The Lost Years

2022

I finally arrived…the penthouse suite no less. I looked to my left and saw a stern-faced guard stare back at me, the black cloth bag that was only seconds after coming off of my head in his hand. I heard the guard on my right rustle in his pockets for keys. When he finally unshackled my wrists, I rubbed them and, for the first time since we left Paris, was able to feel the blood rush to my fingers. I decided to move about the suite freely, presuming the guards would stop me if I was breaking the rules. My gaze was drawn to the ocean that was glaringly obvious through the window. I opened the double doors and a waft of warm salty sea air hit my face. It took my eyes had to adjust to the light. I walked the width of the balcony and placed my hands on the white painted concrete that was the only thing dividing me from freedom. I noticed the small plant in the corner and felt its rubbery leaves. I was just relieved to experience nature…. however long it will last.

2019

I, alongside my two best friends in the world, excitedly arrived at Dublin airport on a beautiful day in June ready to go on the adventure of a lifetime…lifetime being the appropriate word. Our bags were packed meticulously to meet the 20kg limit air Lingus afforded to checked luggage. We had spent all of the previous night with the weighing scales out taking a top from one bag and putting it in the other so we each had exactly 19.9kg each to put in the belly of the plane. I must admit, I did hold my breath each time the attendant put the bags on the conveyor belt, and each time I exhaled dramatically, delighted that we passed the first hurdle. Alongside the 20kg we were allowed in the hold, we were allowed 10kg in our carry-on.

As I was considered the responsible one of the three, I had possession of all of our passports and tickets. The time between checking in and boarding our plane to Charles de Gaul airport flew by. We perused the duty free and had a coffee, making us almost miss our flight…almost. The flight itself was bumpy. I was glad I had packed us sandwiches however, as the air hostess was looking for an exorbitant amount of money for the ones she was selling. This was supposed to be a trip with no expense spared but I couldn’t justify spending money before we reached the lovely Paris.

With Charles de Gaul being so big, we obviously got lost between terminals. Although I was the responsible one, none of us had a sense of direction. When we had passed the same McDonalds for the third time, I insisted we ask for directions.

Finally, after lugging three cases around the airport and then a train, we arrived at our hotel. We had opted for a room with two single beds and one double so as to save money that we could enjoy elsewhere. Dee, my oldest friend in the world, stood in front of the freshly made double bed and fell back claiming it as hers. I sat on the edge of the single bed beside her, leaving Sarah the bed beside me.

Dee and Sarah lay on their beds, exhausted, and even though my feet were killing me and I ached all over, I walked over to the sliding door leading to the small balcony. I sat down on the rickety old metal chair and my breath was taken by the view. I could see the Eiffel tower in all its glory…well most of it, as there was another building protruding next to us blocking one quarter of it. I sighed and was brought back to my childhood, when I spent a summer here for college. It was thirty years ago and my French wasn’t perfect, but I had been swatting up on the language, learning some of the most important phrases.

I felt my eyes get heavy and jumped off the metal seat immediately. It was dinner time and my tummy was rumbling. I also was craving a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. I walked back into the room, our luggage standing untouched, the other two snoring. I clapped my hands in a get up and go manner waking them from their slumber. I said the one word that I knew would get them up, and fast….’wine!’

When we finally were ready, Sarah taking forever to do her make up, we walked across the street to the expensive hotel. I walked in and it took my breath away. It had lavished couches and crown moulding on the walls and ceiling. Dee snapped me out of my trance when Sarah had identified where the bar was. I followed Dee open mouthed at the beauty of the place. It made me feel underdressed even though I was wearing cocktail attire.

Sarah, who had already gotten the drinks in, was sitting at a stool in the bar talking to one of the most beautiful men I had ever seen. It was ok for me to look as my husband had served me with divorce proceedings the previous month, but Sarah, who was happily married, was flirting with him. I walked over to her as she held up her glass and giggled at something the mysterious man whispered in her ear.

Once she saw that our group had gathered, she introduced us to Nicolas, and informed us that he and his two friends were only in town for the night and wanted to buy us dinner. I looked puzzled for a minute. I had to learn how that girl did it…we were just about to eat with three beautiful Frenchmen in one of the most amazing hotels I had ever been in.

As the night went on, the drinks were flying, and so was my head. I can remember eating the steak, but the rest was a blur. When I awoke, my mind was fuzzy. I was lying in bed, but didn’t know how I got there. I looked around and wiped the sleep out of my eyes…this wasn’t our hotel! I quickly surveyed my body, my panties were missing. I felt an arm on my shoulder which I removed with the same face I would have when removing gum from the seat of my eight-year-olds pants.

I slowly got up. I swayed from side to side, the room feeling like it was moving. When I finally got my balance, I turned around slowly to see which of the Frenchmen I was lucky to, hopefully, just cuddle with. I clapped my hands to my mouth. All I could see was a sea of red. This man with whom I lay had what I could only describe from watching tv as a gun shot wound to his head. I touched my hair…it was wet and my hand was red from its moisture. I ran to the bathroom and vomited. I had never seen a dead body before, yet alone have his blood in my hair.

