6

I do not own anything

They drove along the Lambeth street and left the city, heading toward Croydon, then Erik asked Christine to get the map in the gloves drawer and look for Brighton street, it was somewhere in the South. Christine told him to turn right, but after riding for around thirty minutes, they had to turn back because Christine found out that she was holding the map up side down all the time. After three hours wandering around without destination, they finally found some walker and asked for direction.

when they reached Redhill, Erik stopped to buy some gas and checked his wheels, looked like his steer was too old for a long journey like this. Christine, on the other hand, liked to stay in the card, with the map on her thigh.

After they passed Crawley, Erik rode slower, the countryside was covered in snow, and the wind-screen was also covered with ice, and the car kept stripping dangerously when they turned. After a while, they were too cold to even talk. Erik turned the heat to the highest, but the tiny propeller could not win against the strong wind. They stopped at a coffee shop whose name was " The Seventh Bell" to warm themselves up with two cup of hot coffee and started to continue their journey again.

After another long drive, Erik finally announced that they were about to reach Brighton. But then again, he did say that the littler trip would only take them two hours most, and since they left London, it have been almost double the time he said at first already.

Finaly, they found Brington, but all the game were starting to close, the festival was already over and everyone were going home to celebrate their holiday with their family, Erik walked to the ticket clerk but no one was there so he came back.

" all the shop were closed so we will be able to get in for free." He winked at Christine, not even bother about the time. " so, where can we find this fortune-teller?"

" I am not sure if she would be waiting for us."

" don't be ridiculous, she is a fortune-teller, right? So she would have seen us coming anyway."

" are you making fun of me, Mr. Reddington?"

"not this time, my dear Miss Anderson, let's go, it is freezing here."

oOo

Christine standed in front the booth where she met the strange fortune-teller. She felt so stupid and nervous at the same time, it was ridiculous to come all the way here just for something a fortune-teller said.

Everone would feel this was a crazy idea, anyone would. But not Erik. He was the one who suggested they drove to there in this weather, when they should stay in their bed and had a nice hot cocoa.

Maybe she could share a hot cocoa cup with him in her apartment.

" aren't you going to get in her tent?" Erik pushed her forward. " I will be waiting outside, be careful."

" okay, thank you, Erik."

" it was nothing, I also need a vacation, too." Erik light his ciggate and started to smoke to warm himself up. " please don't be too long, or you will have to pick up my poor icy dead body."

" don't worry." Chistine laughted at his joke, she was too nervous to walk in, but thank to him, it was better then. " I am sure that your body can live through something like this, after all, you have survive after my deadly noisy friends's visit every Friday."

" haha, very funny, but seriously, don't talk too long, we still need to go back to London, it is Chistmas and I don't feel like spending the night in my car. We both will freeze to dead."

"sure, sure, Mr Grumpy."

oOo

When Christine walked in the fortune-teller's tent, she saw the woman was sitting on a chair, using some kind of crystal ball to look for something.

" hello?"

" I see you have came back, even when you did not believe in my words the last time you was here." The kind woman looked up and smiled with her. " what bring you here?"

" well… I have been thinking about what you said…. And I want to know the truth."

"the truth?"

"did you really see what you told me the last time I was here?"

" I only said what I saw."

" last time I was here, I did not tell you my name, but you called me. How did you know?"

" how did you name all the smell you breath in?"

"well, I have a gift. My nose is very good."

" and I have 'the eyes'. Both of us are blessed with power to do our works."

" I came back because… I don't know… something pulled me here, what you told me last time…. Confused me…" Christine confessed. " I couldn't sleep."

" I understand, for someone like you, everything will happen like it was with me."

" please tell me the truth. Did you really see what you told me?"

" the truth? I am sorry, dear, but the future was not written on the stone, thank god. Your future is in your hands."

" so everything you said before was just a lie?"

" it is just the gift. Nothing is reliable. It is up to you to decide what will and will not happen."

" decide what?"

" decide that you need me to tell you about what you want to know. Think about it carefully dear, I know you have a life here, but are you really sactified with it?"

Christine sat in silent, she did not know how to think, it was truth that she loved her life in England, she had her friends and her dream job here, but why did a part of her still feel like it did not belong here?

" I… I don't know… I have my friends, my job…"

" dear, dear, but there are more wonderful things that are waiting for you ahead." The old woman smiled. " you have to go on a very long journey, to a new place, where everything started, but to do that, you will have to accept something, and by the look of it, I know you are not ready ,yet."

" please tell me everything that you have seen and I will decide what I want to believe."

" are you sure?"

" yes. When I was young, my mom and I always go to the church on Sunday. The church where I lived was always cold, very cold. And I standed hours after hours to pray to a god that I have never seen him before, and he has never been generous enough to listen to me, so I think I can sit and listen to what you want to say for two or three minutes…"

" I am very sorry that your parents were killed in war…" she said, cut off what Christine was saying.

" how did you know?" Christine was surprise.

