Based on the song by Savage Garden
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the songfic.
I would like to visit you for a while
Get away and out of this city
A raven-haired woman stood outside the gates, looking through at the large mansion. It had been only six months since she had been to this place, though to her, it felt more like eons had passed.
Maybe I shouldn't have called
But someone had to be the first to break
A security guard approached the woman. "Name?" asked the guard.
The woman turned to face the guard, her blue eyes looking deep into the guard's face. "I'm here to see your boss," the woman simply replied. She reached into a pocket of her dark gray-colored trenchcoat and took out some papers. "I have an appointment with him."
The guard looked over the papers, and nodded. A simple press of a button from the guard's office later, the woman found herself on the grounds of the mansion estate.
We can go sit on your back porch
Relax
Talk about anything
It don't matter
Another guard inside the estate was standing nearby, to escort the woman to the mansion itself. Once inside the mansion, the woman was left alone with an elderly man, sitting outside in the courtyard. He appeared to look much older than the woman had anticipated, though it was of no surprise to her--she had aged as well, since her last visit.
The old man and the woman did not did say anything. The sky was cloudy and gray, yet a bird could be heard twittering away in song. The woman felt it was time to break the silence. "Mr. Avalon," she began. "I don't know if you remember me or not, but I want to apologize."
"Apologize for what?" Avalon snapped.
The woman flinched at the old man's voice. "For...for breaking into your home," she simply answered.
I'll be courageous if you can pretend
That you've forgiven me
Avalon did not turn to face the woman, nor did he get up from the bench. "Just go," he simply ordered, his voice emotionless. The woman thought she could detect a hint of rememberance from the old man, but her hearing proved false. "You may stay as long as you like, but I wish to have no further contact with you."
The woman was hurt by Avalon's reply, but in any case, she accepted it anyway. At least it was some semblance of forgiveness for the chaos so long ago. She headed back inside the mansion, leaving Avalon alone in solitude.
'Cause I don't know you anymore
I don't recognize this place
The picture frames have changed
And so has your name
As she looked around the room, various family and business-related photos decorated the walls. Some of the photos appeared to be recent business meetings and relatives, others were nothing more than distant memories of family members.
The woman picked up a framed photograph of a young man with sharp, black hair, a young lady with brown hair, and a toddler girl in a pink dress, her ebony curls framing her pretty little face, the blue eyes shining with anticipation and excitement for the future. I still wonder... thought the woman.
We don't talk much anymore
We keep running from the pain
But what I wouldn't give
To see your face again
She could remember her reaction when she found out Avalon did not remember her name, back in Beijing: it was of pure shock and disbelief. She took a vacation to Santa Monica, California, to quell her troubles over the issue, but it proved to be of no help.
When she returned back home, she had found an email from one of her employees, updating her on Avalon's status: he too had taken a winter vacation, to visit relatives. Like wounded birds we are, we try and fly away to escape our pain, echoed a thought somewhere in her mind.
Springtime in the city
Always such relief
From the winter freeze
The snow was more lonely than cold
If you know what I mean
One year later
Malcolm Avalon had been looking over some business deals when one of his security guards came to him. "Senor Avalon, a woman wishes to see you," said the guard.
"Send her in," answered Avalon, too busy poring over the deals. Even though it was a lovely spring day outside, Avalon had no time for the spring. Ever since he had lost his wife and baby daughter in a fire 30 years ago on a spring day in San Francisco, he could never forgive Spring for her kind, yet merciless way. A harsh, bitter winter's day was far more comforting than springtime's grace.
Everyone's got an agenda, don't stop
Keep that chin up, you'll be alright
As Malcolm continued, he could hear soft footsteps echo in his office. He looked up to see a tall, raven-haired, blue-eyed woman. She was wearing a dark gray-colored trenchcoat, a light-gray turtleneck underneath, and black boots. Fine colors for a bright day.
"What do you want?" asked Avalon, irritated that he had to put aside his work for some lady.
"Can we discuss matters outside?" the woman simply asked. She seemed to exude an aura of mystery, as if she was a familiar being.
Can you believe what a year it's been
Are you still the same?
Outside, the woman and Avalon took a slow walk in the courtyard. "Do you ever think about your family?" asked the woman.
"Not particularly," snapped Avalon. Since the fire 30 years ago, he had stopped thinking about his dead wife and daughter, burying himself in his work to distance and spare himself the anguish of losing his loved ones so tragically and all too soon.
Has your opinion changed?
"Have you ever thought of any possibility that your daughter might be still alive, today?" asked the woman, ignoring Avalon's snappish attitude.
"What are you insinuating?" demanded Avalon. Who was this woman, tring to pry into his innermost, private details of his life?
The woman didn't answer. Apparently, Mr. Avalon still had no knowledge of her identity, nor of the incident 18 months ago.
'Cause I don't know you anymore
I don't recognize this place
The picture frames have changed
And so has your name
"Look, whoever you are, I don't know who you are, and I don't care what you ask of me. But when you ask me about intimate details of my family life, I don't have to discuss that issue with you," exclaimed Avalon, partly out of anger.
