Chapter 2: Art Imitating Death

Spending time with Elliott took over all Yuri’s spare time.  After handling business at the gallery and checking on her online consumers, the days were hers to do as she pleased.  Of course there were the days when she had to close shop but other than that, the moment she crossed through the gallery’s doors she was a free woman.  On one particular day, Elliott decided to court Yuri in a special way.  Two months had passed since their initial date, so he wanted to do something special for their “month-iversary”.  Elliott knew how much she loved flowers.  There wasn’t one flower especially...just ALL flowers...down to the dandelion weed.   Yuri painted flowers all of the time and felt they all had their own special beauty.  In a sincere attempt to let her know he saw her heart and spirit, Elliott set out to recreate some of Yuri’s paintings.  One painting was a field of sunflowers in abstract, so Elliott snuck in her loft and transformed it into a field.  Most recently in tribute to their first date, Yuri had painted two daisies in a vase, one red the other yellow with a background of tussled sheets on a bed.  He recreated this scene to commemorate the first time they’d made love.  Last but not least, there was the picture of red rose heads crowded and floating in a tub with one single white rose head among them...he made this materialize as well.   He knew it was Yuri’s night to close the gallery.   He knew she would be home between 10:30 and 10:40, so he went to the Silver Platter and ordered a dinner of orange-glazed lamb chops with scented jasmine rice and house salads.  Elliott purchased some wine, a bouquet made up of twelve different flowers; a lily, tulip, chrysanthemum, rose, jasmine, orchid, bird of paradise, peony, carnation, magnolia, gladiola and a daisy, as well as a surprise gift.  He got to her loft in enough time to set the table, warm the food, and chill the wine.  Just as he was uncorking the wine, the lock turned and the door opened.  The first thing she saw was the field of sunflowers.  Tears fell from her eyes as she covered her mouth in awe.  She hugged him and said, “You are SO sweet Ell...you know how to melt a woman.”  Elliott beamed with pride.  “I want you to know always that I see into your soul, baby, and anything you need I will break my ass to supply.”  Elliott responded.   A chill crept up Yuri’s spine and a desire to run came about.  Did he say he could see into my soul?  She thought to herself that maybe he was getting too close to her.  She was in love with Elliott, but hadn’t she been in love with the others, too?  Why did they always need so much?  The thoughts were swimming erratically in her head, and momentarily she got dizzy.   A moment to her was several minutes in real time, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Elliott standing over her calling her name.  He had picked her up from the floor and carried her to the couch.  Yuri tried to sit up, but lay back down after feeling light-headed again.   “Are you okay, Yuri?  You fainted and were out cold for a few minutes.” Elliott told her.  She sat up slowly on the couch and said, “it’s just that I haven’t had a meal since 3 o’clock this afternoon...I’ll be fine.”  Clearly Yuri was trying to deflect from the problem, so Elliott figured he would let it go and just feed her.  Dinner was served, the recreated paintings were recreated again via digital cam...and the bath had been utilized.  They made love, after which Elliott gave Yuri her gift...a 2.5 princess cut “promise ring” for her right hand.  “When you decide that you want to be Mrs. Carver, I will place the ring on your left hand and announce to the world our love.  Yuri accepted his promise with a wide smile and a long smooch.   In the middle of the night, Yuri got up and walked over to the window.  She opened it slightly to let in the night air.  The breeze felt good across her face.  She looked over at Elliott while he lay asleep and smiled at the thought of a man capable of keeping promises.  She settled into that thought and then looked out the window.  Fear set in and she looked back at Elliott to make sure he was still sleeping.  She turned back to the window, now staring at him stare at her.  Hanley was standing near the bush outside her loft looking up at her...but this time he wasn’t alone.  Jon was standing right next to Hanley.  Yuri hadn’t seen Jon in a while...not since her first year in college had Jon come to her.  They both stood outside staring up at her, knowing her secrets and judging her for them.  The look on Jon’s face was different from the one on Hanley’s face.  Jon wore an expression of confusion, while Hanley always seemed sad.  Usually seeing Hanley sent Yuri for a loop...but because Jon was there, she felt compelled to talk to him.  Yuri put on her robe and slippers and headed downstairs.  When she reached the area where they had been standing, Hanley left and Jon stayed.  “Hello, Yuri.  It’s been a long time hasn’t it?” Jon said.  He was wearing the clothes he died in and he looked like he had just stepped out of the shower.  Yuri tried to ignore the dripping and responded, “Yes, it’s been a while...so why are you here?  What is it you want from me?”  “I need your forgiveness.  We hurt you back then and I am sorry.  I need you to forgive me so I can move on.” He said.  Yuri asked him, “Why should I forgive you?  You and Ayanna are the reason why I am this way.  You created me...this insane, hallucinating murderess.  How did you find me after all these years anyway?”  Jon answered, “Hanley showed me how to reach you.  He said you that you didn’t believe he wanted you…and that you weren’t to blame.”  Yuri was now livid.  How dare this dead person judge her?   “Look, Jon...You need to leave.  I am in love now, and I have asked God to forgive me for the things I’ve done, but I don’t owe you anything, not even forgiveness.  You can roast in hell.” She said.  By this time, Elliott had awakened and noticed Yuri wasn’t in the bed.  He searched the apartment for her to no avail, when he heard faint talking.  He went over to the window following the sound and looked down.  Yuri was talking, but there was no one there.  He threw his pants and shoes on and rushed down to her.  When he saw her, she was talking intently to what was obviously a bush.  He called her name but she didn’t answer.  “YURI” he yelled.  “Who are you talking to?”  Yuri heard him and turned to face him.  “I...I don’t know.  How did I get out here?”  She pretended.  “Were you sleepwalking, Yuri?  We need to get that checked out.  It is almost two in the morning...you could’ve gotten hurt.”  He said.  He wrapped his strong arms around her and escorted her back to bed.  He tried on several accounts to get her to divulge what had happened, but she maintained that it was an instance of restlessness caused by fatigue.  As far as she was concerned, it was not worth it to lose this wonderful man just because Hanley was a trouble maker.  Elliott sat by her side until she fell asleep.  He climbed in with her shortly after, hoping that she was okay.  Elliott wondered about the scene he had walked in on.    He decided not to make too much of it and laid down until he himself fell asleep.

