OCEANIA

VII

The blue and white dress uniform was uncomfortable but not as uncomfortable as what Elise said. I found out her name. She mentioned The Fourth Wall as a jewelry store and that might be my next lead. I need to ask her about it later. Working here wasn’t so bad. I heard the ding of the table bell. “Hello, how can I…” I stopped in my tracks as I noticed that it was Kera and Sara. “Okay, let's get this straight”, I crossed my arms, “this is a jewelry store but we have a ‘no slut’ policy”. That was the first time I was speaking up to Kera. Helen is the one with the sharp tongue but no one messes with my best friend and gets away with it. “Oh please save it!” she snapped, “you can’t even come up with good disses. I need a bracelet for my girlfriend”.

“What happened to the ‘liking girls makes you evil but dating them takes you to hell’ thing that you were preaching all around school?”

“Let’s just say I’ve grown wiser”.

“You can’t grow in what you never had”. I shot back.

She went red in the face so I decided to add some more, “red doesn’t look good on you”, I smirked, “but it sure proves that my ‘good disses’ have a great effect”. This felt great. Having the power to shut people up with sarcasm and a smirk is pure genius. “See, we didn’t come here to argue”, Sara finally spoke up, “can we just have a look at some bracelets?” “Not surprised that the devil spoke up”, I challenged, “you really have some nerve coming here”.

"Wiberly or whatever your name is, things didn’t work out between Helen and I”, she frowned, “okay? So, get it out of your system! I wasn’t the one who called and said it was over. I didn’t do anything wrong”. “Was that before or after you were sucking on Kera’s face?” Helen appeared behind me. She gave us a shock but Sara had fright written all over her face. Helen pressed her lips together into a hard smirk and asked, “your little play toy didn’t tell you that she kept me posted?”

As Sara shot a glare at Kera, Helen nodded for me to go. I smiled before walking away. Helen never confronted Sara about it because she didn’t want to feel worse but today, she has to be strong. I'm actually glad Helen stepped in. I couldn’t hold that brave face for long. I need to find Elise and fast. The room suddenly became filled with tense air. I could feel panic building in my chest but why? My eyelids weighed a ton. It was difficult to keep my eyes opened. My vision started to blur and the everything had a double. The wall seem to be closing in on me and sucking the air from the room. I held my neck to prevent myself from choking but it wasn’t walking. I let the darkness overshadow me as my body collapsed with a thud.

An indistinct whispering, awoke some of my senses. My vision was still blurry but I could make out that the room was dark and empty. Two shadows were outlined in the corner by a thin blue light. My right hand stretched towards them without my will. What is going on? My mind wondered. This wasn’t like the nightmares. This felt too real: real darkness, real shadows and real pain. My body was limb and stiff. My thoughts had distracted me from the figures. One of them crouched down beside my body. He outlined my hand that had been seeking help before saying, “she’s growing weak. She needs to find the cast now”.

The masculine figure still in the corner looked oddly like the guy who dived into the water at Alameda. He was leaned against the wall with a carefree attitude. “Help me!” My mouth opened without permission. I didn’t even recognize the voice that came out my throat. It was raspy and weak; almost like I was dying. “We can’t give any form of assistance”, the accent in the voice was distinct, “she needs to take this task more seriously but until then, let's leave her”. Don't go! My inside voice beckoned. The two of them vanished into the light. I stretched out my hand more but it was pointless. Sighing heavily, I let the darkness take over me. “I know people loved naps but not on the floor”. Elise's voice snapped my eyes open.

I took a sitting position to access myself and the room. Everything looked normal. Bright jewelry illuminating the room, mirrors at every corner and pure white florescent lights. “Are you okay?” She asked. I nodded and answered, “I’m fine…yeah. The brightness of everything must have dazed me…or something”, I dusted my uniform before moving closer, “anyways, I was coming to you”. “Oh! What for?” she was genuinely shocked. “You said something about The Fourth Wall earlier?” I pitched. She smiled with enthusiasm, cleared her throat and said, “that was a remarkable store! I loved it growing up even if they weren’t always good”.

“You don’t say?” I tried to play along.

“It is true! They only got very popular after they hired a very strange lady. I never knew her name but she had an eye for precious stones. Let’s not forget that she was a sweet talker too”.

“That’s great. Where can I find the store?”

“It should be between L.A live way and Figueroa street but I’m not sure where. I haven’t looked at all those stores since I had the dream of Ravens”. She concluded.

That sounded very familiar. I asked for thirty minutes break and Elise agreed even though I have to make up for it later. I didn’t even have time to tell Helen. That dream felt too real for me to ignore. My life is at risk and no one can help me. The muscular guy kinda annoyed me but he's not important right now.

I’m trying to gather my thoughts as I put the car in gear. A sign board clicked my memory. It was about a movie: movies needed tickets and I’ve seen a ticket today. I pulled out my phone to check the photo from earlier. The address was almost like Elise said ‘11th street Chick Hearn Count between L.A live way and Figueroa street’. I setup the GPS system, turned the steering wheel and hit the accelerator. I hope all that happened earlier wasn’t just in my head because with the way I’m driving, I’m risking my car and license. My life had better be at risk like they said.

In no time, I was in front of an antique store. I was confused but I had no time to waste. I pushed the door open. The light jingle of the bell manage to relax me a bit. “Hello and welcome” The woman behind the counter greeted. “Good day ma’am. I'm looking for The Fourth Wall. This is the address, right?” I rushed to the main point. “This is the right address but I’m afraid you won't find the store”. She answered calmly. “Why is that?” I questioned not looking away from her. Her browns eyes finally decided to meet mine as she still answered calmly, “It doesn’t exist anymore”.