Chapter 6

The images in his head shook with austere clarity, clashing from one end to the other with resounding waves of sights and sound so bright that he could do nothing but hold his head in his hands and pray that they stop. He remembered it all. In desperation, he peered over the lake of fire and cried his anguish, but found no reply in the tempest that frothed below. Time looped in circles and yesterdays jumped forward into tomorrow and back into the present where it collided in mid-step with itself. He stared wide-eyed down into the fires and his battered senses began to make out the jumble in his mind. With deftness he did not feel, his mind worked with awesome speed and the puzzle began to reshape itself into a feasible reality. As the picture grew clearer, he shuddered and remembered and the momentary cohesion lapsed once again into desperate chaos.

 
Chapter 5

Elisa shut the door behind her and automatically put her coat on the hanger next to the door while absently flicking on the light switch. The small apartment lit up before her, the fluorescent lights illuminating the narrow hallway that led into both an unused kitchen on one side and a sparse living room on the other. She walked past the closed shades that usually parted to a view of the city and into another narrow hallway that led past a quaint bathroom and into the single bedroom.


She headed past her made bed to her desk and immediately turned on the computer. The hum of the fan accelerated as the blue screen flashed once and the familiar picture of her best friend and herself came upon the background. With a few keystrokes, she began to check her electronic mail. Sure enough, a message from Felix Blake caught her eye and she opened it to read:


To Ms. Elisa Rockmoor:



As you know, our corporation has affiliations with many private individuals as well as with non-profit organizations on top of all the big businesses. We are offering you a chance to create a project for an individual. This individual, we might add, is a distinguished man of society and carries with him a lot of weight. Therefore, we trust you with much in this matter.

First of all, the man you will work for is Dr. Alexander Girron. He is a man of great intellect and much power, both socially and financially. He has a specific request and after reviewing your work, we have decided that you would be given the chance to prove yourself by applying your talents in this direction.

On to the job at hand. Our client has asked our firm to supply him with designs for a new library in his home. He has a strong affinity for the ancient and as proven by your latest designs, so do you. Because of this connection and the fact that you are of a new school of artists, the ideas you present may prove more refreshing to a man that has seen all the others that we have had to offer.

If you decide to pursue this course, email back any preliminary ideas you may have. Do not worry about specifications at the moment, just the overall design.


Good luck,


Felix Blake


Elisa read the email over again twice and sat back in her chair with a smile. A library. That sounded almost too easy. She thought of all the libraries she had frequented as a child and sighed at the fact that she had found no time in her present to even read a book, much less go to a library. With excitement, she began responding to Blake’s email with one of her own, expressing several ideas she had that would provide -not only the ancient designs, but the functionality of the most up-to-date libraries. She not only needed to prove to this firm their reliance on her for future projects, but to prove to herself that she had the drive to become the best at what she did. On through the night, she applied herself to the message and to preliminary sketches and possibilities. By the end of the night, she had finished and, as she looked over her initial work, she was quite pleased with herself. She sank into her bed, exhausted and fell into deep sleep, hoping the plans she sent would prompt a most favorable response.

 
Chapter 4
Apologize to your brother for me. I had wanted to see him. Tell him it is all right. I give him my blessing to take the year off. Travel. All that he needs. MY blessing…My blessing…My blessing...
“What about me?” Corey thought. He knew that his brother had been waiting for their father; had wanted so badly that this time, it would be different. He did not want to tell him, but knew he had to. My blessing…What good was that?
It used to be different. Their father was home a lot. Ever since the accident, he seemed to have disappeared from their lives, just as she had. Corey barely remembered. He was only eight years old when it happened. It had been nearly six years. He could barely picture her face. He could barely picture his. He did not know his father. Derek did and Derek remembered a different man. Derek was angry; Corey only knew Derek: the only family he had left.
My blessing…all that he needs…My blessing…He wished he could see him, face him, demand of him…My blessing…all that he needs…”Don’t you see that all he needs is you?”
Corey wound the film through the camera and snapped the cover on the back and sat back to admire his display. It would have to do. He knew he should do better, but too much was on his mind. My blessing…And the camera whirred, flashing still memories into the background of life.

 
Chapter 3
Elisa Rockmoor sighed in satisfaction as she looked at the design in her hands. She had been up all night working on the project and, to her relief it looked exceptionally well done. She rolled it up carefully and put it under her arm as she ascended the steps to Malcross and Blake, the design firm she had started to work for the year before. It had been a grand opportunity, especially for someone fresh out of college. As she entered the sterile lobby, she spotted Lucinda, the staunch and always decadently dressed secretary. As she came near, Lucinda looked up with a blatant sneer.
“I’m here to see Mr. Blake.” Elisa told her. “I have an appointment at 3:00?”
Lucinda quickly looked through her computer and pulled up the proper screen. She looked at Elisa and peered over her glasses. “So you do. Go right in.” She turned right back to work, ignoring Elisa.
Elisa shrugged and turned to the hall to her right and went down the dimly lit corridor to the massive oak doors at the end. On each were brass knockers beneath figures of lion heads. To the right of the doors was a gold name-plate emblazoned with the name Felix Blake. Holding her breath, Elisa knocked twice quickly. From inside, she could here an acknowledgement and took the lead to enter of her own accord.
As the doors opened, the sweet smell of pine invaded here senses and her eyes were flooded with a light, airy atmosphere surrounded by solid wood fixtures that boasted a small library and a multitude of greenery that one would not expect from the lobby outside. As she stepped further into the room, the double doors behind her closed of their own accord. She jumped slightly as the doors locked with an audible click. She moved forward stiffly, afraid to touch anything and wary of what she could not see.
“Please…” Elisa screamed at the voice, even though it was soft and beckoned, “relax.”
“I’m sorry.” She said as she saw that the chair behind the desk in a far corner by two large bay windows was occupied by a large shadow. As she moved forward, the figure grew out of the shadows created by the light from the windows behind him. He was a pleasant looking, middle-aged, possibly 40, 50 year old man with dark brown hair, graying at the temples. He was smiling as she approached and she could not help but smile back at him. He extended his hand as she came up to the desk and she shook it firmly before situating herself in one of the seats in front of him.
“Ms. Rockmoor.” He began, steepling his fingers before him. “I believe you have some work for me. How did it go?”
She handed him the design and he quickly unrolled it for inspection.
“Rather well.” She replied. “There are still some aspects I’d like to change, but those can be done at any time…mainly superficial.”
“Of course.” Blake replied, putting the design papers down. “Good work.”
“Thank you, sir.” She sat up straighter. She had waited all year for some sort of recognition for the late nights she constantly pulled. She did not usually want attention, but she knew that she had to get some if she ever hoped to be promoted. “It was hard work. Thank you for trusting me with it.”
“Are you ready for another assignment?” He leaned forward and stared her right in the eye. Elisa could swear that his eyes were daring her to refuse this next offer.
“Yes, sir.” She said, her hands gripping the edges of her seat. “Anytime.”
“Good.” Felix Blake leaned back in his chair with an easy grace and Elisa was not so sure. “I will email you the details tonight. Come by tomorrow morning with a preliminary assessment and some ideas.”
“Yes sir.” With that, he dismissed her. She stepped out of his office and breathed in deeply of the sterile air. As she passed Lucinda on the way out, she could have sworn the woman glared at her. However, she was too excited at the prospect of another job to worry.