Kindred Spirit: Ferocity

Chapter 4

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Lynne

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(Joaquim's Point of View)

I've been searching high and low for Genoveva. I left the mid-scale hotel and was now staying in a homeless shelter. I knew from past run ins with Genoveva that she tended to know a lot of the homeless. She used them on more than one occasion as a decoy. I was doing my best to get to know several of them in an effort to find a way in.

Most of the other men in the shelter are either mentally or physically disabled. Several of them were veterans of one war or another. More often than not all of them had a horror story that drove them into being homeless. I looked across the table at Nicole again and forced a smile on my face.

Nicole was clearly mentally ill and believed that I was her long lost brother Jerome. She spent the last thirty minutes repeating childhood memories to me over and over again. It didn't matter that every few minutes I would tell her that I was sorry but that my name was Joaquim and I wasn't her long lost brother. Her voice and very poor English was giving me a pounding headache. I wanted to move away from her but so far she's the only one willing to spend time with me that I know Genoveva's had contact with.

"You remember Jerome don't you? You remember when mama beat us both with that fucking broom handle? She would have killed me if you didn't step in and take the rest of that beating for me. I still got the scars on my lower legs though. I got scars all over from the beating mama gave us. I got bad scars Jerome. I know you got bad scars too."

Then as if on cue she started to pull up her shirt and show off her various scars. Then she would list them off again.

"See this deep long one right here Jerome. That ones the one mama gave me with the fish knife. She shoved the fucking knife in and tried to filet me just like she would a fish. If you hadn't stopped her I would be died that time too. Mama was so fucking mad at you she beat you with the cast iron frying pan for hours."

Then she pulled up her pant legs and showed off the hundreds of thin of tiny scars that ran across her thighs and calves.

"These here scars are from the fucken whip. Mama loved that fucken whip. Didn't she Jerome? I know my scars look bad, but yours were way worse. At least momma never scared your face. Mama always kept the whip to your lower body and back. Mamma loved to try and make me fucking ugly. She bit me, kicked me and even tried to skin my face. It was so ugly before the surgery. It was even worse than my best friend Genoveva.

Genoveva's mamma was real jealous of her good looks and wanted to take them away from her just like momma did to me. Genoveva's momma did a good job of making her ugly too. Her momma sliced her whole face open with a real sharp knife and left Genoveva with a bad scar.

I'm glad though, because I wouldn't have met Genoveva if she didn't get the scar. That does how we met you know. She was going to the plastic surgeon that the county sent me to. We were both getting or faces fixed. Yupper. You sure are gonna love my best friend Genoveva when she comes to visit us next week."

Nicole stopped speaking and was staring mindlessly at something on she could see. I made a loud groan and forced the air back into my lungs. I realized I must have been holding my breath while Nicole spoke of Genoveva. My mind was on overdrive while my blood rushed through my body with the force of a jack hammer. Next week? Nicole said Genoveva was coming to visit next week. I forced myself to say as calmly as possible

"Nicole. How do you know Genoveva is coming to visit next week?"

Nicole blinked several times seemed oblivious of my question and my presence. I sighed in frustration and I moved forward and grabbed Nicole's hands in an attempt to get her attention. Then I asked her again this time with a bit more urgency in my voice