What did one wear to their own funeral, Genoa wondered as she walked around in her closet. After today her life would never be the same...Genoa Nova Weller, would die and Keyoko the Sha-Urel's whore would be arise. From today on her life would not be her own. She would be whatever he wished, whatever he desired... he would make her obey.
She fell to her knees just thinking of it. She wrapping her arms around herself as much as she understood this day would come, as much as she tried to prepare herself for the end. It still felt so...so unreal. She looked up at all her brightly colored clothes that had once made her happy. It was true she didn't have style. Some might even say she didn't have taste but she had lived as she wanted…well almost.
There was only so much one could really 'live' when the crushing weight of impending doom was always bearing down on them. She supposed she wouldn't have to wait... dread it any longer...only the fear would remain. She stood and ran her hands across her clothes once more. She stared at all the pretty dresses she had just bought and would now never wear.
In the end she decided to go with the dark pink dress with all the frills, like Harold had said, "It was her" and she might as well be her, for as long as she could. For while she lived multiple lives, she was only going to be Genoa Nova Weller, for one of them. She pulled the dress off its hanger and slowly put it on, along with the stockings. She took out a pair of shoes she rather liked and slid them on. Finally she took a moment to brush out her hair and look at herself in the mirror.
For the longest time she stared at herself, taking in as much as she could. She looked at the bright eyed beautiful young woman that stared back at her, wanting to remember this woman… remember how she looked before her body would become blotched with cruelty and obsession. She looked deep into her eyes, wanting to recall the brightness that would soon fade as her eyes became sunken with torment and captivity.
She held herself for a long moment and sighed. She looked away then took one last look, said one last goodbye to herself before she walked out of her closet. She took a moment to look around her room… at all of the happy decorations, the things that had brought her such joy over the years. She picked up a bubble gun, pulled the trigger. She watched the bubbles float about and pop until they were all gone.
She took it with her into the living room. The condo probably looked the cleanest it had ever been. Harold was still running around somewhere like a mad man, trying to clean everything up. She supposed she should help him but wanted to enjoy the last few minutes of her freedom. She sat on the couch and brought her legs up.
She pulled the trigger on her bubble gun over and over. She knew it was a rather childish toy but one of the reasons she liked it was because bubble were so easy to move. It took almost no effort to make them go around wither her mind, to have them collide or pull apart. She pulled the trigger making the bubbles form the shape of a heart and then a star. She held the trigger down longer making the bubble form a large spiral in the air.
"I didn't know it could do that!" said Harold.
Genoa gasped, popping all the bubbles as they flew away from her. She turned wondering how long Harold had been standing there. He had a pile of clothes in his hands and looked rather perplexed.
"It can't," Genoa said halfheartedly. It had been her.
Harold walked over and looked at her closer. She wondered what he must be thinking. After a moment he shook his head and said, "What are you doing? Stop messing around and go get dressed in case they show up early!" He turned away from her and looked around the room. He let out a heated sigh and said more to himself than her, "We should have set an exact time!"
"I am already dressed," said Genoa looking down at the floor.
"Isn't that one of your new dresses?
"Yeah," she said somberly.
"Well you don't want to get it dirty do you?" said Harold.
"It's not like I'll ever wear it anywhere." said Genoa.
"Not so," said Harold. He piled the clothes under one arm and then grabbed the bubble gun out of her hand, "When this custom piece is all said and done, I'll take you out and we'll have a nice dinner to celebrate. You can wear your dress then."
"Right," she said getting up, "Let's do that, it sounds fun."
She tried to act cheerful but Harold could see she was upset, "Listen, if this gets to be too much for you, at any point, you tell me and I'll kick 'em out, two million or not,"
"Right," she said. For a moment she could just imagine Harold, trying to kick out a destroyer of worlds, the master of shadows and demons. Harold would easily be obliterated within seconds, she couldn't let that happen. She shook her head and said, "I'll go change."
"Good, I already put a canvas together for you and set out your paints. We're running a little low though, so we should stock up soon, especially since Mick just messaged me wanting twice as much as last time. Hmp, you know, if this keeps up, maybe we should get a bigger place, something more like a warehouse."
Genoa turned and slowly backed up looking at him as he talked about future plans that would never happen. All the plans, the dreams they'd ever discussed over the years weren't ever going to happen. Her chest ached but she still managed a cheerful "Sounds good!"
She turned around and went into her room. Harold stood there for a moment; he let out a heavy sigh. He really didn't like the short notice of this. He adjusted the clothes under his arm then looked at the bubble gun. He pointed it in the air pulling the trigger. The bubbles came out in random patterns but nothing like what he'd seen just moments before. He brought it up close to his face looking at the tip, he wondered if there was a setting or something. He shook his head after a moment. He didn't have time for this.
Geona put on one of her older paint suits and an apron before crawling into bed. She curled up into a tight ball and looked at the time. She saw it was a minute past noon. She was surprised he wasn't breaking down her door. She paused recalling last night's dream...how he'd broken down the wall...the sound of the porcelain and glass shattering.
She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. She wasn't sure how long she laid there but eventually Harold came in with a plate of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cut into various shapes. She was reminded of when she was younger and he'd tried to do everything like mom and dad had, to make her happy. She sat up and took the plate. He tussled her hair, "You should eat something. Who knows how long this will take."
"Thank you but I'm not very hungry."
"You didn't eat much of the food I left out either." he said. He moved his hand to her forehead, "You sure you're not feeling sick?"
She took his hand off her forehead, "I'm not a kid. I know how I feel and I feel fine. Would you go clean under the fridge or something and maybe change out of your suit? You look like a dip!"