A couple of days after Hanley and Jon made an appearance, Yuri received a phone call.  She was sitting behind her desk at the gallery when her secretary, Bethany alerted her to a call, “Ms. Hart, there’s an Ayanna Dennison on the line.  She says she went to high school with you.”  Yuri got nervous and couldn’t imagine what Ayanna could want from her.  Her calling was icing on top of an already unbalanced cake.  Jon had just come through for a visit, now her.  It had been eleven years since they all graduated and seeing as she and Ayanna weren’t even friends, she didn’t see why she would ever consider calling her.  “Put her through, Bethany.” Yuri said.  When the call was transferred Yuri picked up on her end and said, “Hello, Yuri Hart, may I help you?”  Ayanna who hadn’t changed a bit responded sarcastically “Cut it out, Yuri.  You know who this is...I am pretty sure your secretary is efficient and let you in on who was calling.  Don’t worry...high school is over.”  Yuri laughed uneasily.  “Hi, Ayanna.  How are you, it’s been a really long time.  What can I do for you?”  “I drove past your gallery the other day, and when inquiring from a friend about it, was told you owned it with Giselle Beaumont.  I was curious about buying a painting for my husband.  Our 5th wedding anniversary is coming up and I wanted to get him something for his office.  He loves landscapes and I noticed one in the window earlier, but I had a prior appointment.  Can I come by tomorrow and look at it? Ayanna asked.  “Sure, that is no problem, Ayanna.  I have a lunch appointment between two and three.  Is 4pm okay, by then I should have returned to the gallery.” Yuri questioned.  “Yes, thank you, Yuri.  I will see you then.” Ayanna responded.   When they hung up, Yuri sank into her chair and placed her head in her hands and sighed.  She hadn’t seen Ayanna in a long time, and didn’t know how she would react to seeing her after all this time.  She started to have Giselle conduct the meeting, but knew Ayanna would ask questions.

