Disclaimer: all the characters - with the exception of Julie and a minor female character I won't mention for reasons you'll find out at the end of the story- belong to their rightful owners. I'm just making use of them for entertaintment purposes. No infringement's intended.
Short Summary: Lex's shock treatment at Belle Reve has robbed him of a lot more than the knowledge that could send Lionel to prison for life. What would happen if the key to his happiness lay buried somewhere in his mind and only one person in the whole world could help him find it ?
Note: I had posted this story before but I realised that most visitors to the page prefer reading one chapter at a time. I think it´d be a pity for it to pass unnoticed so I´ve broken it up into several chapters.
This isn't a Lexana story but if you're a romantic at heart I advise you to read it. I promise it won't disappoint you. PLEASE, REVIEW !!!
" PRECIOUS "
METROPOLIS 2004
LUTHORCORP-Monday 1st
It was ten to five on a Monday afternoon and the working day was close to an end for most of the personnel at Luthorcorp. On the top floor, Lex Luthor's assistant was preparing a fresh pot of hot coffee for her boss since he was planning on keeping long hours once again. Lionel's first-born was reading a confidential file, containing vital information on a small pharmaceutical lab he was considering to acquire, when Jennifer knocked at his door carrying a handful of documents and letters for him to sign.
Sensing the young woman's discomfiture, Lex put the cap back on his Mont Blanc and raising his head to meet her eyes, queried: " What's on your mind, Jennifer ? "
" Aah... A quarter of an hour ago a courier delivered a parcel ... "
" And ? " asked Lex gesturing with his hand for her to continue. "Why haven't you brought it in along with the correspondence ? "
" Well... It's from Interflora, sir, and has no return address. "
" Interflora, you said ? Has it got a card ? "
" No, sir. "
" Maybe they're from your not-so-secret admirer, Jennifer. "
" Oh, no, sir. Jeremy knows better than to send me flowers at work ! "
" I'm not an ogre, Jennifer. Tell Jeremy he can send you a daily bouquet if he pleases, provided he doesn't turn my office into a florist's. "
" Thank you, sir. But, you see, the delivery boy made it clear the parcel was for you. In fact, he asked me more than once if this was your private office and if I was Jennifer, your personal assistant. He said he needed to be certain. "
" He said that, didn't he ? Well, I suppose there's a first time for everything. It isn't written anywhere that a man can't get flowers, is it ? "
" No, I guess not. "
Jennifer went for the gift-wrapped parcel and the coffee, set them on his desk and saw herself out. Lex poured himself a cup and looked at the purple-wrapped gift, wondering which of his many female admirers had decided on a such an unusual present. He tore the paper and revealed a beautiful bunch of white cape jasmines and a note penned in a very femenine handwriting that said: Do you remember ? You said they were favourite too.
Lex picked up one of the flowers, closed his eyes and smelled its sweet perfume. A sudden flashback, like the ones he had been experiencing of late, caught him unawares. A conservatory and, amidst the colourful flowers, the elegant back of an ethereal young woman. Her long chestnut hair coming down almost to her waist. Its Latin name's Gardenia jasminoides, cape jasmine. It was my mother's favourite too. The young woman started to turn round and, when he thought he could see her face, the image faded.
His admission to Belle Reve and the shock treatment had left a great void in his memory- his father had seen to that. He had been robbed blind; he could read it in Chloe's eyes and most of all on Clark's face and his transparent efforts to keep him from digging into the days previous to his breakdown- his best friend had never been good at lying. It was because of that funny feeling that something extraordinarily meaningful in his life had been erased that he started frequenting Dr Garner at Summerholt Neurological Institute.
His weekly visits had been enlightening and they had unlocked several memories- one particularly painful, the truth about his little brother Julian's death. Still, the flashes he had been having at different times of day, when he was not submerged in the tank, made him realise there were gaps in his mind which had nothing to do with guilt or pain. He picked up the phone, dialled and waited for Dr Garner to answer the call. " Dr ? I'm coming again tomorrow... I remember what you said last time but I just have to know. "
METROPOLIS 2003
A CAFÉ
Every week day at exactly nine-oh-five in the morning the door of the little café opposite Luthorcorp Plaza would open, and an ethereal girl with long chestnut hair would enter carrying a violin case in her right hand. It was a morning ritual he had get used to, and one of the reasons he preferred to have his first morning cup there, instead of having it served by his assistant on the top floor of Luthorcorp.
The demured girl had called his attention the first time she stepped into the café some three months before. She would sit at her favourite table- the second from the entrance, next to the window- from which she could look dreamily at the trees and the flowers across the street, while sipping her cappuccino and nibbing at her freshly baked croissant. More often than not her hair would turn fiery with the sun when she bent her head down to write on music paper the tunes that always seemed to be on her mind. It was clear to the stylish young man that music was her life and that she was unaware of the looks of masculine appreciation that she provoked.
The ritual often came to an end at about twenty to ten when she would put her things away in her hold-all, pick up her instrument and cover her head with a straw hat before venturing to the street and getting lost amidst the throngs rushing to and fro.
METROPOLIS 2004
SUMMERHOLT NEUROLOGICAL INSTITUTE-Tuesday 2nd
" That'll be more than enough for this session, Lex. "
" Just two minutes more. I need to see a face, Dr. "
" Maybe next time. Take it or leave it, Lex, I can't risk it. "
Albeit reluctantly, Lex complied with Dr Garner and set an appointment for the following day. That night, however, the scene the flower had evoked turned up in his dreams but now he could make out her face. He was almost convinced then that the girl at the conservatory and the one at the café were one and the same.
What do you think of the story so far ?