Nirvana

Chapter Four: Layla

The heat of the afternoon sun hit Lucy's face as soon as she stepped a foot outside of her house. She woke up too late that day since she went to bed after dawn the previous night. She didn't regret it; instead, she considered it a night well spent. If anything, she looked forward to meeting her new acquaintance again– Alec.

She stood casually by the front porch, surveying the garden where she spotted her father seated. He held a newspaper in his hand, intently reading into it. Unlike the last time she saw him, he appeared to be doing well at that moment. Relieved, Lucy approached him.

"Would you like something to eat?" Lucy offered with a smile, happy to see her father in a better mood for a change.

"You seem surprisingly joyful." he pointed out, as if it was out of the ordinary for Lucy to feel anything but depressed.

"I guess." Lucy shrugged. "I'll make you eggs and coffee to help with your hangover. You'll need your protein-rich food and good hydration, too." Lucy babbled, a thing she often did whenever she was feeling chipper. 

She was about to say more when something caught her eye. It made her heart skip a beat, and her mouth slightly gapped. A cold sweat ran down her cheek.

Her mood abruptly shifted. She wasn't sure if she was scared, surprised, worried, or a mix of all three. The man from the night before was walking across the street, stumbling every few steps. His eyes didn't meet hers; he didn't see her, but she was positive it was him. The face that emerged from the shadows that night at the bay was not to be easily forgotten.

Lucy's father noticed her unusual behavior and troubled look. He followed her gaze to see what she was staring anxiously at.

"That madman," he muttered under his breath.

"Dad, do you know who that man is?" Lucy asked, wide-eyed. She feared that the strange man might have seen her, that he would recognize her and expose her to her father or worse. She didn't want him to discover she had been venturing out every night, especially considering how far from home she was.

"That's John. He's one of our neighbors." 

"I've never seen him before," she said, trying hard to remember, but his face seemed unfamiliar, truly.

"He's gone completely nuts after the accident. We rarely see him now." Lucy's father explained.

"What accident?" Lucy got curious, wanting to know more.

"A few years back, he got into a car accident where he lost his daughter. Ever since then, he hasn't been the same. He'd mutter to himself as he walks the streets at night and does some questionable things sometimes," he criticized. "He's got himself quite the reputation."

Lucy was confused; only one thought on her mind. 'You're one to talk! Criticizing the poor man for not being able to move past his daughter's death when you're facing a similar situation with your wife.'

"What was her name?" She inquired, her eyes trailing the man as he disappeared into the distance.

"Layla."

The name rang a bell in Lucy's head. That was the name he had been calling for at the bay. 'That was his daughter? Why would he call for her if she was gone? Did he believe she was still alive?'

'Did he mistake me for her?' A ton of questions raced through Lucy's mind. Unable to voice any of them, she pushed them down as she looked up to meet her father's eyes.

"That's tragic! I feel bad for him," she confessed. "At first, I thought he was dangerous, but now I just sympathize with him."

"Have you met him before? You talk like you know him." Lucy audibly gulped. She examined her father's facial expressions, which appeared to reflect genuine curiosity rather than suspicion.

"No. I've never seen him in my life." She lied through her teeth. Her father was visibly unconvinced, but he let the matter go. "I'll go make you something to eat." She quickly changed the topic before she hurried back into the house.

"That was a close one," She exhaled in relief as she spoke her thoughts aloud. While making her way to the kitchen, she remembered something.

'It's thought that this place has strong spiritual energy.' was what Alec told her about the bay.

'Could it be? Was he trying to communicate with his dead daughter?' An idea sparked in Lucy's head. If the rumors about the bay turned out to be accurate, why not attempt to communicate with her deceased mother?

The thought excited her. She imagined all the positive outcomes that would occur if her plan succeeded. She resolved not to let her father know about it until she was certain it was applicable. She didn't want to get his hopes up, only for it to get crushed again.

She knew only one person who could help her in such a predicament, and that person was none other than Alec.

However, a question remained: how would she meet him again if she knew nothing about him but his name? She gave it much thought and arrived at only one solution. She decided to go back to the same place she encountered him the first time and wait for him there, in the alleyways.