Two: The High Priestess

Nadia Winter is a famous, bestselling author with a life anyone would want. Yet she remains haunted by her past, and by who she really is.

Death is terrifying because it is so ordinary. It happens all the time.

—Susan Cheever

 

Nadia Winter sips an apple martini on the rooftop of a posh clubhouse, looking out at the twinkling city lights while listening to the gentle but sultry jazz tunes wafting through the cool night air. She had been mingling with the cream and upper crust of her society and it was making her uncomfortable…thus her transferring up here for some peace and quiet.

 

It’s not that she didn’t like people—far from it. She loves to socialize, she loves to talk. But there are times when it gets too much, even for her.

 

“Ah, there you are!” someone cries aloud, making Nadia jump.

 

“Oh, God, you scared me,” she says, laughing softly at her editor and manager, Carmen Sutcliffe. “What brings you here?”

 

“That was supposed to be my question for you, darling,” Carmen answers with a smile. “Why aren’t you down there?”

 

Nadia shakes her head gently. “I needed to get some air, I guess.”

 

“Really, now?” Carmen asks, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, don’t worry about me, I’ll be down after a while,” Nadia assures with a grin.

 

“Well, you better. There are still some people who want to talk to you,” Carmen says. “And personally, I’d like to congratulate you too, darling. You’ve done it again!”

 

“So long as they don’t make them into movies, I’ll be fine with it.”

 

“Yeah, why don’t you want your books made into movies? I mean, you’ve got directors, scriptwriters and producers everywhere who’d die for that chance! Think of how much you’ll get for it!”

 

“Well…I don’t like to be disappointed, is all,” Nadia answers with a wink. “I’ve seen enough books-turned-movies in my lifetime that it’s forever ruined my enjoyment of watching them. Besides…like I told you, art isn’t only for profit in my perspective.”

 

Carmen giggles. “I see what you mean, love. Well, I better go down and entertain people in your place. But hey, they’ll be looking for you soon, so…”

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be down in a minute.”

 

Carmen saunters off, leaving Nadia to contemplate everything in peace once more.

 

After finally finishing her martini, Nadia returns downstairs to where everyone is still chatting and making comments about her latest book.

 

“Nadia, there you are!” Gabriel Michaels approaches her, an appraising look on his face. “I’ve been wanting to tell you, this is one of the best pieces of literature I’ve read yet! It is wonderful, simply wonderful!”

 

The author smiles at the British painter who flew all the way here just to attend her book-launching party. “Thank you, Gabe. And what about you, how’s your next creation coming along?”

 

“Oh, that. Well…it’s difficult to say, you know? But it’s bloody challenging, I can tell you that! I’ve never painted something of that nature before, to tell you the truth.” Gabriel’s eyes light up.

 

“What is it, anyway? Unless you’re not supposed to tell, of course, I don’t mind…”

 

“Oh, don’t worry! I’ll make it our little secret, yes? After all the pictures I’ve painted, figments of my imagination and everything, I decided to focus on something new: my view on myself…a self-portrait of some sorts…I didn’t expect it to be so difficult, though!”

 

“Quite true, it’s not just your face you’re putting there…”

 

“Exactly! I have to convey me, not just physically, you understand? It’s so very complex, Nadia, but it’s so thrilling at the same time! Though it’ll take a very long while before the Claret Museum would receive it…”

 

“The Claret Museum? Didn’t you say it was…”

 

“Too shabby? Yes, I remember I did…but that’s one of the places where my work hasn’t penetrated yet! And quite honestly I’d like to share this piece of work with people who don’t know me instead of those who do. It’s more…oh, how do I say it…impacting, yes, that’s the word!”

 

Nadia laughs. British people, especially artists, are so eccentric in a somewhat charming way. “Yes, that sounds like a good idea, come to think of it. Well, I have to go entertain other people now; I wish you all the best in your work! See you around.”

 

“Just one thing, though, Nadia!” She looks at him inquiringly. “I want to be one of the first to read your next book, when you start writing another one again. Deal?”

 

The author smiles. “Deal, Gabe. Provided I see your work first, too.”

 

“For you, darling, of course!” Gabriel bows, making Nadia laugh some more.

 

Nadia then starts flitting from one group of guests to another, chatting contentedly with fellow artists and immensely rich fans with connections high enough to get them into this event. Smiling gracefully, talking animatedly and entertaining freely, the party goes quite smoothly for the next two hours.

 

Until someone taps her back. “Hi, Nadia.”