"I do not! I look good," he said. He turned and looked at himself in a mirror.
"You look old," she said sticking out her tongue at him in the mirror.
He glared at her then said, "Fine. I'll change...you eat. Deal!"
"Deal!" she said, realizing it would be the last one they made.
He turned and rushed out of her room. She thought about saying goodbye to him but didn't want to tip him off. She wondered for a moment how they were going to remove her. She supposed they'd come up with a plan. She'd disappear somehow. She knew Harold would probably look for her but he'd never find her. She hoped he'd eventually move on and let go.
She took a few bites of her sandwiches but was too worked up to really eat. She tore the rest of her sandwiches into pieces, making it look like she ate more before setting the plate down. She curled back up again then sighed closing her eyes. A few minutes later, she heard the buzzer. He was here! Time was up! She sat up on her bed, her entire body felt like it might explode. She listened, hearing her brother scuffle and curse as he ran about the condo. "THEY'RE HERE!" he yelled.
She didn't respond a moment later, she heard voices. She clutched her stomach but got up. Over the years, she had walked down her hallway hundreds, if not thousands of times but in this moment it felt impossibly long. Each step she took drew her closer to him. Her knees felt weak as she manged the last few feet. She stepped into the living room and a moment later Harold brought them in.
She stared at them from across the room. In front was a man she'd never seen before, he wore glasses and had a goatee. She felt something…the same aura as in her dream. She thought he must be...Eyo. Urel's most devote servant. He was always the first in and out of a room, always looking out for danger. Next came Esma...Gigi. Genoa felt her too before she saw her holding Harold's hand. She was already talking him up. She was a distraction no doubt. It wasn't the first time the shado-Urel had used Gigi for such a task. Genoa sighed as she finally…finally…finally saw him. He stood at the back, in a long black trench coat, with sunglasses on, his hair styled. His face was flat at first and then as he saw her a smile crept across his lips.
He moved quickly then, he darted around her brother and Esma and past Eyo. He closed the gap between them within seconds, stopping just before her. He pulled off his shade and his ice blue eyes looked down at her. She could see the excitement but strangely there was still something missing. Curiously, she tilted her head as he joyously spread out his arms and said, "We met under favorable circumstances!"
***
After Esma blew Jesep's mind yet again, he had a nice glass of Sha-nay, his meal arrived not much longer after that. Admittedly it was good but he barely touched it, he was far too excited. There were few things that truly excited him in this world, building his empire, covertly stealing from companies, and sabotaging outstanding ideas. Yes, up until this point there was nothing like taking down possible competition or purposely sabotaging an idea, a product that would no doubt be a multi-million dollar success and ensuring it would never be anything more than trash.
Of course that was up until this point... though he'd only seen Genoa less than a handful of times, he found himself absolutely invigorated by the idea that he would soon be in her presence once more. His curiosity, that had become interest, turning into infatuation had ultimately blossomed into full blow obsession. The mere idea of being near her again, hearing her voice, seeing that orange hair of hers, that turned out to be her natural hair color and at last those eyes...oh most of all, he longed to look into those breathtaking green eyes of hers.
Jesep's chest truly ached as he longed for the moment of their reunion. He nearly danced off the balcony, when it was decidedly time. He waited a full twelve minutes after noon, grabbed some hidden camera's he'd set up a few days earlier, his favorite jacket and a breath mint...just in case...the opportunity arose for an intimate encounter. He hummed to himself as he waited for the elevator to arrive.
Grady and Esma were not far behind him as he stepped into the elevator. They moved to stand behind him and flanked both his sides. In silence they rode the elevator down to the eleventh floor and Jesep pushed the buzzer with delight. When the elevator doors opened he was the first to step out, the first to the door but once Harold opened it and they had all stepped inside, he found himself hanging back.
Jesep worried for a moment he...he might have over exaggerated the extent of her beauty… that perhaps he had built up this moment of their reunion a bit too much in his head. He felt his excitement dip slightly and he slowed his steps as Harold led them through the condo. Esma was just ahead of him, already holding onto Harold's arm. Every so often she would glance back, checking up on Jesep. Grady had already gone on ahead as he often did.
When they reached the living room, his face fell flat, he looked about, suddenly unsure of anything. He found himself agitated that all of this could have possibly just been some sort of momentary lapse of judgment. Yet when he finally spotted her across the room, every part of his being gravitated towards her. She indeed had a glow, a way about her, he tore of his sunglasses so that he might admire it, admire her in all her lovely glory.
He recalled the first moment they had truly met, the first words he'd ever heard her speak, 'We met under mysterious circumstances.' Yes that is what she had said. He took a deep breath in, outstretch his arms and called out to her, "We met under favorable circumstances!"
Everyone in the room paused, looking at him strangely. In that moment, he realized how silly he must have sounded and looked but he found he didn't care. He- He- HE WAS IN LOVE! YES THAT'S WAS WHAT THIS WAS! WHAT THIS HAD TO BE! FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE JESEP HAD FALLEN IN LOVE. He looked down at her now taking in every bit of her as his heart thundered in his chest. With absolute certainty he knew she had to be his and his alone. Now that he had found her again, no one would separate them!
His heart beat in his chest like it never had before, he closed the few feet he had left between them and looked down into her precious green eyes that now looked up at him and only him. He wanted to run his fingers through her orange hair, pull her head back and passionately kiss her. He wanted to taste the inside of her mouth and know every part of it...of her. In time he would. No matter what it took...in time he would!
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