Some Thing Called Myself (Complete)

VI: something real

Ch. 6: Something Real

Mara touched the dents on the rusty metallic columns and cement walls as she walked down the corridors. They felt as familiar as the lines in her palms, even if she didn't know why or how; walking in that place felt like reliving a forgotten dream.

She focused back on reality when Tai almost tumbled on a small fold in one of the many rugs covering cracks on the cement floor. "Be careful," she said in a low voice.

Bernardo and Godo walked in front of the group, while Mirtes was closer to Mara and Tai.

"What about that lily-scented facial cream? I can't catch the fragrance anymore," Mirtes said. She had already asked about Mara's exercising routine, her favorite horror movies, and her mania of reading the news.

It was so weird, Mara thought, being around a stranger who knew so much about her and her routines. Mirtes was a tall woman—as tall as Tai—and her wavy black hair almost reached her waist. Her two prosthetic legs barely made any sound as she walked, despite the fact that they looked as heavy as the atmosphere around them.

"I had to stop with the expensive stuff for a while," Mara answered. She tightened her grip on Tai's waist, trying to pull them closer. It was hard to steady them while they kept inching further and further away. "But at least I'm still working on my paintings. This is the one thing I'm pretty sure I've done my entire life. I mean...I'm trying to keep working on them, but things are complicated."

"Uh?" Mirtes stopped to stare at her. Her eyes lingered on Mara's hand on Tai's waist, then set on her eyes. "I had no idea you were a painter."

"That oil painting in my room?" Bernardo said without looking back. "Mara painted it for me."

"That's amazing, Mara!" Godo turned around, but his smile withered when he locked eyes with Tai. "You're, uh, very talented," he completed in a lower voice.

"It's more than talent," Bernardo added. "It's hard work."

"Why didn't I get an oil painting?" Mirtes said, furrowing her brows. "I'm her best friend."

Bernardo shook his head and stopped in front of a small red door. "We can wait here. It'll be more comfortable than staying on the patio." Bernardo swung the door open and waited while Godo and Mirtes entered the meeting room. When Mara and Tai approached, Bernardo moved to block the entrance. "I'll help them; go on, Mara."

***

Everything was red and white inside. White ceramic floor, red armchair, white light bulbs, red sofas, white walls, red center table, white coffee machine. As for the paintings on the wall, all of them in a very Anita Malfatti modern style, they spoke to some deep part inside of Mara—a drowsy part that responded well to all the otherworldly shit she had seen and the people she had met so far.

For the past twenty minutes, Bernardo cleaned and bandaged Tai's wounds in a distant corner of the room while Mirtes tried to start a conversation. And if Tai and Bernardo whispered back and forth, their body language that of two dogs fighting, Mirtes tried to be sweet and welcoming. Most of her comments fell flat, though, even when Godo tried to help her. If Mara wasn't so exhausted, she would try to help too—she hated silences like these.

Mara was about to scream when Tai and Bernardo walked back to the sofas, and everyone's attention turned to him. Tai sat down, but their squad leader stood in front of them. Bernardo watched the other Sentinels in silence, his long fingers curled near his chest like Michelangelo's David. And while the pretty sight had captured Mara's eyes, her thoughts kept circling back to her house in Saint Lucrécia and the lake house where her sister would be waiting for her in a few hours.