by Yuriko Hime
“It’s a very simple question lady. Do you want to live, or do you want to die? Speak.” When Denise didn’t answer, Lorenzo screamed right next to her face. “Answer or so help me I’m going to murder both of you!”
“I want to live,” she mumbled, her hands and voice shaking.
“What’s that kitten? I don’t think I heard you right.”
“I want to live,” she repeated. Denise met my eyes. She was silently pleading at me with a look. Apologizing for what she has done. Despite my broken heart and malfunctioning mind which refused to think, I still found it in my soul to forgive her. She had no choice.
Lorenzo took a step near me. He grabbed my hair with the gentleness of a bull. He placed the knife next to my throat, preparing to slit me open like a pig. I groaned and gasped from the gag, wondering if it was sweat that was pouring down or tears from my eyes. The boss hoodlum took pity on me and removed the hanky. “Any last words before you go?”
I had to tell her to take care of my girl. It was the only way to go. “Always remember that Dulce’s happiness comes first. Take care of her. Make sure that mmmmmffff!” Lorenzo gagged me again.
“Okay, that’s enough drama.” He repositioned the knife on my throat. Everything was a blur. It was happening too quickly.
“Wait!” Denise cried at the last moment.
“Yes?”
“Don’t kill her. I want to exchange.” What? I thought in disbelief.
Lorenzo shook his head. “We talked about this. You said you wanted to live, so that’s that.”
She bucked against her captor. “No!”
“Oh just shut up girly.”
Denise struggled. “Don’t kill her.” She wanted to break free. “She’s my sister. Please. . . She’s my sister.” Unbelievably, droplets of tears appeared from her eyes. Was she crying for me? “I’ve never had a sister before.” Her voice was strained. “Don’t kill her.” She sniffled. So the girl did care for me. Too bad I was going to die, I thought with a sickening feeling in my tummy. Fudge. I wanted to vomit.
“Say goodbye to sister then.” Lorenzo started to move the knife. I closed my eyes, trying to remember Dulce’s sweet smile in my last moment. How we shared our first kiss back when we were kids. How badly I needed to make love to her on Christmas day when she gave me her gift. The way her body moved in sync with mine. And how happy she made me just by merely existing in this world. The knife felt sharp against my throat. This was it.
“Cut!” someone yelled. “That’s a wrap.”
I was completely taken by surprise when the people around us began clapping their hands, including Lorenzo. The big guy let go of me with a smile. I was weak-kneed as he jogged away. As soon as I was free, Denise ran to me, hugging me fiercely, tears on her face. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t want you to die after all.” We embraced each other like a couple of fools who just survived the sinking of Titanic.
Lorenzo’s loud voice called our attention. We stopped and stared. He was talking to another guy. His large figure was obstructing the one he was conversing with. “Mr. Director Sir. Was my acting good?”
“Remarkable Gianni!” the man replied. I recognized his voice. Dad? What the heck?! “I’ll definitely hire you for that movie we talked about. Expect the contract signing next week.”
Lorenzo, aka Gianni pumped his fist in the air. He ran to my direction and took my hands in his enormous ones. “It’s an honor to act with you miss Frio, even if it’s just for my audition. I know you don’t normally do this.” He was breathless. “Thank you!” He left without waiting for me to talk.
Denise and I stared at each other in bafflement before we marched to dad. “Explain!” she snapped, placing both hands on her waist.
“It had to be done. I knew that you were never going to settle your differences until something bad happened, so I staged the whole scene. This forest is completely safe. We made it appear that you were lost and helpless, but you were never in any real danger. We always use this location for films.” Though he was straight faced, I saw through him. Dad enjoyed what happened.
“You saw us at the cave?!” Denise asked.
“No. I asked the crew to leave you alone there. To talk it out and have privacy.”
“What about Lorenzo and company?” I said. I still couldn't believe he would go this far.
