Lily and Paul

Lily and Paul

(A self-portrait)

The judgement

ALMOST 22 YEARS EARLIER

The safety rope slid past him like a black mamba and continued its journey 39 floors down into the abyss.

What's the matter?

He gasped, desperately searching for something to hold on to. The coloured door of the light box, which had been damaged and now is being repaired, could only support a few dozen of kilos, yet it seemed the only option. He tried to reach out to this embodiment of hope, but to no avail. He was wrong. For the last time.

The falling quarter first clattered against his helmet, then bounced off the colorful surface of the neon sign just enough to allow the mechanic, hanging helplessly between nothing and earth, to see what was meant for him. The coin was the messenger. The messenger of the future, a future that had shrunk to approximately 5 seconds for him. That's how long it takes a body weighing 100 kilograms to land from a height of 100 metres. A few metres up, the butterfly knife easily cuts the second rope, carefully attached to the roof and holding a terrified body at the other end.

Undeterred by the scream, the two men in overalls and masks hurried with determined steps from the attic to the door leading to the inside of the building. Just as the lock clicked behind them, Alex's partner returned, holding his phone in one hand and gesticulating wildly with the other.

Boss, you told me to go down to the lobby right away. And this miserable Alex is hanging on the wall waiting for me. That's when he saw the fixed remnants of the rope. He stared blankly ahead, then slowly looked down to where his industrial alpinist companion should have been waiting. Seconds earlier, the sound and sight of a body crashing through the hotel lobby and taxi rank had been like an icy blast of terror. The fairytale world of Las Vegas had been tarnished, a force at work in the depths had been exposed, judging and punishing by its own laws. world of Las Vegas had been tarnished, a force at work in the depths had been exposed, judging and punishing according to its own laws.

Dark side of the street

She recognised the caller number on her vibrating phone. Irritated, she answered into the mobile phone, not waiting to hear what the caller wanted to tell her.

Mark, Alex and I have separated, I don't care what he's involved in or what he asks or says! I've had enough, I'm trough with him - please don't call me again! Let me live!

With trembling hands, she fumbled for the call disconnect button when she heard Mark's muffled voice. He lifted the receiver to his ear again. He knew what he was hearing, he had known for months that he would hear it one day ..

I'm sorry, Alex has fallen and died.

Lily felt like it was all over right here, right now. She was still staring at the screen of her now silent phone when a sharp knock on the door of the staff changing room door broke the silence.

The door opened and two men in dark clothes entered the room.

Ma'am! We're from the Anti-MOB Squad. Your partner has been murdered! You are in danger too! We want to help you! We can provide you with a new identity under the Witness Protection Program if you're willing to cooperate. The conditions are strict - you will effectively cease to exist in your present form, but you can rebuild yourself and your life. How long you live from here will largely depend on this decision.

Lily nodded, indicating that she understood what was being said. She was allowed to go back neither to her apartment nor her job! We will take care of everything!

Can I have your phone? The question was more of an instruction.

She lowered her crossed arms to her belly line, where they lingered for a moment. A strange, hitherto unknown sensation gripped him. She realized that her life was about to change radically. She took a folder from the wardrobe.

This is all I've got it. I’m ready to go! She said quietly.

Peek-a-boo

PRESENT

Hello Jim!

I'm calling because we need some help! We need your best profiler, Paul.

Interesting case. The man we're looking for is not a criminal, quite the opposite. A hero! He rescued a guy with a sprained ankle from the Peek-a-boo slot canyon. In the dark.

Well, our 'man' is a twenty to twenty-three year old, tight-lipped figure who found the terrified teenager in the slot canyon Having identified the boy's friends as being in Escalante, he took him to the local mini-clinic, handed him over to the waking doctor and, once he knew the boy was safe, left in a hurry. No plate number, no name, no fame, no ashes for our man. Anyway, it would have been in vain if they had set out in the night to search for the stranded and injured boy. From here, our man saved a life!

In a word, the family is very grateful and would like to find him. They came to me for help and I came knocking at your door.

Jim knew that Paul had a thousand ties to the beautiful national parks of the former Wild West. He had lost something there once and would return year after year, if he could, to see and hold the girl that fate had given him for a few hours and then, with a strange twitch of the lip, given away.

Business trip

22 YEARS AND SOME DAYS EARLIER

Paul, my request is that you put together a presentation for the conference in the USA.

