Map: Part XII
“Where did you find that?” Aaron asked Rosie, coming to her side and inspecting the diamond-shaped carving.
She tossed it lightly to him, then folded her arms. “Well, after I was trapped by a stone avalanche, there was a period of time where everything was pitch black. But, then, out of nowhere, this light on the wall turned on.”
“That was probably me,” Aaron said, still turning the diamond over in his hands.
“Ok. Well, thanks. Because then I saw that the horse sculpture had been cracked, and the base was actually like a trap door. Again.”
Aaron’s eyebrows raised. Awesome.
She noted his expression. “Yeah. So I opened it up and slid down this chute and it had a landing with that on it,” she gestured to the diamond, “so I took it and slid down another chute that led me to that small room that you opened up.” She finished by pointing through the doorway that Aaron had opened.
“A chute?” Aaron replied in disbelief. Thrilled by this addition to their adventure, Aaron stepped past her to look in the room she had come from. He hadn’t noticed before, but it was tiny, and contained nothing. Nothing but a chute on the ceiling, just like she said. “Awesome,” he breathed, neck craning back, “I can’t believe I missed the sliding!”
He looked back to Rosie.
She rolled her eyes. “Well, you’re lucky. My ass hurts.”
He laughed and secretly still wished he had gotten to slide.
Then, remembering the diamond he was holding, he felt a rush of adrenaline. They were so close to unlocking the mystery of the map and finding the treasure! He beckoned to Rosie. “Let’s open this door!”
While Rosie pried the carvings out of the left door, Aaron fitted the diamond into its place in the right door. Luckily, Rosie had little trouble at all, and, after an excited glance between them, Rosie inserted the telescope and the bird.
As they had hoped, the now familiar sound of shifting stones began.
For the second time, Aaron stepped back, startled by the bright purple glow of the door. To her credit, Rosie didn’t move, and actually reached out a hand and touched the door before it slid up and away, revealing… a second door.
“Come on,” Aaron said, blinking. “We still can’t get through?”
“You thought it would be that easy?” retorted Rosie without looking at him. They both stared at the new door in front of them.
On it was a grid kind of like a small checker board. There were sixteen indented squares, all of them about the size of Aaron’s fist. They were unremarkable and contained far too few instructions for Aaron’s taste.
Rosie pressed on them lightly. Nothing.
“What’s this?” Aaron said, pulling at a knob. After a hard yank, he had discovered a drawer full of tiles. Pieces to the puzzle.
Read part I: https://theprose.com/post/243841/map
Previous: https://theprose.com/post/249049/map-part-xi
Next: https://theprose.com/post/250222/map-part-xiii
Echoes of Rain Fall
I hear the echoes of rain drops,
the thrumming sound
in an ascending symmetry.
My iris perfectly fixed
upon the wet windows
in optical perimetry.
The music is breathtaking,
from the constant vibration.
My heart thus conceded,
dancing in jubilation.
The sky is rather gloomy,
yet blithely to shed tears,
in an exuberant pace,
washing off my dead soul’s fears.
The grey cloud is dreary,
but joyful, to happily sing,
knowing the Summer is near by,
when I pass this Spring.
The sky remains dark grey
yet yearns to weep warm tears.
So the rainfall can make
a soothing calm sound
quite silently, to all the deaf ears.
Chapter 5
MONDAY
The sound of what could best be described as someone screaming at the top of their lungs while throwing rocks at a metal cage containing dying animals jarred Adeline awake. At five a.m.
"Stupid Sebastian!" she growled, fumbling around on the nightstand for the source of the sound--her phone. He'd switched her ringtone again. No matter how many times she changed the password or how long it was, he somehow always figured it out.
Not that Adeline never did anything in return (like painstakingly swapping every face in the photos on his phone with her own.)
Answering the call to make the ear torture stop, she snapped, "What?"
A moment of stunned silence.
"Uh, it's Will," he ventured. "Just calling to keep you updated on some things.”