“All actors and actresses. He was a stuntman who was waiting for his next big break. I gave him the opportunity. Look, the important thing is you’re okay now. I’ll fix the cameras and other equipment’s with the crew before we head out. We'll talk seriously afterwards. See you in a few.” He turned around and disappeared behind the trees.
Denise and I were left alone. She couldn’t look me in the eyes. How could she when she admitted in front of everyone that I was her sister and she cared for me? I reached for her. “Hey. . . I’m alive. That’s all that matters right?”
“I still hate you Glace.”
“No you don’t. I’m your sister. Your big sister.” I took her hand and steered her to the direction where dad went.
“I’m still going to get Dulce,” she whined. "She's mine." I smiled to myself as she grasped my fingers. From now on, I had a feeling that everything would be right between Denise and me. Now that my sister and I were in good terms, all I had to do was wait for Dulce to come home.
Chapter 38. Countdown
Glace
1825 Days Left
Andrea’s eyes sparkled happily when she caught sight of me. It was big and beautiful like her daughter's. Looking at it reminded me of Dulce, which made me smile like an idiot as I went to Andrea. The conversation inside the café where we agreed to meet turned into a low buzz, until it totally faded into the background. “It’s good to see you sweetie. Do you want anything? My treat," she said.
“I had coffee at my place." I took a seat across from her. “Oh and by the way, thanks for meeting me here instead of your house.”
She nodded understandingly, giving me a familiar look that seemed to penetrate deep into my soul. That was one of the qualities I liked the most about Dulce’s mother. Though she knew that that I wasn’t comfortable returning to their house without her daughter, she didn’t pry, unlike what other people would do. Andrea took a sip from her cup of coffee and sighed contentedly. “Dulce’s doing fine in France. But she’s been so busy with all the studying and settling down that she barely has time to talk. I’m sure you understand.”
I nodded absentmindedly to her. I was more concerned about the hollow feeling gnawing on my insides. By now the feeling was so familiar that I wasn’t surprised at all. It would plague my body like a disease whenever Dulce and the word France was mentioned. “Yeah, she told me about that last week. The chef was running her ragged in the kitchen. Though she’s enjoying a lot. Learning a lot,” I said.
Andrea studied every reaction I made. If I wasn't wearing my usual disguise of blue cap and sunglasses, she might have seen the sadness in my eyes. “She loves you Glace. Please be patient with her. I know that she asked you not to visit her this year, but you can definitely have your short vacation there next year.”
Staring at the glass window of the café, I envisioned myself with Dulce, hand-in-hand in France, walking on a cobblestone path somewhere. The thought made me swallow the lemon in my throat. “I’m looking forward to that. Hope the paparazzi don’t detect my departure though. They can’t find out that Dulce’s in France at all cost. At least for now.” A nod from Andrea. “But enough about that. How are you doing? Is work fine?”
“Oh you know how make-up artists are.” Another short sip from her cup. “One minute you’re so busy you barely have time to sleep, the next you find yourself staring at the wall, bored.” She gave me a meaningful look, trying to tell me that she’s been missing her daughter as badly as I had during those boring times. “I have good news though.”
“What?”
Andrea’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “I’ve been dating.”
&nb
sp; “Hope his name is not Rick.”
“Definitely not Rick.” Both of us laughed, something that I haven’t done for a while since her daughter left. It felt good to just let it out. As if I didn’t have a care in the world. When the laughter ceased, Andrea reached for my hand across the table. “Glace,” she started. “I think of you as my daughter. One day you’ll marry Dulce. Have a family together. I just want you to know that whenever you miss her, or if you have problems that you want to discuss, I’m here, as your mother.”
I took a deep breath, trying my best not to break down in front of her. “Thanks Andrea. I’ll make sure to visit you as often as I can.”
1460 Days Left
The door of the diner made a distinct tinkling sound as I opened it with a push. The waitress behind the counter was alerted that a new customer arrived. Ignoring her overly enthusiastic smile, I scanned the place until I saw Tim, waving his hands to catch my attention. I adjusted my sunglasses and headed to his direction.
