Life in the Downfall
1945 Words
“Go home and die, not the road” An angry driver yelled at Vivienne, he rammed his vehicle into a street light close to her, smoke emerged from his car bonnet.
“Holy s**t! you!” he approached Vivienne
“pay up!”.
Vivienne, unbothered by the man in front of her, she curled up on the pavement, she looked up to the sky, let out a loud laugh.
“I'm calling the cops, we'll see who laughs best” The driver angrily picked up his phone to dial.
Luckily Fannie reached in time, breathless from the run to catch up with Vivienne “We can…. handle this…..”
She took out her phone “My friend had a rough night, what's the cost?”
Fannie made a transfer of the cost of the damages caused on the vehicle. Shortly a towing van arrived after the driver called for it.
Fannie watched as the car was towed into the dark, She took Vivienne's hand and walked her to the bench on the pavements “hold on Viv, our ride will be here soon”
Vivienne's eyes were lost in Fannie's, as if she wanted to bore a hole in it “Why?”
Fannie swallowed hard, She knew she could no longer hide the truth, guilt washed over her “Can we have this conversation when we get home?”
“No we cannot,” She can never be deceived a second time.
“This? you? it's all staged, stop the act, why did you help me?” Her eyes turned watery.
“Viv, this is beyond me, believe me, I care about you” Fannie bent before her.
Vivienne flexed her jaws and pushed her out of her sight “Beyond you?. Did I consider the factors of endangering myself when your life was at stake?. When everyone warned me about you, I still chose you over every scandal”.
Fannie swallowed hard, as she sobbed “Viv, please, let's just get home, it's getting late, you shouldn't be seen like this in the streets”
“You think I'm stupid, why would I follow you anywhere, I'm sure the next plan is to end this whole effort with my death”.
“You all may have taken everything from me. But, my life, no one takes it without my permission”.
She stood up, her legs failed her, she pulled out her heels, the very one Diana got for her, when they twinned at the inauguration of Castleworth's new building two years ago.
She let her feet hit the ground and walked away from Fannie, but her dress slowed her down, it felt like her legs were imprisoned.
She took a pair of the heels, bore a hole and ripped out the lower part of her dress. She felt a release as the cold air hit her bare legs.
She walked barefoot under the street lights, Fannie followed her quietly at a distance, enough for Vivienne not to notice.
Vivienne searched for her phone, she remembered it must be with Fannie, at that moment, she turned back and sighted Fannie at a distance, she shouted “Hand me my phone”
Fannie ran across to her, she didn't catch her words. But it felt like she called for her, a tingle of hope brimmed in Fannie's heart.
“Viv” she quietly called her name, with a smile plastered on her face
“Hand me my phone” Vivienne said in authority.
Fannie felt the distance in her voice, she has never used such a tone on her, and she handed it to her.
Vivienne grabbed her phone with force, she looked at her with so much hatred “Stop following me around or I'm calling the cops on you”. She increased her pace away from her.
Fannie transfixed at her position, blaming herself ‘How could I be so stupid to fall for Diana's lies, manipulation and threats'.
“I am no better than Diana, keeping this secret from Vivienne is still betrayal” She scolded herself.
Fannie decided to give her some space, so she got a taxi and told the driver to silently follow Vivienne.
At this point, Vivienne's feet began to hurt, “My life is over” she expressed her pain. The chills from the ground pierced through her feet.
‘Your mother agreed’ her father's words rang heavily in her ears, “Even with my sacrifice, my mother couldn't love me enough” she murmured to herself.
A strong breeze blew her skin, causing an icy sting on her face from the dried tears.
She viewed afar and sighted a figure with flames before it. She encouraged herself to walk more, in order to catch a bit of that heat.
On arrival, she found nobody, just a haggard bag and a black cat purring at her. She sat on the bench close to the cat, allowing the heat from the flames to envelope her body, and she breathed out the cold.
After a while of taking in all the heat, the cat walked on to her thighs and sat on it, she whispered to it, stroking its back “This shows I can still be loved again even if its by a cat”
“And who says only a cat can love you?” Vivienne heard a raspy shaky voice very close to her, she looked beside her, and excitement enveloped her
“Nana” Vivienne threw her body at her, pulling her close to herself.
Nana chuckled “You still remember? I never thought you would, I'm old now, you remember my cat?”
Vivienne felt safer, stroking the cat once more “Oh, this is him, I used to hate him, I'm sorry I treated him bad” Her voice sounded sad.
