Shadows of the Vow (You Fuck With Darkness, You See Shadows)

 Annabelle’s POV A few miles after we entered the coastal town, our car pulled through a park, and the massive iron gates that guarded the buildings opened ahead.  The environment seemed like an upscale estate.  My heart clenched with each opening, at the sight of the mansions we drove past. Exotic, a fortress, looming ahead.  Armed guards. Security dogs. Security cameras. And… no way out. The car came to a halt in front of a big mansion, which appeared to be in the innermost part of the upscale estate. Still being treated like a criminal, the two men hauled me out of the car, and we headed into the exotic mansion.  Our car was parked in front of it. On entering the mansion, which I had heard Antonioni call his “domain” on the phone, a few male guards lined up, all dressed well and bowing their heads low once Antonioni walked past them. We stepped into the elevator and came to the last floor, where it seemed like he had his penthouse.  We walked through a hallway with different rooms bordering it side by side.  And then we came to the longest hallway I had ever seen in my life. That one, no rooms bordered it at all, except for a room by its extreme left side. Finally, we walked past the last guard who stood by the door of the entrance of the room I suspected was Antonioni’s—the room at the extreme. He bowed his head low to Antonioni in respect. “Okay… Apart from the fact that he is wealthy, it seemed they feared him so much, why's that?” I tried to ruminate within myself, my arms still bound like a bandit by the two able-bodied men as we walked. Once we entered Antonioni's room, the two mysterious guards released me, bowed to him, and left.  My arms ached so badly. The room was pretty luxurious, but that didn't affect the pain I was going through in my soul and body. For a few minutes, he left me standing in his room.  What a man! He would rather go change his shirt into another simpler shirt.  I looked at him from the corner of my eye, refusing to look directly at a man changing in front of me. Silence had enveloped the atmosphere for a few minutes before Antonioni finally spoke up. “If you like, you can sit.” I looked around to be sure I was the one he spoke to, since he didn't look at me. His voice was really cold and unemotional. There was a seemingly comfortable sofa just in front of where I stood. Without uttering a word, I sat anyway. After all, I had been pulled and stressed all through, and my body ached badly. I was shyly looking into an unfocused space, close to my hands, which I had clenched together in fear. From the corner of my eye, I saw him take a glance at me, as if trying to read my thoughts and emotions. What happened next was what I didn't expect in my wildest imagination. I lost my breath while it lasted. Antonioni pulled out a pistol from one of his swell closets, walked fast paced to me, and placed it on my head, saying, “If you dare to run, I'll send your corpse back to your father, feel me?” I won't lie, I was scared stiff. So I nodded slowly, my head tossed to my right-hand side. I was panicking and trembling but I still tried to hide it. He lifted the gun from my head and said something lighter. “If you need to use the restroom, there are soaps, shampoo, toiletries, scents, towels, and every other thing you'd need in the bathroom. I'll see you when I return.”  I just watched in amazement, wondering how crazy and spontaneous a person can be. He quickly walked back to the closet, loaded some guns with bullets, and left for the hallway.  “C’mon, guys, we have an op. Where's everyone? Where's Bukky? Man, get your ass off that muffin, we've got work to tidy up!” His voice faded into thin air. There, in Antonioni's room, I sank into the soft sofa—into my reality.  My pulse hadn't stopped stuttering.  I looked around the room, carefully taking in the environment.  There was a silent auction around the room. The room, dark but lavishly decorated in an exotic style, had a big bed close to one of the expensive-looking window sets I sighed loudly. “So this is going to be my reality now. A sudden marriage to a dangerous stranger, far away from my peaceful life.” I hissed. “But why would Father ever do this to me? Am I that unimportant to him?”  I voiced out quietly, my voice still shaking from all I had been through. Feeling tired, I sighed for the umpteenth time, and I decided to lift my legs off the ground to lie down comfortably on the sofa instead. In an instant, I fell into a trance.  I was happily bouncing down our street, heading to Mama's flower shop.  The street is always filled with happy people, different colors, angry people, traders, buyers, playing children, chattering women, engaging passersby, indifferent passersby, fun activities, local gamblers, fighters, money changers, advertisers, and much more.  It was a few minutes past seven in the morning.  The morning sun slipped gently through the narrow gaps in the shop windows, casting soft beams across the floors of the streets. I greeted almost ten people before even getting closer to my shop.  As usual, Ma Soledad was the last to be greeted as she sold decorative materials just next to my shop.  Her imperfect dentition always shone through whenever she responded to a greeting.  Very happy woman. I arrived just in time, my steps light and full of life. After Mama’s death, I have learned to brace up and embrace weighty family responsibilities like Mama was doing when she was still alive.  Father has never been able to provide for his family, and according to Mama, that was one of the major reasons why his first wife left him. He was always gambling and getting them into debt. “Hi, Ma Sole!” I greeted her, smiling heartily. “Hi, Belle!” Ma Soledad responded, her voice carrying the kind of warmth that could soften even a weary heart.  There was something about her that always lifted my spirit, perhaps because she’s always optimistic and speaks positively.  She spoke further. “Today must be a lucky one since the sun has appeared earlier.” “Yeah…Looks like it,” I responded, at the same time, looking for my shop keys from inside my bag. I got inside my shop, rattled my keys, and found the right one for the door.  The key clinked harshly as it touched the metal lock. It clicked open.  As I pushed the door backward, the familiar sound of crickets that had lodged there overnight greeted me like an old friend… The day was bright and beautiful.  I swept the shop and removed the spider webs from all angles of the room. I moved to the flower baskets and unpacked the different kinds of flowers.  And as usual, I decided to display some outside the shop, where it'll be easy for passersby to see them and buy. After setting up the flowers, roses, hibiscus, orchids, garlands, greenery, petals, lilacs, and lilies, I began to unpack my drawing equipment- portrait boards, drawing sheets, pens, and colors. Placing some of my beautiful drawings outside the shop, at the balusters, I returned to the shop and started painting. I loved painting so much. I could paint for a whole day and forget about food. This was part of the reason I couldn't wait to be in the flower shop daily.  I looked forward to painting there every day, as I didn't have much time to do that at home. What do I do with the paintings? Of course, I sell them off to buyers. In short, people love my paintings and mostly book them even before I finish a portrait.  They hang them on their interiors, walls, consoles, etc When I was all set and had set up the shop, I brought out my painting tools, lay down on my belly, and began to use the tools to do justice to the drawing sheet. I smiled as I painted. I was seeing myself in the civilized world I painted, and my life was all shades of “peaceful.” Suddenly, a hand tickled me gently on the left shoulder, and I spun around to see who it was. Mama! As she usually did, she had brought food for me in the shop and had decided to first startle me. But I wasn't ticklish. She had caused me to become immune to the ticklish effect because of how often she tickled me. “My yummy food is here! Welcome, Mama,” I had declared happily, while collecting the food flask from her hand. I tried returning my gaze to her face after I had collected the flask from her hand, but she had vanished immediately when she released the flask from her hand. In a flash, I slipped into a deep sleep from the trance. **** After many hours, I sensed the soft ray of blue light kissing the chilled room I had fallen asleep in.  I was shivering in the cold too. I became awake, although gradually. My eyes had blinked several times, and I had woken up very hungry. I looked around my environment and realized I still had a bloody new reality no matter how long I tranced and slept it off. I lifted my face and searched around the wall for a clock. I wanted to know what time it was. I found one. It was 9:08pm. “Antonioni isn't yet back.” I guessed. I wanted to continue processing my reality when I was interrupted by several angry, loud, and scary knocks on the door. The knocks kept on intensifying suspensefully. I became very scared. Who could that be?