The next day like clockwork, Bethany buzzed Yuri to let her know Ayanna was there.  Yuri got up, adjusted her yellow tie- dyed tunic, brushed her jeans off and slipped her brown mules back on.  She headed towards the front with her heart pounding along the way.  That walk to the front was one of the longest she’d ever taken, and felt like a student walking to the Principal's office for punishment.  When she spotted Ayanna, she was shocked.  Ayanna was standing there like a supermodel.  Her green eyes were brighter than she remembered and her milk chocolate complexion made her look exotic enough to be a subject in one of her works of art.  Another surprise was that Ayanna had the most perfectly round stomach.  She was pregnant AND married.  Life had been good to Ayanna...in spite of everything.  When Ayanna laid eyes on her high school nemesis, she too felt a tinge of shock.  Yuri looked better than she remembered.  “Hi there, Ayanna...you didn’t tell me you were expecting.” Yuri said.  “I thought I would let that be a surprise...among other things.  I know you expected to see me in a wheelchair.” Ayanna pointed out.  Embarrassed that her thoughts could be read so easily, Yuri admitted her curiosity was piqued.  “Well...last I knew...I mean, weren’t you paralyzed?” Yuri wondered.  “Yes I was, but with God and therapy I was able to resume most of my motor skills.  I still get spasms in my back from time to time, but basically I am the picture of health.  This cane is my only reminder.  It was Jon that died wrong.”  Ayanna got teary-eyed momentarily and then continued.  “They never did find out who tied him to that pier near the beach.  The Martins were devastated and because of the scandal attached to their son’s death, they moved away.”  Yuri heard her words, but she also felt the meaning behind them.  As far as Yuri was concerned, everyone had always suspected her in Jon’s murder, so she felt like Ayanna was trying to hint to something.   To take the focus off of the moroseness of Jon’s death, Yuri switched the subject.  “Have a seat, Ayanna.  Let me go get the painting you were discussing interest in.  It is called, ‘A Dreamer’s Night’ and a young ingénue named, Sebastian Wilson created this picture.”  “I think his use of purple and magenta in the sky is quite nice.” Ayanna mentioned.   “Yes, Sebastian is one of our special artists.  He is legally blind.  He can barely see the canvas, but when he’s painting, he is only translating what is in his mind and spirit.  It’s even MORE spectacular to watch.” Yuri praised.  Yuri walked over to the pillar facing the window overlooking the sidewalk and removed the picture from the hook on the wall.   She placed the painting next to where Ayanna had sat.  Ayanna exhaled lightly admiring the picture’s details.  The brush strokes, the colors, the depth of shade and light.  There were no words to describe how she’d fallen in love with this painting.  “How much is it?” she asked.  Yuri pulled out several sheets clamped to a clipboard.  Flipping through, she landed on the appropriate page and found Sebastian’s name.  “This one is going for $2500.  It is fairly new to his collection.”  Yuri answered.  “You mean Sebastian has other paintings here?  I would love to take a look at them.”  Yuri guided her over to the corner of the gallery.  There were three other paintings and they were as breath-taking as the first.  Ayanna’s eyes scanned over the collection stopping at one in particular.  Her eyes welled up with tears and she held her hand over her heart.  “Are you okay, Ayanna?” Yuri asked with a concerned look.  “This picture here...the one of the ocean.  In the lower right corner, there is a pier post with the letters JM on them.  Look, do you see it?” Ayanna pointed to the initials in question.    “I never noticed that before.”  Yuri said now sweating.  With further inspection, Ayanna also noticed that there was a shoe near the post in the sand.  “Look at that...that’s a shoe there near the post.  Oh my God, this is insane, Yuri.  How could you NOT notice this?  You are an artist aren’t you?  How could you go over the details of this painting and not notice a pier post with Jon’s initials carved into it, and a shoe in the sand?” Ayanna yelled.  “I am going to have to reconsider this purchase.  I am not sure what to take from what I am looking at.  Let me go home and rethink this situation.”  Yuri was clearly thrown off.  She had never mentioned Jon’s death to anyone besides Breeya, and now a man who could barely see was now painting direct references to Jon’s murder.  “I am SO sorry, Ayanna.  I didn’t notice it, and maybe I should have.  Please, take all the time you need to come to a decision.” Yuri said.  Ayanna gathered her stuff without another word and waddled out of the gallery, shaking her head profusely.  After Ayanna was gone, Yuri walked over to the collection again.  Sure enough, the initials JM were carved into the pier post...but then she noticed something else.   On another painting titled, “Lover’s Point”, Yuri spotted what looked like an apparition near a bush in the picture.  Her head began to hurt, and before she knew it she was trying to hold herself up.  The ghost-like being didn’t even look painted.  It was more like there was an actual spirit living inside the painting.  She couldn’t believe it, but she also noticed that the spirit resembled Jon’s 18yr old frame.  She gathered herself up and stormed into her office.  Flipping through her Rolodex, she came to Sebastian’s number.  She called him up waiting anxiously for him to pick up.  “Hello, Wilson residence.” Sebastian’s mother sang.  “Yes Mrs. Wilson, this is Yuri Hart from the gallery.”  “Oh yes, the sweet young lady who sells Sebastian’s paintings...how may I help you, honey?” she asked.  Yuri took a breath and then asked, “Is Sebastian home right now?  It is urgent business; someone would like to buy one of his paintings and would also like to speak with him.”  She wanted to talk to him badly. Yuri hoped that mentioning the sale of his work would get him to the phone.  Sebastian was a strange bird; he often preferred to write notes instead of actually speaking...something about speech interfering with his thoughts.  “I’ll go get him, he is watching TV” Mrs. Wilson said.  Yuri heard her put down the phone to get Sebastian.   A few moments later, Sebastian came to the phone and said, “Hello, Yuri how are you?”  “I’m fine, Sebastian...listen, I am going to need you to come down here tomorrow.   I want to talk to you about your collection and some interest a woman I know has in buying it.” Yuri said.  “Someone wants to buy my work?  This is awesome, Yuri...I’ll be by tomorrow.  Is 12pm good for you?”  Sebastian wanted to know.  “Yes, it’s perfect.  I will see you tomorrow then.  Good evening, Sebastian.”  After Sebastian bid Yuri a good evening, the conversation was over, and she was standing in her office with the phone in her hand.  When she heard that annoying blaring sound come from the phone signaling an open line, she hung up and sat down.  Her mind was out of control and she began to panic.  Thoughts were flashing through her head and she began asking herself questions silently.  Clearly this was the type of fast-paced, irrational thinking that forced a broken psyche into reacting in a way the average person might not ever consider. The questions came like rapid fire. Would she have to kill Sebastian?  How did he know about the pier post?  Being that Sebastian was 20, he didn’t even go to school with her...so, how could he have any idea of what happened that night?  There was a lot to consider.   After the gallery was closed, Yuri went home.  She was supposed to meet Elliott for dinner, but fortunately for her, he had a business meeting.  She needed to sort through some things and figure out where things could’ve gone wrong.  Up until now, she’d gotten away with the things she’d done, but Sebastian’s painting was a loose end that needed to be cut, tied, AND burned.   While sitting in front of the TV trying to watch a paid advertisement for cosmetics, an idea sprang into her head.  The JOURNALS...they had been her best friend during middle and high school and no one had access to them except her.   Before she realized it, she was ransacking her apartment.  She knew when she moved from her parents’ house that Bertha had helped her pack everything up...except those journals.  They were her most prized possessions and she handled their transfer like they were fashioned from gold.    Then it hit her, she packed them in a small trunk that resembled a treasure chest.  The chest was a gift from her Aunt Vivian as a reminder that she didn’t have to go to far to find riches.  One quick thought and she remembered stashing the chest in the hideaway closet beneath the faux stairs.  When she bent down and opened the miniature door, she coughed from the release of stale air and dust.  She removed a layer of folded quilts, a bag of old clothes and a folding TV tray all to reveal the chest.   She struggled a little with it, pulling it free with a strong tug.  She replaced all of the other things and closed the door.  Yuri sat down on the couch and look through the books.  They were dated so it was easy to find the one she was looking for.  The book was blue with gold embossing and the year 2000 on the front.  She leaned back on the sofa and began to read a page randomly.

