Poseidon's Heart

Gabrielle jolted awake in the middle of the night. She was gasping desperately with stretched arms, calling. "Help! Phil!" She wiped the beads of sweat off from her face as she tried to calm down. "It's only a dream, Gabrielle." She whispered to herself. She gathered her blanket with shaking hands and wrapped herself in it. It felt warm on her bare skin, dry and comforting, far from the nightmare that she just had. Gabrielle gazed into the mirror across her bed to see her how much weight she lost because of sleepless nights. Her green eyes looked sunken and lifeless, her cheekbone appear more pronounced adding years to her lovely face. She fought sleep days at a time, to avoid this night terror, but the dreams keep coming more frequently as the months passed. Her nightmare, she recalled, always start in an open water. Whirlpools slowly form around her and whenever she tries to swim away, another one would pop out to try and swallow her alive. She sat at the edge of the bed, and opened her drawer. She took a bottle of pills in her hand and reluctantly opened it. The doctor gave this to her to calm her nerves, for a moment she was tempted to take it, but she opted to write on her journal instead. She started scribbling: The pain is real, everytime I go through the same hellish torture, I could feel the burning sensation of water pushing its way down to my nostrils and slowly filling up my lungs. I would shake my head in panic, but the more I move the faster the water enters my body. The feeling of going underwater and screaming for help. Everything in me fights to survive as the storm toys with me and toss my head in and out of water. My legs will slowly develop cramps until I could not swim any longer. This would go on for a long time, but death in my dreams, does not come. I wait for it to claim me, but I am always stuck in agony, not knowing when will the waves finally put me out of misery. She stayed up staring at the blank wall trying to figure out whatever is causing her problem. Could it be Phil's death? But Phil passed away months before. This couldn't be because of that. Gabrielle decided that the only way to shake off is through distraction, that's why at the first light of dawn she put on her trainers and went for a jog. While on the run she couldn't help smile as she remembered how she and Phil first met. This has been her home for three years ever since she ran away from her dad and her evil stepmom. Phil has been more than a father to her than the real one. Hel took her in when she was only sixteen, cold and hungry she would frequent his bakery and steal whatever she could in order to eat. At first, she thought that he doesn't notice her hiding bread under her shabby clothes until she caught him looking at her on the mirror. "Please take whatever you need to eat." He said to her without breaking eye contact. He looks sincere, and his eyes are kind. "I.. I am just so hungry. I'm sorry.." She muttered. "I don't mind you eating from this shop, but let me.. Before he could say another word. She bolted out of the shop leaving the bread on the floor. Days passed by, Phil patiently wait for her to return but she never came back. Until a heavy blizzard struck their place. It wasn't even noon when dark clouds started to billow in the sky. The deadly cold wind blows mercilessly as the homeless huddles on the fire pits under a bridge. This is where everyone takes shelter for now. Gabrielle sat with the other homeless kids like her. Many of them are members of gangs and involved in selling drugs. "Baby, I could take you to sleep somewhere warm tonight." One guy approached her. "No thank you." She answered. "But I insist" He said as he tried to pin her to the wall. Many of them walked away to avoid them while some people stood and watch while this pervert tried to grope her. "I can be your sweetheart for tonight." He whispered as his lips touched her ear. His stench wafted as she fought to free her wrist from his clutch. "Let me go, you moron!" Gabrielle screamed. She fought hard to free herself but to no avail. The guy tried to drag her in a more secluded area but she was lucky when a police car suddenly passed by them. "Help!" She screamed at the top of her voice. Tears started running down her face as soon as the car stopped. "Hey! Stop!" The officer shouted at my attacker but he ran very quickly disappearing through the the darkness. He pursued him still giving time for Gabrielle to sneak away and ran from him. There's no going back. She swore never to return to Stella and her dad even if it means dying out here in the cold. In her most desperate moment she traced her way back to the bakery to take her chances, shivering, she knocked her frozen fingers on Phil's door. He was surprised to her out in this weather. He quickly opened the door and dragged her inside the shop. She laid there, still as a corpse her mouth almost blue and her cheeks and nose numbed from exposure. "I'm going to get my coat" he said. And when he came back, he brought her a thermos full of hot chocolate and warm bread. "Let me help you." Phil said to her as he wrapped a coat around her shoulder. He rubbed his hands together and pressed them against her cheek. "You could have died out there." "Nobody cares." She said in between shivering. "How long have you been on the streets?" He asked her. "Almost a week now. I ran away from my dad because me and his girlfriend don't get along." Her eyes met his. He looked torn, keeping someone her age could mean trouble for him. "Don't worry, i'll get out of here as soon as the storm's over." "I'm Phil." He offered his hand to her. "And you are?" "Gabrielle." She said. Phil shook her hand firmly looking straight to her eyes. "I need a helper. If you need a place to stay and a job, I could provide both to you." "That would be awesome." Her voice suddenly filled with excitement. No more sleeping on dark alleys. "I only have one condition. No drugs and stealing. I will hire you immediately and pay you reasonably." He said seriously. "You can sleep here at the bakery, I have a little space at the back where you can stay." "Are we going to sleep on the same room?" She asked cautiously. "Heaven's no. Don't mistake my kindness for anything dear. You are barking at the wrong tree. I'm gay. I live upstairs with my two cats, and occasional flings, nothing serious though." "Oh.. I didn't know. i'm sorry. Thanks for helping me Phil, this means a lot to me." "I was living on the streets once, and somebody took me in as well. This time I need to pay it forward." Phil and Gabrielle lived together happily until he died of HIV. There was nothing she could do about it, and two months back, he succumb to his disease. She was devastated but because he taught her well, she was able to manage the day to day running of the bakery. It was his legacy. His last gift for her.