No Sunshine Here

A holiday? No, a rescue mission.

 

NO SUNSHINE HERE

 

The alley was dark, dirty, dingy, and dangerous. The walls of the ancient buildings were covered in centuries-old grime. The road surface was slippery with the unique mixture of dirt and dust bound with rainwater and petrol fumes, forming a coating to be found in the majority of the poorer districts of large cities. These are the sights that tourists and the better-off never venture to, unless it’s by accident or curiosity. The whole area was never touched by daylight, and of course sunlight was unknown down there at street level. The inhabitants had more in common with their ancestors, the cave dwellers, in that they only left their dwellings when they had no choice or had need of food, toiletries, and cleaning articles. The social aspect was limited to a short greeting, nobody was in the habit of having any deep conversations, although everyone knew about everyone else. There was an unwritten law about not revealing what went on in that most undesirable of places. They all knew who was who and what they were doing. A new face stood out very strongly and got a second look.

 

The group of tourists was made up of six old friends: the women were Lorella, Edie, and Hetty; the men were Floyd, Jon, and Morris. They had been friends for many years, and had started by being a group of three and bit by bit the others had come along and joined in. There were no partners, only friends. In one way or another they had all suffered the pain of losing a loved one or what they had thought of as the love of their lives. As they were all now beyond the ages where romance is the big thing in anyone’s life, they were just happy to be as involved as they preferred to be with each other.

When the holiday had at first been suggested, it was as if none of them were all that interested. They had all seen and done so much, what was there left to do or see? After some time spent thinking about somewhere to go, they eventually arrived at pulling a straw out of a bowl and whoever had the longest would decide.

It fell to Lorella to make the decision. She had been reading travel magazines which made mouths water at the sight of white sandy beaches and river scenes. The place that had captured Lorella’s imagination was in an article about the most dismal of places - a city in South America, which had a terrible reputation and certainly not advisable for travelling to, or around.

The photos of the decaying districts were different from the glamorous places deliberately taken to seduce the reader into booking a flight with hotel included and some sightseeing. Lorella also had the feeling that they were all getting a bit bored with sunbathing and water skiing and the other typical coastal activities.

 

Having got the long straw, she put forward the place and the time when they could go.

“I’ve heard about that, and it’s worse than dangerous. You don’t really expect us to go there do you?” asked Jon.

“Why not? We always choose safe places and perhaps now is the time to jump out of safety and be more adventurous,” Lorella answered.

Hetty said, “Why don’t we have a vote for or against?”

Floyd and Morris exchanged glances, and rather reluctantly raised a hand each. Edie with an air of detachment raised a hand too.

“Then that’s decided, we go to the worst place we could ever wish to go to,” Lorella said happily, without knowing why.

 

If anyone wanted out during the weeks that led up to their taking off on holiday to the worst destination in the world, they never imparted that knowledge to the others.

The hotel Lorella had booked for them wasn’t bad, it was old-fashioned but clean and tidy. The rooms were big and so were the bathrooms, with enormous baths that had lion’s paws for supports.

The windows were also long and covered by dark wooden shutters that, if opened, the unbearable noise of traffic and street vendors shouting entered the rooms. There was a strong haze that hung over the city that made it seem as if it were foggy, the sunshine gave the appearance of struggling through it to get to the parks and gardens. The six gazed out of the windows, and Lorella had the thought that if they didn’t like it, they would be able to go elsewhere. In fact, her stomach had sunk when they had arrived at the airport and had seen some rather disreputable individuals hanging around for any unwary traveller. She hadn’t dared to see what was written on her friends’ faces, she knew that her own face would reflect her emotions to them, and that was bad enough.

“Now we’re here, we’d better go and get something to eat. Downstairs there is a restaurant that should be safer than looking for somewhere out in the city,” Morris suggested.

“That’s fine by me,” Floyd said, hoping the ladies would agree.

“We could eat here and then go for a walk in the nearest streets before turning in,” Edie added, not at all convinced by anything so far.

 

The six friends left their rooms and went downstairs to the restaurant. As with the rest of the hotel, the restaurant looked as if time had stood still. The doors were high and had long glass panels. A waiter came forward and showed them to a table for six. They were each handed a menu, which they began to peruse. There were a few other travellers present, but silence reigned, apart from the hushed tones that everyone was speaking in.

“It’s like being in church,” Jon said. “It’s so quiet.”

“Or a bingo hall,” Edie said smiling.

The others laughed at this.

Fortunately for the sextet, the food was quite exquisite and they enjoyed their meal.

“Where are we going now? It’s far too early for bed,” Hetty asked. “It might be a good idea to ask in reception, they must be used to visitors’ inquiries.”

The receptionist said, “You have to be extremely careful not to go off the main roads, because once you are away from the most important shopping areas, is where the danger lies. As long as you are aware of this, you should be all right. Ring the hotel if you have problems, or get a taxi that’ll bring you all back here. Enjoy yourselves.”

 

They went towards the hotel exit and stared at the crowded street outside and then at each other. It was a ‘now or never’ moment, they went for it, and passed through the swing door to the street. The temperature was very high and heavy. It was a climate they weren’t used to, but as they were on holiday they had all the time in the world to see what was going on in the strange and frightening city.

