One Apple A Day #64
The guinea pig - Prologue
Chris and Anna stand in front of the big window in the leaving room. They keep staring at their front yard. What once was their gracious garden is turning into a muddy pond. Anna observes the roses that she carefully aligned on both sides of the pathway. They use to stand tall, with their red and white flowers gleaming to welcome the guests. Now they are all curled on themselves, in a last desperate and vain effort to shield from the rage of the sky.
The rain has been pouring down for the last five days. The cold wind from the lowland has amassed a herd of dark clouds against the mountains. The whole valley hasn’t seen any hint of blue in a week.
Not the best weather to welcome someone in his new life. The small playground that Chris has prepared on the backyard is almost gone. It will have to make it again. But he’s not worried. All his life has been like that. A long sequence of problems to solve, wreckages to restore, life to rebuild. This is why they call him the phoenix. This plus the fact that he has been killed a few times but he always came back.
They spot the car only when it’s almost arrived. If it weren’t for the beams of the headlights, they wouldn’t see them at all.
“They’re here, are you ready?”
“No, I’m not Anna. I think I’m getting too old for this. But it doesn’t make any difference, is it?”
“No, it doesn’t. Who knows, maybe it’s the last time.”
“Maybe.”
Chris opens the door. The car is stopped in the pathway, the engine still running when the doors open.