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1441 Words
Elara.
I lean back in my chair and listen to Mr Dapour, an elderly man who is here because his house is being foreclosed, babble on and on about why he wasn’t able to make his last four mortgage payments. He is now being foreclosed on and he wants me to help him.
“Please, Miss Parks.. I’m begging you. I have nowhere to go, my daughter can’t take me in. She has a family of her own and I can’t do that to her” He sobs, his frail body shaking as he cries.
He is well into his eighties, he lost his wife three years ago and he refuses to sell their family home. His wife used to come into the bank to make cash payments on their mortgage. She was a sweet lady. She reminded me of my grandma, not that I remember much of her. But Mr Dapour, is a cold and harsh man. I don't know how they got along when she was alive. They were total opposites. He still renovates the house in hopes to keep her memory alive.
“I’m very sorry Mr. Dapour but you were sent numerous notices and we have already extended your credit as many times as the bank allows. There is nothing more I can do for you.”
He straightens up and looks at me, his eyes are hard and icy now, the total opposite of a few moments ago. “I see. Well, thank you for your time.”
He struggles to stand for a moment before turning and heading toward my office door.
“I really hope you never have the misfortune of being in my situation and having everyone turn their backs on you” He glares at me with his icy stare before limping out of my office.
I can’t shake the feeling of uneasiness as I continue on with my work. After a few hours, I reopen his case file and try to figure out if there is anything I can possibly do for him, but as it stands, the bank is no longer seeing him as a good fit for a loan, he is living in a money pit. He has taken out four loans in the past six years for repairs, totaling almost $600K and he has only been able to pay back a fraction of it. It’s no wonder his house is being foreclosed.
I sigh and rub my temples, feeling sick, my stomach feels like it’s in knots. I grab my purse and head for my lunch break, walking slowly up the street to the small cafe to grab a cup of coffee. I wait in line when I feel like I’m being watched. I look around and see a young woman. She is staring at me, she looks like she has just crawled out of a goth convention. Dressed in all black and her makeup is smeared around her eyes, black and heavy. Her hair is blond, curly and unruly looking. Her eyes are pale blue as they pierce through me. She gets up from her chair and walks towards me,
“Are you Elara Parks?” She almost whispers at me.
I give an awkward nod, “Yes..”
Before I can react, she grabs my arm and hisses at me, making me stumble backwards and reel away from her, but she has such a strong grip on my arm I can’t pull away from her.
“What are you doing? Let go of me!” I snap at her, pulling on my arm once more.
“You should be ashamed of yourself” She hisses at me. People are starting to look at us, the scene unfolding before them all, “Someone begging you for help and you send them away like a heartless monster. You want to act like a monster, you will become one” She shoves me hard enough that I fall back into a table, making everything crash to the floor. I crumple to the ground and hold my arm close to my chest, she spits at me and stalks out of the cafe.
People gawk at me on the floor. I pick myself up and quickly leave. I don’t bother calling the bank to say I won’t be coming back after lunch, I just go straight home.
Kicking off my heels and peeling my blazer off, I go to the kitchen and grab a bottle of wine from the cooler, cracking it open. I don’t give it time to breathe before I take a long swig straight from the bottle. The bitterness is cooling as it goes down my throat, I don’t bother grabbing a glass from the cabinet. I put on some music, playing it loud as I stalk down the hallway to the bathroom, filling the tub to the brim. I strip off my clothing and lay down in the water.
I’ve had my fair share of angry clients, but this man was different. I did want to help him, that’s what I had been doing for the last six years. But there’s only so much I can do, so much the bank can do. There’s just no more available resources left, no more options. I do feel remorse for him, I really do, but it is out of my hands.
I finish off my bottle of wine and get out of the tub, wrapping a towel around myself and I head back to the kitchen for a second bottle. A liquid diet tonight, I tell myself.
I crank the music up louder and dance in the living room, my towel falling to the floor. I let my nakedness fill the room, uncaring. I have nothing to worry about, living alone and I dance unafraid for hours, tiring myself out.
I collapse on the couch, letting my third empty bottle of wine fall to the floor. My body feels heavy and I close my eyes, but within moments I see the face of the woman from earlier in the cafe. I jump up like I’ve been electrocuted and blink several times before heading to my bedroom, turning the music off on my way. I pull on a silk mid thigh nightgown with a large slit up to the hip, and crawl into bed.
My dreams are haunted by the woman and I toss and turn for what feels like hours. Everytime I would fall asleep I would hear her words echoing in the back of my mind, making me shift back awake. This went on for a few hours until my exhaustion overtook me. I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.
I feel like I’m on a rollercoaster, the gut wrenching feeling sweeping over me, over and over again. I can hear growling and what sounds like something scratching on wood, but I tell myself I’m being silly and just hearing things.
I wake up to the sun streaming down on me, I can feel the heat of it on my skin.
Strange. My bedroom has blackout curtains. I shouldn’t be feeling the sun. I open my eyes and see the blue skies above me. The tops of trees are so green, it almost looks unreal. I blink stupidly at the sky.
Did I go out into the woods drunk?
I sit up and feel the soft forest floor beneath me, my night gown is damp from the morning dew on the ground. My fingers graze over the moss I’m laying on, I look around me and I can feel eyes watching me. Forest animals make short noises around me. I get to my feet and wonder which way is home. I start walking in one direction, hoping I’ll find a road.
Did I really get that drunk last night?
I walk for what feels like an hour before I hear something behind me. I turn slowly to the sound of a low growl, my heart nearly explodes when I see a giant wolf. It is gray and white, standing up to my hip and snarling its teeth at me. I break out into a sprint, thinking stupidly, that I could in fact out run a wolf.
Bare-footed and nearly naked, running through the woods. I can hear the wolf chasing me, it feels more like it’s toying with me than actually pursuing. Letting me think I’ve lost it, I hide behind a tree and catch my breath.
I hear the snap of a branch and look up. The wolf is directly in front of me, taking a step towards me. It slowly transforms into a naked man.
- Writer
