Chapter 4: Premonitions?

There was a crashing sound and everything around Caliope was shaking. She crouched down on the sidewalk and felt how some hard fabric and pieces of wood landed on her back. Kneeling down she curled into a fetal position. Everywhere, Caliope heard loud screams and cries.

She felt someone pulling her by her arm but couldn't move. Only a few seconds ago she was returning to the restaurant to look back for her friend when, just a few meters before the entrance, the building trembled and flames burst from inside.

The sirens from the police and fire department woke her from her trance. She opened her eyes and looked up, there was fire still coming out from the windows and doors. "A bomb! It was a bomb!" she heard someone scream to the cops.

"Lady, are you ok? Are you hurt?" another person was asking to someone; no, not someone, her. She turned her head and a policeman was holding her by her shoulders and was asking if she was hurt. Was she hurt? She started to look down at herself.

"No. I am ok. I don't feel any pain; I wasn't in there." She paused as she brushed some dust off. "But my friend! She was there! I need to find her!"

"No Lady! Please! Let us do our job! There are some firemen inside as we speak, please come this way; we need to put you in a safer place."

Caliope kept staring into the building as the Policeman moved her behind the safety tape. She heard an ambulance pulling behind another one stationed close to her. Vanessa was all she could think of. "Caliope! You are safe!" she heard a familiar voice scream, turned her head to look around and saw Miss Clark stepping out of her car and running towards her, panic in her eyes as she observed the devastation of the restaurant. As soon as she got to her, Miss Clark held Caliope in her arms tightly as if she was a lost child. Caliope started crying.

"We heard a really loud explosion and we had to turn back, when I saw the fire I got so scared! Are you ok?"

There it was, that question again 'are you ok?' Her friend was the one caught inside and she needed to look for her.

"I..." she hesitated at first. "I am ok. I wasn't there yet when it happened. But my friend." She turned towards the flaming building. "I don't know where she is!"

"Let me talk to the police, what is your friend's name? How does she look like?"

Miss Clark was leading Caliope gently to her car, opening the door and inviting her in.

"She is tall and brunette, brown eyes, she had a green suit on. Her name is Vanessa Crysser."

"Stay here, I will talk to the police."

She sat on the car and hugged herself tightly, closing her eyes. A few seconds passed when she realized she was not alone. Opening her eyes she watched Amra on the opposite side. He wasn't looking at her, but he was quiet and tense. His presence was so strong, so intense; even in shock she could still feel him.

"Amra." She whispered almost to herself.

"You are ok now."

Caliope's eyes widened and she felt how those words struck her. He said something similar before; or perhaps something close to a warning. Did he said he hoped she was ok? Did he knew this was going to happen? Was he trying to warn her?

"Did you know what was going to happen there?"

Silence. Amra did not move or speak. Caliope felt nervous and upset, if he knew, why didn't he warn her? Miss Clark told her he was mentally ill, and perhaps that is why he couldn't warn her, he didn't know how to. She suddenly realized she didn't know much about Amra's real mental state. Did he knew this was going to happen? How he could possibly know? She was becoming delusional; the shock was making her see things unclearly. She shook her head to remove that idea or at least set it aside for now. Miss Clark opened the door and came inside. She was a little tense but not worried. Pushing a little button the driver's window opened.

"To the Epperson Memorial Hospital please."

"Yes Madam."

"Your friend was not badly injured but she was unconscious and they took her there. We are going to look for her now, ok?"

"Thank you Miss Clark."

"It is ok, please calm down, have a glass of water, we will be there soon and you can check on your friend."

They drove to the hospital and once there Caliope, now much more relaxed, asked for her friend. The nurse took her to a private room, where her friend was getting some stitches. With relief she hugged her tightly and felt as if she could finally breathe again.

"I am so happy to see you! I don't know how, or what happened! Are you ok? You have some scratches."

"I am much better than you. I was returning to the restaurant to find you when it happened before I came inside."

"I am so happy you weren't caught in that nightmare. I was lucky as well; I had just paid my drink and was coming out of the restaurant. I heard some people were not as lucky."

"But you are safe, I am so happy to hear that, I felt so scared to lose you."

"Darling, you are going to learn that there is much more of me you will be seeing."

Both laughed and smiled, and after a while, Caliope left her friend to rest, promising to return the next day. Miss Clark was waiting for her at the entrance, and she felt embarrassed for not thanking her enough for all of what she was doing. "Miss Clark, I don't know how to thank you."

"I take care of those I let close to me Caliope, and you are one of them, you might have not been working with me for a longtime but I trust you and you took care of my son, so allow me to return the favor by taking care of you. Do you need a ride home?"

"I can take a taxi."

"Nonsense, I will take you there, I had my driver take Amra home, and he is getting back now and will take us."