                                                                                               


                                                                                                 February 4th, 2000

Dear Diary,
  I can’t believe Jon Martin wants to take me to the prom.  He is so cute.  I thought he was with Ayanna Dennison, but he said he broke up with her.  She is really pretty.  With those green eyes and long hair most guys fall over themselves trying to get with her, so I take it as a compliment that he chose me over her.  I can’t wait to go dress shopping with my Aunt Viv.  She has cooler taste than mom and that also gives me and Breeya a chance to kick it.


Yuri remembered the entry well.  Jon had never paid attention to her throughout their whole four years, so when the prom was three months away and Jon invited her to be his date, she couldn’t believe her luck.  He had dumped Ayanna and clearly she was pissed off at his new choice of girlfriend...Ayanna had always looked down on Yuri.  Back in high school Yuri was skinny with braces and always wore a ponytail that she braided and wrapped into a bun.  A month after Jon’s initial invitation, Yuri’s braces were removed.  Teresa in an attempt to give Yuri some culture and style, took her daughter to the hair salon got her hair and nails done and had Serene help buy her some more fashionable clothing.  It wasn’t that Yuri had bad taste; it was just that she wore the wrong things together.  She lacked confidence and that made all her outfits seem drab and lifeless.   The day after her makeover, Yuri arrived to school wearing a pair of expensive jeans, a fitted, baby blue polo shirt and brand new white Nikes.  Her hair was cut in a layered style and was so long that most of the kids thought she had extensions.  No one had ever seen her wear her hair down all through high school and was surprised to see her wearing fitted clothes opposed to her normal ill-fitted ensemble.  Teresa even bit the bullet and allowed Yuri to carry her Fendi bag...with a strict warning of course that she would owe her first born if she damaged or lost it.  Stepping onto campus was liberating for Yuri.  She had never received so much attention...but it was the look on Jon’s face that was priceless.  “Hey baby, you look GOOD!  What did you do yesterday?”  Jon asked.  She smiled and that’s when he noticed that her clothes weren’t the only new and improved things about her.  “My mom took me shopping to celebrate my braces coming off.  Do you like it?” she asked, twirling to give him the full view.  Jon’s eyes were glued to the booty he never knew she had and for a moment Yuri thought she saw him drool.  “Yea, I like it...you are fine, Yuri.”  He meant it too; he was thrown by the change in her.  They sashayed through the courtyard hand in hand, which pissed Ayanna off the moment she spotted them.  Ayanna stomped up to them and yelled, “No amount of nice clothes, designer purse and new kicks is going to change the fact that you’re a bum!  It’s okay, Jon can have his fun with you for now, but he always comes back!”  Ayanna switched towards her class with her clique and left both Jon and Yuri embarrassed.  “It’s okay, baby...she just mad ‘cause you finer than her.  I’ll walk you to class.” Jon said sweetly.  All the embarrassment faded and she walked away with Jon feeling empowered and special with his arm draped over her shoulder.  

