I duck inside a bodega on the corner and make my way to the back of the store. Damn it! They caught up to me. They are freaking relentless. “She went this way,” gruff voices called out as men in suits ran by the store’s front door.
Here we go again. I angrily press the numbers on my phone and listen to the ring tone. When I hear the click, I launch into my rant, “they are on to me. You said this wouldn’t happen! You need to fix this, NOW! I’m on my way to you.” I end the call abruptly and exit the store. I make my way to the subway entrance across the street trying to keep to the shadows of the evening as the sun sets.
“He had one job. One job! To get me a clean body so I wouldn’t have to keep running.” I mumble to myself taking the stairs down as quickly as possible without falling. “Impractical heels,” I hiss as I stumble on the last step. A couple rush past me, just making it on the train as the doors slide shut.
“Frack!” I curse as I look around the platform. A disheveled man slumps over on a nearby bench and judging by the smell of cheap alcohol wafting off of him he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I move further into the subway.
A chime sounds and I pull out my phone: K’ is all that comes up. That fucker. This is the last time I deal with an amateur like him. If this wasn’t an emergency I would go to Raheem. But it is and Raheem is still sore over the whole Budapest thing. You would think one hundred years and an apology would be enough to be forgiven.
“Hey pretty lady, you got a dollar?” the disheveled man asks. The stench of stale liquor smacks me in the face.
“Ew! Get the Hells away from me!” I shout, quickly moving away from him. He throws me an obscene arm gesture and moves on to a group of women that just entered the subway. I look around noticing more people have joined me on the platform waiting for the next train. Unfortunately, one of them is that damn SNOB fae.
“How in the Hells does he keep finding me?! Shit, shit, shit,” I mutter and duck behind a column close to the tracks. I chance a peek around the pole to see him holding up that same photo to the group of women and then another couple dangerously making their way towards me.
“Allah, if you ever loved me, I need this train to get here now,” I quietly pray. Gods only knows if he will listen. I peeked around the column again and almost gave myself away. The fae is just in front of my hiding place. His back is turned, and he is on the phone. I’m done for. I managed to make it almost half a millennium without being caught. There isn’t anyone else close by I could jump into, and I will not go back into a lamp. I’m lost if he turns around. I’ll push him. That’s it. I will push him on the tracks and make a run for it.
As I set my mind to do just that, the sweetest sound comes to me. The train’s horn blares announcing its arrival. The fae turns back towards the oncoming train as he hangs up his phone. He stands there facing the entrance of the subway just as the doors open and I slip in. I hear his curse as he turns. We lock eyes as the doors slide shut and I wave as the train starts back on its journey.
Mad Woman Rambles 