Page 76 of Nemesync
The old lady approaches me smiling. “Those eyes and beautiful hair?” She gently grabs onto my hair, “In Italy, your hair could have caused a war.”
I chuckle gratefully and shake my head.
She’s beautiful. Old but elegant; petite, brunette, with the kind of eyes that made people fall in love with her. She looks so compassionate.
Nothing feels fake in the way she acts right now. I think it’s the first time I have seen a human that is so immaculate.
“Thank you, that’s very kind, I think?”
Niko quickly takes the floor. “We’d need a special outfit.”
“Special? What do you mean, special?” Julia asks, hand on her hip.
Nikolai briefs her on what he needs while I wander around, looking at the beautiful clothes.
Fabrics of all colors, dresses, costumes. I wonder what they’re for.
“Julia was an old friend of my mother. She handles a part of our trafficking operations in the Cosa Nostra, smuggling stolen luxury clothes and suits from europe. I needed someone trustworthy to get an outfit like this and avoid being seen,” Niko says, coming closer behind me.
Interesting. That’s actually satisfying knowing that this woman is at the head of it.
Something about Niko is that he never talks about his mother, or his family in general. It’s a mystery and I don’t think he wants to talk about it. So, I don’t push him.
“Do you think I’ll manage it, honestly Niko?”
“It’s simple. How much do you want to get answers to your questions, Zanae?”
If he knew how much I was willing to do to reach the day when I’d face him, the man who took everything from me. Whose face is only a memory.
The man who destroyed the little life I had left.
I was ready to go to hell.
I’d be willing to do anything for that. In fact, the only thing that makes me feel alive is this desire for vengeance, and his best friend too…
“To the point where I ally myself with my family’s enemies and give them the benefit of the doubt and a part of my trust,” I answer, smiling.
“There you have it; you have your answer, Little Z.”
“I hope so.”
Julia returns with an outfit in a bag, “I hope the size is right. I guessed by looking at you,” she says, a beautiful smile on her lips.
“Thank you, Julia.”
As we’re about to leave, she approaches me, smiling sadly and says, “You resemble her a lot. You’re as beautiful as your mom was; Take care,Mia Figlia.”
Before I can ask her what she meant, she leaves, and Niko pulls my arm to exit.
What was she talking about? My mother? She knew my mother. I never knew her. She left us at my birth and the night she abandoned us she had a car accident that killed her. Julia said “was”, so she’s dead. I always hoped that she would survive somehow and reconnect with her one day.
Every little girl needs a mother, and I haven’t got the chance to.
I had no photos of her. I didn’t know what she was like or if she was liked or not. I knew nothing about her. Julia seemed to know. And the way Nikolai quickly got me out of there before I could ask questions, seems suspicious.
“She knew my mother?” I ask, in a small voice, almost hesitant.
“Yes, she knew her. I didn’t know her, but I’ve heard of her.”
