First chapter
Each and every person should have their special place, some hideout nobody knows about, where he could hide, think and not to be disturbed. At this time, in this world, it´s not so easy. Try to find an isolated place in a town full of people, where every morning thousands of them are arriving to work.
Alex thrusted her hands deep inside the pockets of her leatherette jacket and shivered because of the cold. The fall can be so repulsive, with endless rain and nasty people with depression due to the approaching Christmas. Nevertheless London seemed to be perfect. When there was sunny, sometimes. But the cultural activities – theatres, galleries etc., thanks to all of that, London was priceless. She kicked a stone in front of her, which immediately rolls away through the metal grid of a canal. And about the isolated place, that was one thing, that Alex had. She lived in an old apartement in Camden Town she inherited from her grandma. Returns to home were sometimes a bit adventurous. Drunk londoners, turists looking for some kind of new experience in Londons famous docks. Every now and then there were titles in newspapers, that someone was attacked there, but given to the condition, that Alex grew up here, there wasn´t a thing she could be worried about. Sometimes she helped in local bars, worked in fashion stores, everywhere she could help, so she hadn´t lack of friends.
She lit her cigarette only to remeber, that she need to be at work this night. She sped up, finished the cigarette, threw it away and walked inside the bar Chez Andy, her ex-boyfriend with whom she suprisingly had stayed friends. Last week, his latest waitress disapeared so he needed someone to do the work and except Alex, he couldn´t find somebody who wasn´t afraid of local habitues.
Alex said hello to Andy and quickly made her way through the tables. The bar was realy noisy, as always, but at the end of the room, there was a table with only one unfamiliar customer. Alex shot a look at Andy and rose an eyebrow inquiringly. He only shrugged his shoulders and mouthed something about lost guy. At first Alex examined this unexepected visitor from behind and then also, inconspiciously, from his side, before she dared to serve him. At the first sight he seemed to be really tall and lean. He was wearing perfectly fitting grey suit, with black coat and green scarf draped over the chair he was sitting on. He had his dark hair slicked back, but not the disgusting way most of local customers had so. He seemed to be really…clean. He held the glass with beer in a hand with slender fingers and Alex noted that he had golden cufflinks that gleamed in the pale light od the bar. He deffinately was lost. Alex grinned to herself.
„What can I get you?" Ice-blue eyes pierced her. She quickly added „sir" after her question. Tips of the fingers shifted an empty glass to her.
„Bring me another Guinness." Sharp command with typicly london accent. She took the glass and quickly retreated to the bar.
„So, what do you think about him?" asked Andy with sneer.
„He´s from here, I mean from London, not Camden, obviously," she answered a turned to the weird customer. „But he´s talking like he´s from some frickin´ palace. I don´t like him."
„Yeah I´m not fond of him either, but he´s a customer. You know, the moment he´s gonna leave this place, someone will rob him."
„Yay, better be going as long as he has cash." She took the beer and accompanied by Andys´ laughter, she brought it to the „count" how she called him in her mind. She put the beer on a table and before she could stop herself, she was asking him if he got lost.
„There´s no need to worry, mylady, recently I have bought a flat here," here comes his surprising answer.
„Heh, here?" without any sign of invitation she seated herself opposite of him. „I don´t want to acuse Camden of something, there´s this special, ehm, spell, mostly for tourists. But you don´t really fit here." Can he be any stranger? He is sitting completely still with his back straight.
„Not that it has anything to do with you, mylady, but as you had said yourself, the Docks have it´s special spell." She was starting to understand that. The special hidden place among hundreds of people. One of Camdens´ biggest spell was that if you don´t want to be found, you won´t be.
„Okay, so lemme give you one tip. You need to fit here, a bit at least." She pointed at his noticeable expensive suit. Without taking his eyes off of her, he snapped his fingers to call a waiter. Andy, with really curious look in his eyes strolled to him.
„Get a drink to the lady." Again, the annoying command.
„With all due respect, sir, she´s working here." Andy did not hesitate to argue. Stranger slowly turned his head and looked at the poor bartender.
„Not tonight," he threw money for her shift on the table. „The drink!" he waved his hand as Andy was some aggravating insect.
„I really should be working," Alex started to rose from her seat.
„Not tonight." He repeated coldly. „Tell me about this place, describe the Camden Town."
After a moment of hesitation, Alex started to talk about local clubs, shops, people. When she finished her story, she realized that all the time he had been looking at her with his odd look.
„Thanks to your description, I like it here, already. Tomorrow I´m going to pick you up at 12pm, and after a lunch you are going to show me around." He layed money for the drinks on the table and left.
Alex quickly went to Andy and told him everything. He was terribly angry at the stranger and when the shift was over he accompanied her to her apartment just to be sure that the freak won´t be somewhere out waiting for her. When she was finally alone, she stepped into the shower and started to think about the men she met today. He was really odd, but she couldn´t deny that he had some sort of a charm and she had to admit that he was really handsome. The hot water was embracing her tired body as she tried to free her mind from all those disturbing thoughts. Maybe she was to much alone, yes, she was surrounded by people at work, wherever it was, but then, every day, she had gone to her home all alone. She has a lot of friends but these days she started to enjoy her solitude, it was here again. She layed her forehead against cold tiles of the bathroom. When she was about sixteen years old, her puberty hit hard, her grandma who were looking after her, because her parents had died, was going crazy because of her. She was lost in the realm of fantasy, reading as much books as she could, but that was the cause of her problems. She started to lose the touch with reality. She could no longer decide what was just dream and what real. For some time she was located in a lunatic asylum. It was the worst thing she experienced, ever. All the pills and doctors and everything was white. Most depressing thing ever, all-white room. She was released about six months later completely changed. But then again all was forgotten and she could live her life as before. The water was turning cold, she run out of the hot. Alex swore and got off the shower. She brushed her teeth and went to bed. Her dreams were full of disturbing images of blue, white and black, full of frost and ice.