Sal and elderly woman alone in her nearly vacant apartment staring

at the back of a painting that's on the wall that she has never looked at.

She leaves with the painting and goes to a part of town where she has not been in a long time.

What can I do for you today?Sal carefully places the painting on the counter.

Wow, he says i haven't seen one of these in a while,I know this style.There use to be a woman who came in here quite frequently back in the day.She would bring a painting in here almost every week,she pretty much kept my shop afloat.

Well I'm back.

No,you don't even resemble her,I know people change through the years,but what happened to you?

The wears and tears of life plus several facial surgeries and so on.

Why?

Because I'm dead,when your dead nobody notices you.

Whatever you say lady.Let me take a look at it.What's that written on the back?What does rescue and restore mean?

It means nothing to you.How much will you give me?

I can have this sold before the end of the day.I know an owner right now looking for this type of art.

I'll give you two hundred dollars.

I'll take it.

This is a nice piece,do you want to take one more look at it before it's gone?

No,it would be too painful.

So you're selling it to get rid of your pain?

Yeah you could say that.

Sal leaves pawnshop. She needs a hit right away. She doesn't have the time to get back to her familiar surroundings.She remembers a guy named Nik who she met one night, who said he lived in this area. She searches through her purse, finds his number and calls Nik.

Nik answers. Hello?

Hello Nik this is Sal.

Sal who?

Remember one rainy night, you helped me out. I bought you a coffee and meal and sent you home in a taxi.

How could I forget.That was one of the nicest things anybody has ever done for me.

How can I help you Sal?

I need a fix real bad.

Okay where are you?

I think it's called Robertson.

You're in my neck of the woods. I'm just a few blocks west of Casey.

I'm on my way but I have to pick up a prescription.

I'll be there in twenty minutes.

Oh Sal, where on Robertson?

I'm standing next to a store called Discus.

Oh yeah, the record store, see ya soon.

Nik pulls up in a red Camaro and Sal gets in.

Nik drives to a parking lot.

Sal you don't look to good. What's going on?

I haven't been well Nik.

Sal you have really changed in a month. Have you seen a doctor?

I've got a hundred dollars Nik what can you give me?

I got some stuff here that will put you in another galaxy.

She hands Nik the money.

Nik says no that's okay,it's on me Sal.

You helped me out that night, and I want to return the favor. Are you sure Nik?

Yes Sal, do you have a way back home?

Yes, I do Nik.

I gotta take off Sal. I have to meet up with my friend Rob.

Maybe we'll hook up soon.

Okay,thanks Nik.

Sal leans against a parked car,she pulls out her pipe,she lights up,nothing happens, she refills again, nothing.

She says to herself, I just gave something away that meant the world to me and in return I get nothing.

I guess the punishment fits the crime.

Sal tries several times to call Nik,s number but he doesn't respond.

Sal starts to aimlessly walk down an unknown street.,once in a while sitting down for a smoke, she recognizes some parts of the city, but she feels lost.

By this time her mind and body are starting to weaken. She needs to sit and rest her legs.

She spots a cafe across the street called Karma Cafe,she thinks to herself,how fitting.

She opens the door it must be lunch hour the place is filled to capacity.

She spots a chair in the corner and drops her tired body down.

A waitress approaches her.

Hi,I'm Deb, sweetheart normally I wouldn't allow anyone to sit here, its just an extra chair, but you look exhausted ma'am.

Can I get you anything?

Yes, a coffee,black.

I hope your here for the coffee and not the view,we had some vandalism down the hall,and where your sitting is where the security guard sat.

Sal sips her coffee while looking around the room at all the busyness.

Her eyes start to wander down the hall.

She sees a painting on the wall, her eyes are fixated by the patterns, she sinks into the colour's.

Suddenly she's feeling an intense high.

How can this be she says to herself?

Deb approaches her.There's a table available right now.

Sal doesn't respond.Deb raises her voice and says.

If sitting here puts a smile on your face like that, you can sit here whenever you want.

Days pass,on,every morning Sal goes to coffee shop early in the morning, sipping her coffee in her favourite chair.

One day in the Cafe. In walks Nik He approaches Sal.

I'd join you but there's only one chair, let's grab a table.

No,she says, sit in this chair,I'll get an extra one.

Deb brings an extra chair, leaves and comes back with a small table.

She says,i hate seeing you sitting here all alone.

Nik orders a coffee.

What are you doing in my neck of the woods,Nik?

I had to pick up a parcel for my friend Rob.

You guys seem close.

Yeah,he's my best friend.

He told me about this new Cafe.

I had to check it out.

You look different Sal.

Nik I've been clean for over a week.

How?You told me you have been using most of your life.

Nik, that day we met up again, I lit up my pipe and nothing happened.

Thats impossible Sal, that shit put me on my ass.

Nik, I'm telling you the truth.

That day I came into this Cafe it changed my life.

I sat in that chair and experienced a high I never felt before.

Would you like to experience it Nik?

Sal, you're telling me that,while i sit in this chair,I'm going to get high.

Bring it on Houdini.

Okay Nik,relax and slowly focus your eyes to the end of that hallway.

