#3: The Dissapearing Girl
“Mummy?” asked young Agatha as she laid on the hospital bed beside her mom.
“Yes Agatha?”
“When the baby is born, can I carry her?”
“Of course you can, she’s your baby sister.”
“Can I play ‘mom’ with her?”
“Now how do you play mom?” she asks curiously.
“Well, I play the mom & the other person is my baby. So……”
Agatha quickly emerges out of her dream & rises from the soft red couch. Without any idea as to why she abandoned her dream, she put on her pink fur slippers & opened the curtains to let dawn’s early light brighten the room.
“Bambi!” she called. “I’m be making coffee, do you take yours with sugar or cream? Or some daniels?”
No response came from the master room.
“I’m kidding………Bambi?”
Agatha marched to the master room to find an empty bed with the sheets tucked in. Upon closer inspection she notices Bambi’s purse lying beside the pillows. She grabbed the purse & inspected the contents thoroughly. Makeup brushes, leather-bound diary with a broken blue pen, UCLA Student ID & a state ID were the only objects to be seen. She recited the home address, booted up her cellphone & typed the address into its GPS application. The green outlines in the black map begin to flash on screen along with a neon trail connecting Agatha’s place to Bambi’s home location.
The apartment has always kept the same look & design since the day it was built, a two floor brick shaped fort with a pink & vague green color scheme with neon lights surrounding the ‘Vinewood Arms’ sign up front. A 1984 aesthetic that never looked out of place in the beachside California town. Agatha slowly climbs up the stairs & inspects to find the room number decal installed above every door frame.
‘11,12…15!’
She knocks on the door three times in a repetitive beat, until she was interrupted by a young woman on the first floor.
“Hey gurl, you looking for Bambi?” she asked while holding onto shipping boxes.
“Yes, I am.”
“Ya just missed her, the paramedics took her away some hours ago! She was having some bad cramps with that baby she’s been carrying on her!”
“Would you by any chance know which hospital she’s taken to?” asked Agatha in a slight worrisome tone.
“Vinewood community. It‘s near here!”
“She came in with the harshest looking gashes on her bottom torso. The baby wasn’t due for another month or so, but that little cookie just wanted to come out now. This was a first for me & the medical staff.” the nurse continued talking to Agatha as she trailed behind her to the room. “Well, this is her room. If you need me, I’ll be in the receptionist desk nearby.”
Agatha nodded & smiled, she gripped the knob & turned it open. “Bambi.”
As the door opened wide, she witnesses the surprise of yet another empty bed.
“Nurse Bethany!” cried Agatha.
The nurse looked at the empty bed, then reached into her walkie-talkie on her waist. “Code red, code red. Patient number: 31A0, Everdale Bambi has escaped by window. Be on the lookout. Repeat, code red. Patient number…”
Agatha was both amazed & shocked that a woman, after bearing birth, would exact such an extreme & life threatening escape. The mystery once again thickens.
Margarette arrives to Agatha with a tray of colorful tangy drinks with miniature umbrellas sticking out of the wine glasses. Agatha reaches for one of the glasses & inspects the contents.
“Red ocean sunset on the rocks. Vodka, orange juice, chamoy & some blue mint concentrate. Bottoms up.” Margarette takes the whole glass down.
Agatha sipped through the red straw, removed the mini umbrella & gulped the rest of it down. Her eyes widened as her taste buds felt the visceral rush of the alcoholic drink travelling down her throat.
“They teach you to make this liquid gold at college?”
“I wish.” replied Margarette
“That hit the spot, I really needed this today. You wouldn’t believe the day I had.”
“You killed your dick husband & are dating a sweetheart, I’m willing to believe anything, Agatha.”
“I tracked down Bambi’s supermarket job & both the co-workers & managers haven’t a clue where she has gone. She’s on the run for some reason, no rational person would leave behind their social security, their state ID, one hundred dollars in cash & a diary.”
“Have you read her diary?” suggested Margarette. “Maybe it explains why she‘s running around.”
Agatha turned her head toward Margarette with a serious expression in her face. “No, Margarette.”
“But it might include something you’re forgetting in your….”
“Be that as it may, I am not going to read the girl’s private thoughts on the page. That poor girl may be suffering through a lot already, the last thing she needs is some random woman who knows all her secrets.”
“Margarette! We’re home!” called out a male voice.
“Oh!! Agatha, meet Points.”
A young man with blue spiked hair, skin the shade of brown & a wild hentai shirt hidden underneath his leather jacket.
“Nice to meet you.” he said as Points extended his hand.
Agatha shook the man’s hand with a smile.
“And this is my friend, Schizo.”
A wide & tall man in overalls & nicely combed hair followed Point‘s example. “Nice aaa to meet ya.”
Schizo’s grip was strong enough to crush an average person’s fist, but little did Schizo know that Agatha was capable of withstanding the toughest of pressures.
“That’s quite a grip you have there.” replied Agatha with a smile.
“I was working in the gym!”
“Ohhh, it shows.” Agatha grabs her purse & walks to the door. “Margarette, I gotta get going now.“
“Alright, take care. Listen, when in doubt, just..”
