"Hope is the pillar of the world."
African proverb.
1:30 p.m.,
-Isn't the kitchen in the other room? he said darkly. It wasn't a question but an unpleasant statement.
- No, said Maria. That quivering little word betrayed her panic, but with a noticeable effort she managed to smile again.
Maria thought her expression changed, no doubt because of the adrenaline rushing through her.
Suddenly the brunette rushed towards the workshop, finally taking action despite the risks, and in her race she knocked down the canvas on which she had started to work, which made a dull noise as it hit slowly the ground. .
The paint also nearly spilled, but the young woman was half-blinded by this tiny hope that drove her to act, to want to survive at all costs.
Only a few steps from the bay window, Maria suddenly stumbled, giving a shrill cry.
Distraught, the young woman tried to get up but was too late: a rustle of fabric, the shape of a hand on her neck and of a body above her, pinning her between the wall and the pots. painting made her understand her predicament.
He held one of her wrists tightly, and his sudden proximity took her breath away.
A shadow passed over her gaze, her eyes widened, and her pupils dilated when she heard him whisper close to her ear:
-If you wanted to die, you should have told me earlier, I don't like wasting my time.
She wanted to scream but only managed to let out an awful hiss that left her panting.
- I regret to interrogate you in this way, but you are indeed the cause. Now you will kindly...
- I am sick, don't tell me I haven't warned you!...a transmissible disease!...chronic...serious even! she cut him off in an almost hysterical voice thinking of what he might do to her, struggling as best as she could.
A silence fell again between them, in which the man stared at her curiously, a smile on the tip of his lips.
- Charming certainly, commented the man, but I am not here for this reason.
He paused as if to let those words reassure her, then continued in a more serious tone:
- I have a few questions to ask you, and I would like you to answer me with the greatest sincerity if you want everything to go as you wish, please.
The politeness of these few words contrasted with his posture and his threatening air.
Maria turned to the bay window, shedding a few tears of fear, while fleeing the grip of his dark eyes.
When he received no response from her, he added in a softer voice:
- I need your approval.
The young woman let out a nervous laugh at the madness of this situation, the nature of the feelings she could experience at this precise moment impossible to describe authentically.
- okay, she said point-blank while clenching her fists so as not to collapse in tears.
She was breathing harder and harder.
- Well, thank you for your collaboration, despite the fact that I would have liked to discuss it over a coffee...in a more...friendly way, he marked a pause before asking, What did the man who hit you an hour ago looked like?
As she saw him against the light, she couldn't perceive his expressions and intentions when faced with this strangest question.
But Maria made an effort. Long minutes passed as she tried to remember the portrait of the man in question, unfortunately dazzled by her dream which was about to come true, she had not paid attention to this slight incident.
- I do not know. All I remember is that he was wearing a long coat much like yours, but gray and a bit shabby. I... I didn't... see his face. She sucked in a painful breath as she finished her sentence.
- That's good, you're on the right track, with sincerity that's the main thing, he said in a satisfied voice, What happened after he hit you?
- I dropped my things, so I picked them up, she replied simply.
- Describe to me what you picked up.
Maria's face contorted as she tried to think properly.
- A bottle of Dior perfume, my passport, my flight ticket and some other rental papers, some pennies, and my cell phone, she finally listed, exhausted, while, riveted on her, his dark eyes seemed to watch for a a sign that betrayed her words, a flaw, a breach in her discourse.
- That's all ?
- Yes.
- Was there nothing else you picked up accidently ? Something that didn't belong to you?
- No, answered Maria, shaking her head. She could smell a sweet perfume mixed with the smell of mint and cold tobacco from his proximity.
- Are you sure ?
- Yes. Sure, she let out a breath.
After a long moment when only their breaths could be heard, the man released his hold on her, and straightened up to his full height:
- Well, you see it wasn't that complicated. Thank you for your time.
No sooner had he crossed the threshold than he turned towards her, still lying on the marble floor, and with an icy smile he launched:
- Ah yes before I leave, I prefer first to warn you that if you lied to me and you have in your possession something that does not belong to you, the result will not be good for you .
Maria looked at him with a flabbergasted air and surprisingly she had the strength and the courage to retort these few words full of rage:
- You are crazy. Completely crazy.
He laughed before declaring with the most natural candidness:
- Crazy enough to exist, yes.
And the man slipped away, leaving the young woman in tears, in all her states.