Right next door to Hell

6

    In the afternoon, we decided to go for a walk through Prater Park. We walked around the carousels, most were closed. The place was awfully lonely and strange. We were both walking hand in hand and let the silence to cover us.

    Erin...

    "Did you say something?" I asked. "No..." He tentatively answered. I looked behind us; nobody. Maybe it was just my imagination. We continued to go toward the exit but I felt strange. I had the feeling that someone was watching me. I was watching behind me but he was hidden in the shadows, lurking around. I couldn't see him but I could easily hear him. He kept calling my name. Sometimes I heard him from afar, lost in space and time. Other times he was right next to my ear and whispered.

     "STOP IT!" I yelled. "What have I done? I did not say anything." "I said that out loud?" I furrowed my eyebrows. He threw me a suspicious look. "Alright... I keep thinking about Dorothea ... sorry Thomas." I guilty added. "It's okay. I understand." He tightened his hold on my hand and hurried ahead. We left the park and started to go through a very narrow street.

     "Thomas?" "Yeah!" "Where are we going? It's very strange here..." I asked nervously. "Stay calm and you will see. You will like it, I promise." He smiled.

    He turned to the left and we bumped into a gang to which I panicked. We stopped at the top of the stairs and Thomas looked at me while he was descending down it. The place was dubious. At the other end of the stairs was an iron door. He opened it and pulled me inside. It shut behind us, leaving us lost in darkness. "Thomas, what is this place? It scares me." "Don't be afraid. I know it looks weird but..."

     He opened another door. I stepped inside. There is a huge store of vinyls, band t-shirts, CDs and books. "Oh... wow! I didn't expect this, at all." I exclaimed. "I told you that you would enjoy this." He was smiling from ear to ear like a Cheshire Cat.

    I grinned and I went to discs area. I chose a few that I wanted for a while: Guns N 'Roses - Appetite for destruction, Metallica - Death Magnetic and AC/DC - Back in black. "Good choice. Do you know that Guns N ' Roses is my favorite band?" He questioned timidly "Yup. Mine too." "Good old times... Do you remember when we went at their concert?" "Of course I do. That was the best night in my life."

     I walked through the shelves and looked carefully at the spines of the books that were inscribed their names. I noticed a book with black cover and a pentagram drawn on it, entitled: "The children of Lilith". As far as I know, "Lilith's children" were also called magicians, a topic that I was always passionate about. I took the book and decided to buy it. Then I went to the cashier to pay it.

     "Oh, you're the first person who decided to buy this book." "Really?" I asked, surprised "It is said that it would be cursed or something like that. I just wanted to throw it out there." "How can a book be cursed? I lived to hear this one."

     I felt a touch on my waist that made me jump. "What are you scared of? It's just me." Thomas said. "It's your new friend?" "No, Benny. It's my old friend, my new girlfriend." Thomas started proudly. Wait a minute! He just called me his girlfriend ?! The truth is ... that after what happened last night, we can't be called 'just friends'.

    "By the way... I'm moving back to United States." "Really ?! Somehow it's better for you. You do not have anyone here anymore. This means that might be our last goodbye." "Unfortunately, maybe I will come back in Vienna one day, maybe in a holiday or something. Although, this city simply disgusts me."

    Erin...

    That voice was getting more and more irritating. Thomas' hand grabbed mine and I smiled. I looked in his eye, they were bluer than usual. Why I was so blind before? It was more than obvious that we were in love with each other for a long, long time. I kissed him and we both headed toward the exit.

     Outside was already dark. A solitary light caused the gang to move somewhere else. "Erin?!" He hesitated."Yes..." I uncertainly asked. "I hope you didn't mind that I called 'my girlfriend'... I know that you think that I am just a good friend..." I cut him off by kissing him. His lips were sweet and warm. We threw in each other's arms. I attached the cold bricks of a wall.

     You're just another brick in the wall...