Out of the World

6. Jail break

Nina

The officer came back and took a seat in front of me, a cup of coffee in his hand and an impatient look on his face.

“Let’s start. Your glass of water will be brought here soon. I’m Officer Villanueva,” he said, flashing me an austere look, and I nodded in response. At first, he asked for my personal details, “Please, tell me your name, age, and profession and give me your ID card.”

“I’m Nina del Bosque, nineteen years old. I’m a student and a waitress,” I answered.

They have called me this, del Bosque, because I was found in a small basket on the outskirts of my small hometown, near the forest. It might seem like a joke, but they have to come up with names for the abandoned children from somewhere.

“When did the suspect approach you for the first time?” he asked, looking between me and his computer where he was writing down everything I was saying.

A deep breath parted my lips. Should I do this? Talk to this officer and get Zorion into trouble? He could be dangerous, he knew where I live, he came from nowhere. Those were all good reasons to press charges.

I had to look after myself. That was what I’ve always done — I was all I had.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to regain some determination before the next words left my mouth, “Yesterday. I met him yesterday. We talked and today we met, but he started to behave in an odd way. I asked him to stay away from me, but he followed me.”

“Ma’am, I don’t see that as anything more than a simple misunderstanding, a small inconvenience.”

My brows arched at his words. That was the very reason I wanted to talk to a female officer: men didn’t understand what is to be harassed on a daily basis. I knew that having the job that I had, didn’t help it. But it was not like I had many job offers and opportunities.

“The suspect appears to be clean, not under the effect of any illicit substance and nothing was found among his belongings.” He added.

Won’t they do some kind of blood test or something to make sure he wasn’t high? But if he wasn’t high, he must indeed be crazy — which was not exactly something better, at least not for him.

“He knows where I live and he told me that I’m his soulmate and that he is some kind of magician, a wizard I think; he wanted to take me somewhere. He is insane and it might be dangerous.” I answered nervously, fidgeting with my hair. A feeling of restlessness crept up my insides. I knew that men could be dangerous. But for an unknown reason, I didn’t feel that was ‘my soulmate's‘ case, as he put it.

However, I never acted guided by feelings. I made rational choices. Yes! That was the right thing to do. I was being stalked by a stranger who had no sense of reality.

“You felt threatened by him?” the officer asked after taking a large sip of coffee.

“I... yes,” I hesitated.

“Did he touch you?”

“He did touch my arm. But not like that.” He didn’t sexually assault me if that was what the officer meant. And boy, I, unfortunately, had my unfair share of s.exual harassment at work; it was nothing like what Zorion did.

Another officer entered the room, bringing me my glass of water. I drank my water fast in a single gulp, trying to wash down my confusion and uneasiness.

“If I press charges against him... will he be arrested?”

“Ma’am, do you want to proceed or not? He will be kept in custody until he is tried in court if he doesn’t bail himself out of jail.”

“Has he paid the bailout fee yet?” I asked, a wave of shock making my forehead crease. I was quite sure he had enough money to pay for it, but he was still there anyway. So it seemed Zorion wasn’t one of these playboys, with empty words; he was truly waiting for me.

That made my heart sink like never before, which was a big deal. I was not sentimental or easy to affect. His craziness was confusing me, it seemed contagious.

“No, he didn’t want to do it or to say or do anything, he only wanted to speak to you. ” The man who entered bringing the water chimed in.

“González!” officer Villanueva scolded him, a little scowl on his face.

“I’m sorry, ... Villanueva.”

A sigh left my lips, he was indeed waiting for me. “Could I talk to him before I decide what to do?” I asked.

“Ma’am you have no respect or regard for our work or time. You can’t use the police force to do a number on your boyfriend!” he scolded me, narrowing his grave eyes.

“I am not! He isn’t my boyfriend!” I affirmed.

The police officers should think that either I was making a joke, or I was a joke myself. This was such a mess. I also didn’t have time for that.

“Making a false complaint is a punishable offence, ma’am.”

“I’m so sorry… It was a confusing, borderline situation. I may have overreacted a bit. I’m sorry for disturbing you and wasting your time, officer…” I didn’t know what to think, but I was sure that I couldn't let this stubborn and crazy perfect stranger spend the night in jail. That was the only certainty in my very confused mind.

“I won’t press charges. I’m very sorry for wasting your time, officer.” I replied. He motioned for me to leave, a huge scowl on his face. I did as instructed without saying anything else because I couldn’t afford to get myself into trouble.

My legs took me out of the police station absently. Lost in my thoughts, I sat on a bench by the entrance, trying to organise my mind and put myself together.

Rationally, I knew I should have pressed charges. But apparently, there was something stronger than any rational thought, stronger than reality. It was the way every part of my body, even my breath, reacted to his presence. It was the lingering sensation that his presence instilled in my soul.

I couldn’t leave him there. I couldn’t even tolerate the idea of him staying in a cell, let alone let him spend the night in prison.

Yes, I was out of my mind. But there was nothing I could do. This strange feeling was stronger than me.

~ * ~

Zorion

“You are free to go.” The officer said as he opened the door and motioned for me to walk out.

“No, I won’t leave before talking to Nina. What did she say?” I insisted. The officer shook his head and narrowed his eyes at me. “No charges were pressed; you have no reason to stay here. Find something else to do, another hobby, or kink, and this place isn’t a hotel!” the officer hissed, motioning for me to leave.

A deep exhale of frustration left me, but I followed the officer. After retrieving my belongings and signing some papers, I walked out of the station as a free man. Frustration was heavy within me, everything went wrong and I’d lost my chance to talk to her. At least she decided against pressing charges. That was something. A small improvement, maybe.

As I exited the building, my nostrils flared at her scent. She was there, sitting on a bench, hugging her knees and looking so small and fragile. Lost in contemplation, her gaze was fixed on the cloudy sky. This time I wouldn’t waste the chance and ruin everything. I would stop talking about our bond and listen more, get to know my Nina.

Was she waiting for me?