Soul Veil

Evasion-1

Evasion

It was just about Saturday afternoon, but after all the hype of the glitz and glamour from last night, I still felt like a little down time…to do something a little more relaxing to try and unwind.

After a couple of phone calls, Sandy had hooked up a time slot for me to go to the mall after closing, at my favourite record store. Sandy knew the manager there, Jules, and she was only too happy to oblige, as she had an hour leeway before exiting the mall after closing, and of course with a little moolah thrown her way.

I threw on some heels, added a swipe of lipgloss, grabbed my handbag and sent Abe a text message to see if he was keen to meet me there and hangout. I was loving the fact that I could see him so much more easily, now that he was living in LA…and so I didn’t have to wait for him to visit from Arizona, and to try and squeeze in as much quality time as possible with each other when he was here. He sent a reply, saying he was finishing up work in Montebello soon. And it sounded like that he was even more so keen to spend some quality time with one of those specialty frozen yogurts they sold in one of the cafés at the mall before they closed.

I smiled at his reply, not really sure if I should have introduced him to this gem of a find — the most delish frozen yogurts I have tasted, ever, but then smiled again as I knew he was only playing, and we agreed to meet at the record store.

It was just so hot out today, I thought as I loosened my snug, light, half-cut jacket and walked in through the mall about fifteen minutes early, intentionally leaving my sunglasses on until I reached the store.

“Hi Jules.” I smiled at her as I walked in, and she kindly nodded my way before politely reminding the remaining customers of closing hours soon. I was just getting to know Jules through Sandy, and I could see why Sandy was friends with her, and was just totally grateful that someone would let me have some breathing room out in a public place like this to shop without disruption.

These days I could easily download music from an online store, from my home. But there was something about an actual CD or vinyl record that I liked — seeing the expression of the artist from the cover to the blurb and the shout-outs they do on the inside pamphlet. You just can’t get that by downloading a single song, I thought. Plus, I thought the quality sounded just so much clearer, and that it was cool that vinyl was coming back into fashion too.

I placed a couple of CDs that were certain buys on the counter and gave another five to Jules to load into the listening post, to have a listen to them first.

I began to relax and didn’t feel embarrassed nodding my head along to the new music as I mused over if I liked the sound or not, and then looked at the pamphlet that was inside the casing. I was tempted to sing, but thought I had best not. Nodding along was good for now even if it was only Jules here now, with my not so melodic voice.

I pressed the second button to shift the post player to the next CD and caught scent of a familiar cologne. I smiled in comfort and turned expecting to see Abe in the store, but I couldn’t see him. Jules caught my attention and she signaled in another direction to say he had gone again another way. He must be going to the café first, I realised.

But I began to feel a little uneasy for some unknown reason, and so tried to focus on relaxing again and being back on the listening-to-music buzz. I clicked through a couple more tracks on the CD but wasn’t really feeling this music. Or…I began trying to tell myself, it could just be that I was feeling fractionally restless about now being so close, yet actually separated from Abe now, but that shouldn’t be causing concern.

Was something up? I randomly thought just before I sensed that someone else had just walked into the store. I froze up and my senses suddenly went on alert.

I shifted my head unnoticeably to the left, but moved my eyes to the right. I only caught a glimpse of someone as they quickly moved past, looking as if they were gliding on ice.

I’m not gonna back down. I’m not going to run! I instantly told myself.

And I thought they were gone…

After coming back from Tahiti, I’d thought by now that they were either gone, or at least, not after me any longer.

And after coming back, I’d begun grilling Abe and BJ with many questions about the supernatural occurrences that we had seen there, and they’d eventually given in to my wanting to know and we’d had a surface-level heart-to-heart. It seemed that some details weren’t meant to be shared yet, and I’d given a respectful ‘okay’ to having to wait for knowledge on some topics in the end and had just absorbed in what info I could take in while we were on this subject. But as they wouldn’t of course give me all the details on everything supernaturally-related, what they did explain about was the difference between angels that were here to protect, and then the opposite side. Apparently there were these people who associated with a business name, or rather a cult-like organization called the Dark Company. People who served as business people and the like in the city, and who liked to acquire to the company and themselves, others who had potential for knowledge of the supernatural realm, but to only be used for evil and not for good.

But this visitor in the store reminded me that they felt so otherworldly and evil in their manner with the atmosphere they carried, that I was beginning to wonder if they were human…?

Whoosh. I caught their eye as they glided back, daringly close to me. I felt a shiver.

“Excuse me ma’am?” I heard Jules say, but I knew she wasn’t talking to me. “We are just closing now. But we reopen again at nine a.m. tomorrow.”

Ma’am?

I felt another icy breeze drift past as they left, not saying a word.

