Short Stories

Some Moments Last Forever

Larissa Thornton was standing next to the graveyard gates as the car’s headlights illuminated the darkness. Ten miles from her home, Saint Julien le Pauvre is a rare surviving church of the twentieth century culture, mixed with traditional spires, stain glass windows, huge wooden doors, and grey solid stone bricks now beginning to crack and fade with the test of time. It was in the grounds of this exquisite church full of history, culture and religion that the graveyard was situated. This composed lady, so wise in years, was thinking how some moments last forever even if the moment itself only lasted a few days. If her friends and colleagues knew of her youth they would not recognise her. A girl once so caught up in the middle of a gang war, now living in a country house in France, married to a Lord, writing historical romance novels. What brought her here so late into the night was her kitten Toffee. Half an hour before Toffee was running all over the house getting into things he should not. In this respect Toffee reminded her of a man she once knew when she was younger. With this reminder of the man she thought that she should go and visit him after a long silence between them. This man long since under the earth, was never far from her thoughts in the beginning.  Nevertheless as the years faded so did the thoughts. It has been sixty years since Larissa last stood at these very gates.

The reason was not because she had forgotten him over the years, but simply that it was too painful to remember the events that unfolded from first meeting him.

It all started in a town north of Edinburgh called Dunfermline. With spires reaching into the sky, pebbled walkways rich in texture, a university so renowned and a Library so large that it stretches for miles beneath the city itself, this architecturally great city was once the Capital of Scotland. Now hundreds of years later the city has begun to fall to ruin. The once great spires have crumbled and fallen, Pebbled walkways are overgrown with weeds and cracked, the University is no longer there and the Library is now a system of tunnels where the outcasts of society hide away. Furthermore gang warfare is a common everyday occurrence. Gangs are the law. It was through these deserted streets that a young woman of three and twenty years made her way to a local night club to enjoy the night’s entertainment.

She had not pre-planned this trip; it was never wise to plan anything. The local gangs always found out and put an end to the plan and your life. The safest thing was to just make spur of the moment decisions.

After stumbling a few times on the uneven ground Larissa finally made it to the Black Vault. She showed her card too the door man who allowed her entry. The music blared as soon as the door opened, and once he’d ushered her inside the doorman slammed and bolted the door. Blue and green spot lights illuminated the club. Visibility was difficult due to the large amounts of smoke that filtered through.

Noticing a man sitting alone at the Bar she goes to join him. This man puts her in the mind of a regal dragon. His luxurious, curly, brown hair is shoulder-length and is worn in an attractive pony-tail which complements his masculine build. His wardrobe is mysterious: In a place where men wear tailored suits, he is wearing a long duffel coat and black trousers with a brown high necked woollen jumper, not the usual attire that you would see in this area, yet still attractive. He looks up when she sits down allowing Larissa to see his violet eyes that are like two drops of fine wine.

He introduces himself as Rafe Quinn, the youngest son of a notorious business owner further south, looking to sell some cars in the area. They begin talking and are still talking into the hours of the morning. Rafe tells her of his dreams to break away from the family business and set up an organisation for environmental and wildlife protection similar to what there was in the old days. And of how impossible this would be because his family would never allow him to leave. Their conversation was interrupted a few times by men wanting Larissa to dance, share a drink, and come away with them. There was a tense moment with one man; Rafe went rigid when he saw him approach. The stranger was one of those who asked Larissa to come away with him and politely declining his invitation she turns back to Rafe, only to notice his eyes, hard and daring, following the unknown man as he returns to his associates. The stranger and his associates left a little while later. Rafe seemed to be on edge after seeing this man, but continued his conversation with Larissa all the same.