Nik is silent . He gets out of his chair and starts walking towards the painting.

He reaches for the painting,tears it of the wall and and runs out of Cafe.

Sal gets up from table,opens the door and watches Nik speed away.

Sal continues for weeks trying to contact Nik.Her concern for Nik is overshadowing her need to go to cafe.

As Sal is laying in her bed one afternoon, she remembers Nik mentioning that he lived a few blocks west of Casey and he had to pick up a prescription.

Sal gets a taxi,she's headed towards Casey and asks the driver if he knows of any pharmacies in that area.

He tells her there's one on the corner of Casey.

They pass the pharmacy, then Sal recognizes Nik,s car.

She approaches Nik,s house and knocks on the door.

No response.

She calls his phone repeatedly

Sal walks around the side of the house, she notices a window slightly opened.

Sal leans into the opening, noticing Nik on the floor.

She screams his name.then she squeezes her frail body through the window.

Sal tries to resuscitate Nik. A slight flicker appears in his eyes, then it goes out.

Sal calls an ambulance, Nik is rushed to the hospital.

A few days later, Sal gets a call from the hospital,it's her doctor he wants her to come in and see him to talk about the results of her blood test.

Sal,s reluctant to go there because she doesn't think she can handle bad news right now, but it's an opportunity to visit Nik.

The doctor tells her three to six months.Sal,s devastated but she's not surprised considering how she has been feeling lately.

Sal leaves the doctors office grabbing onto the wall to the elevator.

Sal gets off the elevator takes a deep breath and says to herself,at least i have a few more months of freedom.

Sal walks into Nik,s room,he looks so helpless laying there.

She gets a little closer.She notices a tattoo on Nik,s chest,it reads rescue and restore.

Sal lets out a shriek and stumbles.losing her balance as she opens the door.

Rob catches her arm and prevents her from falling.

Rob asks her if she is okay?

No,I'm not okay.

I'm Rob,you must be Sal.

How would you know who I am?

Nik doesn't have alot of friends, he has trust issues. Pretty much it's me and you,his new friend.

Here give me your hand,let's go sit down.

Nik told me about you and how you helped him, you know you probably saved Nik,s life.

You also made quite an impact on him,Nik was clean for two weeks,that's a miracle.

Sal he said he didn't need to get high anymore.

Sal you put that flicker back in his eyes.

Yeah,I guess i did.

He changed Sal, it wasn't only you it was that picture.

He stared at it night and day, sometimes crying,sometimes laughing.

The day before he tried to take his life he gave it to me.

He was very quiet that day.

He told me how much the painting meant to him.

I felt guilty taking the painting.

I've known Nik since high-school, he never opened up to me like that before.

He told me when he was younger,he would paint everyday to support his mother.

He even said he was planning to go back to painting.

He told me his real name.

Sal cries out, my darling Nikita.

I'm his mother Rob.

You're his mother?

He told me his mother died.

Why didn't you tell Nik?

I'm only just realizing it.

I guess in Nikita, s eyes I died.

After his father left us we were broke because of my need, so poor Nikita started painting pictures for me to sell.

I felt so guilty because painting gave him so much pleasure,and I was taking it away and turning it into pain.

I just wanted him to paint for his enjoyment,not to feed my addiction.

So I left him with my sister.I walked out of his life,and I've regretted it ever since.

You know what's strange Sal?He didn't recognize you.

I can understand why you didn't recognize him.

Why do you say that Rob?

I guess you didn't know,after college Nik was in a bad car accident.

He had major facial disfiguration,lots of surgeries, I hardly recognized him after his final surgery.

Poor Nikita,Says Sal.

Now he's back in hospital,this time he has no memory.

But there is good news Sal. I talked to his doctor today.

Nik should be on his feet in three to six months.

Why aren't you smiling Sal this is good news?

I'm too tired to smile Rob.

Sal do you think deep within the scars you knew each other unaware and your love for each other took away the addiction?

He told me he never stopped loving you.

I certainly never lost my love for Nikita.

Sal what was the importance of that painting?

It was the painting he gave me.I walked out of his life with that painting. I asked him to sign it. He never signed the others.

I wanted his name on it so I could cherish it forever.

He took his brush and wrote on the back,rescue and restore.

He said that's what I do for you mom,I rescue and restore you.

Rob responds, his tattoo,I asked him about that many times he said it was too personal.

I held onto that painting Rob for a long time.

I hung it in my apartment facing the wall.

I couldn't bare to look at it.

I never thought I would see it again.

My addiction got so bad,I sold almost everything I owned.

The only thing that was holding me and my apartment together was that painting.

I had to let it go.

I couldn't handle the pain.

I have to go Sal,do you need a ride?

No,that's okay Rob

When are you coming back to see Nik?I can bring you here Sal.

I'm not coming back Rob.

I'm leaving for good this time.

It would be too painful for Nikita.

Yeah,but he has no memory of the past.

Yes,that's true Rob,but I do.

Goodbye Rob.