Yuri’s memory of that made her fume.  It also made her wonder how Ayanna could waltz into HER gallery and never once apologize for the hell she had put her through.  This bitch was the reason why her life was in shambles, and she still had the nerve to show up at her place of business.  Yuri kept reading the journal:


                                                                                           March 10th, 2000


Dear Diary,
Jon and I kissed today.  He always gives me a peck on the mouth or cheek, but tonight we went to “Lover’s Point” and made out in the back seat.  He felt me up too...I am glad I listened to Bree and didn’t wear those enhancers that look like chicken.  That would have been so embarrassing.  I am thinking of sleeping with him the night of the prom, but if things keep going so perfectly, I might have to give him my panties a little sooner. I am so glad that mommy, Aunt Viv and Serene helped me change my look, because he really likes my hair and new clothes. I think I could fall in love with him.
 

                                                                                                                                                           Yuri Loren Hart



Yuri had never realized how deeply she had begun falling for Jon.  Back then it seemed so natural...maybe it was because she thought Jon shared her feelings.  He had been so attentive and had confessed his life’s dreams to her. She felt like they were sincerely endeared to one another.   She couldn’t have imagined what would take place the night she slept with Jon.  As chronicled in the journal, her feeling escalated and all of Jon’s pressure paid off for him.  A few weeks before the prom, Yuri relented and lost her virginity to Jon Martin...but, it was the night she also lost a bit of her sanity. She became a fractured person that night and no one got away with a thing.
                                                                       


                                                                                                                May 23rd, 2000


Dear Diary,
I am soooo stupid...how could I have believed that Jon was serious about me.  After all those love letters, walks on the beach, and promising to be my man, he used me and threw me away.  The kicker is I found out too late...I slept with him tonight, and he made me fall in love with him, but as soon as we left the guest house I was surprised by all of his friends...AND AYANNA’S too!  It was all a joke!  See, Ayanna hated that I was always smarter than her.  We were in the same history class and I always get straight A’s.  My getting the kind of grades I get often throws off the curve.  Unknowingly, Ayanna blamed me for her not passing the final and having to go to summer school.  Her failing made her parents take back the car they promised to get her for graduation, insisting she now work for it.  She planned with Jon to get back at me in the worst way.  She had him break up with her publicly and pursue me.  After we started dating though, things changed.  My appearance changed and so did my attitude and confidence.  Before long, Ayanna was becoming even more angry thinking about the possibility that Jon could actually fall for me...so she added fuel to the fire and convinced him to get me to sleep with him. Her “friend” Lydia told me everything! So, when we walked out of the guest house, nearly twenty kids were standing there when the door opened.  I was shocked.  They all started laughing and pointing, mocking the noises I had made moments before.  When I looked back at Jon, he stepped back and gave me the most evil grin.  He held out his hand and Ayanna walked over to him and said, “Good work baby, you did it. You played that smart bitch!”  I couldn’t believe it.  How could he lie to me and tell me how much he loved me, how he was going to apply to Brown University to be closer to me.  How could he tell me all his dreams and promise to never break my heart?  I could’ve taken the embarrassment if he was just a guy I had slept with, but I fell in love.  After I realized it was all a cruel joke, I tried to walk away, but Ayanna had something to say.  “All fuckin’ year, you made a fool out of us.  We couldn’t get any breaks because of your smart ass.  All of us...” she said, flailing her arm in the direction of the crowd.  “...have had to bust our asses ten times harder because of you.  I lost my graduation gift, a brand new Camry.  Latonia was forced to retake the exams, which brought her GPA down, messing up her chances for the perfect college scholarship.  We all hate you, and we wanted to let you know it by showing you that you aren’t the smartest person after all.”  She started laughing and the crowd joined in.  I couldn’t even see anymore because my eyes were so teary.  I hated her at that moment.  Jon was laughing and caressing her neck like he did mine.   I don’t know what I am going to do to them, but I will make them pay for what they did to me.  I HATE THEM!  I HOPE THEY DIE A FUCKED UP DEATH!  Maybe I will see to it.