“Frio,” he said breathlessly as I slid down into the booth in front of him. Tim motioned to the huge guy on his right with shoulder-length brown hair, and muscles that made him look like he belonged to action movies. “This is my boyfriend Fabio. He was also a graduate of our high school.” The guy and I nodded at each other politely. “Fabio, this is Frio. An actress, a star, a heartthrob, my number one idol, and of course my best friends girlfriend.”
I laughed at his introduction. “I see that you haven’t changed.”
Tim smiled in a revering manner at me. Despite making it clear that we were friends, he still respected me for being an artist. “It’s been more than one year since we’ve seen each other, and you’ve changed. A lot,” he said.
I was puzzled by what he meant. “How so?”
“You look so cute before, but you’re totally, undeniably hotter now.” He scanned my face and body. “I bet Dulce wishes that she was here to see all that hotness of yours. Speaking of that, you’re visiting her next month right?”
At the mention of my impending vacation to France, my whole body exploded with happiness. I have waited more than a year for this, and no one, not the paparazzi or my fans could ever stop me from going straight to my girlfriend’s arms. To Tim I said sheepishly, “Super excited. And to tell you the truth, Dulce has become way hotter than me. Have you seen her pictures? Damn Tim. . . When we talk in the webcam. She’s. . . And her body. . .” I was lost for words.
He rolled his eyes. “I never knew my best friend would turn out to be a real heartbreaker in the future. Makes me wonder what you two eat for breakfast to look like the way you do.”
“Hey, you look perfect to me,” Fabio said. There was a hint of accent in his voice. Tim elbowed his boyfriend. It was a sure sign of affection, though I had no idea how boys could be so rough with one another. Maybe it was how things worked with that kind of relationship.
When they were done pushing and elbowing each other endearingly, Tim focused his attention on me. “I’m taking up law,” he said. “And Fabio here wants to be an action star. The problem was I disagreed.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want chicks and other dudes to fall in love with him. This troll is mine. All mine.” He settled his head on Fabio’s shoulder. The gesture reminded me of how Dulce would lay her head on my chest before. I looked away. As if reading my thoughts, Tim immediately straightened on his seat. “Hang in there Frio,” he said. “Just a couple of years more till our Dulce comes home to you.”
1095 Days Left
“I hope I’m not late,” Patty said as she sat beside me on the bench, adjusting the brown satchel bag on her lap. The wind picked up, ruffling the leaves on the trees overhead. The black cap that I was wearing was nearly blown from my head. Patty was able to help me by pushing it down securely back to its position. “Got to make sure that your disguise stays on,” she murmured with a twinkle in her eyes. “We don’t want a mob here in the park.”
“Thanks,” I said. “How are you doing?”
“Good. Good but busy. You know I’m studying to be an editor right? At the same time, I’m trying to have the book I’ve written for you and Dulce published.”
“Starstruck,” I said, remembering the stack of papers she gave Dulce during our last get-together, two or more years ago. It seemed like it was yesterday when we graduated from high school, all hopes and dreams of having a better future in front of us. Little by little we have worked to achieve those dreams. It was not easy. And the hardest part was being so far from my girl.
“Uh huh,” Patty said, jerking me back to the present. “Who knew that making and publishing a book could be so hard? All those typing. All those editing.” She sighed. “But I know it will all be worth it. I just want to get your story out there Frio. For the world to know how much you and Dulce fought for this relationship.”
“I honestly don’t know what to say Patty. It’s your first book and everything. You should have made it about you and Eris.”
Patty chuckled at the mention of her girlfriend. “The world is not ready for what Eris and I have in store for them.” She placed her right leg over the other and leaned forward. I knew that look. She would often give it to Dulce when she'd ask questions. “You visited Dulce a year ago right? How did that go? We always chat of course, but I want to know from your point of view,” she said.
