It Was Time

BLAKE

“Ouch!” Blake exclaimed as he stepped back in pain, leaning down to grab his foot.

“Maybe you should watch where you’re going!” snapped the woman who had just dragged a huge shiny onyx hard covered suitcase over his foot.

The slim blonde woman rushed past him, covering her face. As her eyes darted up to his for a split second, she made eye contact with him and then looked away.

Blake couldn’t be sure, but it felt like there was a glint of a smile beneath the look in her eyes as she flashed past him.

A complex fragrance filled with essential oils carried her scent through the air and spread deep into his lungs. He couldn’t help but smile from the impact.

She reminded him vaguely of someone from a long time ago. But he couldn’t figure out where from.

And anyway… it couldn’t be someone he knows… not here.

And not now.

He smiled, took out his small black notebook and fountain pen and scribbled a few notes down before the inspiration disappeared.

He took a deep breath, stuffed the notebook back into his back pocket and sighed with melancholy. He continued towards Moment, his favourite juice bar.

“Morning Blake! Let me guess, you’re having the black magic smoothie today?” The young bubbly server asked.

“You got it!” Blake smiled back at her. He was a creature of habit now.

He sat down at his favourite bar table to await his order, slowly taking in the day.

Busy people walked by talking on their phones, cars were driving past. Time was simply going by. Blake had learned to slow down these past few years.

Across the road, a small black dog tied to a bike rack was staring straight at him wisely, giving him a mysterious look. It was almost as if this dog was the one Blake had the most in common with these days.

Blake shook his head and looked away, pulling out his laptop. He intended to spend a few hours this morning getting lost in his notes.

But his mind kept coming back to the dull ache in his left foot.

He smiled again, reminded of the cute woman carrying the suitcase that was entirely too big for her.

And her lingering scent…

He decided to play his favourite game. He started making up a story about her life.

Hmm… she could be a lawyer. No, she was far too erratic. And dressed far too fashionably.

She could be a teacher… perhaps… but what kind? A piano teacher? Maybe her suitcase was full of sheet music and a roll-out keyboard. No. That would be too boring for her.

Maybe she is a housekeeper…

Immediately Blake felt a flash of energy rush through his body and groin as his creative mind imagined her dressed up in a sexy maid outfit… with bright red lipstick and immediately all the things he would do to a woman like that.

It had been a long time he had been with a woman. It had been years….

He realised it was even before that night; the night he had lost everything.

Blake slammed the laptop lid down and quickly placed his hands on his lap.

Within a split second, there was a hand in front of his face holding a smoothie “Here you go! Black Magic for you Blake.”

He took the smoothie from the server and smiled nervously at her.

“Thank God nobody can read my thoughts! “ he thought to himself as he took his first sip of magic.

---

BLAIR

“Thank God nobody can read my thoughts!” Blair sang to herself, thinking of the delicious man in the street she had somewhat injured with her suitcase.

"Now is not the time for boys Blair." she said firmly to herself.

Blair rolled the suitcase into the front door of her small apartment and threw it on the lounge room floor with a loud thud.

She took a deep breath and unlocked the big blue padlock on the top and unzipped the case.

As she threw the cover open she took another deep breath and pulled her black violin case and sheet music off the top few layers of the suitcase.

Once she had dug down to the bottom and found what she was looking for she exclaimed ‘Thank God!’.

$20,000. In cash.

Just like she said.

Before she could reach into the pile to start counting, she saw something that made her stomach turn.

A mobile phone was sitting on the top of the pile of money with a folded note of scrap paper.

She opened the note and it read, ‘Answer the phone Blair.'

Immediately after reading the note, the mobile started to ring.

Her heart skipped a beat. She realised they must be here, in the house.

There was no other way they could know the exact moment that she had read the note.

She jumped up and quickly grabbed a handful of the cash and the only weapon she could find, her violin, and bolted towards the front door.

As she reached the front door, she heard heavy footsteps coming down from the upstairs hall.

Her heart pounded. She quickly pushed the heavy front door open as she stepped outside and quickly turned the lock before she slammed the door closed behind her.

She ran.

At that moment, the rain started falling.

Heavy, fat rain.

She laughed and cried at the same time as her short legs moved as quickly as they could.

“Just my fucking luck.” She laughed.

She imagined what she must look like.

A crazy blonde lady, running, in the rain, laughing, with a fist full of cash in one hand and violin case in the other.

She realised it didn’t look good.

So she quickly stuffed the cash into her jacket pocket and out of sight.

“Quick get somewhere public. Get somewhere public.” She thought to herself.

---

BLAKE

“Quick get somewhere private, get somewhere private.” Blake thought to himself. No matter what he did to try to focus, he still couldn’t calm himself down.

He took a few sips of his smoothie and stood up to leave. He thought he better leave to go home.

He left the juice bar and started walking towards his home. It was only a few blocks.

But as soon as he approached Ravenbridge tunnel he paused.

He heard the strangest sound echoing out of the tunnel walls.

A sound he hadn't heard in years.

Not since.

Not since that night at the concert.

The night he lost everything.

Blake knew exactly what it was.

It was the sound of the song he listened to on repeat for years after that night…

Time - by Hans Zimmer.

The stunning solo was being played on the violin… and the sounds echoing out from the tunnel drew Blake nearer.

Memories of his past flooded into his mind as the music grew louder.

As he turned the corner, he saw her playing. She was surrounded by a growing gathering of people under the Ravenbridge tunnel.

The music nudged memories and emotions out from the darkest depths within Blake’s soul.

It was her.

Her head was tilted to the side on the violin with her eyes shut as she played. She was beautiful. It was beautiful.

Her wet blonde hair was falling to the side… and between the strands of wet hair, he could see now that it was a wig. Her dark curly locks peeked out from underneath.

It was her underneath it all.

It was her.

It was time.

He stood in the crowd and watched person after person connecting to the emotion in the music and gently placing money on top of the growing pile.

She opened her eyes briefly between notes to spot two men nearing in the distance. The look on her face as she saw them was a blend of both despair and acceptance.

As she reached the song's final chords, she looked towards Blake. Her eyes pleaded with him and then looked back at the men as they drew closer to the crowd.

Blake glanced at the men in the distance, pulled out his small black notebook and realised that he knew exactly who they were.

He knew exactly who she was.

And he knew exactly what to do.

It was time.