Lina gets out of Robert's den. The last few words he said to her are still ringing in her ears: "I own you", "you're mine". She can't go out; she is stuck with him and will have to work for this horrible man who just destroyed her life and killed the one she loved. She walks in the dark streets of New York aimlessly, bumping into random people.
Stranger 1: Hey! watch out! You weirdo!
Stranger 2: What is wrong with her!
Stranger 3: Look at her!
She doesn't care about them, or it is more like she isn't seeing them anymore. In her mind, she is the only one walking down the streets. There is nobody around, only her roaming the streets. Everybody left. Lina doesn't see anything and hears nothing anymore. She becomes deaf and blind but keeps walking until she arrives in front of the building where she used to sit on the roof with Marco. Lina climbs to the rooftop, walks to the edge, and looks down at the people passing by. She deeply inhales and starts to cry, her tears dripping on the floor. Then, she takes from her pocket the picture of her parents.
Lina: (sobbing and rubbing the picture with her finger) I'm sorry... This is not how it was supposed to be...
She holds the picture close to her chest.
Lina: (crying) I'm sorry but I can't... I can't do it... I'm done trying, I'm done... I'll never get out of this... I miss you so, so much...
Then, she is interrupted by something. She turns around and sees a kitten. The latter runs to her; Lina squats down and examines the little creature. She takes him in her arms and gently starts rubbing his back. She draws a faint smile.
Lina takes the kitten with her and walks down the streets. She passes next to a diner and stares at the few people who were in there. With her kitten in her arms, Lina enters the diner, and a waitress approaches her. The waitress sees a young woman shivering, barely standing on her feet, with an empty look on her face, a cut on her right cheek, and her eyes swollen. For the waitress, there is no doubt, Lina is a junkie, and she starts to be aggressive with her.
Waitress: We are closed!
Lina: But there are people in there! (she says with a trembling voice).
Waitress: (she says with a haughty attitude) Yeah! But those people are REAL customers! (then looking at the kitten in Lina's arms) and pets are not allowed!
Lina: (muttering) I just need to go to the bathroom...
Waitress: (sneering) And why is that? So that you can shoot yourself with a needle in there? (then with a very menacing tone and pausing at each word) Get-the-hell-out!
Lina: (putting a hand into her pocket and taking from it 50 dollars) Here, take that and let me use your bathroom, please... if you want more, here it is (she takes 100 dollars from her pocket) Will this be enough to use your bathroom?
The woman hesitates, then takes the money and puffs. Lina finally heads to the bathrooms, puts the kitten down, and looks at her reflection in the mirror. She sees a broken and miserable person. Her long black wavy hair covering her ears suited her caramel-colored skin. Her hair is the only thing that she still finds beautiful. Yet, she hated herself. She clinches her fists, then takes her pocketknife. She stares at her reflection one last time, and tears start to roll down her cheeks. She takes a lock of hair and starts cutting it and goes on and on, violently tearing off each lock of hair while crying, until the whole floor is covered with her hair. She took it all off. She stops crying and stares at her reflection, she sees a new person with a pixie haircut. She wipes her tears and picks her hair from the floor and puts it in a trash can. Then, she takes the kitten in her arms and leaves the diner.
YOU ARE READING
As Long as I Breathe...
RomanceLina arrives in the United States alongside her four-year-old little sister Sarah. Both have fled their country because of the war that took Lina's parents' lives. For Lina, the United States represented an opportunity to start from scratch and put...