I turned around just as Abe rushed in through the doors, minus the frozen yoghurts. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, why?” I answered in earshot of Jules, but I knew the answer already.

Abe would have sensed the danger. But was that someone from the Dark Company?

“We have to go,” he said cautiously but seriously enough, that it only took a few milliseconds to figure out what he meant.

I began to hang up the headphones and could feel my heart racing. This wasn’t like a scenario where I knew I needed a diversion from fans… This felt different.

I paused and turned to face Abe. “I have an idea.”

“Hmm?” I could see the hesitation in Abe’s eyes at any thought of separating in this moment, as he was probably already working out what my idea was as I reached into my handbag for my sunglasses.

We rushed out and I led the way, heading towards the next available shoe store that has my style of shoe, before closing time with seconds to spare.

“Wait here?” I asked, and Abe nodded quickly in reply.

I slipped into the store and hurried to buy a pair of flats, while Abe hovered by the entrance rather than standing by my side. I saw the hesitation even though I asked him to wait, as he wasn’t keen on the idea of not being right by my side, but we both knew he could also have a better view of anyone who was entering the store from where he was.

I kept up my rushed pace and Abe followed right on my now flat heels as I looked for the nearest place to hide my other shoes. I spotted someone who walked towards us looking like they were in need of a pick me up, and discreetly set down my recently bought, high-heeled designer shoes. If they may like them, then that was a win for both of us.

I quickly slipped away, but saw out of the corner of my eye the girl picking the shoes up.

“Wow, th-”

I didn’t wait to hear her say anything else, as I didn’t want to attract attention and rushed back to Abe.

“About this idea?” he started, as he eyed up my shopping bag.

“You can’t come with me anyway…” I smiled as I ducked into the exit corridor heading for the restrooms.

“Meet you back here,” Abe called out in reply, and I could sense the hesitation about our separation again, but he really couldn’t come with me into the ladies restroom anyway.

“Sure,” I called back, tiptoeing as I ran, and became aware of the lack of sound from the absence of my heels clinking on the floor, fuelling my idea.

My hand caught the side of the door, as my mind whirled and I tried my hardest not to feel faint as I slipped into the nearest stall and immediately started searching through my oversized handbag. In this moment, I was now wishing we weren’t in the fashion circle where women had to have such ginormous handbags, as it was going to be hard to hide mine.

Means of avoidance was now the new urgent mindset. There were still a few people hanging around the mall cafés before the entire mall closed. Hopefully this plan will be enough for me to be able to slip through the mall and to the exit undetected.

Perfect. It was still in here. I tightly pulled back my long, dark hair into a ponytail and then wrapped it into a bun. Using my other hand, I pulled on a short blond wig and settled it on over my hair. People might be surprised if they knew how carrying a wig in my handbag was actually my usual, and at how many times I’ve had to use one in similar situations just like this one.

What else could I do? I quickly thought, tugging at my jacket as I stripped it off and then wrapped a scarf around my neck. I pulled on some burgundy tights under my skirt. There was no more time for disguise improvisation, I urged to myself, as I slid my bangle stack down my arm into my bag and then placed my jacket over my handbag to conceal it.

I went back out into the mall, but had a feeling that my quick disguise may not make any difference.

I ducked my head but saw something pass that didn’t look human in nature, but more like a shifting shadow. I looked up and now didn’t see a shadow but instead saw a woman standing over the other side of the mall, and just by the feeling I had, I knew this could be the same woman from the store. I quickly tried to look away as I could see she was searching every remaining person here, but then caught her eye — regretting seeing her expression. Her eyes were so dark and a like cat’s, suddenly dilated right before an attack. Whoever she was, she still recognized me and was back on my trail straight away.

Could she catch my scent? I wondered, as she began swiftly weaving her way towards me.

Abe! Where was he?

My eyes frantically searched for him and then I found him standing at the café by the corridor. He was there waiting and met my eyes the second I walked his way. He did a double-take, but it didn’t slow his reaction one bit.

I looked toward the direction of the woman but she had gone.

I turned my eyes back to Abe and he gave a quick surprised-looking smirk before looking serious again as he met me, took my hand and we raced ahead. Was I really not that good at being in disguise? But surely Abe and my parents could always find me, could know it was me.

We rushed through the remaining bustle of people. Abe must have sensed my distress, despite my disguise, as it wasn’t offering any confidence now.

“How was your day?”

“How was your day?” I smiled back nervously as we rushed up the escalator and then along the mall’s top level toward the parking lot exit doors.

“Tell me about Alezmé…”

This distraction worked. I knew he didn’t really want to know about my day right at this moment, and he hadn’t really asked too much about her yet, while getting to know each other. But like a shockwave of lightning, it unexpectedly, totally worked as we weaved through people ambling through the mall in the same direction toward the exits.