                                                                                                                                            Yuri Loren Hart



Yuri could sense the intensity of the rage she felt flow through her.  She remembered how she felt and how blinded she was by the fury inside of her.  At that moment in time, she was no longer innocent Yuri Hart.  That was gone with her prized virginity and the love she had experienced with someone who she thought shared her feelings.   She recalled the next things for the first time in a long time.   When Jon broke her heart, Yuri remembered seeing colors...yellow, blue, orange, than green all with her eyes closed in an attempt to block out the laughter.  Then as if she morphed into someone else, the colors gradually became a dark crimson red.  With that, Yuri opened her eyes seeing Jon and Ayanna holding one another laughing along with the crowd.  Her alter ego emerged and with the grace of a giraffe, and the strength of a lioness, she walked head held high through the mass of cackling teens and to her mom’s beat up Sentra and drove home.  Within a week Ayanna had a tragic fall off of her room’s balcony due to a loosened lug nut.   Meanwhile, Jon was found a few days later tied to the stilt of a pier after high tide had ebbed out.  His parents were told by several of his friends that the girl they [the Martins] had suspected of killing their only son was too weak and to prissy to have carried out that crime.  Because there was no evidence linking Yuri to the crime, the Martins and the police’s suspicions died and they chalked the murder up to foul play; a joke gone wrong. It was even more acceptable since kids did those things all the time around graduation time.  Though alive, Ayanna was told she’d never walk again.  She never laughed at anyone else either.  The entry after that read:


                                                                                         June 8th, 2000


Dear Diary,
It was so sad to hear about Jon’s death.  He was so young, and even though I had once wished him and that crippled bitch, Ayanna a fiery fate, I would never have imagined it happening for real.  I will pray for his parents and I will pray for Ayanna a miracle.  God bless them.


                                                                                                                                             Yuri Loren Hart


Yuri closed the journal, replaced it among the others and sat there on her couch recounting her past.  Having read the events that brought her to this broken state, made her wonder how she had gotten away with all of these things.  How was it that she had never ONCE been suspected or linked to any of the many disappearances over the years?  Her reasoning was that they must’ve deserved it.

The next thing was to continue looking for that special diary.  The diary that held the happenings of the night Jon died.  She knew she had a special diary reserved especially for certain recollections. Though she hadn’t written in it for a while, she knew it existed. Now all she had to do was find it.  She scanned over the pile of journals and her eye landed on a huge book with a leather binding and flap that was secured with a brass lock.  She reached over and realized that she needed the key.  After racking her brain for a few minutes, she got up, walked over to the mantle and looked at the 8” by 11 ½” picture of her and Breeya in high school.  She picked it up, sat on the couch and opened the back.  Behind the picture in a plastic sandwich bag was the key.  She took the key and opened the book entitled, “The Complete Book of Etymology”.  The book itself was hollow and just a ruse to keep people from opening it.  The lock was concealed, so the tome just looked like a boring take on the origin of words.  Once the book was opened, there it was...a red journal with her initials embossed on the front, “YLH”.  Yuri hesitated, smoothing her hand over the cover, knowing that it held some of her darkest secrets.  This was proof positive that she was a broken woman, and whoever was to find it would hold her future in their hands. Knowing this was terrifying but she had to find out that missing link.  How was Sebastian able to create that painting?  Yuri opened the journal flipping through pages finding it hard to find the page that held the details of that night.  The pages in this journal had no dates so she had to scan the pages for the words she was looking for...then she found it:



                                                                           
Dear Diary,
Tonight was the night.  I drove by Jon’s house and snuck up to his window.  I tapped lightly and he jumped up.  He opened the window fussing with me, wanting to know why I was there.  I told him that I wanted to talk to him about us.  He kept saying he didn’t want to talk to me...that the joke was over.  I lied to him telling him how much I still loved him.  He said he was going to call the cops, until I opened the raincoat I had on.  I had nothing on under it.  He put his clothes on and snuck out the window.  I told him I wanted to do it with him one last time.  He agreed to it and we drove to the beach.  I grabbed two blankets and the two beers I brought with me from a cooler in the back seat.   When we got to the beach I laid the blankets down, and we sat Indian style.  He wanted to get right to it but I told him I needed to drink my beer first...he agreed to that, too and drank his...but not before I slipped four of my mom’s POTENT sleeping pills into it after opening it for him.  I stood up and took off my clothes, standing over him naked.  He stared at me and then felt me up.  He took off his clothes and we did it. I have to admit that it felt good, too.  I thought it would never end, but it did.  After we finished, he said to me, “I know you probably don’t believe it, but when we was together I was into you.  I think Ayanna knew it too.  I was like on some mission or something, but I enjoyed it...I think I fell for you.”  Then he fell asleep in my arms curled up under the throw.  Once I felt he wasn’t moving I began my plan.   How dare he tell me he fell for me?  Did he think I was so stupid that I would believe him?  I put my clothes on and his too.  I rolled him off of the blanket folding them and putting them to the side.  I made a mental note to wash them tomorrow.  I threw the bottles in the ocean and ran back to where Jon was laying.  I stood over him wondering if I should continue.  I mean, I made AYANNA pay...I loosened that screw on her balcony.  That was hard work.  Climbing up that trellis and working tools in mid air...I felt like Wonder Woman or something.  When I heard about her fall, I felt accomplished.  I heard she will never walk again. That’s what she gets for messing with Yuri Loren Hart.  Right when I had a thought to stop what I was doing,  he spoke in his sleep which startled me. He whispered, “I love you, Yuri”.  That was it! He was playing this to the end.  He definitely had to go.  I dragged him across the beach until I got to the stilt.  It was low tide, but within a few hours the tide would come in and he would drown slowly.  I tied him to the post with the chains and lock I stashed earlier.  I took one last look at him leaning limply against the pier’s post.  Good riddens Jon Martin.  I walked back to the spot where we made love for the last time and I scooped up the blankets.  I looked around to see if anyone had witnessed anything and all I saw was what looked like a kid in the window of a nearby house.  It seemed too far away for them to really see anything so I just went back to my car and went home.


