this is longer than I wanted but I just needed to write it all out of my system.
{ Episode 1: The Road Less Traveled }
. New York City, New York. February 7th, 2011 .
{Thomas Sky | Jonathon Coal | Kristy Lane}
Thomas Sky lived comfortably in his tattered, red recliner. This chair happened to be positioned in an apartment located above Sky’s place of work. Which was comfortable and lived in, the same can also be said for Thomas’s life although much to his constant dismay.
His life was centered on the old eclectic book store, more specifically around the mythology section. When the constant lull in visitors approached, Mr. Sky could escape to that little cove and read whatever he could on gods and goddesses and the interworking of mythology and religion in ancient Greece.
Whether Herodotus, Plutarch or Plato was educating him, Thomas was at his most comfortable when involved in the world of myth, history and legend.
This may have been the cause of his nearly non-existent social life. He chose his solitude and thoughts over culturing friendships in a city he’s lived in for six years, and yet his knowledge of it could be equated to that of a tourist.
A copy of The Odyssey was lying open on the glass counter, next to an 18th century urn and a skull that Thomas guessed was feline. His back was to the wedged opened door, which happened to have a convenient view of the setting sun. A stray beam found its way to the back of Thomas’s neck, a coy thought to fall asleep came with it.
His arms were on the counter and he laid his head on top of them, succumbing to the heaviness of his traitorous eyelids.
“Good morning, Mr. Sky.” A confident voice woke him.
Thomas’s eyes flew open and led up the body of a man wearing a grey fitted suit. His jaw line and wrinkles around his brow told of someone who was in charge of a cause, in control.
“I hope you weren’t too comfortable. I’d hate if you had a preconceived opinion of me because I woke you from a fantastical dream.”
He smiled the kind of smile that disarms an awkward onlooker. Thomas smiled back but he feared later on it might have looked more like an awkward sneer considering his still sleepy and perturbed state.
The suited man walked two steps forward. As if in a wild animal exhibit, he treated their distance as a bargaining ship, careful not to scare his dangerous comrade. A hand came up to his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, reptile skin notebook. He consulted it and another wrinkle introduced itself to the capable forehead of the suited man.
“You live above this shop, in apartment eight. You have no relations except for an estranged sister in Atlanta, Georgia. While living in Indiana as a child, you had a dog, a beagle name Lewis. He died before you moved to the Big Apple. You have a friend name Madeline Nathaniel,” the suited man took this time to look up from his study of Thomas’s life, “it might also be noted that she’s your only friend; at least in New York.”
He smiled that disarming smile again, letting Thomas and this information get acquainted.
“How do you know all of that?” Thomas Sky finally asked.
The suited man took another step to the counter; he was roughly five feet away now, still keeping a compliant nature to his demeanor that confused Thomas more than his retelling of his life and details.
“Have you ever studied Panthera Leo, Mr. Sky?”
Thomas shook his head, both in answer and in an effort to regain clarity.
“Commonly known as the lion. They really are fascinating creatures, especially the male lion, most people regard the female with affection because of her unrelenting effort to care for the tribe; however the male is truly the point of interest worth studying.”
The man placed his hands in his pockets and continued talking, as if to himself, yet educating anything animated enough to understand, which in this case was Thomas. “His reliance on the lioness is observed as a weakness, but on the contrary, it’s a position of power. His reign is not over just the females in his pride, but an alpha can exhibit respect to males in his area as well.”
When silence fell upon the two men, another step was taken to the counter.
Thomas tried to think of a question that could encompass all of the questions his mind produced while listening but silence still encapsulated them.
“I take an interest in things that are rare, Mr. Sky.” The stranger finally divulged. “And you are an interesting source of rarity.”
He took two more steps forward taking his hands out of his pockets and pulled a business card from his wallet, offering it to Thomas.
“My name is Jonathon Coal, and I’ve come to offer you a future Mr. Sky.”
~
The smell was the first thing that Kristy Lane noticed as she was led into a single cell. Embittered stares followed her as the guard unlocked her cuffs and left, slamming the door shut with annoyance.
Kristy rubbed her sore wrists and nodded to the other women locked in the cell.
“Evening, ladies.” She commented cheekily.
There was a distinctive growl from the back which made Kristy chuckled to herself and throw up her hands in mock admission. She waited for two hours before a woman walked in with the guard, her cheeks moist from crying.
“It’s a miracle, Lane. Somebody actually cares.”
The guard unlocked the cell door and led the two women into a lifelessly decorated waiting room. Kristy started to pace as her mother reprimanded her life choices for what felt like the hundredth time.
“I’ve tried, Kristy. Heaven knows that I’ve tried to keep you on the right path; but I can see it in your eyes every time you defy me. The lust of a filthy life, it consumes you Kristy.” She placed a calloused hand on her forehead and shook her head dejectedly. “Your father and I can’t handle your discrepancies anymore; financially or emotionally. You have to find your own way from now on.”
Kristy turned to look at her mother in her care worn face.
“You’re kidding?” Kristy exclaimed. “My discrepancies are being judged by you and a man you so blatantly call my father when you’ve only known the as.hole for a few months? What hypocrites! Both of you!”
“Look Kristy, I know you don’t like him but he’s good man for me, and he would be for you too if you only gave him a chance.” Her mother sighed and crossed her arms. “He told me not to trust you; he said you would spend all his hard earned money.” She admitted. Kristy grimaced at the truth in the words, the harshness from her mother.
The circumstances weren’t entirely her fault though, raised in a bad part of New York for most of her childhood, Kristy only felt relief when she defied the wishes of her mother; who was always quick to judge her daughter.
Kristy soon realized that her mother’s harsh opinions of her stemmed from the bitterness still lodged in her in regards to Kristy’s father. He abandoned her and in his place left a child who had striking facial similarities; it was difficult for Kristy’s mother not to equate father and daughter and their similar ways of living.
There were no photos of him in the house, whether that was from her mother’s anger towards him or from the short period of time he was actually with her, Kristy didn’t know. She imagined him to be a tall, dark man though; someone with more ambition than her pathetic mother, who leapt at any man who gave her more than a dime store necklace.
When Richard came into her mother’s life, she knew it wouldn’t be too long before her financial comfort would be taken away by her step-father.
“You’re gonna have to find your own way out of your messes from now on.” Her mother’s words cut into her thoughts. “I’ll call you every now and then to let you-"
“Don’t bother. Whatever you and Richard would dare say to me I would chalk up to pity, and I don’t need your pity.” Kristy interrupted her mother with such animosity that the older woman started to weep.
Biting her lip to keep from saying anything further, Kristy left the waiting room. Without anyone or anywhere to seek consolation, Kristy walked with conviction down the sidewalk and among the hundreds of other wandering citizens of the city.
As she passed one of many cafes along the way, she felt a hand grasp her shoulder and pull away.
She turned around abruptly and saw a handsome man with a strong jaw standing in front of her. He smiled charmingly as she frowned in confusion, then pulled out a business card and handed it to her.
She observed the expensive stationary immediately and lifted her head to connect the name written in graceful typography upon the card to the man standing in the middle of rushing onlookers. She answered him in an uncertain voice tinged with apprehension.
“What do you want with me, Mr. Coal?”
~
5/19/13