"Yeah, sorry. Sebastian did it again." She hurled an innocent plush bunny into a corner, eyes glaring holes into the ceiling. "Is that why you called instead of him? And that better not be laughing I hear."
"No, no, I just had something in my throat, and I called instead because there was something I wanted to tell you personally," he explained hurriedly. "Anyway, we've got the meeting with Tri-Shadows scheduled for Friday, close to midnight, in an old cabin by the waterfront."
"You're going to scope the place out beforehand, right?" Adeline asked as she slowly crawled out from under the covers.
"Yes, though I doubt they'll try any funny stuff."
Adeline agreed. "I'll be by the compound after school to go through the reports and order requests."
"Tommy saw something last night on his rounds that he thought you'd be interested in."
"He was in the west side of the city, right?" she asked, trying to figure out what it could be. His group's main objective had been to drop off a small amount of ammunition to one of the gangs and then after that, the usual--observe and collect.
"Ryker Hapsburg paid the Craybons a visit for dinner," Will said. "Wouldn't be surprised if he's matching up with one."
Adeline grunted as she trudged to the bathroom. She wouldn't be surprised. "I guess we'll see. Tell Tommy to keep an eye on him."
"It'll be all over the news when it happens," he said lazily.
"I expect to know it first, just like always." She glowered at the tangled mass of auburn hair in the mirror, willingly the strands unsuccessfully to straighten.
"Got it. Have a good day at school!" Then he hung up, leaving Adeline to get ready.
Roughly an hour later, she was sweeping out the front door, backpack slung over one shoulder and a parfait in hand. She tossed the backpack into the rear seat of Jacob's car and slid into the front.
"Don't worry about picking me up; one of my friends is giving me a ride," she said as they started driving.
Jacob nodded, eyes on the road.
About ten minutes into the ride, Adeline put her headphones on, deciding Jacob wasn't going to talk. His eyes had remained glued to the road, jaw clenching and fingers tight around the steering wheel.
He's really concerned about the company.
The depressing piano piece playing did nothing to improve her mood, so she switched to a more upbeat song. She forced herself to quote the empty lyrics in her head to prevent thinking about anything. Yes, she needed to work on her plan, but she felt overwhelmed like she was stuck in a maze of seemingly unconnected walls that converged to imprison her.
What do the Craybons want the most? What did we have that they didn't? They care so much about their image...and image is everything. Lose face, you lose popularity, thus money and respect...it’s all downhill from there.
Adeline knew from experience just how rapidly that could happen.
Who's always in the news? Adeline answered her own question. Celebrities.
The car stopped at a red light, and Adeline studied the billboards and screens that covered almost every square inch of the city. Serena was on a massive screen, wearing clothes from some store called Your Touch. Ava graced another one with two other models.
It's been three years since I was on one of those. Not that she didn't get offers, but they were few and far between. Ava would lose it if I started modeling and doing piano concerts again.
So, of course, Adeline would have to work that into her plan. Image was everything, but it did you no good if nobody saw you.
She arrived at school a few minutes later. Jacob pulled up to the front entrance.
"Have a good day," he said, giving her a smile.
He and Will are so alike...
"Always do." She stepped out, collected her backpack, and started up the steps, turning to wave goodbye.
"Addy!" Jessica called as she waved, perched on a railing. Naomi stood beside her.
A couple of the other kids hanging around called out greetings as well, which Adeline returned.
"Want to go somewhere after school?" Jessica asked as they entered the building.
"I'd love to, but I've already got plans," Adeline said.
"Okay, cool!" She only looked a little disappointed. "Mi Mi, you and I can still go somewhere."
Naomi cringed. "Do not call me that--it makes me sound like your grandmother."
"Yeah, but..."
"Yes, we can go roam aimlessly around the mall," Naomi interrupted. "But tomorrow, I'm going to be working on a paper."
"It's not due for another..." Jessica trailed off. "Why are they whispering and looking at us?" she hissed.