Yuri’s heart seemed to seize.  She hadn’t thought anything of it before now, but come to think of it, Sebastian’s house was near the beach.   Now she was panicking.  She shoved the journal back into the fake book, shoved the key into the pocket of her pajamas, and cleaned up all the other journals.  Once she’d finished putting the books into the chest, she shoved it under the stairs and tried to lie down.  She needed to sleep.

The next morning Yuri got to the gallery around 10:30.  Giselle and Bethany were in the front enjoying coffee over the desk.  Giselle made eye contact with Yuri and immediately became concerned.  Pulling Yuri to the back Giselle asked, “Are you okay, Yuri?  You look tired as hell.”  Yuri wasn’t aware that it showed, so she was taken aback.  “No, I’m fine.  I only had a couple hours of sleep, but other than that I am cool.  No worries, okay, GiGi?”  Giselle was familiar with Yuri’s deflection tactics and sensed that was her hint to leave it alone.  Giselle just obliged her partner and friend, and told her if she needed anything, she would be in the office talking with a new client.  Yuri nodded her head in acknowledgment and sat back in her chair.  As soon as she propped her feet up and reclined, the phone rang.  “Eclectic Arts...Yuri Hart” she said.  “Hey there, gorgeous.  Where were you last night?  I called you several times after my meeting ended.  I wanted to come over and rub your feet.” Elliott said.  “You are so sweet, Ell, but I was tired and just wanted to rest so I turned off the ringer on both phones.  I know I should’ve told you, but I assumed you’d be in that meeting for a while.”  Elliott was gracious and said, “No darling, no problem.  I just wanted to hear your voice.  Are you busy today?” he asked.   Yuri said, “Yes, unfortunately, baby I will be busy today.  I have this one artist who is in high demand and I need to go over some business sales with him.  I have to check up on the Internet galleries as well.  Can we hook up later on this evening?”  “Of course we can...I’ll come by your place around 11...is that okay?” Elliott confirmed, then asked.  “Yes, baby.  I will be waiting with bells on.” She commented.  Elliott laughed devilishly, “You can wear the bells if you aren’t wearing anything else.”  Yuri promised she would deliver on that request and they concluded their call.  Now all she had to do was pass the time until 12pm.