“Let’s walk down this wide thoroughfare. It looks interesting, and according to the info on the brochure we’ve been given, there are department stores somewhere along it,” Lorella told them.

They duly strolled along the wide street and realized how large the population was. They weren’t so keen and felt like returning to the hotel.

They were crossing over a much narrower street when Morris said, “Hm. This looks a lot quieter, let’s go down here.”

The others didn’t raise any objections, in spite of it going against the hotel receptionist’s advice. The lack of light frightened them even more, and they wished they had continued along the main street, even with the crowds.

It was the bright blue of the girl’s dress that drew their attention. She was sitting hunched up in the filthiest, dark, and stinking corner. The six walked up to her and, not knowing whether she was alive or dead, they closed in on her to find out how she was. They looked around them, and saw only the dinginess and drabness and despair.  They wondered what on earth she was doing in that horrid place.

“Let’s take her to hospital,” suggested Lorella.

The others agreed.

“We don’t know why she’s in such a state. Something terrible must have happened to get her like this. She isn’t responding to anything, not even to us,” Floyd said.

“We’ll need two taxis to get her to the best hospital, so let’s get going,” Jon added, calling for two passing taxis to stop.

The friends managed to get the unknown woman inside a taxi and the three females got in with her. The three men followed behind.

 

The hospital was private and for foreigners and those who could pay. They explained to the registrar how and when they had found the young woman. A cross-body bag was lying on her body, and the registrar opened it to see any documentation there might be, in order to give the new patient an identity. Her passport revealed her name to be Grace. There was also a camera memory card inside the bag. A makeup bag, tissues, a comb, a packet of gum, were also found. The registrar returned everything to the bag after writing down Grace’s particulars. That Grace was a tourist was evident from her clothes and her appearance. Still unable to communicate with anyone else, Grace was given food and pyjamas, and tests to see whether or not she was infested with any bugs from the district where she was found. And then they tested her blood and urine for drugs or alcohol. There were no signs of physical violence or sexual aggression. The friends went to see her in the private room they were paying for, when they were informed that Grace was suffering from post traumatic stress, hence her zombie-like condition.

 

While Grace was in hospital the six friends were now not so keen to go adventuring off the beaten track, or stray off the main roads. One thing they wanted to know was what Grace was or had been doing, in that dark and dirty alley. That was still an unknown.

 

A couple of days later the friends went back to the hospital to visit Grace and saw she was a little better. They stood chatting for some minutes, and then she said, “I haven’t got a plane ticket home and haven’t enough money to pay for one. Do you think you could help me out? I know it’s a cheek, after all you’ve done, but I must leave here.”

The six absented themselves from her room and had a confab about that. They decided that as they were six, they could afford it between them. They went back into Grace’s room and told her.

Lorella said that they would see to the ticket and anything else she needed. “Don’t worry, we’ll take you to the airport and see you onto the plane, just to make sure you’re safe.”

 

Within twenty-four hours, the six and Grace were at the airport, and as promised they saw her onto the plane and made sure she went off all right.

The six friends were no longer keen on staying in what to them was a highly unpleasant city and made plans to leave. They couldn’t get away quick enough.

 

Grace was installed at her parents’ home and showing signs of improvement. The gaunt, tense look on her face had gone and she was relaxing again. She found her memory card and put it into her computer and saw the photos contained therein. A sudden memory broke through her mental fog that still remained inside her head. It was the bright blue dress that did it. Howard, the photographer had been snapping away for ages and they had visited all parts of the city.  He had the idea of photographing elegance against a backdrop of ruin and decay. The contrast attracted him. He was not aware of danger, or if he was, it was never mentioned.

 

The photo-shoot in the blue dress was one that had him all keyed up. Grace was tired and only desired her hotel room, a shower, and bed. Howard said, “Stay there a minute while I get you a bottle of cold water. Keep this safe in your bag, I don’t want to lose the pictures.” He put the memory card in her bag.

 

Howard never arrived at the bar, and Grace never got a bottle of cold water.

Two assailants jumped him from out of the darkness, trying to wrench the camera from him. Howard fought hard but one of the men hit him over the head with an iron bar. He fell to the ground, and didn’t move. The two men ran off with the camera. Howard’s body was dragged into a doorway out of sight, by a man who was most probably in cahoots with the assailants. That is why the six friends never saw his body. Grace was literally struck dumb with shock, it had occurred too fast to assimilate.

 

As Grace sat staring at the photos, she remembered Howard, who had worked for a fashion magazine for years. Grace had been a new model and full of excitement at the project, unaware of the nature of Howard’s work in dangerous places.

Grace sent off the photos to the magazine, and as a tribute to Howard. The magazine ran all the photos of Grace taken from the memory card, showing his talent and vision of the world.

 

Lorella and Edie saw Grace’s photo on the cover of the fashion magazine, and recognised the place where they had found her. They read the tribute to Howard and got in touch with Grace, who thanked them profusely for all they had done for her.

The magazine got the six and Grace to meet up, and photos were taken of the reunion for saving her life. The photos were printed in the magazine, together with the full story of Howard’s death.

 

The once dark, dingy, and dangerous district has had a face lift, and now that it’s clean, the sunlight actually penetrates down into the streets. The restaurant outside which Howard met his death is new, and the walls inside are covered with photos of how it used to look.

 

The name of the restaurant is - “No Sunshine Here.”