A Heart of Gold

Skylar can’t believe that he’s finally made it. He is in Boston, Massachusetts, and his heart is here.

When the plane he had boarded from Lambert Airport had landed, Skylar had felt the hole in his chest tighten, as if it was able to tell the missing part inside of it was near, really near. The feeling hadn’t hurt in any way, it had been quite the opposite; Skylar had felt more complete and a lot less empty than in years. He is sure the other passengers had been looking at him weirdly because of the ridiculously huge smile on his face he had supported the whole time they were walking out of the plain and into the airport.

It hadn’t mattered to him then, and it doesn’t matter to him now, even though he is walking down the streets with the exact smile still stretching his lips, and is surely looking a bit strange. Skylar just can’t hide his excitement. He is so close finding his heart he has missed the past three years, and it feels completely unreal. All those times his mind has cried begging to be released from the agony and pain, begging for someone to help carry the huge burden of Skylar’s life, and now his heart is closer than ever. The help is on the way.

Skylar’s head is so fuzzy from the endorphin that he can’t really decide where to go or what to do next. He just ends up wandering the streets and admiring all he sees; this is definitely the most beautiful city he’s ever been to. The sun is shining brightly and a few buskers are performing around the town.

Eventually the overjoyed feeling fades to the background, overcome by the gnawing hunger in Skylar’s stomach. So, he decides to get something to eat. There is a problem, though; in his ecstatic state earlier, Skylar didn’t pay attention to where he was going, and it seems he got himself to some sort of a residential area, because there aren’t any restaurants of cafés in sight. Damn. He should’ve realized he would most likely get lost and buy a map, but of course he didn’t remember.

Skylar starts to walk to a random direction, hoping to find people who would be able tell him where he is. The area is pretty quiet, only birds’ chirping and faraway cars’ rumbling can be heard. After walking for a while, Skylar comes across a sign that announces there’s an auction going on a nearby house; a low chattering is audible, probably coming from behind the afore mentioned house. The auction part of the sign isn’t the one that caught his attention though; on the bottom, it says they serve free food for all those who come to the event! Skylar sighs in relief, because honestly, he is running out of money. So every chance he gets to spare his money he is glad for.

He goes to the house the sign is pointing to and walks to the backyard, as instructed. There Skylar sees quite a huge crowd of people sitting in chairs or eating food by the table in the corner of the yard, ranging from little children to old women and men. In the back, all the goods waiting to be auctioned are plied on the ground, and some of them are on a table behind the platform where the auctioneer most likely will be standing and taking bids.

Skylar struts closer to the heap of all things imaginable; he can see a mahogany wardrobe, an old pool table and dozens of other objects, even an antique gramophone. He looks at them in mild interest, trying not to seem impolite by just making a beeline to the buffet.

After a while the hunger becomes too much to bare and Skylar goes to the table where all the food is kept. He watches all the delicious looking dishes while standing in the line. There are three different kinds of cakes; strawberry, mango and chocolate flavored ice cream; sandwiches; apple pie and coke! Skylar can feel drool dripping from the side of his mouth. He loads his paper plate as full as it can be, takes a bottle of coke and sits in a nearby chair in the back, not wanting to disturb the auction when it starts.

The auctioneer walks up to the platform and just when he starts to present the first item, a young woman with fiery red hair comes rushing to the backyard muttering apologetically to the auctioneer for being late before taking a seat near Skylar, since there isn’t any room in the front.

The auction begins and Skylar munches on his food contently, following the bidding occasionally. He notices that the woman sitting near him is sitting on the edge of her chair and intently listening to the auctioneer; she certainly has come here to buy. As time goes by, the food on Skylar’s plate disappears and the amount of items the woman has bought grows together with the strange feeling Skylar gets from the woman. It feels as if she has some kind of a magnet pulling him closer and closer. It isn’t physical attraction, but Skylar can’t help glancing at her from the corner of his eyes every moment he gets.

When the auction ends Skylar takes his time throwing away the garbage and on his way out he sees the redheaded woman carrying, or trying to carry all the things she bought to a lime green van across the street, and there’s quite a collection she has. Deciding to help her out, he walks towards the woman who is attempting to carry the old gramophone he looked at earlier. She almost drops it but Skylar is quick to grab the other end of the machine so it wouldn’t end up broken on the ground.

They carry the gramophone to the van, and after putting it safely inside, the woman looks at Skylar with a bright smile on her face, “Thank you so much for helping me with that old thing. I’m sure my boss would’ve beaten my ass if I had broken it, it was truly a find.”

