91 Days: After the End

Day 17: Treading On Dangerous Waters

It had been a week since I started staying in Lawless, my time slowly ticking by without bearing any fruit.

Well unless you count the tight-lipped townspeople as a clue but so far that was all I could go with. It was obvious they were hiding something. The moment the name 'Lagusa' escaped my lips a few of them would narrow their eyes at me suspiciously before shaking their head and then walking away.

It was obvious they knew but so far nobody would tell me who and where the man named 'Angelo Lagusa' had lived. Unfortunately, the shop owners whom I was working for had no idea about who the man was. Apparently, they had just moved here a few months ago so they barely knew anyone in town.

"Lisa, shouldn't you be taking a rest? I'm sure you're already tired just standing there at the cashier all day," The shop owner's wife asked me just as she emerged from the backdoor that led to their house.

"Why not take your lunch outside and then come back when you've refreshed yourself," She added while smiling at me, her left hand holding onto a pouch of money.

"Oh! You didn't have to bother. You're already paying me so it's quite alright!" I panicked but she was an insistent woman and I didn't want to upset the very person who had helped me win over her stubborn husband to work here.

With an embarrassed flush marring my cheeks, I received the money reluctantly, the wife giving me a small smile before ushering me out of the shop to eat. She gave me no time as to when I should be back but I had estimated that one hour would be enough.

After all, I didn't want to squander away the kindness she had given me.

--*--

It had been a while since I had felt rain bless us with its grace. Rain rarely came from where I lived so it was a new perspective for me to see rain drops falling from the darkened sky. Unfortunately, since I didn't anticipate rain today, I didn't bother bringing my umbrella so it had been quite a while since I had been stuck inside the restaurant with no way of getting out.

I hope the husband doesn't mind me being a little late... If he did, I just hope his wife would take my side about the issue. Luckily, I wasn't the only one waiting for the weather to pass. I could see several men in suits waiting outside under the veranda roof of the restaurant. Seeing as the weather would take a while to subside, they opted to waste time away by smoking and starting casual talks in hushed whispers.

I sat by the window of the restaurant so it was easy to observe the people outside and see what they were up to. Seeing as it would be a while, I decided to pass my time by finding clues about the 'possible' protagonist of my story. Taking out a notebook, pen, and Corteo's letter from my bag, I then decided to draft short notes about the mysterious man I am searching for.

"Anything you would like to order, Miss?" A waiter asked me causing me to stop scribbling on my notebook and turned to him with a nod.

"A cup of coffee would be nice," I reply before resuming to my work, the door to the restaurant opening which caused me to sigh in relaxation at the scent of rain entering the establishment.

"Is this seat taken?" A voice asked me, causing me to look up once again, my eyes mirroring the look of shock on the man's face when he saw mine. Those eyes, even though they were hidden under his usual brown cap, were something I was sure I'd forget but never did. His trenchcoat was slightly damp from the weather outside while his hand gripped a wet umbrella that soaked the wooden floor of the restaurant with water.

It was no mistake that he was the man who saved me a week ago, the man who called himself Nero.

"Well I didn't think we would meet again," Was all he said before a chuckle escaped from my lips as I offered him the chair in front of me. I decided to fix my notes to give him room, putting them all quickly into the bag before he could see them.

"Same here. I had already put that embarrassing event behind me already," I sigh at the memory before looking at him curiously and asked a question, "So what brings you here today?"

"You know me... I wander around a lot but today is a very important day so I couldn't afford not to be here," He waved off just as the waiter arrived and handed me my coffee.

"A cup of coffee for me too," He ordered as well before turning to me, "Seeing as we look to be acquainted already, I think it's also right for me to ask you why you decided to visit Lawless."

"To write," I simply stated while taking a sip of my coffee. I could see him curiously look at me from the rim of my cup which caused me to chuckle as I set the cup down and begin to rummage for my notebook.

"It's embarrassing, I know, but it's my passion and I can't help it," I sigh as I set the closed notebook in front of me.

"It's not embarrassing. To be honest, I don't think there are a lot of people as talented in writing these days. With the recession this bad, no one has enough hope and imagination to make anything possible. They'd rather stick to the status quo than take a risk," Nero assured me causing me to turn red at the compliment.

Usually people would always look down at me for chasing my dreams. Since the world is a harsh place right now, having such dreams only make people sadder and more frustrated with life. Only my aunt and the shop owner's wife had appreciated my dreams so it was quite a surprise that someone other than them appreciated that people like me still had the capacity to dream.

"You're actually the third next to my aunt and the kind woman I work for to really say that to me... Thanks by the way," I smile and this time it was his turn to blush in embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Well... You don't have to mention it," He replied and coughed to try and regain his composure before asking,"So what are you writing about anyways?"

I laugh at this (much to both his embarrassment and chagrin) while gesturing to my notebook before I removed it from its leather casing. The sound of rain could still be heard from outside, the waiter having already arrived with Nero's coffee. I glance at my wristwatch and noticed that half an hour had already passed since I had arrived.

I guess a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.

I mean he is the third one next to my aunt and the shop owner's wife to appreciate my passion for writing. It'd be rude on my part to just get up and leave him hanging like that. It would also be nice to have a decent conversation for once rather than the usual talk with the customers in the shop who only ask for how much a certain item costs.

The shop owner and I never really had a decent chat, seeing as he only hired me upon his wife's request. His wife and I got along well when it came to books but her tastes were almost always not my type. She liked the cliche romance ones, the ones with brooding rich men who would fall in love and change for the better.

Of course, I did enjoy that kind of genre but very few could pique my attention for long. Sure I would enjoy a good romance or two but my heart always longed in one with adventures in it. The ones that talk of a faraway land with magic at their disposal or maybe even the occasional modern ones so long as it's adventure.

"It's a very complicated story... until I find the missing clue then I might not be able to finish it," I finally spoke as I flip through the pages of my scribbles, several of which had been scratched off by my pen.

"So what does Lawless have that might help you find that clue?" Nero continued asking before my hand paused at a random page.

"The letter I found in the place I rented was the reason that spurned me to write his life story. There was a clue there that sent me here to Lawless because it was the only thing in that room that proved the man's existence. It feels as though I would be writing a biography for a man who does not exist if I can't find why Lawless was something important to him," I explain before flipping the pages of my notebook again, this time my hand pausing at a specific page where the lone picture of Luce Lagusa was taped.

"Any idea who the man is though?" Nero asked me for the final time, his curious eyes never leaving my face as I ripped the picture from the notebook and showed it to him.

"This was his brother... Or so it says since they share the last name. He called himself Avilio Bruno but his real name was supposedly... Angelo Lagusa," I reply before my eyes widened in surprise when I saw Nero's face turn pale white.