Adeline didn't even look as she opened her locker. "Who cares? They're always doing that, anyway."
Ava never went anywhere without her posse of the most insecure beautiful girls, who would roam the halls acting like every other group of fakes. It used to bother Adeline, but not anymore. Popularity was a fickle thing, and not something she deemed worth fighting to keep anymore.
"Yeah, but don't you wonder sometimes?" Jessica's voice was muffled due to the fact that half of her body--somehow--had disappeared into her locker.
"No." Not really. If it's important, I know it.
"Here." Naomi tossed a pen from her purse into the locker to shorten Jessica’s daily routine of rummaging for her pen.
"Ow!" Jessica popped out, rubbing her head, pen in hand. "But I found it!"
Naomi rolled her eyes. "And here I thought I was the idiot of the group."
Adeline wasn't listening to them anymore, but the voice coming from Ava’s phone.
"To the general public, it appeared Adeline Killingsworth couldn't withstand the pressures of fame. Or perhaps she thought she could control her addiction."
It took everything in her to not slam her locker shut. As of Thursday, nobody had even watched the documentary, for the obvious reason that it played during school hours. Friday, people had started whispering when she passed them in the hallways. It was just some stupid documentary about something very real that had happened to her that, if she had been poor and nameless, no one would have thought twice about. And the fact that Ava stood there, casting sympathetic looks her direction ... that was what irritated her.
"Come on," Naomi said softly, taking Adeline by the arm and leading her away.
"Ava should be careful how she plays her games," Jessica remarked, tucking Naomi's pen behind her ear. "Drawing too much attention to your involvement in scandals could result in the opposite of what she wants."
"What are you talking about?" Naomi shot her an annoyed glare.
"She clearly wants to humiliate Addy." Jessica's eyebrows pulled together as she frowned, peeking in the pockets of her jacket and then her skirt. "But it will just make the others view her almost as an idol--she's famous, involved in scandals, in a TV series or whatever ... people are talking about her, so she's relevant." Now she was rummaging around in her bag, scowling.
"It's behind your ear," Adeline said.
"Ah, thanks." Jessica removed the pen, sticking her tongue out at Naomi, who made a face in return. "But seriously, guys, if you think about it, it makes sense."
“Yeah, it does.” Adeline chewed her lip. “See you guys in math!"
Jessica and Naomi hurried to their homeroom, and Adeline entered hers, deep in thought, voices echoing in her head.
People are talking about her, so she's relevant.
They asked me several times to do interviews, but I said no. I don't want to dig up old demons.
She blinked rapidly, realization coming over her in a wave.
***
Adeline entered the main warehouse. Any other day, she’d stop to chat with the various people coming and going or unpacking crates, but there wasn’t time. She took the spiraling stairs leading to the catwalk two at a time, nimbly weaving around the people and boxes stored there. She reached the office at the far end.
“The order requests and monthly reports are in the usual spot,” Will said from his spot behind the desk.
“I’ll look at those in a moment.” Adeline sat down in a chair opposite him. “Where’s Sebastian?”
“He’ll be here in a moment.”
“Someone call for an insanely hot superhero?” Sebastian appeared almost instantly, back against one side of the doorframe, a foot planted on the other and a hand in his hair.
“Yeah, but I don’t see him,” she said, frowning.
He made a face and sauntered over. “What do you know about hot anyway?”
“Enough to know it’s not you.”
“Shh! You’re but a child,” he said in a lilting Irish accent, adjusting his shirt. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
Despite her best attempts not to, she started laughing, and Sebastian sat down with a smug smile.
“So what do you want to talk with us about?” Will asked.
“I’ve been thinking…” Adeline began.
“So, I’m going to stop you right there.” Sebastian leaned over, placing a finger on her lips to silence her. “Mainly because I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“Seriously?” She jerked away, rubbing her mouth.
“But also, this is a scientific phenomenon,” he continued, smirking.
“Shut up!” She pushed him away. “I’m trying to be serious.”
The grin vanished. “Sorry, I’m listening.”