Suddenly a ten-ton weight dropped in my stomach…the others. I wandered around the suite in search of my friends, but instead found two more dead Frenchmen. I was panicking. My body was shaking like a leaf. A kaleidoscope of butterflies was making its way through my body. I began to feel light headed, there was ringing in my ears and my vision was becoming white…I fainted.

I woke to someone shaking me like a jigsaw box before you opened it. My eyes slowly opened. When I saw Dee, my heart sank…she was covered in blood. She put her finger to her lips, indicating me to be quiet, and led me into the wardrobe where Sarah was a blubbering mess. I couldn’t believe how cool Dee was being. Had she not seen the three dead Frenchmen?

‘Ssshhh’ she ordered and put her hand over Sarah’s mouth to quieten her. I listened intently. There were voices. From what I could tell they were speaking French. I tried with all my might to translate what they were saying, but they were talking too fast.

Suddenly, the door to the suite burst open and multiple armed police entered the room. I audibly sighed with relief. I mouthed to the girls ‘it’s the police!’…their bodies relaxed slightly as did mine but I quickly tensed up again when I heard the sound of gunshots. I gasped and my body jolted as, one, two, three shots went off. ‘Clair!’ I heard multiple men say. Dee tapped me on the shoulder and shrugged hers. ‘Clear’ I said and opened the door to the wardrobe a smidgen, enough for me to see that the armed police were checking the pulses of the men they had shot. Dee hit me on the arm again….’what are you doing?’ she asked with urgency. ‘Were innocent!’ I reminded her. She looked at me wide eyed and nodded…eventually.

As we exited the wardrobe, our hands in the air covered in blood, the police quickly aimed their guns in our direction. ‘We’re innocent!’ we cried, over and over again. Nonetheless, for security reasons, we were hand cuffed and put in the back of a van that was waiting for us outside the hotel.

Once we were brought to the station, we were separated. I was stripped naked and had to bend over and cough before given an orange jumpsuit and led into a white clinical looking room with a table situated opposite a desk and chair. A rough looking man, with three days’ worth of stubble on his face, entered. He took out a needle and, without me being able to protest, took some blood. He then preformed an internal exam, taking swabs as he did so and finally give me a breathalyser test.

Then I was ushered into an interview room. Thankfully, the men who began to interrogated me spoke English. After two hours of questions, my mouth felt like sandpaper, my lips dry. I asked for some water but they ignored my request and kept interrogating me. My mouth felt like the Sahara Desert after a sand storm. When they were getting nothing from me, because I simply knew nothing, they brought me into a cold concrete box with no natural light, just a door. I lay on the damp hard floor and cried…this was supposed to be a retreat for the three of us, not the nightmare it became.

Days passed, well as far as I could tell, and the only thing I found out that was of any importance that it was the French president who I awoke next to. They had evidence of semen from the swabs they took during the internal exam that matched the DNA of the president. How was I to know who he was…I could only remember eating some of the steak. They also found evidence of roofies in my system…the date rape drug. They had spiked my drink. That was enough for the French police to try to believe my story. My face was, however, plastered all over the French papers, the news claiming I had killed their president.

On one of the occasions they were transporting me to a longer-term facility, there was an attack on the vehicle and that’s when the police knew they were going to have to take me into protective custody pending a trial.

2022

Three long, lonely years later, I had emerged from the concrete box where I lived…alone…no one to talk to but myself. They were the longest three years of my life. I had to defecate in a bucket for god’s sake! My dignity gone, I was surprised one day when two men entered my cell, placing handcuffs on my wrists and a black hood over my head. They put me in what I can only imagine being a van, neither of them saying a word. I know I was on a plane, but I didn’t know where I was going. After the plane was another van and then…the penthouse suite.

I basked in the light from the sun on the balcony, thing 1 and thing 2 still not saying a word…but I was ok with that. I moved into the bedroom and did what Dee did all those years ago…I stood in front of the bed and fell back. Oh how wonderful it was to feel anything but concrete under you. I fell asleep there and then, a sleep that was only brought to an end when thing 2 shook me, ‘we go!’ he said with a Deep French accent.

I had little to do with the trial that followed. I was asked multiple questions over several days but my name was cleared…I was free. The guards kept me in the penthouse suite as the trial continued with Dee and Sarah. Unfortunately, as technically I was still in solitary confinement, I didn’t know what either of them did or said.

When it was over, I was told how one of the men killed the president while he was asleep after we had sex and Sarah wrestled the gun from him and killed the other two. She got prison time, and Dee got prison time also because she saw what Sarah did without admitting to it in fear of getting her into trouble. I shook my head.

With my name cleared, I was finally allowed to see my family. I stood on the runway of the airport as the private jet carrying my beautiful three children and ex-husband, each of them after growing like weeds. I was astonished at how beautiful my little girl had become, and my oldest son had a beard, and then there was my youngest, whose voice had broken since I saw him last. The three of them ran to me and I hugged them for as long as they let me. ‘John,’ I said to my ex and nodded. He just nodded back. Even though it had been three years, the divorce papers were fresh in my mind.

I closed my eyes, tears flowing down my ebony skin and thanked god for getting me back to my family.

picture from pixabay