Chapter six

VII
         “What did your dad say?”
         “He said he’ll think about it.”
Sheldon sighed and  tightened the scarf around is neck. “That’s good enough.”
The city was gray, the streets dry, the air stung of cold. The streets were dismally empty, save for pieces of paper fluttering to and fro, spray paint cans rolling over to where the wind takes them. The city seemed unusual; alien, because of mobs scouring the streets, and trampling over their mess to make equally messy cleanups were the police. The walls and store windows were red and screaming words of pleas of a democracy and voices for the people. Posters of the royal family’s head, George the vampire as they called him, were torn apart, vandalized and folded into paper boats dumped into the sewers. Posters of the departed king were not spared from the vandals; a particularly large poster had unruly red tears pouring under his sad, sad eyes and George’s picture had horns, sharp teeth and bat wings. It was funny, really.
         “That,” Sheldon spread his arms wide toward the poster, “Is art.”
         “No. Sienna said. “That’s passion.”
Sheldon looked at her, frowned and laughed. “Why do you always talk in riddles?”
         “Passion for a departed leader. Passion for the country.” Sienna said. She looked at Sheldon, straight at both his eyes, even the one under his hair. “The people know what they want now, Sheldon. The nation is slowly, slowly growing up on its own.”
         “But they can only do so much.” Sheldon said, “The thing with having the people taking over is that…they’re people. They don’t have one voice.”
         “And the king had been their one voice.” Sienna said. “I know, the people need another king to be their voice, to hold them by the hand and lead them to the future.”
         “Gee, you could join the revolution, Sienna.”
         “No. Papa wouldn’t let me, if I asked.” Sienna laughed. “And if he did, Mama would pound him to pieces.”
         “That’s cute.” Sheldon laughed. “Oh and uh…your mom. She can join too. There are a lot of moms in the rebellion. Your mom’s a teacher, right?”
         “Yeah.” Sienna said.
         “You could do so much for the country.” There was a sort of mad glint in Sheldon’s eyes.
         “Sure.” Sienna said.
They stood on the street, silent. Staring at each other. Sheldon leaned closer; Sienna stood still, anticipating what was coming.
Silence; they both stood still.
Sheldon leaned back, hesitated, and kissed Sienna.. Sienna expected it; but was too inclined in thinking of other things to notice or give any such reaction.
         “Sorry.”
         “It’s cold out.”
         “I see. You want to go to the bar? It’s noisy, but it’s warm.”
         “Good idea.” Sienna let Sheldon walk ahead. Crossing her arms, she followed. Sheldon held out a hand. Sienna took it. “Your hands are warm.”
         “I’m thermally heated from the inside.” Sheldon laughed, pulling her close, “You’re an idiot; why didn’t you wrap yourself up? You’ll get sick.”
         “I wasn’t planning to come here.” Sienna paused in her tracks. “Shit.”
         “What? Why?”
         “I have to go home.”
         “You want me to take you?”
         “No I’ll take the bus.”
Sheldon planted a quick kiss on Sienna’s forehead. “Take care.”
         “I’ll call you.” Sienna turned and ran to the bus stop. The bus going home was painted red by vandals; there were some of them in the bus, talking noisily about politics. They were the only passengers, besides Sienna.  The bus driver and conductor were up front. It looked like they didn’t mind the vandals painting their bus all over. Seemingly, everybody was taking part in the rebellion.
         “Aren’t you that girl who does guitar in Gem’s band?” One of them came over, flyers and paint cans in hand, “Sienna, isn’t it?”
         “Yeah.”
         “Great, well, here.” The boy gave her one of the flyers, “There’s this rebellion to liberate the people.”
         “I know; I heard.”
         “They’re holding weekly meetings in one eyed Sheldon’s bar.”
         “I heard.” The Bus came to a stop; the conductor calling out the neighborhood’s name. “Well, thanks. This is my stop.”