Adeline took a moment to collect her thoughts, searching for the right words. “I’ve been developing a plan to … deal with the Craybons.”
Sebastian scowled, muttering, “And here I thought you were going to confess your love for me.”
But it didn’t elicit even so much as a grin from Adeline.
“I don’t have all the details worked out, but here’s what I’ve got. The Craybons always have to be in the spotlight, have to always be in control, and they’ll do anything to stay on top.” Adeline paused, fingers wrapping around the armrests. “They’re manipulative and ruthless.”
Sebastian watched her with hooded eyes, mouth pressed in a straight line.
“You can’t just pull off what they did to my family so seamlessly without extreme planning. And they did it almost so perfectly … I can’t help but feel like we weren’t the only ones they did this to.”
Neither Will nor Sebastian moved.
“Ever since I found out what they were capable of …” She covered her face with her hands and exhaled. “They have to be involved in more! I want someone to dig into their past and find the other people they’ve done these things to.”
“We can do that, but what exactly is that going to accomplish?” Will asked.
“Evidence, possible allies.” Adeline leaned forward.
“If--when--you find the corruptions buried there, what are you going to do with it? Use it for blackmail? Release it to the media?” That was Sebastian.
“Not blackmail,” she said, lip curling in disgust. “They deserve a whole lot more than that.”
Will grunted agreement.
“Now this part might be a little unwise of me, but just using the Alternate Demons to take them down won’t work.”
“We’re a powerful network with fingers in everybody else’s pies,” Will argued. “How could we not be enough?”
“The Craybons are good at putting on an act, and they could do it forever. And ever since they ‘took us down’, they’ve become even more convinced that they’re invincible. Alternate Demons working behind the scenes might eventually come up with something they haven’t covered, but if the Killingsworths were to start challenging them …” Adeline lowered her voice. “They won’t let that pass; they’ll do something to remove us from the picture altogether.”
Staring, Sebastian scooted to the edge of his chair.
“I’m all for justice being served, but not if it means you’ll be in danger!” he protested.
“When has that ever been a problem? I’ve been delivering, collecting, and observing in this city since I was fourteen, arranging deals and forming alliances! Danger doesn’t scare me.” More calmly, she continued, “Besides, there’s going to be danger involved no matter how we decide to do it. I’m sure the Craybons have their own group of thugs running around and doing their dirty work.”
“Phh! I’m not a thug, Adeline!” Sebastian faked offense.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been a media sensation,” Adeline said, pointedly ignoring him. “But now seems like a good time. People are talking--not just about our products--but actually about us. In fact, today’s episode of the documentary was about me.”
“You must be flattered,” Will said.
“I actually haven’t seen it yet. Or any of it, for that matter. But if the Craybons gave interviews, why shouldn’t I? Work it to my advantage, maybe accept some of those contracts I still get offered every now and again.”
“But what are you going to tell Jacob?”
Adeline’s eyes flitted away. “That I want to the interview to tell my side of the story. It’s something I have to do. If he tries to stop me, I’ll have to tell him I’m eighteen—I don’t answer to him anymore.”
Will nodded thoughtfully, brushing his hair over to one side with his fingers. “Good luck.”
Adeline sat for a moment longer before standing. She picked up the two thick manila folders lying on the desk, and Sebastian stood as well.
“We’ve got your back,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Well, please give it back--I need that thing!” She grinned.
Sebastian’s forehead dropped onto her shoulder. Sounding like he was in pain, he gasped, “You really aren’t good at this. Please don’t.”
“Shut up, jerk!” She whirled around and hit him playfully with the folders.
In return, he flicked her ear as a wicked grin spread over his face. “C’mon, you know that you love me.”
Adeline’s eyes widened in horror as she backed away towards the door. “Dude, why are you obsessed with me?”
He rolled his eyes. “As if.”
“Look, I may not be as famous as I once was, but I still get marriage proposals from random people. So…”
Sebastian sighed. “Still in the little leagues, I see.” He waved her off. “Well, go ride your tricycle and paint with fingers paints or whatever you kids are doing these days.”
