by Aisha Urooj
"I am sorry about starting that commotion. I should have spoken softer so that the others had not noticed."
"It's ok", I say still recovering from my brush with paparazzi.
"If you don't mind, I just wanted to know how Eleanor was doing. She is an ambitious young star and very talented. I had interviewed her when she first started and I knew that she would do great in the industry. I recognized you as you were with her that day and she said you were her best friend and moral support. I know that she was very focused on her work and not on dating, so all this press about her love life must be difficult for her?"
I look at the reporter and feel that he is being genuine in his concern. He did, afterall, save me from the mob outside so I tell him that he was right about the situation.
"Ellie is very young -only twenty-three- and wants to focus on her work. Although she admires and likes James a lot, she is not looking for anything serious at the moment. Her schedule over the next few months will make it very hard for her to continue dating. I just wish that the paparazzi would leave her to continue with her acting dreams and not focus so much on her love life."
"Thank you, I understand. Thank you for giving me that statement and if you dont mind, can I use it for an news article?"
"Sure. If it will makes things better for Ellie, then go ahead."
The next morning, the same reporter would print an 'exclusive interview with a close friend of Eleanor James' and repeat what I had stated. Over the next few days and weeks, the paparazzi continue to gather at her apartment footsteps but soon would give up their hunt, seeing that Ellie is not seen dating anyone anymore.
Ellie tells me that after this crazy date debacle, she vows to make her other dates low-key, if and when she goes back to dating. She says that she wants dating to remain as dating and not become a production or a circus.
As a friend, I am grateful that I was there to help. Luckily I made the right choice in trusting the one reporter that was actually concerned for her welfare among the sea of paparazzi.
∞∞∞
Chapter Thirty: Como una Hija (Like a daughter)
The paparazzi ferver has finally died down and things become quieter, and thankfully, much calmer for Ellie. I go visit her building, this time without any difficulty or without encountering any boisterous crowd outside, and am greeted warmly by Ellie's maid and helper Rosa at her apartment.
"Ms. Eleanor has gone for a jog and will be back here soon. Please come inside dear and get comfortable, should I get you anything to drink?", asks Rosa kindly.
I decline the drink but accept her invitation and go inside the apartment to wait for Ellie. Ellie's apartment is sleek and modern and decorated with pictures of her, her family and the two of us on every wall. There are pictures that show her travels from around the world, of Ellie in every location, smiling in front of the Eiffel tower or the Taj Mahal, in front of beautiful cherry blossoms in Japan or hiking on top of Mount Kilimanjaro, with a colorful Toucan in the amazon jungle or with a snobby looking Llama in Machu Picchu. There are pictures of Ellie in the sun, of her in the rain, her playing in the sand or her diving into a waterfall.
There is a digital frame on the living room table with even more of Ellie's favorite pictures, us from our awkward teenager years, both in braces, smiling toothily at the camera. Pictures of us together in our co-ordinated Halloween costumes. Pictures of Hammy, her 'handsome' hamster with the bow ties from her childhood. I continue to look at the picture frames and Rosa comes and offers me some snacks to munch on. Rosa is a jolly and warm lady, around my mom's age, hired by Ellie to help her with cooking and cleaning whenever she is in the city.
"You must be Ms. Cassandra? Lovely dark hair and beautiful green eyes...Ms. Eleanor talks about you all the time and I feel like I know you! Ms. Eleanor is such a nice young lady and it hardly feels like I work for her. She is my favorite person to work for and I have many employers through the agency that I work for."
I blush at Rosa's compliment but am pleased that she likes Ellie so much. "Do you work for other people too? What are they like?", I ask curious.
"Si! I have other famous young actresses that I get hired temporarily for as well but none are like Ms. Eleanor. I look forward to when Ms. Eleanor comes back from her work and travels, and God Bless her, she specifically asks for me from the agency each time! I tell my familia that Ms. Eleanor treats me like a daughter would. She wakes up early in the morning, while the other actresses don't even get up til noon and you know what she does? She makes me coffee! She has a cup ready for me as soon as I come to work and she makes me sit with her and asks me questions about myself and my family. She even practices Spanish with me nearly every day...she is getting quite good at it too!"
I am not surprised at Ellie's warmth and good nature and I have always been envious of her ability to learn new languages quickly since she was in school. I myself stumble with common spanish phrases despite taking it in high school.
Ellie returns from her jog, still looking immaculate with only a slight flush in her cheeks that give any indication of her exertion and exercise. She gives me a hug and greets Rosa with a smile and they both start having a conversation in Spanish. I look at them quietly while they continue talking and Rosa turns her attention towards me, she laughs and asks me good-naturedly,"Why Ms. Cassandra, why don't you join us too? You can practice your Spanish with us!"
"Thanks Mrs. Rosa...I am afraid that I don't know a lot of Spanish but I do remember the phrase 'Deja que te diga cosas al oído, para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigo'. I just don't remember exactly what it means."
Both Ellie and Rosa laugh. "Who have you been telling that to Cassie? You do know that it means 'Let me tell you things in your ear so you will remember if you're not with me'. Am I correct Rosa?"