         Once outside, Sienna took out her wheels and skated straight towards home. The skies were a steely pink and the grass cried out in pain as the wind brought about icy cold chill. Sienna hurried; she knew Mama would get mad; she didn’t say she was going to the city. And considering their current situation, going into the city was a stupid, stupid thing to do. Suddenly she felt a pang of fear, of being overly unprotected. Sienna leaned forward, ignoring the cold, cold wind clawing at her face, stinging her eyes, tearing at her lips. She wanted to be home; but the long streets seemed to stretch longer and longer when she went faster, home farther and farther away. She wanted to hear Papa screaming at her, telling her she was stupid. She wanted Mama to ground her; she wanted to tell them how stupid she was, how scared she was. She wanted to throw her arms around them and tell her she was glad to be home. But home, where was it now? A corner up ahead, and it was stretching longer and longer. But there was a blaring of headlights and Sienna turned around in shock. There was a car right behind her. Sienna felt like she suddenly forgot how to breathe. She turned away in a mad dash, almost slipping. But before she gained momentum, a pair of hands caught her by the shoulders and mouth. Sienna slipped to the ground, elbowing the intruder.
         “Ouch! Sienna stop it; it’s me, Sheldon!”
Sienna went limp for a moment and began hitting Sheldon in every inch of him she could reach. “You stupid, stupid….Fuck you Sheldon! Fuck you!” She ignored his grunts of pain, went on hitting him.
         “Stop it...ow! Godemmit, stop; I’m here; I’m here.”
         “Fuck you! I was so scared.”
         “Stop it, sush; I’m here. I’m here.” Sheldon locked his arms around Sienna until she stopped. “No need to be scared now. I’m here…stop crying now, you’ll catch a cold.”
         “I’m not crying shithead. You scared the hell out of me.”
         “I’m sorry.”
         “I told you I could come home on my own.”
         “Well, your dad called me and asked where you were.”
         “What?!”
         “I told him you were on your way home and he asked me to come after you.” Sheldon rubbed at the back of his neck where Sienna hit him the hardest. “He sounded kinda panicky; he told me to be quick about it. What’s going on?”
         “I don’t know Sheldon.”
         “Get in the car now; your dad said you shouldn’t be seen.”
         “What?”
Sheldon opened a car door. “Just get in. I’m sort of getting scared too.”
Sienna obliged and  got into the back seat. Sheldon closed the doors and started the engine.
         “Can you drive by the house?” Sienna said. Some of the fear had left her; being with Sheldon now gave her the slightest sense of security.
         “Sure. It’s up ahead right?”
         “Yeah.”
The car had moved only about twenty yards when Sienna told Sheldon to stop.
         “Why?” Sheldon asked.
Sienna pulled herself up front to level with Sheldon, to get a closer view of the house. The lights in the living room were on. It was then that Sienna knew there was something wrong.
         “Shit.” Sienna said.
         “Why?”
         “Papa said never to turn on the living room lights.” Sienna said, “The circuit always pops if it’s turned on for too long.”
In the distance, the yellow light within the hose went black, followed by a small pop and a shriek of alarm from inside the house: “Shit!”
         “Oh my god.” Sienna put a hand over her mouth. The voice was not Papa’s or Mama’s. An intruder had gotten into the house.
         “Quick! Hide!” Sheldon hissed.
         “Where?” Sienna said in alarm.
Sheldon pushed her aside abruptly and revealed a secret compartment from under the back seat. “In there. Hide, now. Go!”
         “Why the hell—”
         “That’s where I put my guitars; you can fit in there.” Sheldon was looking over the wheel, “Oh fuck, they’re looking out the window.”
         “I fit!”
         “Good, now don’t move, don’t make any sort of noise.” Sheldon shut the compartment securely into place.
In the distance, another car’s engine was brought to life. Inside the hidden compartment it smelled musty and it was hard to breathe, but Sienna heard Sheldon opening the door.
         “Sheldon!” She called out, muffled from under the seat. “Don’t leave me.”
         “I won’t, stay hidden.”
         “Are you sure I won’t be seen?”