" shhh. You came here to listen to me, yet you kept talking and talking."

She turned Christine's hands over and gently whispered. " you have two life, Christine. One is what you have and one is waiting for you for a very long time. Both don't have anything in common. But the man I told you was waiting for you in the other life, and he will never be in this life that you currently have. To meet him you are going to have to go on a journey. And that journey will change everything you have known for all your life."

" everything you have told me is meaningless." Christine denied. She couldn't believe in what the old fortune-teller have said.

" maybe, maybe not. After all, I am just an old fortune-teller in a small carnival."

" a journey to where?"

" to where you have started everything, dear, to where your story began."

" I am from London and I am planning to come back there tonight."

" no, no, I am talking about where you was born."

" it is still London, I was born in Holborn."

"no, you weren't, believe me." The old fortune-teller smiled at her.

" damn it, I know where I was born."

" believe me, you are not born from there. Look into the mirror and you will see your answear."

" I am sorry for arguing with you. But all my ancestor was from the North, my mom is from Birmingham and my dad is from Yorkshire."

" they both are from the East, you came from the kingdom that no longer exist." She whispered.

" it is nonsense."

" I am telling you, the journey you have to go

" I will repeat, you are not ready yet, dear, so let continue our talk another day."

"I am sick of those sleepless night, I hate it, I will not go back to London without proving that you are a big liar…"

And both of them fell in silent. The fortuteller looked at Christine, did not say anything.

"I... I am sorry, it is…. I did not mean to be cruel…" Christine looked down in shame. " I did not mean to be disrespect…"

The old fortune-teller pulled away and standed up.

" you should go home and forget about what I have told you, it is me who have to be sorry. The truth is I was just an old crazy woman who lived in a small tent in a carnival, who took pleasure in making fun of everyone's miserable life. I tried to predict the future and now I am the one who got stuck in my game. You should go on with your life without any worries. You are a very beautiful young woman, I am sure you will meet the man you want in your life without an old fortune-teller tell you what you need to do."

She walked toward the door, but Christine did not follow her.

" I see you have became more honest than before. So alright, we will continue with the game." Christine told her "after all, nothing is going to stop me from thinking this is a game. So, let pretent that what you said is serious, where do I start?"

" you are making me tired, dear. I didn't predict your future, I just told you what appeared in my head that moment, so we don't have to waste our time right now. You don't have anything better to do on your Chistmas?"

" you can't make me leave you alone, I promise I will go when you give me the answear."

The old fortune-teller sighed. She walked to the small painting of a Byzantin god. And when she turned to look at Christine with more serious face.

" in the kingdom of love, you will find a man, and this man will lead you to the next step. Don't forget if you follow the road until it's end, you have known for a very long time will no longer exist. Now, please leave me alone, I am tired."

She opened the door for Christine, the winter cold wind blowed in the small tent making Christine has to put on her coat. She took out her wallet but the old woman did not take her money.

Christine said good bye to the fortune-teller and left. She found Erik standing next to his car, hands in his pocket. She ran to him, not wanting to spend any more time in the cold winter.

oOo

" I am starting to worry, you know. I kept asking myself that should I go and find you or not. It is hard to stand here and wait for you in this cold weather." Erik complained.

" I am sorry, I forgot about the time. I think we will have to drive all night…" Christine caressed his arm.

" and you also forgot about the old and sad Erik, who was waiting for you under the cruel weather." He said, while starting his Austin "well, you forgot about the time, I didn't. I hope it was worth the wait."

Christine took out his map and put it on her thigh. Erik remind her to put the map the right way so that they could get back to their home in time.

" this is not the strangest way to spend your Christmas, right?" Christine told him, looking guilty because she left him waited in the cold.

" well, it is stranger than sitting next to and old radio and yawn anyway." Beside, if the road is good, we can make it home before Christmas is over. There is still a lot of time before midnight."

"and it is still a long way to London." Christine sighed. " I am sorry for making you use your Christmas like this, I am sure you have a lot of other things you can do."

" it is fine." Erik asked her. " do you mind if I smoke?"

" as long as I can have one."

" you smoke?"

" I don't, but with all that happened tonight, why not?"

Erik took a box of Embrassy from his coat and told Christine. " do you know how to drive?"

" I don't." she answeared and leaned over to hold on to the steering wheel.

" try to drive on a straight line and don't hit anything on the road." He said and helped her control the wheel when the Austin was about to hit a tree. Then he gave her a cigarette. " so, we losed, because you look more confused than you was before our trip. What did the old lady tell you?"

" it is nothing, I must have been over-active with what the fortune-teller told me. I did not get any sleep in those past few days and now I am exhausted. The woman is more crazy than I though." Christine coughed violently after she took up her first cigarette. So Erik took it away and thrown it out of the window.

" take a nap then. I will wake you up when we're home."

Christine tried to make herself more comfortable and she suddenly felt tired and sleepy.

