Me Llamo Tokio (My Name Is Tokyo) - A Money Heist Prequel

Chapter 21 - Reunited

You can't stop the passing of time. It flies, no matter how you feel it. Whether you think it's too fast or you're waiting for an eternity, the time is passing at its own pace, ignoring you and your wishes. And, for me, it passed harder than I imagined.
The second day after I woke up, I tried to sit, but I immediately fell back on the pillows. But, in the next days, with Tatiana's help, I started to walk around the room.
She was always coming to me to bring me food and medicine, to ask me how I was feeling. We were having small conversations about unimportant stuff, but this is how I found out that the painting in my room was a Caravaggio.
"Right from Christie's vault." she told me with a smile.
I quickly realized that Tatiana was in the business too and she was a pro. Stealing from shops is something really easy comparing to entering in the vault of one of the most known auction houses in the world.
"Aren't they looking for it?" I asked.
"No." she replied with a laugh. "They already sold it. I mean, not this one."
"So you switched it with a forgery?"
"Yes." she said melancholically. "Me and my husband."
For sure she and her husband were the perfect couple.
"We even had time to fuck in the vault until the alarm went off."
I laughed. They were really the dream couple. And, for a second, I imagined me and Juan doing the same thing, but, maybe, somewhere bigger, like the bank of Spain.
I was feeling like Juan's absence was making time pass really slow, including my healing. In a way, all I was thinking about was him and how I'm being stuck here, while he's out there risking his life. God knows if I'll ever see him again.
After a few more days, Tatiana brought me a silver cane, one with intricate details and a big ruby on the handle. I couldn't stop wondering from where she stole this one too. But this is how I went out of my room and started to discover her house.
The building was impressive. An old Spanish villa built on a hill with a small lake in the garden that was almost double the house and filled with all sorts of plant species and arbors. The interior was exclusively decorated with antiques, each of them coming with a story of how they've been stolen.
From that day on, I started to eat with her in a small dining room. She was having a lot of people who were taking care of the place, and I couldn't stop wondering how comes that no one is saying anything to the police.
"In this world, anything has a price." she told me one day. "The art, the people. There's no difference. They all can be bought. But there's something that can't and that's loyalty. Never forget the ones who are loyal to you, because they are the ones who will give their life for you."
I nodded. She was right. Loyalty is a thing that simply exists or not. You can't make someone be loyal to you, not even if you're trying to buy them. One day, when another person will offer more, they won't be with you anymore.
"In this business, loyalty is the most important thing." Tatiana continued. "No matter if it's your husband, your boyfriend or an entire gang, once you're out there with them in the middle of the robbery, you never switch sides. You left with them and you'll come back with them and, in case things don't go as planned, you die with them. There's no in between."
I decided that this is a good principle to follow. I'm crazy and unstable, but in no case I want to end up being looked at like I'm a traitor too.
The days passed, and I realized that Tatiana is really someone who inspires me. We started to have longer conversations about deeper subjects, such as robberies and how you should act with your partners during a heist.
"He's out with my husband." she said one night before I was about to enter my room. "He needed someone, and since no one knew when you'll wake up, Juan decided to go and help him."
Juan... always the one who's helping people.
"Thanks." I said and closed the door after me without saying goodnight.
I wonder why she was telling me this now. Was it because we started to get closer to each other or because she was worried that her husband won't return?
I threw myself on the bed, not giving a damn about the huge wave of pain that hits my body. It was my first day of walking without any support, but I still had to take care of not hurting myself. It wasn't the case now as I started to cry.
Pain, frustration and the constant feeling of missing Juan were some of the many reasons that were getting out of my eyes alongside with the tears. And I cried until I saw the sun's rays coming through the curtains, telling me that another day has just begun and it's time to get some rest so that I can feel it lasted less.
I dreamt of him. His lips on mine, his touch, his smile. I think I cried in my sleep too, feeling that he's worried and not knowing how to reach him and tell him that I'm okay.