Lana

The sun rose at about 7:15-ish here in Milan. I usually get up when the sun starts to shine on my face and wake me from my slumber. From waking up I sat at my desk with a little black, leather-covered book sat in the center. I always feel the outside of it before I open it to write down the dreams I had the night before because it reminded me of my grandpa's old car seats. I have very fond memories of that car, especially when we used to go get Italian icees every summer. After I’ve finished writing in my journal I get on with my morning routine and before I head out I always grab a cup of coffee and two buttered croissants from this little shop down the block from my house. The man that works there, Tomeo, is my dad’s best friend. I always viewed him as my uncle even when we don’t have any blood relation to each other. He always had the AC on, but always complained about bills piling up. I used to tell myself that if he never complained about the bills, something wasn’t right and I am right about it most of the time. Then I head out to go meet up with my date at the grand canal in Venice. I knew that it would be a three-hour trip more or less to get there, but he was kinda cute so I didn’t mind as long as he didn’t. As I am sitting on the train, I put in my earbuds to block out any noise and also to listen to a new album that Jeremy Zucker had put out. He kind of reminded me of myself because of how hopelessly romantic I could be and emotionally attached, but maybe that’s only true when he writes music. After an hour goes by, I start to get impatient and so I look up to see how far we were when I saw a strange man sitting in front of me. He looked to be around my age and his face had a stripe of freckles, from one ear to the other. His glasses were round and gold and his eyes were light blue and dangerous. He was a skinny guy, but had veins all over his arms, and when I noticed that my heart began to pound. As he looked at me in a way that made me extremely uncomfortable he picked up a black book, identical to my black book. So then I pull my black book and I look at him, distraught, but his face continues to show no emotion and I don’t even think he noticed I grabbed the book. He starts to write into his book and asks me a question, “What is your favorite color?” I look at him confused, clueless even because he looked as if he wanted to kill me. I pressed my lips together to tell him beige was my favorite, but then he spoke again, “My favorite is beige, you know. I always thought that it went well with everything you know? Beige pants, blue shoes. Beige dress, red heels. To me, beige is the universal color.” He smiles as he finishes his thought. More importantly, did he just read my mind or is he my stalker? I shut down my preemptive thinking, crossed my legs, and said, “I was going to say the exact same thing, but just not in such a creepy way.” When I stopped talking I realized what I just said and immediately felt extremely embarrassed because it sounded too bitchy. He looked at me, furrowed his eyebrows, and chuckled, and said, “What about that was weird? Just a friendly conversation.” Before I speak I fix up to show that I am interested in this conversation, but I was too nervous to think straight. So then while smiling I say, “Yes, but you looked like you were going to kill me. A poor lady like me couldn’t defend herself.”

“Oh, no I didn’t mean to scare at all it’s just...”, he showed me his black, leather book, “Sometimes I draw people on the train and I don’t know, you looked really pretty and I thought I’d draw you.” I analyze the drawing of me and it looks amazing. I mean everything was spot on even my little nose down to my red heels. I am grinning ear to ear, really focusing in on the drawing and he asks me, “Look, I know that I may not have made the best impression on you, but I would love to take you out sometime maybe for a cup of coffee or a ride on the canal in Venice. What do you think?” I looked kindly and my hazel eyes seemed to have tranced him and I told him I was actually heading to Venice to go on a date with someone I just met. He is still smiling and it doesn’t make him feel too bad so he says, “Well how about friends then? I could give my number or Facebook?”

“I think I’ll take your phone number, sir!”

“Oh and before I forget what is your name?”

“My name is Lana. After my grandmother.”

“I'm Teo. After my grandpop.” Then the train stops and the conductor says, “We have arrived in Venice and I was surprised because I didn't think we were on the train that short. So I get up and waved goodbye to Teo and thanked him for his company. When I got to the canal I see my date there on a boat talking to a man with a bag of money. From where they were, they were in a secluded area, so I was really the only one witnessing this. My date looked really angry and his eyes were narrowing in on this guy who looked like he could bench an adult horse. Then a few minutes go by and I see them both pull out a gun and shoot each other. My heart dropped and I shouted, “NOOOOO.” I was the only one witnessing their lifeless selves falling into that canal and blood, flowing with the current. What I noticed is that the bag of money was still there on the ground and intact so I go to investigate and I saw so many hundred bills. I couldn't count all of them but there were at least ten-thousand dollars in that bag. I didn't know who to call, I knew who I should call, but I had ulterior motives. I called up Teo from the train ride and tell him to meet me at the entrance of Saint Mark’s Cathedral. When asked for a reason, I just told him I really needed to talk to him. So when I got there I had to wait a little bit because I was closer to it than he was, but when he finally arrived he noticed the bloodstained beige duffle bag in my hands and he stopped walking towards me. I drop the bag I told him, “It’s not what it looks like!”

“Are you sure?? Because that looks like someone died for you to get that bag!”

“Please just listen Teo!”, I started crying from all the stress, “I was getting to my date's boat, but... a man with this bag shot him, and then my date shot him too... and they’re both dead somewhere in that canal! Look... I know we just met..., but I like you, I really like you, and I have money here and I could start a life with you... please tell me you want the same thing!” Teo stands for a bit trying to sympathize with me. He walks over to hold my hands and as looks into my eyes, he leans in and kisses me. He kisses me with all the forces of air, water, and all of nature and it felt amazing. He wipes my tears away, smiles, and says, “Hi!” I laughed and laughed and I kissed him and I then said to him, “Hi!”.