         “I’m sure.” The car doors slammed shut and there was a ringing silence. There was silence for what seemed like a long time, and then there were footsteps slowly approaching, and a man’s voice, barely audible.
         “What, there’s nothing wrong about taking a piss around these parts now, is there?” Sienna heard Sheldon say.
A man’s voice responded: “Why in this certain place?”
         “I happened to drive by and heard nature calling.” Sheldon drawled sarcastically.
There was another man; he asked for Sheldon’s whole name. Without thinking, Sheldon gave it at once.
         “You don’t live around here do you?”
         “No, not at all.”
         “Then what are you doing here?”
         “I visited my girlfriend.” Sheldon replied, “Sort of bummer, really; just broke up.”
There was a pause, and one of the men asked Sheldon something Sienna didn’t hear.
         “…used to live there up on that hill.” Sheldon said.
And again, low voices of a longer exchanging of words; Sienna didn’t need to hear them over the loud thumping of her heart.
         “Sure.” Sheldon opened the car doors and the car trunk.
There was fumbling on the inside of the car; Sienna heard the men muttering among themselves.
         “They’re gone.”
         “Where do you think they are now?”
         “I don’t know.”
         “We should go back to the station. I think we missed something.”
There was a pause.
         “Don’t you ever think the king’s making fun of us?”
         “Probably not.”
Sienna didn’t hear much after that; they must have retreated back out of the car. And again, she was subject to hushed voices; she was glad neither of them heard her heart beating loudly against her chest, in fear of being discovered.
         Then there was an opening and closing of doors; and Sienna almost screamed aloud in shock as a heavy weight began pressing down unto her head. Sheldon’s voice gave her courage enough not to scream, and the weight shifted to her feet. After a few moments the engine started and the car began moving forward.
         “…there?” Came Sheldon’s indistinct voice.
         “No.” One of the men was sitting up front. “We were looking for the family who lived there.”
Sheldon asked something and the man replied, “A little.”
         “How old are you?” The man sitting on the back seat asked.
Sheldon answered directly.
         “Then you might know the girl who lived there; probably a few years younger.”
Sheldon muttered something then let out a loud “ah” in realization. “Yeah, I’ve talked to her like, about once or twice.”
         “Were you friends?”
Sheldon made some smart aleck remark. “…besides, I don’t think she talked much.”
         “But you talked twice.”
         “Yeah.”
         “What did you talk about?”
         “I dunno; I once asked her if she had a lighter and she gave me a couple of wet matchsticks.”
         “And the other time?”
         “Can’t remember… I asked if she had extra change.”
         “You seem to remember her quite well.”
         “I see a lot of her in the district at night; she plays in a band I think. It’s a small world in the district, especially at night. You know everyone by face.”
Pause. “She seemed like a pleasant young lady. Why didn’t you talk to her much?”
         “I don’t know. Just because I said everyone knows everybody else by face at night doesn’t really mean I get to talk and make friends with every pretty chick I see.”
         “Of course, of course.”
Beads of sweat rolled down Sienna’s brow. It was hot; the engine made everything hotter. Sheldon, please hurry up, Sheldon, she thought; if fear wasn’t going to give her away, this blistering heat would. It was a long, long trip of agony. The two men kept on asking Sheldon questions which he answered instantly, but Sienna lost all interest, concentrating on not moving. But the heat was horrible. Sienna felt like she was breathing in steam and not oxygen, and it was beginning to make her lightheaded.
         The car stopped for a moment before moving again, and by the time it came to a complete and longer stop, Sienna was beginning to black out. The ringing salience grew louder and louder, bringing forth the darkness that clouded Sienna’s head, her vision.
         “Oh god, wake up. Wake up…”
Sheldon’s voice was distant, but it was drawing closer. The ringing grew louder, but brought no more blanket of black. Sienna opened her mouth and took in big gulps of air; cold, cold air and it made her choke.
         “Don’t hug me, I can’t breathe.”