The woman felt hurt by this little speech, but her eyes remain expressionless. Avalon took a second to think about what he said, and looked over to the mysterious woman, whose eyes seem to show no emotion, but showed far more than just feelings. He thought he recognized those eyes from somewhere, but...no, it wasn't.
We don't talk much anymore
We keep running from these sentences
But what I wouldn't give
To see your face again
Avalon sighed out of frustration. "Look, just go, alright? I'm a very busy man, and I have no time for idle chatter and conversation," he said, turning away to return to his office. The woman just stood where she was, expressionless, watching Avalon walk away.
As Avalon returned to his office, he picked up a photo of himself, when he was younger, with a beautiful brown-haired woman and a little girl in a pink dress, raven locks framing her big blue eyes and bright smile. The picture had been taken on his baby angel's second birthday, six weeks before the deadly hotel fire.
He set the photograph down, and rubbed his eyes. He would do just about anything to resurrect Marguerite and his little girl from the dead, just so he could see them one last time.
I know I let you down
Again and again
As the woman exited the mansion estate, she could feel the hurt and dread from 18 months ago resurface again. Avalon still had no recollection from the incident, when she had broken in and he had been kidnapped shortly thereafter. Why had she bothered to come back? She could never make Avalon remember her name, nor tell him what had happened to him.
Not that it mattered much, anyway. It would be too heartbreaking for either of them.
I know I never really treated you right
I've paid the price
I'm still paying for it every day
Avalon couldn't get the image of the blue-eyed, raven-haired woman out of his mind as he continued to work at his desk. For some reason he kept getting the feeling like he knew her, from somewhere, from a time.
...no, it couldn't be. His daughter died in that hotel fire 30 years ago, along with his wife. But her determination, her persistence in coming back to his estate the second time...the woman did have Marguerite's willful determination, but...no...no, it was just pure coincidence.
Yet somehow, he could dimly recall seeing her, somewhere, with a shocked expression on her face. And she wasn't wearing a gray trenchcoat--no, it was a bright, scarlet-hued coat, with a hat of the same color to match.
So maybe I shouldn't have called
Was it too soon to tell?
As the woman walked away, she began to doubt whether she could ever get Avalon to remember her. Maybe she could try again next year. Maybe she was rushing things too fast, since resuming her uninitiated quest to find out her true identity.
Oh, what the hell
It doesn't really matter
Wait a minute. Who was she trying to kid? What the hell was she trying to accomplish? All it took was a simple twist of fate to ruin all chances for future attempts, and that ugly fate had a name: Lee Jordan.
Well, whether or not she could completely blame him or circumstances, it didn't matter anymore. She would leave Avalon to spend the rest of his life in solitude.
How do you redefine something
That never really had a name?
In any case, did it matter to him what the woman's name happened to be, or who she was? She was just a stranger, an ordinary stranger, who happened to have a trait of his late wife. She could just be someone else's adult daughter who had black hair and blue eyes, traits of his daughter.
Has your opinion changed?
In retrospect, Avalon had changed so much. His opinion of her had certainly changed--though not the way she had expected. But in all ways, we all have to be alone one day, and if not now, some day. It's a sad fact of life for sure, but it's inevitable.
'Cause I don't know you anymore
I don't recognize this place
And if she had lived here at one point of her life, if she truly was Avalon's daughter...then she did not recognize this place as home. She did not recognize Avalon as her long-lost father. Everything she knew up to that incident was dismisssed.
The picture frames have changed
And so has your name
If there was any remote chance he knew that woman, then he did not recognize her as his daughter. There was no way his daughter could have survived that terrible hotel fire all those years ago, and not remember who she was. His daughter had been an extremely bright child, a very talkative and outgoing one. She had begun speaking just six weeks shy of her second birthday.
Had his daughter survived, she would've grown up to be a fine young woman, brave and intelligent. And determined, just like Marguerite.
We don't talk much anymore
We keep running from the pain
The woman turned around to face the mansion gates, one last time. This mansion harbored too many painful memories and secrets, considering she knew more than Avalon did. Of that botched robbery, of her confrontation, of her revelations...
No, it would be far better if she removed herself from this hated residence, haunted with more mystery than she could ever handle.
But what I wouldn't give
To see your face again
Avalon took a glance at the portrait of the lady in the pink dress, holding a bouquet of flowers in her lap. 'How many years has it been since you and our baby daughter died?' asked the old man silently. There was no answer but the nighttime spring wind whistling outside.
I see your face
The woman stopped walking for a while, and closed her eyes. She could recall a faint outline of a young man, with sharp black hair, waving at something...waving goodbye to someone. She could see a man walking towards and getting into a yellow car, with a checkerboard stripe around it.
I see your face
Avalon closed his eyes, trying to rub out Marguerite's portrait from his mind. He could remember waving goodbye to Marguerite and his little daughter, their faces full of joy as he boarded the taxi cab to attend a meeting. If there was one city Marguerite had to visit before she died, she said she wanted to see San Francisco.
And that woman...that mysterious, raven-haired, sapphire-eyed woman. If his daughter had survived that night, would she look like that woman?
Avalon could only speculate, for there are some things we are not meant to know for sure.