As a bonus, you are allowed to extend your stay in Las Vegas!

Paul's boss knew better than to motivate his subordinates with pay alone.

And there's more!

These professionals have announced a competition for participants to submit a self-portrait of themselves. I want you to bring home a medal!

DINNER

22 YEARS EARLIER

Paul's head was buzzing with the fresh experience of a successful presentation. His portrait won second place and his presentation was applauded.

The early afternoon stroll down on the Las Vegas Boulevard had left him feeling very hungry. A friend recommended the place, saying it had good food and affordable prices.

He politely stopped, waited a while, then walked past the Wait to be seated! sign.

That's when he saw her.

Can I sit here? he asked.

        A mischievous smile and a ...

Sure!

For which there are no words only imagination

The sounds slowly and discreetly faded away, perhaps as if even the guests sensed that something was happening here and now. They could not and certainly did not know more about the invisible waves that had passed through the room and touched two souls. He found himself involuntarily but almost dangling at the heartwarming sight. The girl, of course, felt it and took pleasure in its magic. She did nothing but let herself be herself. She could do it, even with only a few occupied tables of patient and obliging guests - wiping glasses and cutlery is a routine task, yet there is a way to do it that is truly a pleasure. Well, she did. The girl in the black and white striped shirt.... So she, she was life, youth, memories and incredible reality itself.

It was the magic of the moment. Being lost!  He fell in love.

Short, red hair, athletic build, and not a plate, fork or glass on the bar that she can touch without smiling and his body giving in to the rhythm of the ever-changing music. She was almost dancing.

Are you ready to order?

Her voice was very sweet like honey. Velvety, like the best Henessy. It matched the regular cheeks, the rosy lipstick that was part of the discreet make-up and the happiness in the eyes.

Only people with a very pure soul can enjoy life like that! People who know that it takes a desert to understand the value of a glass of water. The fresh trauma was a churning sea that could make a person's days, but especially their nights, hell. It is this momentum, this life, that can lead him out of the self-torture that was boiling in his soul.

I'd like a draught beer and something to eat afterwards!

He asked for help in choosing the food, saying he intended to taste what she liked best.

How does the food taste?

Great, but here's one thing I'd like to point out.

There was a moment of surprise in the smiling eyes, but the answer came;

Well, let's hear what it is!

Perhaps it's inappropriate to say here and now ...

-        he paused for a breath, for he felt that little tremor at the corner of his mouth which only very rarely takes hold of him, but then in a flash he reveals all the secrets of his soul and makes himself a naked target -

You are so beautiful that I cannot find the words to describe you!

In other circumstances, this might have been seen as rude or uncouth behavior, but in this case, she got what she wanted; recognition, attention and above all, love. Obviously, she gets offers every day. Whether it be with fancy words and promises redeemable for green equivalents. Her beauty radiates from her, her young body capturing the imagination of dozens of men every night.

Another beer?

Of course, the man needed. His stomach slowly began to release the knot that had settled in every corner of his body weeks ago when the court officially granted the divorce. There were still a few minutes left, just enough time to make plans for the next day.

She knew that the area was full of beautiful places, and she had longed to visit at least one of them.

Paul!

He held out his hand after paying the bill.

Lily.

... and it was so sweet to touch his hand that it made her dizzy.

The next day

They had a wonderful day together.

The Valley of Fire is a short drive from the City of Lights. The Valley of Fire is a short drive from the City of Lights. It is a state park that, through its colors and shapes, gives a taste of the natural wonders of the great national parks nearby. As they drove from one viewpoint to the next, they felt closer and closer. The last rays of the sun, dipping below the horizon, swept across the landscape and found the two young men standing side by side, their shadows stretching out into infinity, reaching across the mirrored surface of Lake Mead, perhaps breaking it all the way to the Grand Canyon.

Life on the Strip was already in full swing when they arrived at the parking lot of the iconic Luxor.

Being with you is a wonderful thing!

The man said softly while he stroked her cheek.

Around midnight, the airport is almost deserted, no new planes arriving or departing. From the thirtieth floor, there was a brilliant view of the airport, warning all the arrivals that the fairytale castle with its spire and the Pharaoh's pyramid were just a decorations and that the day would come when they would have to go home to their real lives.

The red curls of her slightly tousled hair gave her an independent life, making her a life of her own and made her look even more charming as she lay on the bed.