Sheldon let go. “I’m sorry, I just….I’m glad you’re okay, oh god—”
         “You lie real good.”
         “I wasn’t lying; I just didn’t tell them where you are.” Sheldon kissed her on the forehead, “The fucker tried to sit on your head; it would have been much worse.”
         “I know…I know.” Sienna said, coming to realize that Sheldon had dragged her out of the car and unto the cold concrete floor of a garage. “It was hot in there.”
         “But you weren’t found; I don’t know what’s going on…What’s going on, Sienna?” Sheldon asked.
         “I don’t know.” Sienna said, “It’s so hot. Do you have water? Can I have water?”
         “Sure.” Sheldon pulled her up, “Sure; there are lots by the bar, come now, can you walk?”
         “A little.”
         “I’ll help you.” Sheldon held her shoulders with one arm and led her to the bar and gave her cold water. Sienna drank it all like some poor, dehydrated creature and it gave her head bouts of sharp pain; it screamed out in pain from the cold.
         “I’m so getting sick after this.” She muttered.
         “Are you feeling better?” Sheldon was rubbing her back.
         “Yeah, thanks.” Sienna put the quivering glass down. “Thank you…really.”
She put her face in her cupped hands, closed her eyes and let the darkness consume her.


                   *                                        *                                        *

         It was late in the evening when Sheldon took Sienna by the hand and led her straight into the heart of the city on foot. They hid amongst a mob heading for the palace, a mob that didn’t see them and cared only to get to the palace and throw their ill anger at it. In the sea of angry people, Sheldon slipped away into a dark alley pulling Sienna by the hand and immediately went through a door that was almost torn apart by decay. Behind this door was a long corridor that reeked of old rye and overcooked meat and steam and rice dumplings, and the noise of the tenants who lived behind every door they passed were all loud and different, as if they all unknowingly held a contest on who could create the loudest commotion.
         Sienna didn’t know what they were doing here; but they passed one door and they went back for it. Sheldon looked if anyone was watching before he knocked and opened it, ushering Sienna inside.
         Mama burst into tears of joy and anger. “Oh my goodness! Where were you, foolish, foolish girl!” Sienna ran forward into her arms and let herself drown to her mother’s rants of fury and sobs of relief.
         “Sienna, Sheldon’s going now.” Papa said quietly, standing with Sheldon by the doorway. Sienna walked over and closed the door slightly behind her.
         “Thank you; I’m sorry if I can’t give you any explanation now, but thank you.” Sienna said.
         “Your dad apologized already, don’t worry.” Sienna let Sheldon embrace her; she welcomed it. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
         “Thank you. Thank you.” She held Sheldon’s face and kissed his lips. “Thank you, you big blundering ball of blessings you.”
         “Er— Thanks for the gratitude.” Sheldon squeezed her hand tightly. “Goodbye now, I’ll try to come and see you…”
         “Okay—” Sienna watched his back shrinking down the corridor before coming inside to face the wrath of her father.
         
         His eyes were burning and his jaw was set. “I don’t know what stunt you were pulling, Sienna. But it was stupid and inconsiderate.”
         “I’m sorry.” Sienna said. Papa gritted his teeth and his jaw was trembling. The tense silence between them was punishment enough for Sienna, for she knew the torture they had to suffer in the same tense silence, in waiting for her return. “I’m sorry.” She put her arms around him and she cried. “I’m sorry, Papa.” She sobbed. “I’m sorry.” She sobbed of the fear within her that of which she couldn’t bring out when she hid, she sobbed of the relief and joy of being back, of being back here with them. “I thought they took you away. I thought they took you away. I’m sorry.”  She felt arms around her, she heard Papa sob. She smelled Mama and the scent of her warmth and her tears, she smelled the scent of their mourning intermingling with each other, and it was comfort, it was security; this small, dingy room with cracks and gaps in the ceiling, with wallpaper peeling right off the walls, with linoleum tiles yellowing with age; none of which was a weak point, for this was their refuge, their escape; the safest place in the world.