The Lost Ones

II

Time hung in the air like a loose thread. The light-bulb in the oven ticked with each minute. She noticed the way their eyes kept shifting to the ring. Lumps the size of rocks slid down her throat.

She was rigid. They knew about the ring. Her own mother didn't know much about the ring; expect that her father left very clear, explicit instructions to wear it the second she turned 18. She had faithfully worn it for almost five years. It was nothing of value, just a dingy metal ring that looked like it came out of a gumball machine. Engraved on its rounded flat top was a triangle with two smaller shapes. She liked to picture clouds.

Luciana remembered her eighteenth birthday well. Her body was shaking. Fingernails were stabbing into her shoulders as she woke up. Her room was dark. The curtains were drawn, and all the lights were shut off.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Luciana stumbled around in the dark wrapped in her sheets.

"We don't have much time Lucy", her mom began, "take this and never take it off. It was a gift from your father. He left it before he vanished. " Her mother's shaky hands fumbled with a small velvet box.

For as long as she could remember, her mother had always been looking over her shoulder. Questioning everyone who crossed their path. She slipped on the ring as her mother kissed her forehead and sent her back to sleep. That was her final day of peace. That morning, Luciana's mother spent all her time peeking her eyes through the blinds. Being very careful not to lift them too much or approach any area where the light poured in. A light sheen of sweat covered her mother as she paced the house in her skinny straped night gown.

Luciana stayed in bed listening to her mother's feet shuffle against the carpet. Her mother had always feared someone would break into the house and snatch her away.

Luciana left for work, except this time she walked alone. Her shift was normal. She walked home. Her job was only a ten-minute walk from her house. It was the only reason her mother had let her apply before she turned 18. Luciana dug in the back pocket of her jeans for her key. She took a deep sigh, preparing for her mother's wrath and questioning about her whereabouts. Even though Luciana told her and left little notes stuck to different places in the house.

She pushed her key in, and the door opened. Her mother never left the door open.

She lightly nudged it open the rest of the way with her foot, "mom, are you inside?" her voice shook as she stared at the darkness. Of course, she wasn't. Where else would she be? She called police. They arrived, checked the scene, and filed a report. Spoke with neighbors, which did no good. They said she had just left and forgot to lock the door. It was the last time she saw her.

"Do you know what this means?" Alessandro looked up at her with an intense look in his eyes. Luciana shook her head as her fingernails dug into the tough leather of her briefcase. Her knuckles are turning white.

"This," he pointed to his finger. The same symbol adorned his knuckles. Luciana could only stare at him.

"Where did you get yours?" demanded Alec. He looked like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse, and his slanted eyes glared at Luciana. She said nothing. How did she know she could trust them? What if they were from the government and thought she was crazy? What if her father was killed by a gang, and they were here because he owed money? What if they came to kill her? What if they took her mother? Then why did her father leave her a ring that would lead them straight to her? She never met the man. Was she supposed to blindly trust him? She only wore the ring because her mother asked her to!

Thoughts buzzed back and forth in her mind like angry wasps swarming and stinging everything in its path. "Luciana." If they were going to kill her, she wasn't going down without a fight.

She swung the briefcase towards Alec. He had been steadily creeping towards her, waiting for an answer. It connected with his jaw as he fell back onto the couch cushions.

"Damn it," Alessandro grabbed a pillow from the sofa and blocked Luciana's fist before it hit his eye. She swung her left arm, only to feel Zale's hand wrap around her forearm. She swung hard, slamming Zale into Alessandro's chest. Alec lunged at her waist. They tumbled onto the coffee table. Luciana felt the pieces of wood splintering into her back. " Will you just calm down for one minute?" panted Alec. They had been through enough fighting for one night for Luciana to act out.