It is possible that the thoughts were running through her head so fast that she dozed off in the interim, because she was alarmed by Bethany knocking on her door.  “Oh, come in, Bethany...may I help you?” Yuri said slightly disoriented.  Bethany asked, “Are you okay, Ms. Hart?  I buzzed you from the front, but there was no answer...since I didn’t see you leave, I knew you were back here so I just knocked.”  “I must've dozed off; I have been so tired lately.” Yuri admitted.  Bethany knew her boss was out of it as of late, but she knew that she ran this business as well as the online galleries, not to mention Elliott's arrival in her life.  She felt concern for Yuri, but there was something else that Bethany just couldn’t put a finger on.  “I was buzzing to let you know Sebastian is out front.  He seems anxious to find out who wants to buy his collection.” Bethany beamed.  Yuri stood up and smoothed the fabric of her dress, slipping back into her “comfies”...a pair of cute 2” heels she bought for half price at Aerosoles.  She exited her office with Bethany leading and went to greet Sebastian.  Unexpectedly, when Yuri laid eyes on Sebastian, she burst out laughing, quickly reeling it in before she could get close enough for him to hear.  It was too late though, Sebastian had already heard her chuckling. “What's so funny, Yuri?” he asked innocently.  “Ms. Bethany has a really naughty sense of humor.  She is our own little stand-up comic around here.” Yuri lied.  She leaned over to Bethany and whispered, “You could’ve warned me, you know.”  Yuri gave her a nudge and walked up to Sebastian greeting him with a friendly hug.  The “joke” was on Sebastian.  He was wearing a yellow tee-shirt that had a dancing paint brush, a pair of emerald green too-tight corduroys, which also happened to fit like Capri pants, a pair of blue Nike running shoes he probably, bought back in high school, and he had on a pair of the thickest, biggest, tortoise rimmed glasses known to man.  Sebastian also carried a backpack that could’ve belonged to a little girl...it was lavender and had a daisy patch on the front pocket.  Clearly Mrs. Wilson didn’t help him dress today.  Once she had stopped examining his look, Yuri invited him back to her office for their discussion.  She closed the door behind him and began, “How have you been, Sebastian?”  “I’m fine, just excited that someone is buying my stuff.  When can I meet the lucky customer?” he inquired, pushing his glasses back onto his nose.   “Well, she is supposed to come back when I call her, but I wanted to re-negotiate the prices with you...but before that, I was interested, as was the customer who wants to buy your art...in a little art history.”  “Art history?  What do you mean?” he asked confused.  “Well, when we were looking at your artwork we noticed a few details and just wanted to know the feeling you were trying to evoke.”  Yuri then pointed to his paintings leaned against the wall, which up until this point he had yet to notice.  “Oh, okay...what would you like for me to explain?” he asked, narrowing his eyes to see the pictures.  “We noticed that on the painting, “A Dreamer’s Night”, this pier stilt in the corner...” she said while pointing directly at the initials.  “...has someone’s initials carved into it...and not far away, almost out of the picture is a sneaker.  We were wondering whose initials they were and what the sneaker symbolizes.” She asked a little nervously.   “Oh, those are Jonathan Martin’s initials.” Sebastian said matter-of-factly.  Yuri’s blood ran cold, and her instincts kicked in.  She felt like someone had found her out, and she needed to stop this at once.  She scanned the room looking for the perfect weapon, but stopped short when she thought of the reality of Giselle and Bethany being in the gallery as well.  “Why would you paint his initials on there like that?  Who was Jon to you?” she snapped.  Sensing the rage, Sebastian stood to his feet and backed away towards the door.    “I...I, they came to me in a dream.  When I was little I remembered how he used to go to the beach near my house, and sometimes he would toss the football with me.  Then one night I saw somebody on the beach with him and they were doing it.  I was just a kid, I was being nosy.  I went and got my telescope from the closet and set it up.  By the time I did that and locked my door so my mom couldn’t get in, the people were gone...at least that was what I thought.” Sebastian stuttered.  Yuri moved closer to him and said almost whispering, “So, what did you see Sebastian?”  Sebastian could now smell her coffee-scented breath.  He remembered thinking it smelled exactly like mocha.  He looked her in the eye and responded carefully to her question.  “I saw him and a girl...they were lying down like they were sleeping.  After that I had to jump into bed, because my mother came knocking on my door.  I got in trouble for locking it, and I was made to go to bed.”  Yuri looked at him with a long glare, and then asked, “Are you SURE that’s all you saw?”  “Yes, Yuri...I saw them making out and that was it.  Later after I started to lose my sight, I dreamt about the pier and the shoe.  I didn’t even know he had drowned until a few months later, when I went to the beach to find seashells and I saw the memorial banner tied around the pier post with his name on it.” Sebastian seemed uneasy, but was relieved he’d answered all of Yuri’s questions.  At least that’s what he wanted for her to think.  Unfortunately for him, Yuri wasn’t finished interrogating him.  She had more questions in reference to the other painting, “Lover’s Point”.  It was funny how up until this point she hadn’t recognized the name of the painting was the same as the place Jon often took her.  Her grimace indicated that she was getting more perturbed by the second.  Sebastian had never known Yuri to be anything less than mild-mannered and even-tempered, so this display had him on edge.  His nervousness caused him to sweat and his leg to shake involuntarily.  Yuri noticed his discomfort and snapped, “STOP shaking your leg!  Everything will be fine as long as you say the right things.”  Sebastian was confused by this statement.  To him it sounded a little like a threat.  “Now...” Yuri began, “...What is this over near the bushes off from the cliff?  There seems to be a ghost-like figure here looking up at the car parked on the edge of Lover’s Point.”  Sebastian squinted and said, “Yes, it’s a ghost.  It’s Jon.  He used to go to there with his girlfriend Ayanna, and after my sight started to go, this was one of the first paintings I completed.  I remember thinking while painting, that the figure was basically painting itself.  I could barely control the brush.  This painting was a tribute to him. He told me about his girlfriends and stuff like we were best friends. He was nice to me.  Jon always played catch with me and when he died, I dreamed of him often.  He was like a big brother to me.” Sebastian stated sadly.  Yuri decided that for today, she was through with Sebastian Wilson.  She stood him up by the arm, and shook his hand to his confusion.  “Congratulations, Mr. Wilson...you are officially a selling artist.  The price on both these paintings just went up to $4000 a piece.”  Sebastian shook her hand back and thanked her for the higher appraisal on his paintings...but he also walked away with an eerie feeling.  Yuri noticed this and took notation in her head...watch Sebastian Wilson.