As I come to the first stop sign, I can see the smoke billowing in the sky. I can feel my eyes watering up, and my bottom lip is starting to quiver a little bit. This is very hard for me, but I can’t begin to imagine how this must feel for Steve. I’m about one block away now, and I can see the news van, the police cars, the fire truck, and a crumbling thrift store. I pull into the parking lot of the apartment complex across the street from the store, and find a decent spot for my bubble. I shut my car off and brace myself because I have no idea what to expect from Steve; or better yet where to find him. I rub my stomach and it is still tender from where Jeffers had been kicking me yesterday. I swear if I were 30 years younger I would take that young man to town and give him what’s coming to him. I open my door, and wince in pain as I get out of my car.
I suppose it would have helped if I had gotten to know Steve a little bit more. Then I would have found out where he lived, he would have known where I live, so on and so forth. But no, I’m too much of a chicken to converse with people about such things let alone speak a full sentence to them without feeling embarrassed. Instead, I am stuck trying to figure out where to even start my search. Thankfully, it’s a small apartment complex. The layout is in a big square. There are four buildings total, each one faces a cardinal direction, and sizeable gaps in each corner. I’ve seen box trucks fit through those gaps with ease. The way these buildings were designed makes me think that the planner was hoping for city-wide growth. Sadly, that didn’t happen. They are the standard three-story high apartments with the basic amenities included. In the middle is the swimming pool bordered by a chain-link fence, a playground, and a place for bar-b-que events. If I’m not mistaken it’s only a small handful of tenants in this particular complex. The abandoned units have the appearance of professional haunted houses, mostly with overgrown cobwebs that dangle from the balconies. So even if I went door to door, regardless of who I asked, he or she should be able to tell me where to find Steve.
However, I don’t feel like climbing flights of stairs, so I’ll start my search in the middle of the ground floor. If only it could be as easy as me walking in to the middle of the four buildings to successfully find Steve sitting by himself on a picnic table by the bar-b-que area. I would joyfully walk over to him, sit next to him and place a gentle hand on his shoulder to let him know that I was there for comfort. He would then cry and vent out all his emotion as he begins to tell me his tales of woe. This gives me courage and I pick up the pace a little bit. As I come around the corner, I can hear the sounds of yelling. Oh dear, this isn’t good. The source of the shouting comes into view and it’s Steve yelling at the news reporter I saw on TV. Why can’t scenarios ever turn out as good as they appear in my head?!
“Go away! I’ve said as much as I want to say. Now leave me alone!” Steve shouts.
“But, sir. Our viewers want to know what led up to the fire. How did it start? Did you start it? Did your wife? What were you two talking about right before this all happened?” The reporter is letting every question she can think of flow out of her like a wide-open fire hose. I knew that reporters can be relentless, but she’s taken it to a whole new level. Steve is wailing loudly at this point. He’s pointing his finger and shouting something, but neither myself nor the reporter can make it out. If I had to guess, it sounded like “just get out of here you…” then I think there were some vulgar words in there as well.
I look to see where the camera man went, and he seems to be hiding around the corner. However, the camera doesn’t seem to be on because there is no significant red light to indicate that he is recording. Interesting, he must be doing that out of respect for Steve. The reporter continues to dig for more answers.
“Sir, can you tell me what was the last thing your wife said to you?” the reporter pries.
“Please, get that microphone out of my face. My soul is ripped in two. My heart is torn asunder. You wouldn’t know anything about that though. All reporters are the same. You’re just a heartless, empty vessel. Leave me be.” Steve says through bloodshot eyes.
The reporter seems to agree, and she drops the microphone by her side. “Is it ok if we talk off record then?” she asks.
Steve doesn’t say a word, but only nods his head slowly after a lengthy pause. I want to shout that this isn’t a good idea, because I don’t think he knows about the hidden camera.
“Wonderful.” The reporter smiles out of the side of her mouth. “Let’s start at the beginning then. Is that ok with you?”
Steve nods his head.
“Great. You can start whenever you’re ready. Have you guys always been a happy couple?” she asks. That first question seems like an obvious answer to anyone who knows Steve and Rebecca like I do. I think the appropriate answer among the young people now-a-days is “no duh”.
Steve folds his hands together, interlocking his fingers, and lets out a deep sigh. “Yes. Rebecca and I have always been a happy couple. We practically grew up together. Since childhood we lived in the same neighborhood and remained there all the way through high school. She and I are right around the same age and have always played together outside since we were kids. My parents and her parents are really good friends as well. We did everything together. We had campfires, cooked s’mores, our families went to the beach several years in a row, and the list goes on.”
Sally nods her head.
“I could sit here and bore you to death with stories of our childhood, but that would take forever. Instead, I think I will just summarize.” Steve says.
“I have all the time in the world. You won’t bore me at all.” Sally encourages.
“No. Trust me. We would be here for a least a week if I started in with all of those stories.”
“I see. Well I guess I don’t have that long.” Sally says.