Caliope felt safe again, and as both waited for the driver to arrive, she allowed herself to simply be quiet and content with her luck that day, however it happened.

After Miss Clark dropped her at her home, she slowly got into her shower and started to wait for what seemed a long time until the heater decided to give in a little and offer her warmer water to wash away any hint of smoke and dirt from the hard day experience. The warm liquid felt so good, as it caressed her skin with special tenderness and calmed her. After turning off the water, she finally could smile. Cuddling in her bed, as soon as her head touched the pillow, she fell into a deep sleep.

Sunday came along quiet and uneventful. Caliope went to the hospital to check on her friend and stayed with her for a few hours, then returned to her home and grabbed a book to read. She started to nod off when a huge noise startled her. She dropped her book and ran to the window, looking around for the source. She could see cars had crashed around the corner of the street, the drivers starting to argue loudly, with one yelling some expletives at the other. She took a deep breath and turned her head back inside, picking up her book and leaving it on the corner of the night table. Deciding to skip dinner, she laid back in bed and went back to sleep.

Monday morning Caliope was back at the Clark's residence. Miss Clark politely offered to give her a few days off but Caliope kindly refused. She needed to have her mind busy, and to work on things was the best way she knew how. During the morning, she decided to organize Miss Clark's books and place them by alphabetical order by Author. She realized that Miss Clark had quite an extensive collection of private, not so well known books, from different subjects, most fictional. She called her, asking permission to make a catalog of the contents of her library. Miss Clark gave her an affirmative response to touch all but one set of books on the higher shelf, Caliope began this task with excitement. She enjoyed ordering things which made her feel useful.

Magna surprised Caliope when she visited for lunch, the old lady brought her some Caesar Salad and fresh juice, courtesy of Miss Clark, while she grabbed some folders to return back to the office. Caliope said goodbye to Magna and viewed her favorite salad with a grin in her face, thinking Miss Clark was beginning to know her all too well.

As she finished, she felt the air tense and thick, as if the atmosphere became dense and the air still, yet heavy. She was beginning to become familiar to this feeling. Slowly turning her head to the door, just as she expected, she saw Amra standing there, looking at what was left on her plate. "Good evening Amra, would you like me to prepare you something to eat?"

After some silence, Amra lifted his eyes to meet hers. He had the most amazing eyes she had ever seen in her life. His glare was filled with sadness but he smiled a tiny little smile that made her heart jump. "I have never seen a... girl, eating something green, with that much excitement."

Caliope started laughing softly, she stood up slowly, picking up her plate with one hand, pointing down to it with the other. "There are not many things in life as delicious as this salad, you should try it sometime."

"Now."

"Now? You want to eat a salad now?"

"That salad, yes."

After some hesitation, she nodded.

"Of course, let me call the place and ask them to deliver one for you." Caliope picked up her cellphone and dialed the number on the box of the empty salad. Strangely, her phone wasn't working. She tried again and looked at Amra a little disappointed. "I might need to call from the house phone to ask for the delivery, my phone seems to not be working."

Amra moved aside the door, giving her room to walk by it as he moved to the side of the kitchen, leaving her alone in the living room. Caliope picked up her phone where she recorded the number, and then using the house phone she made the order. After hanging up, her cellphone rang.

"Is everything in order there Caliope?"

"Yes Miss Clark!"

"Are you sure? You sound surprised on my call."

"I just thought my phone wasn't working, but thankfully it works again. I was just calling from the house phone for a delivery of another Caesar Salad."

"Yes, I had a notice here that you were using the phone, I was only checking up on you. Hungry? I am glad you enjoyed the salad."

"It was delicious, but I am full. Amra wants to try it." After a sudden silence Caliope blushed, she felt as if she had said something she shouldn't have.

"Amra is with you now?"

"No, he is waiting in the kitchen, is that ok? He wanted to try the salad now, I thought it would be ok."

"Yes, it is ok Caliope, I am going to be there soon, I am coming out now."

"Ok." She replied with surprise. "Should I order something for you too?"

"No, I already ate." Miss Clark hung up the phone, making her feel as if something was off.

With a smile she discovered a missed call from Vanessa, and turning her head towards the kitchen, not seeing Amra, she decided to give her a quick call. Vanessa picked up after the 2nd ring. "This is so boring; I can't wait to get out of here tomorrow... please come to my rescue!"

Caliope chuckled "I would gladly plot to kidnap you but I can't right now, I am at work."

"Oh I am so sorry, I did not meant to disturb you, will you come by later?"

"I promise, I will be there when I get out of here, and tomorrow I will pick you up when they let you out."

"That is all I needed to hear... see you later dear!"

"See you soon!"

The house phone rang, and the reception announced the delivery had arrived.