The Sigma Asset 🏳️‍🌈 (bxb)║AMBYS WINNER 2022

8: Salamander

From what I could see of it in the dark, the house was beautiful. Two floors of blue- and white-washed beams, some warped from rain and salt, paint peeling in places, but that added to the charm. Circular windows on the second floor opened onto views of the ocean. I was mistaken when I'd fretted about coming somewhere quiet and secluded like Santa Elena; it was a perfect place to get high for a couple of days.

An unlived-in smell tickled my nose as I helped Will to pull boxes indoors, but it was nothing like the fetid musty air of Will's decaying apartment in María. The interior of the house was just as airy and pretty as the outside; white and blue beams on the floor echoed those on the front, the walls decorated here and there with driftwood, sea-glass and shells of all shapes and sizes.

Taking a guess at where to put each of the labelled boxes, I heaved them into the central living room, which was large and open with a sunroom leading off from it. Two bedrooms led off from a corridor, and a tight staircase led from the back of the sunroom to what I guessed was an upstairs bedroom. I'd seen its circular windows from the outside of the house, but none of my boxes had been labelled to go up there.

I'd only met her for an hour or so, but I could see how the house was all Mozhgan's hard work, and why Will would want her home as soon as possible. She seemed to fit so well in Santa Elena, with the waves and the sky. I could only imagine that she'd endured their neglected once-grand apartment in María for so long to get access to specialist doctors, and that she'd always been dreaming of her little nest by the ocean.

"Will!" came the squeal of a woman's voice from the next-door yard.

Will dumped a box into the kitchen and dashed outside to talk to the neighbors, who had evidently realized that he was back from Maria. More yelps of joy echoed from the yard as Will joined them. They seemed so close-knit that my heart sank at the thought of having to explain to curious villagers why Will had brought a total stranger to Santa Elena for a few days. We hadn't discussed how we were gonna hide the fact that I was a witness under protection.

After what felt like hours, Will came back into the house, eyebrows shifting in worry.

"What did the neighbors say?" I asked, clambering up from the mess of boxes.

Will's huge sad eyes settled on me. "They're worried about my Mom."

"Are they friends with her?" I asked, unable to stop my face from echoing his sadness.

"Yeah. She usually comes with me."

"When were you last here?" 

"Christmas. Then she got sick and..."

I felt their worry like an itch in my bones. The neighbors had been waiting since Christmas to see Mozhgan, but Will had returned to Santa Elena alone.

"She'll be back here in a week or two, man. Back where she belongs." I attempted a smile but my face didn't wanna cooperate with me. "What did you tell them about me?"

"Just that you're staying for a day or two." He began to pace the living room as if unsure how to continue. "I told them that you had to leave María...to get out of a bad relationship, and that the police are involved. I didn't wanna lie to them...but I couldn't tell them that you're a witness under protection."

"That's OK, man." Relief washed away my urge to hide from the neighbors. Will's half-truth was grim enough to keep them away anyways.

"Are you hungry?"

I knew I'd get hungry once I got baked but Will didn't need more trouble from me. "No, thanks. We ate so late."

"I'm gonna go next door to eat. They asked if you'd come too."