the coffee shop, the aroma of coffee and pastries hit my senses. There were three baristas working: one was on the register, the other two were fashioning the drinks. The barista closest to the door noticed me.

“Good morning, sir,” he greeted.

I just nodded in recognition and made my way to the end of the line. There were about seven people sitting around with their drinks and food, having conversations, and all had their cell phones out and were checking them every fifteen seconds or so. It always makes me wonder how two people can truly have a face-to-face conversation while constantly staring at their screens… I quickly evicted the thought from my mind.

In the line there were three people before me. The first two appeared to be a Middle Eastern couple who were ordering together, then there was a white guy in front of me with a nice-looking but cheap suit; two ladies walked in behind me. So altogether there were six of us. Everyone in line, with the exception of me, had their cell phones in hand too, not allowing half a minute to elapse before kissing the screens. The guy in front of me kept brushing the front of his suit off like every ten seconds. There’s nothing on your suit, dude. I don’t even see any dust particles floating around. I mean, this guy kept looking down at his phone then up and around the coffee shop over and over again, as if he were on a stage and all eyes were on him. Then he would look down at his suit and brush it off just before burying his head back in his phone. I just shook my head.

The couple at the front of the line completed their order, and the suit guy moved up to the register. The two ladies behind me looked to be in their mid- to late twenties. One was black and the other was white. Both were nicely dressed and fairly attractive. I would’ve probably been interested in them if they weren’t so loud and vain. All I could hear was, “I went to buy this here, and I plan to go here, and you won’t believe this, and I saw her here, and him there.” The two were typing on and showing each other their phones, just yakking and yapping back and forth. It was like they were competing against each other. I stepped up then slightly out of the line to put some distance between me and them and to give my ears a break from the ringing.

I placed my order. It was a medium black coffee, no cream or sugar. I got my coffee and quickly pressed for the front door of the shop. As I was exiting, I nearly bumped shoulders with a guy who was entering. He was white, black-haired with a fit build. He was wearing a black suit and a black shirt which was unbuttoned at the top. We locked eyes as he entered and I exited. There was something cold but familiar in his eyes. Accompanying him was an Asian man, about the same build and dressed in similar attire. Outside, I paused and gazed back through the misty glass door. I noticed the Asian guy starting to talk to one of the baristas. After a few seconds the barista rushed to the back of the shop. I just sort of grinned and decided to ignore it. As I began to walk, a vehicle across the street that wasn’t there when I’d gone in caught my eye. It was a black van with lightly tinted windows. It looked like a surveillance van. It reminded me of the van from that show The A-Team. There was a white man in the driver’s seat with his eyes fixed on the front entrance of the coffee shop. I thought the whole thing was a bit strange but didn’t feel it was my problem, so I blew it off and continued walking home. The roads were still pretty empty, not a single other person walking outside.

I made it to the street where I lived before I heard the light rev of a vehicle coming up behind me. I glanced over my right shoulder, and there was the same black van I saw parked outside of Don’s Coffee. The van passed by me slowly. I could see the driver, and in the passenger seat appeared to be the black-haired white guy from the coffee shop, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. The two were surveying the area as if they had lost something. I didn’t seem to catch their eyes or make them curious, so I just watched as the van hitched past me and continued down the street. When they were about twenty yards ahead of me, I heard the engine go into a high rev. The tires screeched and the van darted full speed down the street and made a right turn, nearly jumping the curb. Whoa… why are those guys in such a hurry? I thought to myself. Just as the van made the turn I could hear the echo of sirens behind me. I looked over my right shoulder and saw flashing red and blue lights. There were at least six police squad cars. It appeared they were in pursuit of the black van, but they all stopped where I was. Three of the cars formed a half circle around me as I stood still on the sidewalk, and the other three staggered in around the first three. Police officers exited the cars quickly with guns drawn. I dropped the cup of coffee in panic and raised my hands.

“What in the…!” I shouted.

“STOP!”

“FREEZE!”

“HANDS UP!”

“DON’T MOVE!”

“GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!”