“No Margarette. I’m not going to read the diary.”
“No Agatha, turn the purse in to the manager of the apartment she lives in. Just in case she decides to return. Let them take care of it.”
Agatha nodded, blew a kiss to both Schizo & Points as she exited their home. “Take care all of you.”
Once again, Agatha climbs up the steps of the Vinewood Arms & walks to the manager’s office located in the end of the second floor. The orange sunset was slowly being obstructed by incoming dark clouds moving slowly. She felt a little sad that she didn’t have a chance to know more about Bambi, seeing that they both felt a sort of unique spiritual connection. As she continued walking & thinking about the missed opportunities, Agatha’s train of thought was suddenly halted as she heard muffled cries emanating from Bambi’s room.
“Bambi? Bambi!!” knocked Agatha. “Bambi, are you there? Answer me!”
No response came, only the strong muffled cries of the baby within.
Without any choice, Agatha lifts her heel & kicks the wooden door open. The crying was no longer muffled, Agatha found the crying baby behind the doors of the walk in closet, covered in fluffy cotton & blankets.
“Shhh shh shh shhhh.” she cradles the baby in her arms & begins humming. “Don’t cry. Shhhhh shhh shh shhhh.”
Down the bright indoor swap meet established in the once promising subway station, Bambi quickly opens her plastic trash bag & hides in an empty alcove. She begins to open a container of green glow body paint & begins to rub as much of it over her face, hiding the bruises & the stretch marks surrounding her belly button. In time Bambi blossoms out of the alcove, glowing green in her black leather skirt & pink mesh top. She walks up the stairs, out of the establishment & into the cold streets, accompanying the other colorful prostitutes on the dark strip. Cars slowly passed by, either honking their horns or shouting both obscenities & lewd catcalls.
A compact car, no shorter than 4 feet, halts near Bambi.
“Hey there honey.” sweet talked Bambi as she stares deep into the nervous man‘s bespectacled eyes. “Looking for the intergalactic expressway? 50 wrapped, 60 unwrapped & you know the rest.”
The driver of the compact car parks in the emptiness of the construction site underneath the still active flood lights.
“This is going to be something one day.” whispered the nervous man. “I’m going to build condos here. I own the land.”
“It’s alright.” assured Bambi. “You’re nervous, ain’t ya? It‘s your first time?”
“Yes.” slowly replied the bald nervous man.
“There’s a first time for everyone. Just sit back & let me do all the work.”
“Okay……”
The nervous man began to breathe & shake heavily as he reached into his coat & took hold of a silenced pistol.
“Yes, there is a first time for everything. But also, the first time can be the last.”
“Mummy?” asked young Agatha as she laid on the hospital bed beside her mom.
“Yes Agatha?”
“When the baby is born, can I carry her?”
“Of course you can, she’s your baby sister.”
“Can I play ‘mom’ with her?”
“Now how do you play mom?” she asks curiously.
“Well, I play the mom & the other person is my baby. So……”
Agatha quickly emerges out of her dream & rises from the soft red couch. Without any idea as to why she abandoned her dream, she put on her pink fur slippers & opened the curtains to let dawn’s early light brighten the room.
“Bambi!” she called. “I’m be making coffee, do you take yours with sugar or cream? Or some daniels?”
No response came from the master room.
“I’m kidding………Bambi?”
Agatha marched to the master room to find an empty bed with the sheets tucked in. Upon closer inspection she notices Bambi’s purse lying beside the pillows. She grabbed the purse & inspected the contents thoroughly. Makeup brushes, leather-bound diary with a broken blue pen, UCLA Student ID & a state ID were the only objects to be seen. She recited the home address, booted up her cellphone & typed the address into its GPS application. The green outlines in the black map begin to flash on screen along with a neon trail connecting Agatha’s place to Bambi’s home location.
The apartment has always kept the same look & design since the day it was built, a two floor brick shaped fort with a pink & vague green color scheme with neon lights surrounding the ‘Vinewood Arms’ sign up front. A 1984 aesthetic that never looked out of place in the beachside California town. Agatha slowly climbs up the stairs & inspects to find the room number decal installed above every door frame.
‘11,12…15!’
She knocks on the door three times in a repetitive beat, until she was interrupted by a young woman on the first floor.
“Hey gurl, you looking for Bambi?” she asked while holding onto shipping boxes.
“Yes, I am.”
“Ya just missed her, the paramedics took her away some hours ago! She was having some bad cramps with that baby she’s been carrying on her!”
“Would you by any chance know which hospital she’s taken to?” asked Agatha in a slight worrisome tone.
“Vinewood community. It‘s near here!”
“She came in with the harshest looking gashes on her bottom torso. The baby wasn’t due for another month or so, but that little cookie just wanted to come out now. This was a first for me & the medical staff.” the nurse continued talking to Agatha as she trailed behind her to the room. “Well, this is her room. If you need me, I’ll be in the receptionist desk nearby.”
Agatha nodded & smiled, she gripped the knob & turned it open. “Bambi.”
As the door opened wide, she witnesses the surprise of yet another empty bed.
“Nurse Bethany!” cried Agatha.
