Wild West of the Heart
NINETY THREE

Akin was still in a wheelchair.

And Mary was quite unsure when he would be able to walk without assistance, although the doctor had promised soon. But then again, they often say what you want to hear.

There was a strange woman that hung around in the parlor and Mary stole cautions glances at her. She sipped the can of Malta Guinness she had in her hands as she cleared her throat.

"She's my caretaker" Akin intercepted her thoughts. "What?" She looked to him. "Favor over there is my caretaker, she used to work for my mother when she had alzheimer's. I need someone to do the most basic things now-" Akin let out a soft chuckle. "Do you think it's karma? Because i for one think it's karma" He continued.

"Oh Akin, what are you saying?" Mary sat opposite him. "It was just an accident. Alot of people have those" She replied. "I'm not just talking about the accident, Mary. Look at my life now, i swore i had everything like a year ago. I had you, i had Ola and just some random caretaker. Mary i had a good job, i could provide for us. And i had our car"

"I had a beautiful family. And i could walk"

"But look at me now" He scoffed, letting his eyes well up with tears. "Look, everything happens for a reason" She reached out for his hands. "Well, what is this reason?" The tear slipped down his cheeks.

"I'm still figuring this out, and you should too" She sat forward. "Do we have to do it separately?" He asked and Mary reached for the documents in between them. She placed his hands on top of it, and she smirked slightly. "I think we were fast, Akin. I think that we rushed into things"

"And who knows if we may have waited just a little more, while we found ourselves and understood ourselves, maybe we would still be together. Maybe we would still have so much time" Tears stung her eyes as well. "I love you Akin, and i feel like i always will. It scares me actually, but then again i'm content with this one true love"

"I don't know about you" She looked to Favor. "But our time is up, and deep down you know it too" She whispered before pulling her hands back. "You don't have to sign right away" She stood, wiping beneath her eyes. "But time won't change anything."

-

He pulled out a large box from beneath his closet. Atop a yellow tape were the words he'd written years ago-MY FAMILY.

He couldn't get himself to study, so there he was, ripping open the box of age old memories. There were photos and frames and clothes he'd never fit into anymore. One which he'd worn on the 1991 christmas party he had at work. It all felt surreal, seeing his mother earlier that day.

He raised the little shirt into his face as he heaved a sniff through his nose. He could feel his tears soak the area close to his hands and Obi fell back against his bed frame.

He felt his heart break more as he let out a scream, suddenly tossing the box away from him. He ripped off the tape, stamping his feet against it. He was alone in the duplex which meant no one was going to hear him—

-no one was going to come for him. He held his hands in a fist as he screamed, facing the ceiling till there was a crack in his voice. His eyes were sore as he sat into his biology textbook on the bed, rumpling the pages. He cried, the sort of tears that jerked through your entire body.

And he rested into his palms. Of all the things he'd missed, it was his father. Everything would be so different if he had not died that night.

He meant everything he said to his mum, but it didn't mean it didn't shatter his heart. Because he'd seen her, after years of hoping she'd show up, he'd seen her and still nothing had changed. He imagined all the million things he would have said to her but none of it came out.

His eyes went to the ground, at the mess he had made. And amidst all the clothes and pictures were Obi's hormones. He froze, seeing it for the first time in months.

He just had to realize how much he wanted this to overcome whatever fear he had, and with Hassan, she could give him that. That control, and that will, the reason. She had no idea of the person he'd become. His mother.

And it was not a shame, it was a loss. On her side, and grief on his-grief for someone that was still very much alive and those, hurt the most. He climbed down the bed, dragging the box to clean his mess and he tossed the clothes back and the pictures and, the hormones. He sealed the box like it was some sort of past. And he hefted it in his hands, walking out and down the stairs.

In a twist of events, he tossed it into the trash and looked above it, like it was a victory. Like he'd conquered some part of him he struggled his entire life to let go off. His eyes were still moist but alas, there was a smile on his lips. He picked up his phone, texting the one person that always came through for him. Obi: hey. You still around-

Madu: hi Obi.

-

The door opened with Dare standing just beside it. He was in a dark well fitted suit. And his usual laced pair of brogues to go, except tonight it was glistening in the dark.

He held the handle of the door just as the car halted. It wasn't a truck but rather a much smaller convertible. And he watched as her feet hit the ground first in a six-inched stiletto with a blood-stained red button. Dare stepped aside as Mira alighted the vehicle.

Of all the things she'd worn, her smile was the brightest. That was before she held up the feathery masks to shield her eyes. She walked forward in her black empire-waist dress. Strapless but still, fitted to her moisturized skin. Sara stepped out in a two piece suit as well, looking proudly at her handiwork. "You're " Dare stuttered.

Sara kicked him lightly that he stretched out his hands. "May i?" His eyes fell on the crystals around her neck and she took his hands. Looking ahead at the luxurious crowds, she cleared her throat. "Are you sure you want to do this-" She squeezed his hands. "We've already come so far."

