THE VOID | Mayans Mc

01: The Photographer.

Spending three days on the road was not unusual to Esmeralda. Her photography had taken her on many trips around the world, and she had learnt to embrace every aspect of her adventures.

However, upon seeing the sign for Santo Padre she couldn't seem to shake the anxiety building in her stomach. She had never felt this way before, and it frightened her. She started to wonder if she had made the right decision. What if coming here led her to nothing? What if she didn't find what she was looking for?

Esmeralda couldn't let her doubt cloud her mind. She was known for having such positive energy, and now was the right time for her to channel it.

Pulling into the first motel on the edge of town, she finally let herself relax, letting the realisation settle in. Esmeralda had always dreamt of coming here since she was a little girl. She had a vague memory of Santo Padre, which her mother called her creative imagination.

However, Esmeralda knew she was wrong. She was sure the memory was real. It had to be real. It was the only lead she had to finding out the truth about her life.

After getting a room at the motel, she began unpacking a few items to make her feel more at home. However, she got lost in her thoughts now gazing out of the window, with her fingers twirling her long braided hair.

The sound of her phone vibrating on the cabinet brought her back to reality. She had multiple calls and texts, most of them from her family. Letting out a long sigh, Esmeralda wasn't ready to talk to anyone. She turned off her phone, stuffing it in her jacket pocket, along with a few essentials from her bag. She picked out her compact camera and decided to go and explore the town of Santo Padre.

......

Esmeralda took her time on her stroll, taking multiple snaps of everything she found interesting, which would usually be everything in sight. Even from such a young age, she had always been so fascinated with the world. She hated settling in one place, it never felt right. She had been told many times, that she was just consumed by wanderlust. However, there was more to it than just getting a kick from travelling the world. To Esmeralda, she was searching for a place that felt like home, for something to fill the void.

So far, Esmeralda was enjoying discovering the town and getting to know her whereabouts. From the looks the local people had given her, they didn't take kindly to outsiders. She understood. She had done quite a bit of research into Santo Padre. She knew the town had trouble on both sides of the law and the border.

Walking along the road, Esmeralda stopped at a local butcher shop. It brought a smile to her lips, reminding her of her late grandfather.

After taking a few shots of the shop from the outside, she decided to take a look inside. Her eyes began to wander around the store, with her humming along to the faint Spanish music that she could hear playing out back. Her attention was quickly turned to the roar of motorcycle's outside, causing her to be startled by the sound of someone's voice.

"Can I help you?"

"Erm...yeah," Esmeralda replied, noticing that by the tone of the man's voice, he doesn't take kindly to unknown visitors.

But that didn't stop her from doing her job, putting on her best smile as she replied, "My name is Esme. I'm a photographer taking some photos for the magazine Wanderlust, and I was just wo-"

The man cut her off, answering her question before she had the chance to ask.

"No."

"Please sir, I'll stay out of your way."