I was waiting at the café for Rebecca to arrive. She was quite late, which is unusual for her, and I was getting quite annoyed. I sipped on my coffee at my outside table and watched people walk down the street, mostly fellow college students. Poor suckers. They still had to worry about homework and finals.
A woman I had never seen before sat down in front of me before I had even realized she was there. She was oriental, Japanese probably. She was young, a little younger than I was. She was fairly short. Maybe 5 foot, but it was hard to tell with her sitting down. She had long dark hair that went past her shoulders, and brown eyes. She had a thin slender body. She was very beautiful.
“Hi! Sorry I’m late,” in a high pitched happy tone and a big smile. Puzzled I waited for her to introduce herself and explain why she was here, but she began signaling the waitress. Obviously she wasn’t going to offer any explanation.
“Who are you?”
Shocked by my question she took a moment to reply, “Oh, you don’t know me.” Another moment passed as she straightened her napkins and silver ware.
“Hence the inquiry of who you are,” I said speaking clearly.
“Oh right. I’m…let’s say Jewel,” she said and smiled. At first I thought she was insane, but the more I studied her the more I convinced myself I was wrong. Her eyes portrayed wisdom, and her demeanor exuded confidence.
Before either of us could speak the waitress appeared asking for an order. Jewel ordered a black tea extra sweet. She made eye contact with the waitress, gave her a pleasant smile, and thanked her. The waitress smiled back, as if that one moment turned her worst day of her life into her best.
“I’m a friend of, um. What did she call her self? Rebecca! I’m afraid she can’t make it today, or any day for the foreseeable future.” She spoke with a look of sympathy on her face. “Before you ask, explanations are in this letter.” She sat a letter in a sealed envelop on the table, but kept it on her side of the table with her hand over it.
“Why?” It was all I could think or say as my heart sank. “Is she ok?”
“She will be fine,” Jewel said in a firmly tone. “She is just gone. It is for the best, I think. Our life is complicated, and not for…most people.”
“Tell me what is going on. I might be able to help. I want to help,” I pleaded. My mind raced with all the things that could possibly be going on. Drugs maybe? Jewel didn’t seem the type, and Rebecca definitely wasn’t. What then?
“It is Rebecca’s right to tell you or not tell you what she deems appropriate. Besides, you wouldn’t be able to help,” she said as the waitress delivered her tea.
“I need to know what is going on,” I said, but she ignored me.
I looked at the letter. The answers must be in there. She moved her hand to lift the tea for a sip. My eyes followed her hands all the way to her mouth. She had no rings on. In fact, she had no jewelry on at all. She didn’t even have her ears pierced, which I thought ironic considering the name she had chosen for herself.
I quickly reached for the letter while her hands were occupied with her tea. Her hand appeared over the leader again, or so it seemed to me. She moved amazingly fast.
“Not so fast. I just got my tea. I’m sure you can wait until I’m done. Besides I would hate to ruin the opportunity to get to know you better,” she said smiling again. Annoyed I wanted to demand she give me Rebecca’s letter, but that would have gotten me nowhere.
“Why the letter? Why couldn’t she explain it to me in person? Is it really that bad?” I asked.
“Honestly, yes, but that isn’t the reason why she isn’t here. She is more courageous then you give her credit for. Besides if that were it, I would rip up the letter and kick her ass all the way here. She couldn’t be here.”
“Please, tell me about yourself,” she continued. “You grew up in foster care yes? How did that go for you? I hear they are not all that bad these days, well better then they use to be in my time anyways.”
She continued her inquisition into my life, with a pleasant voice and a smile. I answered robotically and with terseness. My thoughts were on Rebecca. What kind of trouble was she in? Why doesn’t she trust me to help her? It was overwhelming. If only this women would let me read the letter.
Her questioning continued on for 30 minutes as she slowly sipped her tea down to nothing. After asking for the letter for about the 100th time, she finally relented and handed it over saying, “It was pleasant having tea with you. I hope we will have a chance to do it again sometime.”
I hesitated opening it. I just held it in my hands staring at my name with Rebecca’s writing. Now that I held the answer in my hand, do I really want to know? There was something else in the envelope. It was some small object.
I looked up, but Jewel had disappeared. There was no sign of her anywhere.
I took a deep breath, summoned the courage from somewhere inside me, and opened the letter. I ignored the small object, whatever it was, and unfolded the letter and read:
I love you.
I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you this in person. It seems I have so little time nowadays, which is ironic. I hope you will forgive me.
I’m afraid I have been harming you for my own benefit. It was wonderful getting to know the man you have become, even if it was under false pretenses. I’m sorry for the emotional distress it has caused. That was never my intention.
I also fear I have placed your life in grave danger. Again I was being selfish, and again, I am sorry.
I’m afraid I can’t and may not ever be able to offer you a full explanation. However, I realize now it was wrong for me to hide everything from you. When next we meet, we will have a long talk, although it may not be for years. Please stay safe and wait for me. Above all else, find happiness. I promise I will find you again when I am able. Until then, please keep my most cherished possession.
I love you.
I opened the envelope to retrieve the object inside. It was a ring, my mother’s ring.
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