Like a painting, he thought, I could admire her for days. He covered her naked body with a sheet, then sat back in the armchair where he'd been sitting and took a sip of his favorite brandy.

Although her body was almost on fire from the hot lovemaking, he couldn't - or rather didn’t want to - fall asleep.

No! He didn't want to lose this sight and this feeling again!

The rising sun brought the planes, and the boy brought the Starbucks coffee and a cookie to go with it.

Good morning!

They whispered almost simultaneously.

They chuckled to themselves as they glanced at the scraps of clothing that had been hastily thrown around the room last night.

No use, a whirlwind makes a mess!

And indeed, a minor hurricane had swept through their lives overnight.

They both knew that they belonged together now.

Lily's eyes caught the folder sticking out of Paul's open bag.

Is that the project you told me about?

Yes! Can I give it to you?

You'd make me happy - sorry, that's already happened!

Cold shower

The key would not turn in the lock.

Before the next attempt, Alex opened the door from the inside.

Where have you been all night? You bitch!

Lily looked at him, frozen, then pulled herself together...

Maybe you should remember that it was only a week ago that you took those suitcases to your girlfriend's house and told her that you weren’t wasting your life with a loser like me!

I let you go because life with you is hell!

Please go away, leave me alone! I'm scared you'll fall when you're hanging from the facades of skyscrapers like Spider-Man! I'm scared when you hang out with your dark soul friends! I tremble every night, so you don't go further debt! I don't want this life!

Go away!

Alex closed the door, then changed his tone.

Let's try one more time!

No! came the firm reply. Alex pushed her onto the bed.

He was stronger than the fragile creature he had once wanted to marry, but the new world opened up new and tempting 'prospects'. The violence Lily suffered was not the first time it had happened. The scuffle from next door was followed by the resident banging over and adding that he would call 911 if they didn't stop.

By the time I get off work, I want a normal dinner!

He stood in the doorway when Lily said, in low and measured tones:

You can't humiliate me anymore, you can't control my life. Get your stuff out of here or I'll burn it in the parking lot! I won't threaten you, but I will protect myself. Besides, you don't need me to rush you to your doom.

For me you have ceased to exist!

Alex looked at his watch and at the old man in the doorway of the apartment next door, fiddling with his phone.

We'll see about that! ... he said and stormed off.

Lily just sat on the edge of the bed. No crying, no sobbing. Women don't cry where she came from.

Only sometimes.

Certainty hung on a nail

22 YEARS AND PRESENT DAYS

Lily began her life in humble circumstances at first. Doubts plagued her as she did not know, whether the life she had conceived was the fruit of love or the legacy of violence.

Her home was puritanical, the only decoration in the living room being a portrait just above the dresser.

There were a long years, when looking at the picture, she searched for the moment when a sign would appear on her son's face, a sign that would be reflected in the card hung on the nail. 

On another continent

Every night when Paul goes to bed, he sees Lily as she gets on the bus that day and disappears into the rush hour traffic. Lily was gone as if she'd never been there.

The phone rang. It was Jim, reporting on a new assignment to find the mysterious participant in a recent incident in southern Utah.

Of course, he helps his old friend, no problem!

The task was to ask both witnesses questions about the person they were looking. On the basis of this, you will draw a sketch and send it as an electronic image in response. Jim knocked on his door. Both witnesses had approved the latest version.

Can you show me who we're 'chasing'?

He looked questioningly at Paul as they sipped their drinks in front of the computer monitor.

Well ... that's what you see on the screen!

No kidding, it's your 22-year-old career! The one that got you 2nd place.

Your portrait!

The silence was almost palpable.

Jim, I gave my portrait to Lily 22 years ago!

He remembered that wonderful night at the Luxor. Would the fruit of their love be there right in front of him? With the help of the sketch, they managed to find a place to stay in Kanab, where a rare pretty lady and her son were staying at the time. From there it was a straightforward identification process.

Reunion

Lily now goes by the name Lucy and her son is called Daniel.

Only a few passengers from the London flight were waited at the exit.

Paul and Lily eyes met from a distance.

Paul put his arms around Lily, who was shaking with sobs, and whispered in her ear;

You still have a beauty about you that I can't find the words to describe!

Paul! said Lily. Please meet your son! She pointed to her now adult son.

... and like a time traveler caught in a multi-dimensional trap, there before her stood a portrait that had come to life.

His most important ‘portrait’ ever.