In Other Places

I awoke the next morning with a bit of a hangover. Rent had kept his promise to me, I had fun; and no women were mistreated by my stupid heart. Unfortunately, it was getting close to time for me to head out. I was going to be flying for seventeen hours, all the way from Bridgeport to Shang Simla, China.

I was way excited, there were millions of people in China, that meant way bigger crowds and way more pressure on me. I begged Rent to come with me. He refused.

“You’re a pretty awesome dude, Crow. I just can’t leave my sister. Maybe when you get back, we could hang out again someday.”

I felt so alone as I boarded the plane, at least I would have time to sleep off this killer headache. I popped a sleeping pill in my mouth and leaned back in my chair.

Time flew by, literally. I woke up just as I was landing in China. As I stepped off the plane, I was greeted by paparazzi snapping photos of me.

My show started in two hours, my agent really liked to get things done and out of the way. I learned that I wasn’t going to be playing in a venue or a stadium. I was given a center of town to do my thing. I thought it was strange, with such a large crowd to be expected, why couldn’t I have been given a larger place to perform?

Turns out, people in China aren’t really big fans of American hard rock. I think there was close to fifty people there, mostly all just tourists who had heard of me.

I still tried to give them a fun show. It was kind of nice to have just a small audience for once, it felt a little more personal. My music just wasn’t the same, however, without having Rent there.

I felt like a lousy guitar player, who sang in the streets. After I was done, there was not big encore chant. The viewers just meandered away except for a few excited fans who wanted autographs.

I was about to head to my hotel when I noticed a shy girl standing across the square looking at me with a pained expression. She was beautiful though, and I knew that I just had to meet her.

Her name was Amika. She was a geisha and was to be wed the next week to her father’s friend. He was a heavier man who ruled with an iron fist. She asked me if I would help her celebrate her last few days of freedom.

I knew what she wanted, I knew I should have said no to her. I should have kept my promise to Rent. She was just so beautiful and her skin was like silk. I gently showed her the ways of the world and she hungrily accepted.

Afterwards, I did not tell her to leave; nor did she run away with a smug look. We simply laid in bed next to each other and talked. It was as though we were best friends. Yet, she was a total stranger.

The following day, I was on another plane. This time headed to Champes Les Sims, France. It was a quiet country town that was famous for its fine wine and scenic views. Way off in the distance, you could see the Eiffel tower.

In the center of the strip mall, there was a stone stage built. This was where I was to perform my music. Once again the crowd was small. I happily played my music, even if it was strange to be playing in another street.

The whole time I played, I couldn’t take my eyes away from the petite French beauty who sat at the food court, enjoying my music.

She never looked my way, I didn’t really care too much. My songs were all second nature to me, and I could play them with my eyes closed. I focused my energy into my guitar, but my mind was on her.

After my show, it didn’t take long for her to follow me into the hotel room. She told me she was recently widowed and needed a night of fun to bring back her spirits.

Part of me wondered if it wasn’t her intention all along after we undressed and I saw the undergarments she had been hiding. None-the-less, she was fantastic and fun to spend an evening with.

The following day, I went out and toured a little. I made myself some wine, which ended up worse then nasty. I got to go on a hiking trail through the woods and even fished a little in one of the small creeks. It made me think back to my childhood when my dad took our family fishing.

For the first time in a long time, I thought about my dad. I questioned whether or not he would be proud of me. I wasn’t even sure if I was proud of myself.

I had a lot going through my mind that afternoon as I stared out the jet’s windows as we flew away from France.

I was on my way to Al Simhara, Egypt. My last oversea destination. I was grateful for only having to be away for two more days. I wanted to get home to Riverview. I wanted to see Connie again, and Layla and Zackary. Mostly, I just wanted to be close to Connie. I had decided that as soon as I got home, I would go over and see her and try to make things right between us.

First things first, I had to give an outstanding show in Egypt. This one was a big one, I knew for a fact that this one would be huge. I knew this because not only was I playing my awesome music, but they were also debuting a new stage at the pyramid-themed amusement park and I was going to be the first musician to play there!

I was breathless when I saw the stage.

Egypt sure knew how to have a concert! The whole area was packed with people. And there I was, alone on the stage, screaming out my lyrics and wailing on the guitar. It was like a rocker’s dream come true. I told myself that after this, I would be content to never do it again.

As had become my new theme, I dressed myself as a vampire. It went with the whole undead, Egyptian thing. Well, for the most part anyways. I really had some fans going, after the concert they were asking me what it was like to be a vampire. Thanks to my imagination, I gave them some stories they will be sure to pass down to their kids!

After the show, I was checking out the park when I ran into a pretty lady named Aria.

Her mother and father were ancient Egyptian historians. They named her Aria after the daughter of Diogenes. She told me that she wasn’t of any egyptian descent, yet her family had raised her out there and she loved the country despite its dry climate.

I listened to her ramble on and on about her family and about egyptian history. Eventually I had enough and pulled her into my arms and kissed her. She was surprised, but she didn’t push me away. It didn’t take long for things to get heated, and before I knew it, I was standing under the light of the moon in nothing but my boxers.

It was an exciting feeling, that is until I heard a cough behind me.

It was a reporter, he wanted to interview me, as well as take some photos. I realized that I still had my vampire makeup on, so I decided to see just how realistic this disguise was.

I walked over to the man and grabbed his arm, “How about, no interview, but you let me take just a sip of your blood. I’m rather parched and could use a midnight snack.”

The poor reporter looked terrified, “I….I… My boss… He told me to get the story or don’t come back…. Please… I have family!”

I laughed and opened my mouth wide, acting as though I was going to really take a bite out of his arm.

“Okay! Okay! No interviews! I never liked this job! I wanted to be a chef!” The scared man ran off; leaving me to Aria.

I wrapped my arms around her again, but this time she pushed me away.

“I just don’t feel like it anymore. The moment is lost, sorry.”

I told her not to worry. The rest of the night we sat under the stars and I listened to her go on and on about more Egyptian history.

As the morning light began to peek out over the horizon, I cut her off and asked, “Are you in the mood yet? I have to go pretty soon.”

She looked startled by my rude comment. Really, it came out worse sounding than I had meant it to.

“Listen up you jerk! I’m not just a toy, I am a lady! Why don’t you just get out of here and go catch your stupid plane!”

Before I even had a chance to apologize, she slapped me across the face.

Aria stormed off, grabbing her clothes as she went. I put on my clothes as well and headed back to the airport. At long last, my time had come to go back to Riverview. I couldn’t have been more elated.

Chapter Seven: Home Again