Remember Me

- 2 -

It was early afternoon before Ren settled on a place to eat.

It wasn't so much that she was a picky eater, all of the Veil's food was pretty bland anyway, but she had wasted her time roaming the streets, petting old street cats and dogs she used to know, checking in secretly on her favorite shop owners, and searching for peaches.

She had regrettably failed to find even one remaining and thus had settled to find food in a local bar on the West side of the Veil. Entering the dim and musty bar she walked straight to the counter, ignoring the stares coming from all around the cramped room.

For now, the bullet wound was on the back of Ren's mind.

Plus, she rationalized, if I don't eat soon I'll be too weak to heal properly anyway.

Upon first glance, nothing stood out to her in the dark room. All of the men were a good deal older than Ren, and after their initial once-over of her, they all turned back to their drinks. All except for one. As the hushed conversations picked back up around the room she felt the unmistakable feeling of a pair of eyes focused on her back.

She took a seat at the counter, keeping her back turned to the gaze. After ordering something to eat and a glass of whiskey she turned her mind back to everything she had seen when she walked in. Had she seen any details of her stalker?

Trying to pull details about the man hidden in the shadows from her unfocused memory Ren adjusted her position on the stool, now feeling suffocated by the long and heavy wool coat. The drink showed up first; a glass of room-temperature pale amber liquid sloshed across the counter to her. Grabbing the glass she cringed at the stickiness that met her fingers.

Her posture remained stiff as the stranger's gaze continued to burn a hole through her back. Taking a sip, she was thankful for the comfortable burn of alcohol in her throat, despite the dull taste. She tried to nonchalantly glance around the bar, but couldn't manage to get a look at the stranger without being extremely obvious.

The smells wafting from the kitchen made Ren's stomach growl and she clutched her torso, embarrassed by how loud it was in the small space. Just when she thought she could relax, here she was stuck at another standstill, waiting to see if the stranger's next move would require her to fight or to run.

If the stranger had been a trooper he would've already made a move. She couldn't think of anyone else notable it might've been. Wracking her brain for a forgotten debt or an old acquaintance, she came up blank.

It was barely any warmer inside the drafty bar than it was outside but a layer of sweat began to form on her palms and suddenly she was sweltering beneath her coat.

Ren watched the bartender head into the kitchen, hoping her food would be brought out next. As curious as she was about the stranger behind her she still needed to eat, staring at a full plate of food would be a lot more suspicious than just eating it.

The creaky wooden doors to the back opened again as the bartender backed out of the kitchen with two heaping dishes of fresh bread and stew in hand. As soon as the food was set down in front of her there was a shuffle near the entrance, and she turned to see a lanky figure push open the doors to exit.

Ren continued to watch as the doors slowly swung open and the figure walked out. The man who had been watching behind her back now turned to meet her wide-eyed gaze as the door slowly swung closed. It took her a few moments to turn her eyes back in front of her but her mind was still focused on the stranger.

His electric blue eyes stood out against his dark skin, piercing her and leaving Ren short of breath. His face was long and his features were sharp, intensifying the suspense of their exchange. She stared down at her plate and slowly lifted a spoonful of the hot stew to her lips.