Rosa smiles brightly, "Yes dear, that is the right translation. Well done!"
I don't think that I could have turned a deeper shade of red than after hearing Ellie's english translation of the phrase I had said so casually. Rosa saves me from my embarassment and says that it was good practice for the future when I do have someone to whisper in the ear to and that she was impressed with my clear pronounciation of the spanish words.
Ellie would continue to tease me about this for a while, saying that she wanted to meet my *novio secreto. I would eventually find the humor in the situation and say that I wanted to meet him too.
*secret boyfriend
∞∞∞
Chapter Thirty-One: Where Monsters are Real
When I was growing up, I was terrified of monsters. I thought that they hid in the dark corners of the house and lurked outside during the night. As a kid, I imagined sharp nails and monstrous teeth. When I grew up, I knew that monsters were real and that they could be anywhere...and that they looked just like you and me.
For months, Ellie has been on edge and I finally know why. Mrs. James calls me suddenly one day and tells me that Ellie had an accident and was in the hospital.
Elllie has been hurt by a stalker, one who had been stalking her for months. First it started with letters, then phone calls and random visits to her apartment. Each time security intervened and set the intruder on his way. Ellie didn't press charges thinking that he will give up eventually and find another source of entertainment.
His harmless hobby was more than a passing liking however, it soon turned to dangerous obsession. In his attempt to make Ellie his own, the stalker brazenly tries to kidnap her midday while she was out on her afternoon jog. He drags her through the streets and onlookers jump to her rescue hearing her scream. He pulls out a knife and puts it on Ellie's throat, screaming that if he can't have her then she should die with him. That is the moment when the security guard opens fire, killing Ellie's stalker.
It was Mrs. James that tells me all that had happened with Ellie in the last few months when I reach the hospital. I am a little hurt that Ellie didn't tell me what had been going on nor that she called me after the ordeal and when she was o
k.
I rush to Ellie's bedside to comfort her and give her a hug. Looking at her bandages and bruises, however, I start to cry instead. Ellie becomes distressed seeing me cry.
"This is why I didn't want to tell you...I rather bear all my injuries and more than to see you cry Cassie!"
I am shocked, not by her words but by something else...this moment felt familiar to me. Someone else has told me the exact thing that Ellie had just said, lying on a hospital bed as well. He also had been close to my heart once.
I try my best to quickly stop my tears and as I wipe my eyes on my sleeve, Ellie passes me a tissue.
"You are too much...you know that Cassie. I love you, you crybaby!"
"Thanks Ellie", I say sniffling. "I am a total wuss, I know... I will try to be brave like you. I love you too!"
Chapter Thirty-Two: Tears for pain, Tears for Joy
The last time I had been in the hospital was when John had gotten into an accident during our date. We went on a bike ride for our second date, roaming around the pretty spots in our neighborhood. John was having a lot of fun and he was excitedly showing me the locations where he had looked for me when we had first met and I had disappeared on him.
"Where did you go that day Cassie? I can't figure it out! I looked for you everywhere."
"I might have gone to the library, usually I go there..."
"No it can't have been there, it was the first spot that I checked!"
"I know a shortcut through the park, maybe I went through that?"
"I know that spot! I checked every spot and covered all the grounds Cassie but you simply vanished. You don't have Harry's invisibility cloak by any chance?", asks John referring to Harry Potter.
"No but I wish I did! It would be a nice change from running away from people", I say laughing.
"Did the earth swallow you or did you hide in the clouds? That is the only way I couldn't have found you", teases John.
"Well...you might be close. There is a tree house that I go to but very rarely."
"So you weren't on ground but up on a tree? No wonder why I couldn't find you!"
John gets very excited about his discovery but in his excitement he doesn't pay attention to the incoming car. The driver of the car is distracted as well and he nearly collides directly with John. I scream as the car narrowly drives into John, he swerves in time but John rides onto the pavement and collides with a pole. I rush next to him as he laid sprawled on the pavement with one of his arm rotated in a weird angle.
"Oh my God John! Are you alright?!"
"I am ok Cassie...but I think that my arm might be fractured."
The distracted driver gets out of his car and rushes towards John to see how he was, seeing his condition, he quickly calls for an ambulance. I stay next to John in the ambulance, all the way to the hospital. His x-ray showed that he had a broken arm and soon he was put in a cast.
As he layed on the hospital bed, I see him wince uncomfortably and after seeing him in pain, I start to cry.
"Please don't cry Cassie, I am ok."
"But you broke a arm...it must be hurting," I say crying.
"It is not that bad actually..."
"He could have really hurt you...my heart nearly stopped when you were hit by the pole."
"That was a little inconvenient but it could have been worse.."
At his words, I start crying even more. John gets visibly upset seeing me cry, he tries to console me but I don't stop the tearworks.
"Cassie...please don't.....I would rather break another arm than to see you cry!"
I don't stop crying.
"Fine...I will add another leg."
I still have tears in my eyes but I am shocked at his statement, "That is a bit much John...breaking two arms and a leg over my tears!"