She yawned and walked away, shaking her head.
Blank Pages
I am splattering
hues of colors in rage
on this never-ending
empty blank page.
My inks don’t run out or dry
for my heart never stops to cry.
I gently stroke my brushes on canvas
and paint, to capture words before they age
so they would be imprinted and live for eternity
on this dusty and straight lined, white blank page.
Fireworks
Two distinct souls as one
Lost in heated desire
Caressing each other, bare naked, skin to skin,
Lips, tracing every avenues of their bodies,
In hunger, melting between volcanic fire
Wild hearts, roaming and beating together
No limits, consumed in sensuality
under any weather
No apprehensions,
yet skydiving in free-fall
Each is in more needs
To satisfy, the hungers of their inner call
At last, pleasure is at its rising peak
She and I, conjuring, without words to speak
Yet, we’re solely unique souls
but joined as one
But we’ve forgotten our existences
While getting consumed
In the pleasing crouching sun
MidnightInk (8/9/2018)
Lisa and Jerry
Lisa wakes up early in the morning when the alarm sings. Yet, she still managed to miss her train. Now, she is standing outside, in the fiercely pouring rain, hailing for a yellow cab. Being the busiest weekdays in NYC, Wednesday is no special. The traffic is hot; somehow more than usual, everyone has somewhere to go today.
Taxis become the expensive commodities of the day. Even the stock market has never soared so high like this. She’s waited here for more than thirty minutes now.
“I cannot miss this interview,” she says.
While scouring the streets with her eagle eyes, she sees a taxi a block away, standing on the traffic light. She runs for it.
“I am not going to miss this interview!”
She keeps playing that same phrase in her head like a broken cassette player.
Her hands in the air, almost touching the sky, she keeps running towards the cab. Once the green light lit, as if the cab was also specially ordered for her, it races towards her too.
Meanwhile, she sees someone else also cutting in front of her, hailing for the same cab. But, this is now becoming a deadly war, she won’t afford to lose.
“No way woman,” Lisa rushes as fast as her feet could master.
She takes off her short heels and passes the older grey-haired woman. The woman almost gets in the cab, when Lisa reaches for the door. Lisa then jumps in the cab.
“I am sorry,” she says, feeling so terribly bad when she looked at the lady’s frowned and puzzled face.
“I am sorry, I really do need this,” repeats Lisa, and then hops into the taxi, and closes the door.
After she put away her purse and a light brown folder, she tried catching her breath. She inhaled and exhaled like a newborn baby.
”Where to?” the driver says.
”The New York Times,” Lisa replied; then, the yellow cab speeds towards her future.
The rain worsens over time. She looks at her watch in every turn the cab takes.
The driver notices that she is anxious and worried.
“So what do you do?” politely he asks her.
She doesn’t seem invested in the conversation. So she remains quiet. Seconds later, his question rings in her ears.
”I am sorry, that was rude of me.” She sends him the smile that sparkles from her radiant exotic face. He grins back in an understanding way. She continues.
“I am going for a job interview. But, I am running super late for it.”
The tidy driver in his thirties, with long ponytails and dark hair, with wide grins on his face smiles back at her.
“Well, let’s see how we can get you there sooner,” confidently he sends her his confirmation.
”Thank you, please try.” She grins back.
The driver switches the radio on to 107.6FM, and begins to maze through the traffic, navigating via short-cuts. A smooth jazz song comes on the airwaves. It was one of her favorite songs, “When the sky cries.” Lisa loves smooth jazz. She never sleeps without putting one on each night at bedtime.
The driver watched her reaction to the song, so he cracked up the volume. He sees her relaxing as she puts her head back on the backseat, stopped kicking and shaking her feet, letting time fly by.
Her ears glued to the song, she lets her eyes steal the outside views from the window, frowning at the rain.
“Please, stop for the day,” she begs the crazy moaning sky. “Please!”
