Paradise Among Metal

Chapter 13

In town, Mara bought her supplies.

It didn't cost as much as she expected, everything was cheap. Mara was able to buy new black jeans, a white tank-top, several new pairs of underwear, toiletries, food, a multi-colored bracelet, and a gray swimsuit, with coins left over.

The store owners told Mara that the motel clerk, whose name was Jean, often tricked newcomers into giving them a lot of money for just a room.

"How do you think they got those fancy glasses?!" One woman told Mara. "They cheat their way through life!"

"How come you let them get away with it?" Mara had asked. The woman just shook her head.

"We have no laws here forbidding it. We just let Jean have their money, but we raise our prices for them."

"That's fair, I guess." Mara replied. The woman nodded, and handed Mara her change.

Mara was now climbing back up the stairs to her motel room, a few shopping bags in her hands. Her multicolored bracelet was tied around her wrist.

The bracelet was nothing more than a colored string, but it gave Mara strength. She would always have color now, wherever she went. She would always have hope. No matter what, she'd have the courage to persevere  on to Paradise.

She rubbed it, a small smile appearing on her face.  The night was full of a warm chill....and Jacob and Emerson...kissing?

It was coming from their motel room. Despite being an amnesiac, Mara knew exactly what they were doing. Her face scrunched up.

"That's just lovely," she muttered, unlocking her door and going inside.

She headed towards the small bathroom her room came with, swimsuit in hand. For the first time in her life that she could remember, she took off all her clothes.

She stood, naked, in front of the full-length mirror that hung on the back of the door. Mara noticed how skinny and malnourished she looked, with her bony chest and limbs and thin face. Her greasy hair fell to her mid-chest. And for the first time, she noticed a circular scar, right over her heart.

It wasn't quite circular; it had jagged edges, but its appearance startled Mara. She traced her index finger along it, staring wide-eyed at the mirror in front of her. For a moment, she swore she saw a skeleton in place of her, but she wasn't sure.

Mara put on the swimsuit: a gray one-piece in an old-fashioned style. It had a long boy-cut, from when it was taboo for a woman to show her thighs, and a V-neck. Her shoulders showed quite a bit for such an old-fashioned swimsuit.

Mara grabbed a towel from the towel rack and her key, walking out of her room and locking the door. She stuck the key into her cleavage.

Emerson and Jacob were still at it. Regardless, Mara knocked on their door.

"Hey lovebirds, I'm going swimming, if you two wanna join me."

Their noises ceased. After a moment of silence, Jacob spoke to Emerson.

"Oh God, she heard us...."

Mara stifled a laugh and bounded down the stairs.

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The waters of the pool were salty and warm, to Mara's surprise. She had expected them to be cold with the slight chill that hung in the air, but they weren't.