 

She turns around to see the face of…Aldrich Garcia.

 

Aldrich Garcia, lead violinist of the famous alternative band Lafayette. Aldrich Garcia, a man Nadia has known for more than five years and counting. Aldrich Garcia, one of the most talented people she knew.

 

Her ex-boyfriend.

 

“What are you doing here?” Nadia asks coolly, keeping her composure.

 

“Carmen sent me an invitation. I’m reading your latest book right now. I think it’s great,” Aldrich answers with a shy smile.

 

“Mm. Glad you like it.” Nadia shrugs and looks around for someone else to approach, just to get away from him…while getting painfully aware of Aldrich’s steady look at her.

 

“So…how are you?” And he isn’t giving up either.

 

“I’m alright,” Nadia forces herself to speak, controlling her urge to sigh in resignation. “I’m thinking of joining Marcia when she goes on that cruise in Alaska. She invited me and, well…since it’s pretty much a good time for me, I’m considering it.”

 

“Marcia? You mean Marcia Hayes, the Broadway actress?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Oh, wow. I didn’t know you were going anywhere soon after this.”

 

“Yeah, well…” Why should I tell you? Nadia adds inwardly. By now she has already mustered enough guts to ask: “So where’s Emily?”

 

“Oh, she’s over there, talking to Gabe Michaels.” Aldrich jerks a thumb towards his left. “She adores his work.”

 

“Who wouldn’t?” Nadia murmurs as she catches sight of Emily Youngblood, Aldrich’s new girlfriend. Or, as she preferred to put it, the girl Aldrich traded her in for.

 

Aldrich blinks as he remembers something. “Oh, yeah, Nadia, Lafayette will be having a concert at the Marina Coliseum two weeks from now. If you want, I can get you tickets to…”

 

“Nadia Winter! It’s such an honor to meet you!” It’s Jenna Coleman, daughter of Nathaniel Coleman, one of the city’s most famous tycoons. She approaches Nadia briskly. “I’m so sorry, this is the first time I’ve seen you in the flesh, and…”

 

“Oh, that’s no problem!” Nadia carefully turns her back to Aldrich and accommodates Jenna. “Jenna Coleman, right? My goodness, I didn’t expect you to be here!”

 

“Me? Why not? I love your book, Nadia, it’s simply exquisite! I’ve always enjoyed reading your books…”

 

Aldrich stares at Nadia, appalled by her walking away from him. He makes a move to follow her until he hears Emily call for him. With one last look at her retreating figure, he walks towards Emily and smiles at her, hiding the resentment he feels.

 

* * *

 

After quite an entertaining conversation with the Coleman heiress, Nadia finds herself on the rooftop once again, this time smoking Marlboro Lights Menthol. She is now quite pissed at seeing her ex-boyfriend with the girl he went off with, even more so at Carmen for sending him an invitation. It’s annoying having to keep appearances, especially as this was her party. God! Why can’t I have some decent fun for once, without encountering anyone I dislike?

 

She takes a long drag on her cigarette, and blows the smoke out through her nostrils. The night is getting chillier, and somehow Nadia starts willing the party to be over.

 

If she could go home right now, it would be a welcome invitation. Nadia checks her watch. It’s almost half-past eleven. Good. By then the guests would start leaving, and she could follow suit soon.

 

“Nadia?”

 

She jumps and whirls to see Aldrich, standing near the stairs leading down to the party room. She doesn’t even notice that she’s holding her cigarette in plain view for him to see.

 

“What are you doing here?” she snaps, brows furrowing.

 

“Nadia…you know you shouldn’t smoke,” Aldrich says, frowning slightly.

 

“And why should you care?” she retorts, glaring at him.

 

“Because I still do,” he answers firmly.

 

“Whatever. Stop feeding me all that bullshit, will you, Aldrich? It’s bad enough that you’re here with your new girlfriend, disrupting my momentum. Stop acting as if you’re obligated to look out for me when you’re not supposed to!” Nadia’s voice raises as she takes another puff of her cigarette and turns away.

 

“I’m not obligated. I look out for you because I want to.” Aldrich looks pained, but she doesn’t notice.

 

“Then don’t. You’re supposed to be happy with Emily, aren’t you? Why the hell did you even look for me in the first place? Wouldn’t she look for you? Wouldn’t this look awkward to her if she sees us? Go back down there and leave me alone!”

 

“Nadia, please…”

 

“Just go, okay?! Is that so hard?” She turns to face him, her eyes angry with tears.