“At any rate, there are lots of stories to tell, but the main point is that outside of her parents and the Lord, nobody knew Rebecca like I did. We were closer than siblings. Fast forward to adolescent years, throw in a dash of high school, and we became the most inseparable couple known to mankind. We never fought, and people would always complement us on how close we were. My answer was always the same, that we did so much fighting as kids that we got it out of our systems!” Steve laughs. “So, by the time we were out of school and married shortly thereafter, all of the typical relationship kinks had been worked out already, leaving room only for 100% clear communication and intimacy.”
“That sounds very sweet and romantic.” Sally says, sounding a little choked up.
“Yeah. It was great. I count it as a huge advantage. You would think that people like us would have fallen apart right after high school and gone our separate ways. Apparently, that wasn’t the case with us. After we got married, we moved from the neighboring town of Los Ricos, to here in Los Pobres. Rebecca and I couldn’t have any kids, so we didn’t need anything with large square footage, and I wanted to pursue my lifelong dream of owning my own business. We found an empty lot, bought it, and built the thrift store. We used to live in the backroom for a year until the town built this apartment complex conveniently across the street. When we moved in here, we were able to expand the store to hold more items. Things were going great! We weren’t the busiest store in town, but we made a decent living. We didn’t have a lot of debt, and we were able to become debt free within two years. The only expenses we had were what we paid in rent, utilities, and food. We hardly ever drive anywhere, so using gas was never an issue. I think we may fill up the gas tank once every two months; if that.”
“Wow! How did you manage that?” Sally says with a stunned face.
“We walk where we need to go.”
“Oh. Right. I didn’t think people did that anymore.” She says.
“It’s amazing what you miss when you drive everywhere. When you choose to walk, it tends to bring your priorities back to a more basic level.” Steve says.
“So, what happened then? It sounds like everything was going really well for the two
of you. It doesn’t make sense that she would just sporadically burn your dream down to the ground like that, unless there was something brewing beneath the surface that she didn’t tell you about. Was there?” Sally asks.
Steve tears up and begins sobbing. He is crying so hard that he breathes in between every other set of words. “That is…just…the point! I can’t…seem to…figure it out. She is…just so perfect…and now look at it all. Just look at it all!” Steve begins to wail loudly.
Sally just stands there: unmoved, untouched. Steve buries his face in his hands and rests on his knees while he sits there. Sally takes this time to check her watch since Steve is not looking at her. She places her hand over her ear, looks briefly back over her shoulder and nods to the camera man; who gives her a “thumbs up”. That devil woman! She’s wired! I bet she’s recording everything to possibly use later on the air! That burns me up inside. Somebody has to do something about it and now. Somebody with a large sense of courage. Someone who has the strength to take care of just about any problem. Somebody who could smash that camera into little pieces.
That somebody isn’t me.
Steve seems to calm down a little bit, and raises his head. Sally clears her throat a little and asks, “Are you ready to continue sir? I am sorry if I made things worse.”
No, you’re not sorry, you lying devil woman!
Steve nods his head and continues. “A few days ago, we went to that new Chinese restaurant that just opened up in town; The Dragon’s Garden. We decided to have lunch there, and immediately fell in love with the place. We loved it so much in fact we went there again for dinner. Then the very next day we had lunch and then dinner again. Of course, to make sure my store stayed open and running, Rebecca and I took turns going. When one of us was eating, the other was manning the shop. It seemed to work out really well, until the last time I went and tried one of their fortune cookies. It was the first one I had ever bothered to open up and read. The strangest thing happened when I read it out loud. Not only did I believe the words I had just read, but I heard this weird voice in my ear suggesting I punch my wife.”
“What did the words say?” asks Sally.
“It was a catchy little rhyme actually. It said, ‘Prosperity comes and goes. Where it stops, nobody knows. Though fame and fortune continue to grow, through fire be cleansed what the reaper sowed.’” Steve says with a little jingle.
“You weren’t kidding. That is catchy! I didn’t know that fortune cookies could be so fun and happy sounding.”
“Trust me, you don’t want these cookies. Do you see what happened? My store is in flames! ‘Through fire be cleansed…’ come on! How much more evidence do you need?” Steve screams at her.
“But, we’re talking about your wife here and not the Chinese restaurant. You mentioned that you punched your wife.” Sally suggests.
“Yeah I did. But I swear I didn’t mean to! I read that stupid fortune out loud and my wife smiled at me. She asked me with a chuckle if I believed in any of that nonsense, and right after that, I heard the voice telling me to hit her. I don’t know what came over me. It’s like all of this anger and rage came out of nowhere. I balled up my fist and punched her square on the jaw. She screamed at me, and threatened divorce while running out of the restaurant. I sat there stunned and shocked at what I’d just done. I would never ever hit my wife; let alone any woman at that!”
“You heard a voice? Was it somebody sitting behind you?” Sally asks.
That’s what I want to know, too.
“No.” Steve says. “After my wife got up and ran out, I turned around to check the booth behind me. It was empty and waiting for the next set of patrons.”
“Interesting. So, if this happened a few days ago, what led up to the fire?” Sally prods.