Erik stared at her sleeping face for a while before turned his attention to the road.

oOo

Erik pulled over and parked on the side walk, he turned off the car and wondered how could he wake Christine up. Calling her name would shock her, put his hand on her shoulder would be rude and coughing was out of question since she did not event stir on their way back even when the old car kept making very big sound whenever he turned.

He would have to cough all nigh to wake her up.

" we are going to die because of the cold if we stay in this car all night…" Christine slowly opened her eyes and said.

Erik was the one who jumped out of his bone.

When they finaly walked up to their apartment, both Erik and Christine did not know how to act. Christine was the one who broke the silent.

" so, it is only eleven PM."

" yes, it is only eleven PM."

And they fell in the awkward silend again.

" what did you buy this morning?"

" Jambon, a bottle of Piccalilli sauce, red bean and a piece of Chester chease. You?"

" eggs, bacon, breads, and honey."

" a real party." Erik said. " I am so hungry, I can eat anything."

" since you have invited me to breakfast, I will treat you a special Christmas dinner."

" I remember it was you who invited me out for a breakfast."

" but you are the one who paid for it, and I want to thank you for driving me to the carnival." Christine said.

" great, i am free all week."

"Erik, I am talking about tonight. I think it is ridiculous for both of us to celebrate Christmas alone." Christine said, rising one of her eyebrow.

" lucky for you, I am free tonight, too. Let me grab something and I will come over."

" sure."

oOo

Christine boil some water, pushed a big trunk to the middle of her small living room and put a table-cloth on it, she couldn't find any fesh flower to put on her dinning table, but she found some candles and some old china plates.

She hear someone knocked on her door, knowing it was her neighbor coming over for late night dinner.

" the door is not locked."

" you know, Christine, what if it is not me? You should be more careful." Erik said, closed the door, not forgetting lock it.

" it is fine, we are the only one who live on this floor, and I am sure if something like that happen, you will come to rescues me." Christine smiled.

" I am very happy that you think so highly of me." Erik laughed as he put his hand over his left chest. " but you will have to spare my old bone, I am not good with playing knight in shining armour with young beauty."

" Erik, you are not that old. Here, sit down, I will serve our dinner."

" I will help." Erik standed up.

" no, let me do it, sit down, Mr Reddington." Christine pushed him down and walked in her kitchen. When she came back, she had two plates in her hand.

" I have bacon, eggs and breads."

" it smell delightful." Erik took the plate from Christine's hands and took out a bottle of wine. " I think a Christmas night won't be a Christmas night without two glass of fine wine, don't you agree? And I don't have flowers or anything fancy so I brough everything I bough this morning over."

" that's wonderful."

They ate and had a ver nice talk about things that have happened in their life. Erik told her a bit about his childhood, about his mother's pain for marrying a man who did not share anything in common with her, about his brother who did not have any sense of humour but have a lot of greedy to try and drive him out of the house, so that he could take over everything. He asked Christine several times if he bored her. She said not in the million years, because she found his family picture were rather colorful.

" how about you? What is your childhood like?"

" happy, I was the only child, don't have any sisters or brothers. I am a bit jealous with you, you have a lot of one brother and two sisters to play with. But then I got all the love and care from my father and mother."

" what did your father do?"

" he was a pharmacist. But sometime, he did some research, too. He was in love with drug, medicine and their pharmaceutical value. My mother worked with him, they met at college. We did not live in an expensive house or anything like that but we were really happy and our home was always full of laugh."

" you are very lucky."

" I know. beside, seeing those happiness make you want to have a perfect life like that."

" so, why not be a pharmacist like your father?"

" me? No, I don't have the same interesting like my father. I like their smell more than their pharmaceutical value." Christine giggled. " you see, my nose is super sharp, and I like to make essential oils, most of them are made from flowers."

"it sound fantatic."

" I am glad you like it, some find it rather boring."

" it can't be more boring than sitting for several hours to drawn something."

"I think it is interesting. Sitting there, drawing what you see, how you feel… expressing your feeling with your brush." Christine cut two flats of chease. " seeing your works being published in a store must be wonderful."

" I will tell when it get to be published, beside, you have your works being published in a store, too, love." Erik winked at what he called her, hoping she did not realize it.

" I am sure people will see the beauty of your painting soon, I like it." Christine did not pay attention to what he called her.

" thank you."

"so, here, have some dessert and I will let you go to bed." Christine put some chease and soft breads on the plate for him. " thank you for taking me to Brington, that was very generous of you."

" no problem, I should be the one to thank you, I have had some good time, it is better than sitting in my house and listen to the radio." He looked to her glass rooftop. " it must be very bright in the morning here."

" yes, yes, it is, I will invite you over sometime in the morning."

After they ate everything, Erik standed up to leave and Christine came with him to the door.

" you don't have to see me off, I don't have to go that far."

"no, no, you don't."

" Merry Christmas, Miss Anderson."

" Merry Christmas, Mr. Reddington."

(TBC)