Her voice is a bit stuffy, maybe she’s been sick. Skylar shrugs his shoulders slightly, “Well, I’m glad I was of use to you.” Skylar looks around and sees that all the other people have gone away, to their homes probably, seeing it’s quite dark already. “Umm, I could help you with all your other stuff too, if you’d like? It’s getting kind of late and you surely must want to get home before it’s too dark.”

The woman looks mildly surprised and sweeps a few stray locks of that fiery red hair out of her eyes before answering, “If you won’t mind, then I gladly accept your offer. It really is getting late and this would take forever without any help, so thanks again. I’m Becca.” She offers a hand and Skylar grabs it and shakes it firmly. “Skylar, it’s nice to meet you. Well, let’s get started then, your stuff isn’t going to move to your car by itself, right?”

Becca laughs and admits that’s not going to happen, so they walk back to the yard and carry the next load to the van.

Time passes quickly when they talk while loading the car. Well, Becca is the one to talk, mostly about her job which is the reason she was at the auction, for she is a talkative person and Skylar doesn’t really want to talk, about himself at least. But that doesn’t stop him from listening politely and answering when he doesn’t want to seem too rude. And he tells some things about himself to Becca; for example that he is new in town and is staying for an indefinite period of time, and that he is here all by himself.

Before they know it, they have packed the last few things to the van and Becca closes the double doors and locks them, sighing softly. She turns to Skylar standing next to her and thanks him again for helping her.

“Oh, it really wasn’t such a big deal, I just wanted to help. You don’t have to repay me,” Skylar says, being careful not to mention the feeling he got when he first saw Becca. That would just make things weird and he doesn’t want to start explaining his problem to her; it would be too complicated.

“Are you absolutely sure?” Skylar nods firmly. Becca ruffles her hair thinking. “Well, would you like a lift, then? It’s pretty hard to get to downtown at this hour with the buses not going so often and all.”

Skylar hesitates a bit first, not wanting to bother Becca, but decides to accept the offer, making Becca smile brightly. They climb to the van and Becca tries to start the engine making it cough a little. It’s no surprise; the van is old and has definitely seen better days. Becca swears and tries again, succeeding this time. She steers the car away from the shoulder and starts driving towards the center of the city.

Becca turns the radio on and starts to hum quietly along the melody of the song playing at that moment. Intrigued by the catchy song, Skylar asks who the artist is. He doesn’t get the reaction he was expecting to have, for Becca looks at him like he’s some kind of a weird creature with three heads before exclaiming, “You can’t be serious!! You must know Adam Lambert! He was in the American Idol in 2009. The best one of them all, might I add.”

Skylar just shrugs a little and smiles awkwardly. He didn’t really have any opportunities to follow the music scene when he lived in the City; he had other things to take care of. Remembering everything that happened, Skylar can’t help but to shiver. Luckily Becca doesn’t notice this, because she would’ve surely asked about it. Skylar decides to change the subject.

“Hey, do you know any cheap motels around here? I need a place to stay the night,” Skylar asks and looks at Becca. She looks a bit surprised but then answers, “Oh no, you’re not going to spend the night in some greasy motel. Who knows what happens in them; you’re coming to my place.” Now it’s Skylar’s turn to be surprised, and a little creeped out. Why is basically a stranger letting him sleep in her home? The suspicion must show on his face because Becca gives a laugh, “Don’t worry, I’m not some mean lady who would drug you the first moment she can. I just want to help, make the settling easier for you.”

Something makes Skylar trust the woman sitting next to him, and he agrees to Becca’s offer, but can’t help commenting with a sly smile on his lips, “How do you know that I’m not some rapist, waiting for the perfect opportunity?”

Becca looks at him with a small smile and says, “My roommate, who just so happens to be over six feet and weighs about 200 lbs and is my boyfriend of two years is at home right now. He doesn’t like people who try to hurt me.” Skylar looks a little scared now. In no way would he like to anger that man; he wouldn’t stand a chance.

Becca laughs loudly and reassures Skylar, “You don’t have to worry, though. You seem like a nice guy and truthfully speaking, Joe is just a big teddy bear.”

Finally they arrive to the apartment building where Becca and Joe live. Skylar climbs out of the vehicle and looks around. The neighborhood seems nice enough; not too fancy but not one of those where you need to be scared that someone might try to rob you when you turn around the corner. They climb to the fifth floor, and after struggling with the keys for a while Becca gets the door open and steps in, Skylar right in tow.

When Skylar steps inside the apartment he freezes. He can hear it. His heart.