"It is not even close...I will rather break all the bones in my body than see you cry. I will gladly accept my life as a rubber man."
I laugh at the ridiculousness of his statement. I don't know how or when it happened but I was holding John's hand. We had never held hands til that point, it feels warm and I feel safe with him. John continues talking about all the things he would do to stop me from crying and some of his ideas are so outrageous that by the end, I had tears streaming down my face from laughing so much.
∞∞∞
Chapter Thirty-Three: Demons from the Past
The doctor warns us that Ellie might suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder after the stalker event and that we should keep an eye out for any signs of changes to her thoughts, emotions, or behavior. Mrs. James, however, seemed also worried about something else. She worries that it might trigger another old memory in her daughter.
"I hope that Eleanor is not reminded of the time she was abducted by this horrible event..."
"Ellie was abducted?! She...never told me about that."
"It was before she met you dear and she hardly remembers it herself."
"Mrs. James...if you don't mind telling me, what had happened?"
"Eleanor had been kidnapped on her way to school. She had been for three days before we were able to arrange for the kidnappers the ransom that they had demanded at the location that they wanted. I wish it hadn't been three days..."
"That is terrible! Ellie must have been so frightened! I can't imagine being a little kid and being kidnapped for three days. She must have felt so alone."
"Yes dear...as a mother you can't imagine what I went through...it was like my breath had been snatched away from me! I could only breathe after she returned."
"I am so sorry Mrs. James...I should have thought about my words before I spoke them. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"It's ok dear....I know how you feel. I had felt the same during the endless dark days Ellie had been taken away."
"What happened after she returned?"
"Surprisingly, not much...Eleanor had seem mostly unaffected after she returned except for getting a few nightmares. Her therapist had said perhaps she had repressed her memory of the event in order to cope with it...and that another such event might make her remember it again."
"Oh my poor Ellie....she had to go through such a thing again. Do you think that we should talk to her about it?"
"No dear, I think it will be better if Eleanor brings it up herself. I don't want to remind her in case she has forgotten. It is best not to trigger any uncomfortable or painful memories at a time like this."
I look at Ellie, through the hospital's door window, worried but she seems to be alright. She is laughing and happily talking to her dad, eating from a bag of chips.
She told me that since she was at the hospital, that gave her a reason to get a break from her training and from her diet for a couple of hours. Ellie refused to see a therapist after her stay at the hospital reassuring us that she was fine.
Mrs. James confided to me her thoughts and said that perhaps Ellie's busy schedule would keep her sufficiently occupied and distracted from ever thinking about the dark days from her past.
For Ellie's sake, I hope for the same as well... I pray that no dark thoughts ever reach the surface or see the light of day. I pray that any hidden demons that could haunt Ellie lay dormant forever.
Chapter Thirty-Four: Alien Musical
Ellie wounds soon healed and life returned to the way it was before. Any painful memory was soon forgotten as Ellie continued pouring her heart and soul into her work.
Ellie soon stars in a musical production which she help co-write as well. The comedy musical production 'Alien MacMaelien' is wildly successful, being hailed as a modern-day Midsummer's Night Dream.
The musical is about MacMaelian, an alien outcast who finds massive success on Earth as a rock star. Based on his success and popularity, the world leaders want him to be Earth's ambassador to his home planet and to invite his leader to an intergalactic diplomatic meeting. What the people of Earth don't know is that MacMaelian is an exile, who had lied about his extravagant life and rank on his home planet and had been dumped here unc
eremoniously on a shooting star.
Back on his planet, MacMaelian had wooed his leader's daughter, as well as secretly his son, through his massive charm and charisma (and a love potion) in order to rise up the ranks. When his engagement to the leader's daughter is announced, his betrayal to the son also becomes apparent.
Instead of ordering execution for MacMaelian, the two siblings become engulfed in a civil war with each other over MacMaelian that threatens to tear the kingdom apart. To save his planet, the leader orders the secret exile of MacMaelian and disguises his disappearance as an act of cowardice and fleeing. Now MacMaelian is faced with a challenge, either to reveal his truth to the people on Earth and face another exile when his true deceptive nature is revealed or contact his home planet and risk the alien civil war spilling over here. He faces the greatest challenge of his life and in the musical he tries desperately to save the one person who is dearest to him on any planet: Himself.
"Ellie, I don't know whether to laugh at MacMaelian or have pity on him?"
"Yeah, he is a polarizing character. I can't believe some people love him so much."
"His character is outrageous. He uses anything to make people love him: poetry, flattery, bribe, potions, hypnosis, brownies. The musical is amazing overall..what a great backstory!"
"I thought that the musical writer must have been hallucinating when he wrote it. It is so bizarre at times..."
"No, no Ellie, it is so funny! Didn't you help co-write it too?"
"I had a few ideas for MacMaelien and he went with it. I think he gave me too much credit though. He might have done it to get more publicity by having me as a co-writer..."
"Ellie I think that you are too modest. You have always had a flair for ingenuity and creativity! You could be a writer for sure!"
"Says Ms. Major in English Literature...if anyone could be the writer, it will be you Cassie.."
