Unrequited Love
There's No Place Like London
Chapter 1
Everett Thomas had been rotting in jail for the past fifteen years for a crime he did not commit. He left behind a husband and a child he adopted with him. He had been floating in the sea in the pieces left of his boat. A young sailor, Rory spotted him and told the Capitan that a man was lost at sea.
When they were nearing the port of London, Rory began to sing of all his adventures.
"I have sailed the world, beheld its wonders. From the Dardanelles to the mountains of Peru. But there's no place like London."
At this point, Everett decided to join in, "No there's no place like London."
He had told everyone on the ship that his name was Blaine Anderson.
"Mr. Anderson?" Rory asked curiously.
"You are young; life has been kind to you. You will learn."
Blaine walked to the bow of the ship, Rory following after. Blaine gazed at the lights of London with a sour look on his face. They were passing under what seemed to be a bridge under construction.
Blaine began, "There's a whole in the world like a great black pit and the vermin of the world inhabit it and its morals aren't worth what a pig could spit and it goes by the name of London. At the top of the hole sit a privileged few making mock of the vermin in the lower zoo. Turning Beauty into filth and greed. And I too have sailed the world and seen its wonders. For the cruelty of men is as wondrous as Peru. But there's no place like London."
The ship docked at the port, unloading its passengers and imports. Blaine walked down the ramp and went towards the arch; he stood on the sidewalk, Rory right behind him.
"Is everything alright Mr. Anderson?"
Blaine stared at the streets, "I beg your indulgence Rory, my mind is far from easy. In there once familiar streets I feel shadows everywhere."
"Shadows?" Rory asked confused, looking at the man's profile.
"Ghosts…" Blaine said simply.
He walked forward, consumed with memories from long ago. He began to sing, "There was a barber and his spouse and he was beautiful, a foolish barber and his spouse, he was his reason and his life, and he was beautiful, he was virtuous and he was naïve. There was another man who saw that he was beautiful, a pious vulture of the law, who with a gesture of his claw, removed the barber from his plate, then there was nothing but to wait, then he would fall, so soft, so young, so lost and of so beautiful."
The memories danced vividly behind his eyes, even though it happened years ago, he could still see his husband carrying their child in his arms smiling over at him as he showed the baby girl the doll with blonde hair. He could never forget the face of the man he loved, he wondered if he had changed at all. If he still had milky white skin, if his eyes were still the color of the ocean or of storm clouds when he was mad, he wondered what happened to their daughter, their little Brittany.
"Then what happened? Did he succumb?"
"Oh, that was many years ago. I doubt if anyone would know." Blaine stared at the cobblestoned street, lost in thought about his Kurt and his little Brittany. He turned to face Rory and said, "I'd like to thank you Rory, if you hadn't spotted me, I'd be lost on the ocean still."
"Will I see you again?"
"You might find me if you'll like, around Fleet Street I would wonder…"
"Until then my friend." Rory outstretched his hand towards Blaine and he just walked away without a backward glance.
He walked towards the arch that led into town. A look of anger hazed with memories. He started singing, "There's a hole in the world like a great black pit, it's filled with people who are filled with shit and the vermin of the world inhabit it..."
He made his way past a group of drinking and drunk men, on his way to Fleet Street, where the memories of his past lay, waiting to be relived. Could he handle it?