Ten Questions for a Fictional Character: London, of London’s Walls are Falling Down.

Photo by ronnieb at morguefile.com

 

***SPOILER ALERT!!!*** This post contains information about The Walls of London, it’s subisquent interview, and London’s Walls are Falling Down. To find each of these posts, click on their titles. 

 

Barging into my office, London throws a print-out of my blog onto my desk. “You made her sound like a nut job!”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “Anya! The woman who shot Parker. You made her look unstable.”

I set my lavender tea aside and ask her to take a seat. “I’d be happy to interview you again, however, I’m not certain how you’d manage to make shooting someone in broad daylight out to be anything but unstable.”

            “You’re the one who told me what he had done. How could you make her out to be so cold blooded after that?”

“I merely told the story as it happened.” Getting up, I close the door to my office, leaving the curtains open. I return to my seat and pull out my notepad and pencil. “My first question is one for clarity, where is Parker now?”

            “He’s at the town morgue.” Her hand goes to her belly in reflex.

“One reader asked what went through your mind as she, Anya, ended your trouble.”

            Her lips part silently and she shifts her position. “Do I have to answer that?”

“Yes.”

            “I’m not proud of this.” She smooths back her hair. “But I have to be truthful. I was relieved.”

I watch her for a moment, her face changing like a rippling pool with the emotions rolling over her. “Is that why you’re so concerned about the way Anya looks? Do you wish you could have done the same thing?”

            A rash creeps up past the collar of her blouse mottling her neck in red. “I don’t know, but you’re wrong about Anya.”

“How so?”

            “She saved my life. She believes Parker would have had me killed after the baby was born, and so do I. He wasn’t someone worth saving.” Biting her lip, she looks down.

 “What else did she tell you?”

            “Parker attacked her younger sister at a party. It was her sister’s 18’th birthday and he and his buddies crashed it looking for trouble. Eight months later Anya had to watch her newborn nephew be placed for adoption because no one in the family could look at him.”

“Is that what you’re going to do with your baby?”

            “No. My daughter is innocent in all of this. She won’t pay for his choices.”

“One reader wanted to know what you plan to do now?”

            Her shoulders curl forward and she sighs. “I’m hoping to finish school. My mom agreed to watch the baby during the days and I’m trying to find some sort of work.”

“Has the mayor offered his help?”

            She snorts. “No. And because of his army of lawyers, that’s all I’m saying.”

“You’ve seemed uncertain at times of the circumstances regarding your daughter’s conception. Are you still uncertain?”

            Looking away, she shakes her head. “I have glimpses, pieces of memory about that night. What I remember wasn’t love or my choice.”

“Final question, will your daughter ever know the story of how she came to be?”

            She runs a hand through her hair and takes a deep breath. “Yes,” she finally says. “I’d never be able to keep it from her forever, and I don’t want her to feel shame in it. You only hide shameful things.”

 

Thank you all so very much for stopping by to spend a little time in my imagination, and an extra HUGE thank you to everyone who asked a question. Check back next week for another reader requested story continuation.