I slowly gather my senses about me. It's the evening, maybe. Everything is so dark. All I can hear is the sound of people muttering nearby. My eyes start to adjust to the darkness and find myself on a dark purple couch, my head propped up on one arm, and my left foot on the other. My right foot has slid off and dangles over the edge of the love- seat. There is a black sheet tacked to the ceiling obstructs my view.
I pull the sheet back slightly and I realize where I am. I'm on the dusty purple love- seat that hides in a corner next to a green book shelf. From my spot in the room I can see The Doctor's card table. It's draped with fabrics, surrounded by three rickety wooden chairs. In two of the chairs sits the Doctor and a chubby young woman. She's quietly sobbing as she tells her tale. I listen to her in curiosity; the poor miserable girl is pregnant and alone. I'd hate to be in her shoes . . .
Suddenly, why I'm here comes to light. My sister found me, and I escaped confrontation by sliding out of the back window of my apartment. I passed out when I made it inside. Facilier must have dumped me off onto this couch so he could work. My problems seem petty compared to hers. Soon, the poor naive sucker will be sucked up and eaten by demons.
After she is, I slide from behind the curtain.
"Doctor?"
He looks up from underneath his cards, surprised. "Oh- you're awake."
"I'm sorry sir. That was completely uncalled for."
He leans back in his chair, and props his legs up on the table. His scrunches his face at me in a intrigued expression.
"You care to explain?"
I sigh and take a chair across the table from him. "Not really. I'm sure you could use it against me, and will." He shuffles the cards and then deals 8 out, facedown.
He snorts, stifling laughter. "Well, I don't even care." He flips the cards up in one sweeping motion. "But the cards tell me I should give you shelter and aid." He slides the cards to me. I don't bother to look because I know I won't e able to decipher the meaning of the card. I hunch forward and sigh loudly
"You're not gonna' fire me, are you?"
"Nope."
"I'd be so lucky." Semi- disappointed, I lean back in my chair and clasp my hands in my lap.
He uncrosses and re-crosses his legs. "You can trust me- I mean you can tell me what's botherin' you honey." He raises his eyebrows expectant; shuffling away at his cards.
I smirk. "I don't trust you."
It's his turn to be disappointed, he puts the cards down in a neat pile; knowing all to well that there's no way I'll fall for a few- albeit deadly- parlor tricks.
"I feel like I trust you a little more without those cards." I give him a small smile, feeling guilty. Doctor Facilier leans forward and rests his arms on the table.
"I'm quite embarrassed about how I got here, Doctor, in this situation."
He nods. "Life ain't easy."
"I come from a very, very rich family. We've got cotton plantations in North Florida-"
The doctor cuts me off in midsentence, "And you're a runaway lookin' to make her own?"
His answer startles me. "Uh, yes"
"You're too independent to get hitched- too young to waste so many opportunities." He drawls in his deep, seductive voice.
"And you're really good at that."
He smiles. "It's in the job description."
I look around me, taking in my surroundings. What he says bring me back to reality, out of the daze. I have a job to do. Damn everything.
"Speaking of which . . ."
It's 9:00 again, and I've finished making every little trinket and cleaning every surface. I don't want to leave, not with Sara here. I can't go home. But I know I have to, so I put gather myself and slip out of the back door.
The sun has set, and the street is light up by the warm light coming from the windows. It helps lift a bit of the seedy presence of the neighborhood. I walk in to a nearby park, it feels safe during the day- but as soon as I get there I realize that it's not my place. The small park is home to a few homeless men who're settling down for the night.
I continue walking, aimlessly now, just to fill the night up. New Orleans in the night is beautiful. Alone, there's time to admire the beautiful cultural mix of the architecture. I find myself in a residential area, filled with rows and rows of houses- no- homes, filled with families. I miss mine.
Some days I wish I could erase the past four years and go back to the comfort of my own home, my old life. I never knew how good I had it. Maybe one day, I'll have a new home like that. Maybe I can have a new family. I can never go back to my old one.