1 Cairo - The Same Three Words

As usual, it was a quiet night inside the tavern. The small flame in the lanterns flickered in opposite directions, changing the shadows and bringing some livelihood in this deserted place. However, saying this place was deserted was like seeing an owl flying by during the day. It was strange, but not enough to question. Besides, I would always come in an hour before midnight, so seeing anyone but the bartender was odd in itself.

\tLike always, I sat down on the far edge of the crescent table around the back end of the tavern, ordering the same soup I've been ordering for the past six months. Something about those softly boiled vegetables and thin slices of meat just fancied my tongue in ways I couldn't imagine, and it would always come out piping hot, just the way I liked it. The bartender called it "Fo," but to me it was just another name for "delicious."

I took my first smell of the Fo as the bartender sat it down in front of me in a large clay bowl. To me, it smelled like heaven itself. To others, it just smelled like a pile of steamed vegetables, but I didn't care in the slightest.

After adjusting myself in the wooden stool and dropping my travelsack next to it, I began to enjoy my night, and my meal. I made sure to keep my hood as low as it could go, keeping my face hidden, and my eyes on the soup in front of me.

The bartender came up to me while I was patiently waiting for the soup to cool down a bit. She was polishing a glass with a soft white cloth, practically begging for me to ask her something. Her dirty-blonde hair gently rested on her ears like a thunderous waterfall rolling off a cliff. Her lips were red, but not the type women use to impress with lipstick. It was natural, almost as if she was just drinking blood from a heart, or sucking on a ripe cherry. The tiny dots in her eyes resembled small drops of chocolate, ready to grasp another's gaze at any moment.

However, she stood out from all the regulars I see on the empty streets. Her right eye had a drastically different color than her left. Her left eye was blue, the type you see on a clear sky on a warm summer's day. While her right, pitch black, like an empty abyss in the middle of space.

"So." She said. "Rough day huh?" Her voice always calmed me. There was something about it I couldn't really put any words to, but it was soothing.

I didn't answer. She always said the same three words, and I always stayed quiet. I can tell she was just bored from not having anyone to talk to, but what I do and where I've been would only haunt her nightmares even more.

There were a few others in the tavern, scolding at each other, telling stories, and laughing in their own private booths. Some just came for a late night drink to forget about the mistakes they've made. Some were kicked out for being too drunk. Some, like me, just wanted a roof under their heads when they ate.

Sometimes, I'd get lucky if there wasn't a single soul in the tavern except me and her. She would get so bored and just talk about her day while I listened and ate my soup. I would never respond to anything she asked me, nor would I look like I'm paying any attention to her stories. All I would say is, "Thank you, Rina." And I would go up to my room.

This cycle continued every day; where I left early in the morning, coming back an hour before midnight and ordering the same soup. "Hello. Fo please." I would say, and wait for my order. She would bring it out. I'd eat it, listening to her rabble on about her day. I'd say my thanks, and leave to my room upstairs.

However, this night was different. She looked more serious, and she wasn't telling me pointless stories I'd most likely forget the second I left.

"What's your name?" She asked, almost making me laugh as to how dumb a question that was. Well, it wasn't that it was a dumb question, but rather how many times she'd ask me that, and how many times I've never asnwered it.

She set the glass down, grabbing another, and continuing her end-of-night cleaning. "After half a year, you're still not going to tell me your name?" She chuckled to herself, then thought of another clever way for me to talk.

\t"How about this." She crossed her hands as if she'd come up with the most brilliant plan of all. "You tell me your name, and the next month worth of Fo is free."

\tFinally, an offer to catch my attention. Fo wasn't expensive, and money was of no problem thanks to my companion outside, but it was still intriguing to see her try this hard just for my name. Nevertheless, I stayed silent, enjoying my soup.

\t"One day I'll get ya. Just watch!" She laughed to herself again. It was a cute laugh. One that'll probably have no trouble pulling any man out of his shoes.

\tNormally, I would never look up from the edges of the table, but something about her laugh just made me want to see her smile. I just wanted to know if it was happiness, or a meaningless giggle. I knew her laugh, I've known it for six months. This laugh in particular, was different.

