Retrieval.23:49 Feb 18 2013
Times Read: 613
Anna was highly agitated when I emerged from my bedroom.
“Ma’am - I know that we were not to disturb you, but you gave us all quite a fright!” Her Spanish accent was more pronounced by her agitation. She was actually quite angry, which made me want to hug her for her concern.
She closely followed me down the staircase as I re-buckled the belt of my jeans.
“You need to eat…food!” Anna herded me to the kitchen table, pushed me down in a chair, and immediately began to serve me.
“Um…that’s a lot of eggs and bacon, Anna” I stated dryly, as she kept heaping the food on the plate.
“You eat! I fed the man with the skunk hair before he left! He didn’t give me any trouble, and neither should you…uh…ma’am.”
I hungrily gobbled up a piece of bacon, and immediately thought of Ankh-Re. “Oh shit! Has anyone been down to the wine cellar?” I stood up and raced towards the cellar door.
I heard Anna say “That man told us not to go down there and to wait for you…” as I bounded down the stairs. I felt guilt…imagine, me enjoying bacon while the poor man was still possibly sprawled out on the stone floor - naked, cold, and starving!
“Ankh-Re!” I shouted as I walked towards the back of the cellar. When I got to the last row of wine, I found him huddled up against the wall, bundled up in a blanket.
“Hey” was all he said, without raising his head.
I held my right hand out to him. “Can you get up?”
Ankh-Re then looked up at me, with a look on his face which suggested that that was a dumb question. He stood up without taking my hand, then pulled the blanket tighter over his large frame. I started for the stairs, then noticed that he didn’t move.
“Well - come on then!” I said in exasperation, as I continued to walk.
Ankh-Re nodded towards the stairs. “Is that psycho Shemhazai gone?”
I stopped in my tracks. Psycho? “Shemhazai - Huey - is gone. Let’s go.”
A look of relief spread across his face. “Good.” We went up the stairs into the kitchen, where Ankh-Re seemed to relax a little. Anna looked up and down at his attire - or the lack thereof - then proceeded to prepare another plate.
“This one looks as if he could eat a horse” she mumbled as she placed a much larger platter in front of him.
“Will there be anything else, ma’am?” she said sweetly. I had to chuckle. “No - we’ll take it from here, Anna. Thank you.”
Anna left the kitchen, but not before stating that Helene would need to speak with me as soon as possible.
“Of course…thank you again, Anna.”
Ankh-Re sat in silence, staring at me. His mind was unblocked, and I was overwhelmed by the flood of emotions that came from him. It was as if he was too defeated to bother with mind-blocking. My heart was pounding much too fast.
“Where do I even begin?” he said out loud. His eyes were brimming with tears.
I took one of his hands in both of mine. “First, you will eat. Then, you will take a shower, and then we will talk.”
Ankh-Re smiled through the tears that began to fall freely.
“Okay…that would be best. Thank you.”
We ate in silence.
(c) MFH 2013
COMMENTS
-