Yet, the sky disregards her demands. The rain picks up the pace as if the sky opened more floodgates to ruin her day.
“Thanks a lot!” Lisa says in frustration.
When the taxi reached the NYT building, she was already forty-five minutes late. She pays the taxi fare and gives the driver an extra tip.
“Thank you, for your help,” she says with her big smile.
”Break a leg,” he replies.
She knows that she was late; nonetheless, she zooms into the building anyway. At this point, she got nothing to lose, even though she might’ve screwed up her dream of working for the NYT.
The day flew by. It’s in the afternoon now. When Lisa came out after finishing up with her interview, the city was quieter like a daybreak curfew being ordered. The sky was clear and the ground was dry. The city appeared a locked down quarantine zone. She got puzzled.
“What the fuck? Where did all that rain and people go?”
She’s a bit famished and frustrated. She is in need of some food and caffeine, to come down her anxiety.
Empty taxis are standing on the Taxi Stand by the NYT building. The line is more than fifty feet. She walks to get a ride back to her place. The On-Duty lights on every passing by yellow cab in the city are also on, without any booked fares; they are hunting for passengers like scavengers.
She gets into the first yellow cab standing inline.
“East Village, please.”
Once she hops into the taxi, she begins thinking what has happened today. She can’t turn the clock back now. Though the interview went well, her gut is telling her that she threw away a reporter career out of the window. She thinks they interviewed her out of formality.
The cab takes off like a jet towards Houston and Avenue B. Before she reached her place, she changed her course and asked the driver to drop her off to the famous Molten Cafe Shop on Houston and Mott St.
As soon as she walks into the café, the sky begins to cry heavier than before. She looks outside and frowns, as the thunder lightning flashes with rainbow colors.
She looks up the posted menu behind the counters. Once she checked today’s specials list, she orders half a grilled chicken sandwich on a whole grain wheat bread and tomato soup, with Mocha Latte. Till her number is called, she looked for a sit and found one, in the corner, against the window. She takes off her jacket and sits.
She looks outside, at the pouring rain.
“This is just fucking ridicules.” She says.
As she sits comfortably, she unfolded the events of the day. She dreamed of working for the NYT as long as she could remember it. Since she graduated from City College in journalism, she never applied to any other newspaper reporters, except the NYT. But, somehow, she fucked it up the one chance she ever gotten.
“Idiot, idiot,” she bangs her forehead.
Her order got delivered to her table. She quickly picks up the sandwich and takes a satisfying bite to calm down her hunger. Then, she sipped her coffee as if she wanted to push down the food into her growling stomach. Suddenly, she felt a warm liquid falling down from the corners of her eyes.
She tried to control it, but the tears rolled down like the pouring rain, messing up her massacre.
The small and cozy café is very crowded and busy. No one seems to notice Lisa’s sobbing or cries until Jerry walks in.
Jerry was standing in the long line when he saw Lisa crying. When he assessed the bright loud room, he sees nobody seems to ask her well-being. Everyone kept distance, yet their eyes fully fixated on her with admiration, yet not with sympathy. But, he figured that it had to be because of her magnetic radiant beauty that kept them away. He thought of a story once he read about how some exotic and beautiful creatures have an overwhelming power to intimidate others. Thus, that just fit perfectly here for him, for she looks like a rare breed of creatures that has the power to freeze anything with her wild green eye.
Jerry strides by her table. She doesn’t look up, consumed in her own tears. He stands there for a second.
“Are you okay?” he asks her.
No replies, but she nods her head. He wants to know why she’s crying rivers.
“Are you sure, you’re okay?” he persists, giving her a napkin.
She takes the napkin and sniffs loudly. Yet, she still says nothing back, except send him her cold silent treatment while nodding.
Jerry pulls a chair and sits across her, trying to guess the random reasons that got her into sadness.
”I think I know why you’re crying,” he smirks, as he gets situated.
So, the long battle of his persistence quest started to draw her in.