I'm curious god about the forbidden fruit.My guess it's a fig.Didn't jesus curse a fig tree?What a strange thing to do.And also back in the day,didn't Adam and eve sew fig leaves to cover their nakedness.My question is.What happens when a fruit is pulled from a tree?Leaves fall.Didnt Adam and eve eat from the forbidden tree?Well they had to pull fruit of the tree in order to eat it.

A friend of a friend of a friend,recommended my friend to tell me to check out a certain intellect.So i tuned in. I usually tend to check out the background noise.I mean im listening

but im curious what's on display.I see he likes sports.I notice a framed picture of his neighbors children.But i'm .more interested in what he's reading.I notice his book collection.I tend to focus on the order of books.I recognize a few authors,each book placed

last to most recent by author.As i'm studying the shelves, a ssh sound keeps going through my heaphones.I adjust the audio,and it seems to go away.I notice his glass ,next to a certain beverage that i won't mention.Let's just say it say's zero on it.So i'm assuming it's empty.

I see a gap in the shelf ,there's a couple of books missing.

I await for him to quench his all knowing thirst.That is if he likes the taste,not the appeal.

I was wrong'he's thirsty,and i'm glad because now i can get a look at what books are missing.Maybe that might give me the jist of his spiel,if i decide to listen to this at a later date.

hmm,not intersting,but wait there's more.What's that behind the gap in the shelf.

A drop of box?

.

Four a.m,almost sound asleep driving towards darkness.

A muted siren disrupts,flashing light,warning,maybe danger ahead.

A collision of thoughts sudden and abrupt.

Reaching across to a road unknown my moment of clarity erupts.

I freeze.do I proceed,answer call or put life on hold.

My newly awakened conscience suddenly disrupts.

What?When?Where?My thoughts begin to deconstruct.

Road blocks accumulating,deciphering through the red.

Questions and answers,anger and worry,silent and abrupt.

Four thirty a.m,I ease back on pedal,back into my safety net that engulfs.

I close my eyes to bypass the truth.

My head sinks into the pillow like a piece of lead.

I lay in my shell,encased by my own accusations,sincere but yet abrupt.

Speeding away,looking into rearview,my memory a reflecting light to follow and instruct.

Windows down,the cold wind,awakening,eyes closed,glaring infrared.

The nothingness in front of me.The wheels turning in my head.

The words he spoke,the dream disrupts.

The tears you cried,I collect in a vase with withered roses.

The sunlight crashes into our room

Illuminating the love we once shared.

The garden lies empty awaiting a dark cloud to bring back the fruit we hungered for.

I can still taste the bitter soil you walked upon,buried deep inside my mind.

Your picture hangs alone,framed by a shadowed hand,awaiting for me to pull you back into my feeble arms.

My bones creak,like your footsteps walking into my room,leaving a scent of your crimson lips.

A kiss goodbye,never to return,carried by the cold wind,that blows your perfect locks as you run barefoot on the thorns I planted in my heart.

An open wound,now sealed with a blood stained stem I hold as I dream.

A. Like

B. Right

C. Lear

Or all of the above

Nik,s walking to his favourite Cafe,boots up,head down.Eyes open,snowcapped clouds,birds skating in unison.On his walk he notices a no exit,he thinks to himself,if i was British I could add br to exit.Not sure why his mind is working this way,he continues walk to cafe.

He walks into Cafe,he doesn't order his regular coffee,he orders a specialty coffee,he asks for it in a foreign tongue.The clerk responds in Italian.

Why is this happening,he says to himself?

Four tables and twelve chairs,and his usual seat at the bench.

He sits next to a couple speaking in a language familiar.But how?

He pulls his phone out and records a few moments of their conversation.

He goes to washroom and plays it.Their conversation isn't very pleasant.

He turns on the water and starts to cough while banging his head on wall.He plays the conversation again,same words,different language.

He walks out of bathroom.A man approaches him.

Are you okay my friend?Did you have a fall?The stranger noticing the trickle of blood on Nik,s head.

Yes,I did.

Can I get you anything my friend?

Sounding like.Anything you get, I can,my friend.

No!he goes back to bench,he looks at menu on chalkboard,deciphering it to find some meaning.

Everything becomes quiet,he needs distractions.

He pulls out his phone and types,everybody,s phone in the restaurant is beeping.

He's starting to realize that this was no ordinary fall.

And how did that stranger know of my fall?

Did he orchestrate this?And what did he mean when he said anything you get,I can.

Nik walks to strangers table.Can I join you?

Sure,have a seat.

The stranger says,you had quite a fall,I heard the bang.

You must have been seeing birds ?.You know like in cartoons.

Yeah,what else did I see?

Excuse me!

Oh,nothing.

The stranger says,you know my friend banged his head,changed him completely,starting talking in different languages,the stranger smiles.

My friend?Nik says.

You know him?The stranger replies.sounding not like a question.

Who are you?Why are you doing this to me?

Excuse me,doing what?

The stranger leaves and drives away in his green jeep.

Nik can't make any sense out of this,he leaves Cafe and goes to where he fell.

It's getting dark now and hard to see.

Nik slips on the ice where he fell before.The sky is black,he wonders how long he's been lying there.

A stranger pulls up in a green jeep and asks him.Are you okay my friend?