The Wanderer

Chapter 13

            Ferrer sat on the dirt floor of his prison cell, his back resting against the metal bars that kept him locked away from the world.  He watched as the last rays of sunlight faded from the window—his last sunset.  Pulling his legs up in front of him, he lay his head down on his knees, letting his thoughts wander.  The last twenty-four hours had been like falling down a steep cliff, out of control and hitting one bump of emotion after another.  He was exhausted from his emotional struggle, yet he could not rest.  His thoughts would not allow it.

For the millionth time that day he wondered how he had ended up here, how things had gotten so out of hand.  He had not meant for any of this to happen.  He had pushed away his family and friends because he couldn’t stand for anyone to be close after Saskia had hurt him.  And what good had it done him?  His brother-in-law was dead—murdered—and his poor sister, caught in the middle, was lying unconscious at the healer’s.  It would be a miracle if she made it.  How many mistakes had he made in his life that he regretted?  One after the other.

He sat regretting his past mistakes, too entwined his thoughts to notice when the main door to the jail opened allowing someone to enter into his prison.  Oblivious to the stranger in his sanctum, the silhouette crept closer, stopping in the shadows right behind him.  The moonlight bathed his figure in a silver blue light as he lifted his head to stare out the window.

Stepping into the cerulean moonlight, Saskia looked down at her old friend, unsure how to break his reverie, unsure how he would receive her after all these years.  The hurt she had caused him was inexcusable.  She had dreamed of asking his forgiveness for what seemed like forever and now that the moment was here, she didn’t know how to begin or how to even ask it of him.  She dropped her head down in sadness, but she was standing too close to the bars and hit her head against the metal.

“Ow,” she yelped, rubbing her head where she had hit it.  Ferrer whirled around, startled by the noise.  As he took in her face, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock.  Saskia couldn’t help, but giggle at the ridiculousness of it all.  “Sorry.  That wasn’t quite the entrance I had planned.  I was thinking something a bit more suave and confident, but you know me, I never could get anything right.”  The humor dropped out of her voice at the last comment.  Biting her lower lip, she let her eyes drop to the floor.

Shocked at her sudden appearance, Ferrer merely sat gazing up at her, speechless.  He couldn’t help but notice how much more beautiful she had become since the last time he had seen her.  Ebony wisps curled around her face, framing her flawlessly tanned cheeks.  Sparkling in the moonlight, her chocolate eyes held a hidden sadness locked beneath thick black lashes.

Ferrer could feel the same sorrow mirrored in his heart when he looked at her.  After all this time of fighting his anger and hurt, he wanted more than anything to be mad at her now, but he couldn’t.  When he looked at her, he was not irate or even upset.  All he felt was relief and joy at being able to see her again.  The old love that he had tried to deny and hide still burned within his heart and came rushing back.  He couldn’t deny he still had feelings for her, but his heart just felt so bruised from her rejection.

The silence hung in the stale air of the prison.  Seeing that Ferrer wasn’t going to be the one to break the awkward moment, Saskia blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

“Long time, no see.  You’re looking good.”  Ferrer frowned, giving her an incredulous look as he pointedly stared at the prison bars separating them.  “Well…you know, despite the obvious of being in jail with a death sentence hanging over your head,” she bumbled.

He just snorted at that.  “I can’t believe you,” he exclaimed.  “I pour out my heart to you and tell you I love you and you basically laugh in my face and stomp all over my love, rejecting me and then run off to never be heard from in almost seven years.  Now, you just show up out of the blue with no explanation and all you have to say is ‘You look nice before you die.’ What is wrong with you?”  He stared at her in utter disbelief.