\tI made a motion as if I was taking another spoonful of vegetables, and used that moment for a quick glance above me. That's when I realized I made a crucial mistake.

\tHer eyes were directly on mine. I knew she couldn't see my face due to the shadows, but I knew she saw my eyes. I could feel it. Not from the glance, but from her expression twisting into a merciful pit of despair. Her smile vanished, and the sorrow replaced it immediately.

\tI took one more gulp from the soup, got up, and grabbed my tavelack. I was actually quite proud of myself for staying in the same place for as long as six months. It was a record. But my nights with Rina and this tavern have come to an end, and I would never come back after tonight. "Thank you, Rina." I said, beginning my ascent towards the stairs.

\tHowever, another disturbing noise caught my attention. It came from the front entrance of the tavern, and as I looked over, a man with a large sharpened axe came barging in.

\tHe wore a red bandanna, had a young face, and very well built for his size. He wore clothes that seemed far too large for his body, but he didn't seem bothered by it, so it didn't really spark any interest in me. The only thing that caught my attention were his eyes, and what they were searching for. This man's eyes were ready to kill.

\t"There you are, little girl!" The man growled towards Rina, approaching at a faster pace than before. "Your debt is due today!" He flipped the axe in his hand a few times, notifying both of us that he knew how to use it.

\tI looked over at Rina, seeing her face being tortured more and more into hopelessness. She looked worried, afraid, broken.

\t"H-hey! Cartuja!" She said awkwardly, stuttering in the process.

\tThe man named Cartuja stopped by the table, instantly grabbing her by the straps around her shoulders, and raising his other hand with the axe in the air. It towered over her like a mountain, and the blade of the head glimmered in the everchanging lanterns.

\t"Your time is up." He said without hesitating.

\t"Wait! Please!" She desperately tried to cling onto whatever time she had left, "I just need one more day! Please!" Her cheeks flushed as she begged for her life, and even I could hear her heart pounding with fear.

\tI usually don't get involved in other people's affairs and conflicts, but for some reason, this was different. There were many men that came barging in during the late hours of the night over the past six months I've been here. None of them were ever for Rina, but many fights had been settled in this tavern without any interruptions from me, or her. I've even got knocked over a few times, and all I did was get back up, and continue eating my meal.

\tThis man, Cartuja, was a man I've never seen before. It's safe to say I'm only here for a small time period of the day, but she's never talked about him before. She's never mentioned money problems, never any signs of danger, and never any concerns for her safety.

\tCartuja was a man I couldn't read so easily. Especially with such a minimal time of seeing him, I couldn't tell what his true intentions were. There was only one thing that was certain: this man was about to kill Rina.

\tI can spot a fake from a mile away. It's all in the motion and intention from the swing of a weapon. The eyes also follow their target, and the eyes show what the killer wants to do.

\t"Your time is up!" He yelled excitedly, swinging the axe directly at her.

\tHe wasn't lying. The axe was in direct motion to kill, and there was no way for him to stop it.

I just couldn't help it. From what I've been through, I couldn't bear to see the sight of blood on my hands again. So I stopped him.

\tIt was surprisingly easy to dash in front of him and stop the motion of the axe with my hand. It didn't even reach half way to her, and that's when I realized I should have kept to myself. I should have just gone upstairs, and never interrupted.

\tCartuja was smiling, and Rina exhaled a breath of relief. The axe fell to the floor, and Cartuja started laughing hysterically, "Man you caught him good I tell ye!"

\tI was confused for a moment, but that's when I realized that was her plan from the start. It was a test. A test to see what I'd do. A test to see my actions. A test to reveal my identity.

\tIt just didn't make any sense. I was sure the axe would kill her. There wasn't a doubt in my mind there was a full intention to kill. That's when Rina picked up a small knife from the table, and ran it through her hand.

\tAs the blade slid across her palm, it passed through like nothing, almost like her entire arm was just made of freely flowing water. That's all the explanation I needed; she was a gifted one.

\tI looked over at Rina, and she gave me the most seductive grin I've ever seen. "Who are you?" She said, dryly. "Truly this time."