The cold, pale light of dawn woke Sophie up. She felt sore from sleeping on bare ground at the side of the road. She could not recall for how long she had been running and had no idea as to where she was. There was a superb panorama of the city's skyscrapers from where she stood. The thought of her parents and the previous night's events brought along nostalgic tears but she brushed them off. She was on her own now and the worst she could do was to continue sitting by the roadside and lament over what she could not change.
Sophie kept peering over her shoulders as she advanced and offered herself to a new world. The rank, acrid smell of packed humanity hung over the narrow streets like an oppressive canopy of evil. A low billboard of canvas latticework was leaning dangerously a short distance from where she was with the word 'PHILADELPHIA' engraved on it. Philadelphia was fascinating, and she had really seen nothing of it yet. She was intoxicated by the wonders that lay ahead of her.
She felt like an explorer in a strange and wonderful land yet at the same time, she was slightly frustrated because she hated big cities; she regarded living in New York as a penance. Sophie had always been the personification of elegance, but not today, she wasn't. Her skin was damp with perspiration and beads of perspiration stood out on her forehead. The paralyzing heat from the sun had sapped almost all her energy.
Morgan's mind was a mass of contradictions. He finally glimpsed Sophie, resplendent in her dress in muted shades of blue. His eyes scoped the street, trying to spot her in the crowd. It was now or never. He walked towards her and his hand shot out to grab her. Sophie shot an angry glance at him but when she realized it was Morgan, she hid her feelings behind a shield of cold indifference. His arrival set the scene for another argument. Sophie struggled desperately to wriggle out and break free from his powerful physique provoking the ire of the local residents. Morgan, who had a phlegmatic temperament, dragged her to a nearby alley away from the crowd of onlookers and let go of her. He was standing by the wall now groping for words, and he found them as she started to walk away.
"Sophie," his tone was deceptively indignant. Sophie froze in her steps. Morgan leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. He could see through her eyes, that she was pierced with pain. She was petrified with fear. Dark sunglasses screened his eyes from the sun. Tears had smudged her mascara but he thought she still looked beautiful. She was beautiful when they first met, she still was, and would always be, to him. At only seventeen, Morgan was a man of violent passions. His voice sank to a whisper as he spoke to her. He was clad in a jacket with padded shoulders. His slouchy Bohemian boots looked great with slim pants. Philadelphia was a land of blue skies and sunshine and he adored the cool environment. The scenery was magnificent and roses scented the midday air. He whispered something in her ear and she burst into peals of laughter.
"This talk of coming with you is all just pie in the sky," she said with a wry smile. After a little gentle persuasion, she agreed to go. Morgan was kindness personified, and she liked that about him. The whole house was painted in soft pastels. Morgan had lost his parents at a tender age in a shoot-out and the culprits taken to court. Trenton had taken him in as his own son and bought him a villa in Philadelphia. He had argued his case with considerable passions but the court adjourned it sine die.
The gunmen had used his parents as a human shield and the court claimed that his case could open a Pandora's Box of similar claims. Sophie felt indifferent to all the grandeur and longed for the sanctuary of her own home. She knew that time was slipping away, she cast a speculative look at him and her patience finally snapped. Morgan knew what was coming and was prepared for it.
"Who did it?"
"Did what?"
"Who sniped my dad?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't try to play dumb with me."
"It wasn't intentional. I had no choice."
"It was you?" Sophie shouted pushing him back. Morgan was a smart and sophisticated young man. He could feel the anger rising inside her.
"No one is sorrier than I am about what happened. Ok?" He shot back putting on a sour face,
"You've been depressed for weeks. It is time you snapped out of it. It's not always about you." The tension in the room was almost palpable and Sophie longed for peace and solitude. "I relive the horror of my parent's death in my dreams every day. I do not snipe people because I like it or because it pays well. No! I do this because it is the only way I can show gratitude to Trenton for everything he has done for me. I wish you were in my shoes, and then you would understand this better. Just the thought of sniping gives me palpitations. You have been at the top of my terrorist hit list for over a year now but that was until I met you that day and, trust me, my perspective changed. I realized I've been doing the wrong thing, I realized that I've been living the wrong life."
They stood in silence. A sudden pang of pain surged through Sophie's body and she grew weak at the knees. Morgan caught her just in time. He noticed that a piece of glass had sliced into her shoulder and her dress was full of blood. Morgan was pale with fear. He could not afford to lose her just when he had found her. As he looked into her sparkling blue eyes, he realized the gravity of what he had done. They were caught up in a whirling vortex of emotion. Sophie drifted in and out of consciousness. She wished that Morgan would never leave. His explanation had a ring of truth about it. Everything made sense now. Morgan lay her carefully on the couch and fetched a glass of water from the refrigerator in the kitchen. The cold water invigorated her and she stayed awake as he tried to fix the wound.
They sat drinking wine and nibbling olives. He lay sprawled in an armchair, watching television. Morgan had a penchant for champagne and stood up to get himself a chalice. Relief surged through Sophie and she drifted off to sleep. Morgan carefully placed the chalice on the coffee table and took out his car keys from his jacket pocket. He had left the front door on the latch when they came in and therefore he had no trouble getting out without waking Sophie up.