“I have no idea. What I do know, is that when I went home that evening Rebecca wasn’t there. There were no notes, no letters, no indicators of any kind. All of her stuff was there, so she didn’t pack any bags. I just assumed, then, that she was going to return. When our normal bedtime came, she still had not come home. I went to the store to see if that was where she may have ended up at, but no. The lights were all off, the doors were locked, and the chain was around the door handles. I went back to our little apartment and waited up all night for her to return.”
Sally tilts her head and asks, “Do you guys have any children?”
Steve hangs his head in shame and quietly says, “No. I am infertile. Forgive me if I’m being too vague, but I don’t feel the need to be more specific.”
“No! No, I understand completely. Thank you for that.” Sally says. “So, you’re right when you said that you and your wife don’t need much more than your one-bedroom apartment.”
“Correct.”
“So, you guys really have no worries then if you leave your apartment for an extended period of time, right?” Sally asks.
“That’s also correct.” Steve says.
Sally crosses her arms and asks, “So what happened next?”
Steve tucks his knees up to his chest and wraps his arms around his legs. “I couldn’t sleep. Eating didn’t seem important. I lost all interest in any kind of activity. I didn’t even go to the store to open it up. I didn’t leave my apartment for two days. I wanted to be sure that if Rebecca returned home at all, I was going to be there when she did. That leads me up to today. My eyes popped open this morning, and I didn’t realize that I had fallen asleep! I guess it was from all of the exhaustion. I looked around the apartment and nothing had changed, so I decided that I was done moping around and I needed to act productive. So, I showered, had breakfast and got dressed for the day. I grabbed the keys to the store, and walked out my door. That’s when I heard the crackling and popping sound of a roaring fire. I heard glass breaking, and lots of crashing sounds as well. When I exited the building and looked across the street, I discovered that everything in my world had drastically changed. My heart stopped at the sight of my store on fire. I ran across the street to get a closer look, but the police wouldn’t let me get closer than the caution tape. Even though they know me, and know that it was my store, they simply said there was nothing left.”
Steve pulls a small box from behind him. “Nothing left except for this small little thing that was left by the front door.” He starts to cry heavily as he opens the box and pulls out a fortune cookie paper, plus another sheet of paper which is probably a note from Rebecca. He hands the box and its contents to Sally. She takes it in her hands and reads the note to herself.
“I have chosen to follow my heart elsewhere. I had a feeling that our relationship was going to come to this. Since that day that you hit me in the restaurant, I knew at that moment that I had to leave. Nobody hits me; ever! My daddy taught me to stay away from men like you. So, with that being said, I am leaving you for good. Don’t you dare try and follow me either, scumbag. Besides, your miserable empty male-hood failed to give us children. To have children is my dream. Finding out that you can’t provide that for me ruined my dream. Good bye and good riddance.”
Sally lets the note fall to the ground. Steve is still crying. “You should read the fortune cookie too.”
Sally looks the fortune over several times and says, “I’m sorry sir. There is nothing written on it.”
“What? That’s impossible! Give me that!” Steve snatches the little grey slip out of her fingers. He turns it over and over trying to find the writing that is no longer there. He lets is fall to the ground, and it joins the larger note. “I remember reading it out loud! My wife must have read it too. The words still burn in my head, ‘To market to wed, take love to bed. Find the right seed, or your dreams are dead.’”
Sally stands there stunned. Steve begins to cry again. Sally backs up and begins to walk away. Steve looks up and says, “Wait. Where are you going?”
Sally stammers as she says, “I…uh…have to go. I can’t stay any more. I’m sorry, but I have enough for the story.”
“What story?” Ste
ve asks with building anger.
Sally looks over her shoulder at the incognito camera man standing behind the corner of the building.
“You set me up? You lied to me!” Steve yells. He leaps from the concrete table and lunges for Sally. She takes off running, and Steve begins to chase her. Sally runs through the grass, and rounds the corner of the closest building. I see the camera man lower his camera and turn the opposite direction. I think he may be heading to the news van or whatever they drive now. I have to help.
I hurry as best as I can to catch up with Steve. The last time I did any amount of running to this degree was in grade school when I’d run from bullies. They would always chase me down, corner me, and demand my lunch money at the threat of a severe beating or death. Knowing that I was going to be cornered eventually, I still ran as fast as I could. At my current age, that degree of running no longer exists for me. As a matter of fact, I think I ran five steps total and I’m out of breath. This is pitiful. I place one hand on the wall and the other hand on my stomach. It’s sore still from where Jeffers kicked me. My heaving breaths would make you think that I’ve been a smoker all my life. No, I’m just fat.
Sally screams out, “No! Let me go! Get away from me, please! I was just doing my job…” her voice stops suddenly with a hacking gargling sound. As I approach the corner, I hear Sally pleading for help in a hoarse voice. My God, what is Steve doing? I poke my head around to see what’s going on. Steve has his hands around Sally's neck, and has lifted her off the ground about five to six inches. Sally is clawing away at her captor’s hands trying to free herself, but it isn't working. Steve's hands are covered in scratches, and are bleeding.
Fate Of The Dragon Page 16
