It was a beautiful night. The early stars twinkled in the sky, and the sun hid behind the line of the horizon filling the atmosphere with bright pink, yellow, and red. Nature was at its finest, and with a pair of doves in the sky, it felt as though the picturesque image was a gift from above. Until… CRACK! One of the doves fell to the floor, victim to the greedy hunter awaiting his reward. I returned my focus to the one place I certainly did not want to be. The cocktail party. The celebration was dull and tedious filled only with the occasional sound of laughter, accompanied by spirited music coming from the quartet in the corner of the room. Time felt like a broken record which continued to replay itself over and over again. And finally, that monotonous tune was taken off repeat when I glanced over my shoulder and saw him.
It finally felt as if the composition of life had reached its crescendo as he looked at me, and I looked at him. We knew that it was meant to be. No hesitation was necessary. My legs urged me to move towards him, and willingly, my mind complied. In a dreamlike trance I awaited to hear his voice and greet him.
“My name is Silus. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The words rolled off his tongue smoothly.
“Likewise. I’m Casta,” I replied. And from that, I had started one of the most beautiful conversations of my life. We talked for the shortest portion of forever and I told him special things about myself, and he told me special things about himself. We just clicked. We both had a passion for reading books and Silus even encouraged my dream of going to college and earning a medical degree. I told him all about my family and he told me all about his two brothers and two sisters. I could have stayed there all night with him. But what entranced me most while we were talking was his speech. Whenever he told a story, it rolled out of his mouth like a poem he had prepared for that very moment. Silus’s soothing tone and rhythmic voice made me want him to never stop talking.
Eventually, the quartet was accompanied by a full orchestra which made it very difficult to hear one another.
I yelled to him, “Can we talk somewhere else?”
He replied, “Sure, I know a small bar where we could go!”
And with that, I followed him out of the party and to a nearby bar on the street. The bar had a very unorthodox setup with a majority outdoor setting. A few drinks were in the back along with two coffee jugs, and the bartender had the most inviting demeanor. His smile was as wide, and his attitude was as chipper as a child on Christmas morning. Wanting only the ability to stay awake, we asked the tender for two coffees. And gladly, he filled up our cups.
We continued talking to one another until Silus looked over my shoulder and grew a disturbed look.
“Casta…” he said anxiously, “Maybe we should take a walk.”
“Why?” I demanded. I liked this place. It felt safe and cozy, and I did not want to leave Silus already. At that, I looked over my shoulder and saw a man dressed in all black with a demeanor that made me shiver: hunched and hidden, preparing for an attack. His hat was pulled over his eyes, and his black coat hid every part of clothing save a black striped tie. He sat quietly and sipped from his dark coffee mug. I had not even heard the panther-looking man pull up a seat. I found it very strange. But the strangest of all was Silus’s reaction.
“Casta!” he whispered aggressively, “Look at me. Smile and keep talking to me like everything's alright. Do not turn behind you.”
“But I don’t understand,” I replied as I turned my head towards the panther, “What’s wrong with -”
“Casta!” Silus grabbed my arms to get my attention. I turned my head back towards him, “This is not safe. I will explain everything once we find a secure place.” I nodded my head. “Try to act happy. When I give the signal, you will link arms with me and we will start to walk away. Understand?”
I nodded my head and shot him a quick smile in my attempt to act inconspicuous, “That would be absolutely lovely,” I responded plastering another fake smile on my face.
“Now.” Silus stood up and I linked his arm and started to walk away. Almost immediately, I heard a shuffle and felt my gut drop and breath halt. Something was very, very wrong. Then, almost as silently as the panther appeared at the bar, his hand appeared over my mouth, and there was a CRACK! Silus was on the floor with a bullet in his leg.
With a rough raspy voice, my captor said, “You ‘a hard man to fin’ Mista Quincy. However, you gonna have a heck of a lotta more trouble findin’ the Missus. Time fo’ you to gets justice.”
The last thing I remember hearing was a sharp CRACK! come from the cold circle of metal pressed against the back of my neck.
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