"I'm sure"

They walked a bit forward to beneath the decorated electrical wires with CDs and confetti wrappers. And they looked to each other, the subtle music falling on both their eyes. Mira realized she was still holding his hands. He was. "You look beautiful" He whispered, lowering the mask around her eyes and his hands brushed against her cheeks. "I always look beautiful" She smirked. "Now-" He winked to the officers next to the car. "Let's put an end to this." "We're in position" He said into the mic attached to his suit jacket. Mira looked to hers at the side of her dress. "West of the Senate Building. Assumed position" Another communicated. "North of the Shores, assumed position" "Decouri, assumed position" Another added, as Sara nodded proudly at both Mira and Dare. "Carnival Front gate, assumed position" She whispered, taking the phone from Dare's hands. He held still for one moment before he let go. "You know what to do if anything happens. Just call out and i'll be there, i promise you, i'll be there" He said.

He pulled away from her as she faced the crowded gates. "We have the whole area secured and surveillance monitored in the back of the truck" He whispered to Sara and she noticed his shaky voice. She looked to him. "She's brave. She's going to be okay" She rubbed his right arm.

He pushed a lump down a throat as he watched her back disappear into the crowds. Mira looked to the phone in her hands and the text. Mira: where are you Vlad?

Vlad: just keep coming until you see a bridge.

She had an idea of how he looked like from the pictures he'd sent. He wasn't entirely caucasian, he looked like he had some african heritage. And she herself had sent what she looked like, although it was without this dress and all of the makeup. Vlad knew Mira was trans, and she'd went further to reveal that she had HIV, all the things that made her vulnerable to this predator, he knew.

She knew she had to be smart if she was meant to make it out of tonight alive. Looking around at the fancy civilians, it made sense why he would choose a place like this-the anonymity that came with the masks, and the bridge and under the dark starlights, everything that would make up a perfect murder. If only Jazz had died this way, it maybe would have been better which was why it was obvious the person she was about to meet wasn't Jazzlyn's killer. She had to figure that out as well.

"Do you have eyes on him?" Mira whispered into the wires around her as she walked past the sweaty bodies that danced along the roads to several Bob Marley songs. There were flags in the air and masks across the grounds.

Like some rich people party. "We don't. You should text him again-" Dare replied from the mic and she typed into the phone, her heart suddenly beginning to race. She hated when things weren't going as planned, and beads of sweat clouded her forehead. "Deep breathes" Sara whispered.

:i

Mira: i cant see you.

She heaved in a deep breath, counting like Ola would. And it didn't take him a second to reply. Vlad: Just keep coming. I can see you. You look very beautiful.

Mira's heart sank, almost as if she was nauseous at the thought of being watched by someone like him. Anxieties infiltrated her veins as she halted for just one second.

"Mira, it's not too late to turn around" Dare said, seeing her from the surveillance system in the van. "He can see me" She whispered, looking ahead at the shores in front. There was the bridge.

And the waves that went flowed beneath it. Her guess was that it connected to the atlantic. And the lights above would deceive you like it was still daytime. But it was well past nine pm, and there was a ship drawing close to her. "Mira"

She walked down the flowery bridges, finally sighting with a bouquet in his hands. Her heart raced as she went down the stairs. She was headed to him, holding the right end of her dress in her hands. And they inched closer to each other until they were close enough. Her heel pressed against a flower that was between them. Vlad had a black mask, although it was somewhat further than the carnival.

He handed her the flowers which she was hesitant to collect. Then he stretched his hands to the ship which was much larger in person than she had thought. "What is that?" There wasn't any need for introduction as she still had the phone in her hands. And he chuckled slightly.

"Don't you want to see around with me?" He had an accent. A very despicable one that you could barely hear any words but Mira nodded. "Come on" He whispered.

Mira stared at his outstretched hands as she collected the bouquet, resisting the urge to throw up. She'd make a good actress, she knew as she walked forward. "Thank you. You too-" She requited, though he had on the blandest suit. "Come on, have you ever been at sea at night?"

He walked past her, the sea breeze gushing into his face as he neared the people that looked like guards. "Where are you going?" She heard Dare through the mics as she faked a smile at him. She trailed him, holding up her dress. "Change of plans" She muttered, cupping her chin and he was quick to look around. "What?" He asked, and she shook her head. "Nothing" She nodded. He signed a paper before halting by the stairs that led unto the ship. He waited for her, urging her to walk up first.

Each step Mira took was one with her head over her shoulders because there was quite frankly a million ways she could die by this man. He had a murderous taste, and a quite fearful one. She made her way up, looking from the deck and Vlad flashed a smile at her.

I did say she hated when things didn't go as planned. And in that very moment as the stairs folded up and the ship pulled away the shores-there was no turning back. And her heart could only sink because she couldn't hear him anymore. She couldn't hear Dare anymore, and they could not see her too. They'd covered everywhere but the sea.

Because they had no idea of a ship.

Vlad was a smart man, and from the look he had on his face he knew. And Mira knew. "Shit" The winds swayed her hair from side to side as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Shit" Dare cussed, wiping his hands across the table. "Mira. Mira" He yelled into the mic, with no response. He was agitated, even with Sara standing before him. "Calm down"

"We need to find her" He yelled back at her, even with her hands against his racing chest. "She's gone." Sara whispered as she pushed a lump down her throat. "She's with him-" To be continued...