 

“If you would just let me say something…” He attempts to approach her but she falls back.

 

“Look, Aldrich, I don’t want you to give me such authorities like that anymore. I don’t want to let you do whatever, it’ll just mess everything up again. If you want to say something to me, fine. But it’s your choice. I don’t want to force you, or pressure you, into anything anymore. So please…just go away.” Tears start streaming down Nadia’s cheeks. Annoyed, she brushes at her eyes roughly with her fist. There goes the mascara. Nice one, girl.

 

“Aldrich?” Emily’s voice reaches them from downstairs, and Aldrich looks guiltily behind him.

 

“Coming!” he calls out. Then he turns back to face Nadia…but she’s gone.

 

“Oh, there you are!” Emily ascends to the rooftop now. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Hey, where’s Nadia? I was hoping I could congratulate her…”

 

“She, uh…left to buy something,” Aldrich lies, and they both return to the party, as an uncomfortable feeling grows in his chest.

 

* * *

 

After a hot shower and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Therapy, Nadia retires to bed in her pursuit of forgetting everything that just transpired.

 

She begins to dream.

 

She is wandering through a dark, dense forest, where all the trees look exactly alike, where the road is an eternal labyrinth. The only difference about this forest is that the trees are all dead, with black branches twisting in vain towards the blank gray sky. The trees’ roots are rumpled and hardened, no longer able to collect water from the dry, crumbling earth. Nadia notices that there is no other sign of life except for her as a cool breeze caresses her face, sending a deathly shiver down her spine.

 

“Hello?” she calls aloud. “Is anyone here?”

 

No one answers. She walks on, unsure of where to go, with nothing but her instincts to guide her.

 

For what seemed like hours, everything looks just the same: devoid of life. Until she sees a lake, perfectly stagnant, its surface like a perfectly made mirror, flawlessly reflecting the sky and the branches of the dead trees.

 

Beside that lake sits a young boy, who looks no older than seventeen, staring out into space.

 

Surprised, Nadia approaches him, careful not to startle him in any way.

 

“Hey, ex…cuse me?” she says softly, but the boy doesn’t answer.

 

After a few seconds, he slowly turns his head towards her. She gasps upon seeing his face. He is deathly pale, his eyes dark, his hair all messy. “Who are you?” he asks, blinking once.

 

“My name is Nadia Winter,” she replies with a soft smile. “Mind if I sit next to you?”

 

The boy gives a tiny shrug, and Nadia takes a seat.

 

There is a moment of silence. The boy then asks, “Are you the one who’s going to take me?”

 

“Take you where?”

 

“To Limbo. That’s where he said I’d go.”

 

“Who? Who said what?” Her eyes widen and her heart starts beating wildly. What am I doing here? she thinks, fear clawing at her chest.

 

“Uriel. He said his name was Uriel. He said someone was going to take me to Limbo. I’m wondering if it’s you.”

 

Nadia gulps, carefully grasping the situation. “Limbo? Why in Limbo? Aren’t you supposed to go to Purgatory?”

 

The boy shakes his head gently. “No. I’m not allowed there, Uriel said. It’s because I did a very bad thing.”

 

“What bad thing? Why?”

 

“I killed myself. I don’t remember much about what happened then. All I knew is that my dad left the family. He had another woman. A child with her, too. Mom hasn’t been the same since then. She’d drink until she got stoned out of her mind, and she would hurl insults at me and my sister for wasting her time, for forcing her to care for us…even if we never said anything against her that way. Larissa, my sister, when she couldn’t stand it anymore, ran off with her boyfriend. I couldn’t stand being alone. My mom was already dead from the moment Dad left. And now with Larissa gone, I no longer had anyone to live for. So I grabbed the kitchen knife one day and…” He shrugs after his robotic narration, as if he were talking of the weather. “I ended up here.”

 

Nadia’s hand flies to her mouth in shock as she stares at this boy. “No…oh no…why…why?”

 

“I don’t know. I don’t remember anymore.” He looks at her, almost entreatingly. “So are you going to be the one who’ll take me to Limbo?” He extends his hand.

 

She feels like crying as she takes his hand. As if she had a choice…

 

Nadia jolts awake at quarter past three in the morning, sweating and breathing heavily in spite of the cold night.

 

It’s another one of her jobs done.

Reviews

[Anthony]

Great Write. Keep up the good work hun

[Rima]

Great job, nice detail!
Sorry for the late review
Anyway, keep on writing
I like it!