The armored car, transporting Alexander and Mila back to the Ritz-Carlton, inched its way out of the museum. Even with the police patrol blocking streets, allowing cars to ease safely into the stream of vehicles, they couldn’t get farther than a mile away.
Mila peered out the window like a hunter spying on her prey. She spotted a couple crossing the sidewalk, and followed them with her gaze as they merged with the pedestrians going about in both directions. Then, she rested her head on Alexander’s shoulder looking at how gently he cradled her hand between his own.
“Alexander, before the car gets any farther, I’d like to…” Mila whispered to his ear.
“I think I know what it’s about,” Alexander answered softly, nodding his agreement.
Mila kissed his cheek moved by love and gratefulness.
Alexander called the driver’s attention. “I’m afraid we’ve changed our mind. Please, leave us here and take the rest of the night off.”
The driver pulled over, and the couple got out of the vehicle quickly. Mila trembled with excitement and fear. The fast pounding of her heart made her dizzy.
“Are you sure about this?” asked Alexander, although knowing what Mila would answer and why she needed to chase after her past.
“Completely. I must find out who he is.”
“Be careful. Remember that we may not be alone.” Alexander kissed her lips longingly as if it would be the last.
Mila nodded, immersed in his loving gaze. She adjusted her thin overcoat over her dress and walked away.
“I’ll wait here,” whispered Alexander as he entered a street bar.
There was only a slice of the moon above them, yet lampposts lit the way. Mila kept her distance from the couple. They strolled like two friends on a warm summer night a few blocks away. The woman was hooked on to his arm while the man kept his hands in his suit’s pockets. Mila moved like a ghost, slipping through cracks, blending in with the streets, mingling with the people passing her in both directions.
Finally, the couple arrived at the door of a condominium on the corner of a triangular street. Mila studied her surroundings from around the corner, there was a park with old-world air across and streets with renovated townhouses. The man waved the woman goodbye. There wasn’t a kiss, Mila noted. The man crossed the street to the darkness of the park and sat at a bench. Mila walked from tree to tree, approaching him cautiously from behind, without a plan.
“You are welcome to sit by my side, Mila.” Eli patted the space beside him.
Mila hesitated before sitting on the bench which was surrounded by shadows and shrubs. It was a fit place to have a clandestine talk undisturbed. Only professionals with lots of things to hide would pick a meeting point such as that shielded bench. “Who are you really, Mr. Roth?”
“Actually, the question is who are you, Mila? I see you still enjoy night walks. The woman I knew loved night walks as well. Two years ago, she took a walk on a freezing night in her pajamas because she couldn’t sleep.” Eli chuckled and turned to look at her. “Anyhow, Mr. Lyashenko shouldn’t let you walk alone. Nights here aren’t as safe as the nights in peaceful Cajamarca.”
“I know how to take care of myself.”
“I know. You’ve learned to take care of yourself and fight from birth.” Eli offered her a sad smile. “You’ve always been a fighter in every way.” His hands rested inside his pockets, resisting the impulse to hold her hand.
Mila kept her gaze ahead, her heart completely overwhelmed. “How do we know each other?” Mila faced him, her eyes burning for containing her tears.
“I am the man who loved someone very much like you,” answered Eli with lingering sorrow. He studied her face. She hadn’t changed physically, but the spark in her eyes when looking at him like a cheerful child, was gone.
“What was she like?” asked Mila in a tremulous whisper.
“She looked like you. She was a delicate, very feminine woman, with a strong heart. But it was the innocence of her soul that made her beautiful.”
“How did you meet her?”
“Her mother, Flora Ferro, hired me to be her daughter’s academic challenge, so to speak. That’s all it was at first, but it got complicated because I fell in love with her.”
“Where was that?”
“Peru.”
“Was she Peruvian?”
“Yes, by birth, but she also had lived in many countries.”
“Did she have a family?” Mila closed her eyes tightly to stop her tears.
“The best family in the world. She grew up with the love of an admirable mother and under the tutelage of a man who, although not her father, loved them both with every fiber of his being.”
“What about her father? Why was she raised by someone else other than her real father?” Mila asked, knowing David had worked with Masae. Eli’s answer would reveal whether his claim of knowing her was true.
“Because he sacrificed his life to protect a great secret and those he loved. He worked for the person claiming to be your mother.”
“What do you think happened to the woman you loved?”
“Masae kidnapped her. She disappeared as if she had been swallowed up by the earth. But we never stopped looking for her, and when until finally Masae let her out…” Eli let out a resigned and deep sigh. “The Mila I knew might have been forever altered like a lab rat by Masae’s command.”
“Mila… Ferro…” she stammered, feeling the force of her name fill the gaps in her mind. Mila faced Eli’s teary eyes. It was too late to run away from the truth. “What happened to my real mother?” Mila gripped his hand.
“Your mother Flora was an amazing woman, with an incredible inner strength, but her heart was sick and one day it stopped the fight.”
“Did I love you, Eli?” Mila peered into his turquoise eyes.
“I believe so,” Eli replied, desolated, trying to hold the reins of the pain contained in his chest.
“I’m not the woman you met. I don’t remember, I’m so sorry!” she replied, wiping the last of her tears with the back of her hands. She sighed and shook her pain away. She regained control of her emotions and sheltered herself inside her iron shell.
Eli didn’t say anything. The pain of losing Mila although she was sitting next to him was heart wrenching. He listened to the wind swaying the trees around the bench; a storm was approaching.
“What if her actions have gone too far? What if that soul you knew is dead? What if there is too much at stake?” Mila murmured under her breath, feeling angry flames burning in her chest.
“Mila, you’re not alone in your internal war. You have me and a whole team of friends who love you. You’ve lost your memory… Do you know what they did to you?” Eli resisted holding her. But he knew better than to force his way into her life as fragile as her mind was. He took out of his pocket a tiny piece of paper. “Come to this address if you want to know more and see the rest of us…the people who never stopped looking for you.” Eli placed the paper with Eldad Shalit’s address in her hand.
Mila read the note and returned it cautiously, committing it to mind. She lowered her gaze and walked away. And Eli watched her disappear into the shadows.