The nurse looked at the empty bed, then reached into her walkie-talkie on her waist. “Code red, code red. Patient number: 31A0, Everdale Bambi has escaped by window. Be on the lookout. Repeat, code red. Patient number…”
Agatha was both amazed & shocked that a woman, after bearing birth, would exact such an extreme & life threatening escape. The mystery once again thickens.
Margarette arrives to Agatha with a tray of colorful tangy drinks with miniature umbrellas sticking out of the wine glasses. Agatha reaches for one of the glasses & inspects the contents.
“Red ocean sunset on the rocks. Vodka, orange juice, chamoy & some blue mint concentrate. Bottoms up.” Margarette takes the whole glass down.
Agatha sipped through the red straw, removed the mini umbrella & gulped the rest of it down. Her eyes widened as her taste buds felt the visceral rush of the alcoholic drink travelling down her throat.
“They teach you to make this liquid gold at college?”
“I wish.” replied Margarette
“That hit the spot, I really needed this today. You wouldn’t believe the day I had.”
“You killed your dick husband & are dating a sweetheart, I’m willing to believe anything, Agatha.”
“I tracked down Bambi’s supermarket job & both the co-workers & managers haven’t a clue where she has gone. She’s on the run for some reason, no rational person would leave behind their social security, their state ID, one hundred dollars in cash & a diary.”
“Have you read her diary?” suggested Margarette. “Maybe it explains why she‘s running around.”
Agatha turned her head toward Margarette with a serious expression in her face. “No, Margarette.”
“But it might include something you’re forgetting in your….”
“Be that as it may, I am not going to read the girl’s private thoughts on the page. That poor girl may be suffering through a lot already, the last thing she needs is some random woman who knows all her secrets.”
“Margarette! We’re home!” called out a male voice.
“Oh!! Agatha, meet Points.”
A young man with blue spiked hair, skin the shade of brown & a wild hentai shirt hidden underneath his leather jacket.
“Nice to meet you.” he said as Points extended his hand.
Agatha shook the man’s hand with a smile.
“And this is my friend, Schizo.”
A wide & tall man in overalls & nicely combed hair followed Point‘s example. “Nice aaa to meet ya.”
Schizo’s grip was strong enough to crush an average person’s fist, but little did Schizo know that Agatha was capable of withstanding the toughest of pressures.
“That’s quite a grip you have there.” replied Agatha with a smile.
“I was working in the gym!”
“Ohhh, it shows.” Agatha grabs her purse & walks to the door. “Margarette, I gotta get going now.“
“Alright, take care. Listen, when in doubt, just..”
“No Margarette. I’m not going to read the diary.”
“No Agatha, turn the purse in to the manager of the apartment she lives in. Just in case she decides to return. Let them take care of it.”
Agatha nodded, blew a kiss to both Schizo & Points as she exited their home. “Take care all of you.”
Once again, Agatha climbs up the steps of the Vinewood Arms & walks to the manager’s office located in the end of the second floor. The orange sunset was slowly being obstructed by incoming dark clouds moving slowly. She felt a little sad that she didn’t have a chance to know more about Bambi, seeing that they both felt a sort of unique spiritual connection. As she continued walking & thinking about the missed opportunities, Agatha’s train of thought was suddenly halted as she heard muffled cries emanating from Bambi’s room.
“Bambi? Bambi!!” knocked Agatha. “Bambi, are you there? Answer me!”
No response came, only the strong muffled cries of the baby within.
Without any choice, Agatha lifts her heel & kicks the wooden door open. The crying was no longer muffled, Agatha found the crying baby behind the doors of the walk in closet, covered in fluffy cotton & blankets.
“Shhh shh shh shhhh.” she cradles the baby in her arms & begins humming. “Don’t cry. Shhhhh shhh shh shhhh.”
Down the bright indoor swap meet established in the once promising subway station, Bambi quickly opens her plastic trash bag & hides in an empty alcove. She begins to open a container of green glow body paint & begins to rub as much of it over her face, hiding the bruises & the stretch marks surrounding her belly button. In time Bambi blossoms out of the alcove, glowing green in her black leather skirt & pink mesh top. She walks up the stairs, out of the establishment & into the cold streets, accompanying the other colorful prostitutes on the dark strip. Cars slowly passed by, either honking their horns or shouting both obscenities & lewd catcalls.
A compact car, no shorter than 4 feet, halts near Bambi.
“Hey there honey.” sweet talked Bambi as she stares deep into the nervous man‘s bespectacled eyes. “Looking for the intergalactic expressway? 50 wrapped, 60 unwrapped & you know the rest.”
The driver of the compact car parks in the emptiness of the construction site underneath the still active flood lights.
“This is going to be something one day.” whispered the nervous man. “I’m going to build condos here. I own the land.”
“It’s alright.” assured Bambi. “You’re nervous, ain’t ya? It‘s your first time?”
“Yes.” slowly replied the bald nervous man.
“There’s a first time for everyone. Just sit back & let me do all the work.”
“Okay……”
The nervous man began to breathe & shake heavily as he reached into his coat & took hold of a silenced pistol.
“Yes, there is a first time for everything. But also, the first time can be the last.”