Up here I could escape it. Getting my fill of the view, I took a seat on a bench overlooking a Koi fish pond several feet away. From here, the water looked opaque green, its surface ruffling from the breeze. There were lily pads in bloom, and I watched as their white petals fluttered in the wind.
I inhaled deeply and slowly savoring the smell of the greenery around me.
Dad had once said that when he died, he wanted his soul bound to the gardens so he could roam our favorite place forever. Maybe it was wishful thinking on my part, but I came here often in the hope that if I didn’t sense his spirit, he was somewhere out there still alive.
This had been our place. My parents would bring me to this park for family picnics every week. But that had been before the world changed, before the Vepar took over...before I lost everything.
With a long exhale, I dropped my handbag near my feet and remembered the tales of how he'd proposed to Mom. He had brought her to this very location with takeout burgers from their favorite burger place for them to eat, and a diamond ring in his pocket. He had used his last savings to buy the band, but that was my Dad. He always told me he’d sell the clothes off his back for my mom. He would have done anything for her…anything for us. They had loved each other with a love that everyone around them had envied.
Mom had admitted to me once after Dad had told that story for the thousandth time that she knew what he had planned all along. But when he fell to his knees in this exact spot, she had still burst out crying from joy even though she expected it.
Something in my chest tightened as I pictured the scene, and then of course my mind inevitably tried to picture my own engagement. Somewhere in the far-off future...if at all. Tears pricked my eyes thinking about the fact that my parents wouldn’t be there to see it, or even hear about it.
Heaviness sat in my chest, tearing me apart at not knowing if my parents were still alive. For so long, I told myself they were somewhere, maybe held captive, but it had been years since they vanished. Not a word or note...not anything. They wouldn’t have just left me.
Hope.
I held onto it like a lifeline, praying one day I'd see them again, see their smiles, hear their voices. I sighed. I was just kidding myself.
The minutes ticked by as I sat in the park, my mind heavy with sorrow. The shadows surrounding me stretched across the landscape, and the fiery sky darkened. A quick check of my cell showed I only had ten minutes remaining before closing time. My stomach was growling in hunger too, so I collected my bag and headed home.
Outside the gardens, cars filled the road. As I turned down the sidewalk, a black vehicle parked across the road caught my attention. It was the same one from this morning, the same one I had been looking for over my shoulder all day. It sat there with its tinted windows rolled up, and my stomach sunk all the way to my toes.
Please don't let it be him.There were a million black sedans in this city. I told myself it could be anyone. Tucking my chin into my chest, I held my bag tight under my armpit, and walked as quickly as I could away.
Looking back, the car was still parked, and I memorized the number plate. VRA001. When the brake lights came on, a small cry fell from my lips.
I started running, my heart hitting the back of my throat as my unreasonable fear grew. The park stretched out for blocks, so when the cars stopped at the traffic lights, I crossed the road toward the store fronts and apartment buildings. Without pausing, I sprinted as fast as I could, dodging an elderly couple waiting for the bus, and swishing past a group of girls chatting. One quick look back showed me that the black car was driving off in the opposite direction.
I should have breathed easy as its tail lights faded into the distance, but I couldn't stop running and I couldn’t remove the fear clinging to my ribs. A sudden gust of wind came out of nowhere, ripping at my hair and clothes, tossing garbage from an overturned trash can across the ground. But still I kept running.
By the time I arrived home, I could barely catch my breath. I didn’t bother going around to the back of the building to go up the fire escape. Instead, I ran through the front, not even looking at my landlord who was skulking around the lobby. Once I got to my apartment, I shut the door behind me fast, and then I ran across the apartment and locked the window too.
Once finished securing the place with the meager security my place offered me, I flopped onto the couch in the dimly lit main room, still clutching my bag, and trying to catch my breath.
"Shit!" I started laughing somewhat hysterically at the thought that I had just run across town for no other reason than I had seen one of the million black sedans in the city. I was being ridiculous.
A small voice inside my head reminded me that there was a chance it had been him. The notion sat like a boulder in my gut. I had heard the warnings about the Vepars since they had arrived, people saying that you should never gain the attention of the beautiful ones, what if I had?
I sat my bag on the cushion next to me when my phone dinged with a message. I flinched and dug my hand into the bag to grab the phone. Greg. My boss never messaged me, and I frowned, reading the message.
I've changed your shift from day to afternoon. This includes closing up the diner. Starts immediately.
Bastard! Reading the message over and over didn't change the cold hard facts. He was cutting back my hours and wanted me to clean and close up while he left early. He was pissed because I hadn’t volunteered my free time, and now I was paying the price with a permanent punishment if I didn’t find another job quick. My chest burned up, feeling as if it might detonate like a supernova.
Who the hell did he think he was?
I tossed my phone onto the couch and leaned forward, hugging my middle. Fewer hours meant less money, so this made my decision to find a new job even easier. First thing in the morning, I'd visit every food joint in the city with my resume.
I glanced across the room at the fridge, thinking about the stale quiche that awaited me for dinner. My eyes raked across my gym bag as I looked around the room. I groaned and sagged into my seat.
"Oh, crap!" I'd forgotten to do my daily gym time, and I didn't need another reason for a Vepar to pay me attention. I dragged myself off the couch and headed to the closet to change into lycra pants and a tank top, hating my life while mapping out the shortest route to the gym that would keep me from prying eyes...or black sedans.