“You’re talking like a real author Patty.” I smirked. “Hmm. When she saw me at the airport in France, Dulce looked like she was having a heart attack.” The recollection made me smile. The moment the two of us made eye contact, Dulce burst out crying. She then ran to me and clutched me like a lifeline, never meaning to let go. I had to remind her that we were in public. It took a while to convince her to take me to her apartment.
“Then what happened?”
“We went to her place, a lovely 2-storey building that she shared with two other girls. She had the top floor to herself. I made sure of that when I made the arrangement. And there’s a lovely balcony that overlooked a garden. It’s a short commute from her place to the city.”
“Go on,” Patty encouraged, a small smile on her lips. She was also imagining the landscape that I had emblazed in my memories.
“I was supposed to stay with her for three weeks. She didn’t let me get out of her room for the first couple of days.” Blush spread on my cheeks. “You know what happens after that. Then we toured the villages and city for a week.” My body warmed at the thought of Dulce when we got to her room. She completely went scene Goddess on me and dragged me to the bed. We’d stay in all day and night, only pausing to sleep, bathe, or eat. Now that I thought about it, I was absolutely amazed at how we could both survive that.
Patty had an all-knowing look. “Sounds like a good memory." She clasped her hands together. "Please tell me that you’re happy Frio. Tell me that you’re happy enough with her that you’re willing to wait for a few more years.”
My eyes closed on its own accord. “I’m happy with her.” There was no doubt in my tone that I was saying the truth.
730 Days Left
“What movie do you want to star in?” Eris’ tone was businesslike. She was in one of her manager moods again. The kind that said we’d be talking about work and nothing else. Setting five folders in front of me on the table, Eris gave me a quick smile, looking expectantly at my reaction.
“That many?” I asked with raised eyebrows. “I got that many offers?”
Now her smile was that of a Cheshire cat, all gloating and proud. “Why of course Frio. You’re a star.” She glanced briefly at the ceiling, probably envisioning all the lights on us, like we were on some kind of pictorial. “Your millions of fans doubled over the years. The fact that you have a beautiful girlfriend who was nowhere to be found only added to the enigma. Add to that your perfect acting, and bang! We’re looking at millions of dollars of movie deals.”
I opened the folder one by one, staring at their titles and cast. “They all look great to me. Whatev
er, you’re the manager, you choose.” I settled comfortably on the couch. We were back in Eris’ house, all squeaky clean like the last time I visited it years ago. She changed the couch again. Probably at Patty’s request.
Eris thought hard about something. After a few seconds, she mumbled a few words under her breath and quickly gathered the folders, stacking it neatly on a corner of the table. Her expression was unreadable as she faced me. “How’s your girlfriend?” she finally asked.
I knew the direction of the conversation would end up there. “She’s fine. Dulce finished the course with the chef and continues her training. I don’t know much about the whole chef thing.”
Eris nodded. “And you don’t have to know. All you need to concentrate on for now is your acting career, nothing else.” She looked hesitantly at me, cleared her throat, as if wanting to say something important. “When I talked to Dulce on the phone, she told me that she’s getting many offers in France. Do you know about that?”
“Yes. A lot of big hotels and restaurants want to hire her. I mean, she did learn from one of the best chef’s, not to mention her own cooking is superb.” I paused. “But I don’t see why she has to work there. She can always go back here.”
“It’s obvious that she wants to learn what she can before going home to you. Wants to get ready and all that glam. You do realize that once Dulce comes back, the paparazzi will be all over her. Your fans included.” I nodded. Eris continued talking. “Be patient Frio. Once Dulce is ready, she’ll be here. And then you can marry her or whatever you plan to do with that woman. But until then, keep your head on your shoulder and continue what you’ve been doing for the last four years.”
“And what is that?” I countered.
Eris smiled, her pearly white teeth showing like a true model. “Don’t give up on her.”
365 Days Left
“Thanks for the good job everyone. See you for another project,” someone said inside the room. Minutes later, Denise came out, looking more Barbie-like than ever before. She pulled me for a hug when she saw me on the lounge.