He was too distracted to see the table leg flying towards his head. His eyes shut before he heard a slap. Alessandro's hand caught the wood before it crashed into his brother's head. Luciana's wild eyes caught Alessandro's. Zale helped Alec to his feet. "We're not going to hurt you." Alessandro crouched down towards Luciana. Her eyes darted back and forth between his, searching for a sign of a lie. She remained weary of the men in front of her. How could she have carelessly let three full-grown men into her apartment? The coffee table leg in her hand fell. A small glow emitted from her hand. The table leg was charred. A small bit of ash sprinkled the floor where it landed. Heat warmed her face as she stared at her palm. Her eyes traced the fire coursing through her veins as it lit them up with a soft glow. She had always been warm. Her mother called her a personal heated blanket. On cold winter nights, when the moon was high and the wind banged against the windows, she would crawl into her mother's bed. The scent of pears and rain circled around her. She could feel the chill in her mother's legs as she wound herself between them. "Hello, my darling," her mother mumbled. She cuddled her closer and kissed her forehead. At times, Luciana thought that maybe her mother, in her sleep, thought it was her father that had come back.

"Mom," she whispered. Her mother mumbled.

"What was dad like?" Her innocent eyes looked up. Her mother didn't like discussing her father. Her fingers ran through Luciana's hair as she listened to her mother's slow breathing. It was the last time she asked about her father.

"Your father was a good man. He was tall, handsome, kind, charming. He was the best man I ever met. Long ago, before you were born, we met at a coffee shop. It was a slow day, and the shop was empty except for me. My manager had some shop errands, and my coworker had to pick up her kids from school. He was wearing a black suit. He had black hair and somewhat of beard-stubble on his face. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. I can't really remember what he ordered, but I think it was a plain black coffee. He came back the next day at the same time and ordered something else. Every day for a week, he ordered something that would purposely take longer to order. "Her mother's eyes smiled at the memory playing before her. But something turned dark.

"Your father and I started dating, and two months later, I found out I was going to have you. After you were born, your father left a ring and told me to wear it every day and that when you turned 18, I should give it to you. When we returned home, he held you, kissed your forehead, kissed me, and he walked out the door. That was the last we saw of him. He never came back, he never called, he never wrote".

"Why did he leave?" hot tears rolled down her face as she felt her mother cry. Her father didn't want her or her mother. What more was she to do? That night, she promised never to speak of him again. For years, she prayed that something terrible had happened to him and that he didn't want to leave them. At first, it was a dragon that came and swooped him away, far off into the clouds where no one ever went. Then, as she got older, it changed. It was no longer a dragon, but she hoped her father was hit by a car, and no one knew who he was, and that's why he never came back. Because he didn't know where the house was. She came to the realization that he didn't want a family. Maybe he thought she was so ugly that he could never think of her as a daughter.

All she truly felt was that she should never discuss this with her mother. She didn't want to feel her sadness again. She wondered why her mother was always looking around and checking the doors twice before going to bed, but she decided that her mother wanted to keep her safe. And that was enough for her.

The smell of smoke brought her back to reality. She stumbled backward as the memories faded from her head. Memories she had suppressed and fought to keep away. She felt dizzy. Almost like she was on those annoying carnival rides that spin you as you stand up. Everything was moving faster and faster until she hit the wall.

"Luciana?" Alessandro and the boys ran over to her.

Zale sprinted into the kitchen and started shuffling through her cupboards.

Alec threw a pillow to Alessandro and turned into the bedroom. She wanted to scream at them. But if she opened her mouth, she would get sick. She could feel the cold sweat pooling on her forehead and drip down her neck. Her lungs felt heavy and empty. Zale dipped the hand towel into water, wringing it out before laying it on her head. The room was blurry as it spun. She could barely make out any of their faces anymore.

"Close your eyes. It'll help with the spinning." Alessandro's words sounded like a blender going off in her ear.

Without question, her eyes shut themselves like they were guarding treasure. She felt like she was losing herself. Like something else was coming forward. She didn't want to see darkness. She tried hard to keep her eyes open but ultimately succumbed to the darkness of her apartment. Her light breathing was the only sign that she was alive.