“It's alright my little pumpkin,” She held Vivienne's hands “but you're all grown now, can I still call you that?”
“Of course Nana, You took care of me when my parents were always busy, I just wish I never grew up”
“Careful what you wish for my darling,” Nana's eyes pierced Vivienne's.
“It's late, why are you not at home?”
“I… Uhm… She… Dad… Mum” She searched for words to explain but found none.
“It's okay, I'm sure you sighted the fire and you were cold, you needed a place to feel warm” Vivienne lifted her head to meet her face, she spoke as though she referred to more than the actual cold.
“Keep me company tonight, let's share the heat together”
Vivienne hesitated, how can she just sit with her? Can she still trust her? She last saw her when she was a teenager.
For a moment realisation hit her ‘Isn't Nana worth more trusting than her family and friends who just betrayed her’
“I'm certain you have nowhere to go, that's why you're roaming the streets, sit with me” Nana urged her.
Vivienne knew she spoke the truth, a second look at her tells it all, mascara smudged, makeup messy, dried snots on the nose, bare feet, dress dirty and torn like being attacked by an animal.
She took her seat, her stomach grumbled at the sight of plain bread. She hadn't eaten all day.
A woman who prefers a platter of dishes and enjoys various savoury tastes now craves plain bread, ‘Life sure plays on you’ her thoughts travelled.
“You're hungry, here, I have enough to take us for the night” Nana hands her a piece of plain bread, her fingers were full of dirt, at that instance, Vivienne wanted to question her and reject it, but her stomach objected making a louder noise, she hurriedly grabbed the bread and took a bite.
Vivienne's eyes shone delightfully 'this taste' she thought, It brought back all childhood memories “Nana, you haven't lost your touch?” She questioned.
“Why would I? Because I'm old”
“Yeah kinda, but you should own a bakery”
“Bakery?” The woman let out a little laugh.
“Enough my child, why do you roam the streets looking this haggard like me?”
Vivienne studied Nana's face, it's strange that she's here feeling comfortable with an old family help, eating her food and now she's about to spill her story, “No, thank you” she responded.
“Well, I know something that can change everything”
At that moment Vivienne knew she needed what Nana talked about “Change?.... Everything?”
“Your story can only produce the very thing that can change everything” the woman said, looking into Vivienne's eyes like she can see through her soul.
Vivienne broke eye contact, looking at the passing cars, a strange feel overshadowed her “I don't think I understood a thing you just said”
“You perfectly understood everything I said” She grabbed her hand and forced a little vintage bottle into it “You'll need this, Eleanor wanted you to have it”
“Mother, wanted me to have it?” Vivienne accessed the tiny bottle in her hand.
She was shocked, the secret serum from her grandmother when she and her mother once visited during a Christmas holiday, now lies in her hands.
“Grandma, this looks very old, what is it for?” Little Vivienne enthusiastically asked.
“Oh my dear, it's from centuries ago, it's been properly concocted, one drop can do a whole lot”
“Like what? Can I try it grandma?” She tried to get hold of the bottle.
“Not yet my dear, your mother is gonna keep it safe, you'll have it when the time is right”
Vivienne became perplexed for a while, and her brain alerted her afterwards. It felt like a scheme, Nana seemed like a distraction, just as Fannie pretended to care.
She needed to focus, her pain, her broken self, her shattered heart.
“I don't need anything from any of you, I'm sure you were sent to distract me, Fannie failed and you're no different” Vivienne tried to fight her hand away from her, but she couldn't, she felt stuck.
“When it is time, say everything you have to say to it, for the rest, your intuition will lead you” Nana seemed carefree about Vivienne's reactions towards her.
At that moment, Vivienne's phone lit up. It was her mother's sister. “Can you let go now?” She asked her
“Remember, some wounds cannot be healed in the present” Nana released her hand.
Vivienne's talk with her aunt gave her a brim of hope, her face lightened up with joy, she booked a cab immediately, turned over to say a goodbye to the woman.
Empty, just her, the bench and the street light.
The cold air of the night surged into her, “where could she have gone in such a short time”
Immediately, she sighted a cop patrol vehicle approaching her, on arrival they got off to meet her.
“You must be Ms Castleworth, is everything okay?. We have been watching you act strange, we got calls of your disappearance, Ms Diana Bolton will be here soon” the officer offered her a bottle of water.
“Diana?” Vivienne knew that the arrival of Diana would be bad news for her.
She decided on the spot and ran into a dark alley, as fast as her feet would carry her, never looking back.
- Writer
