(My first professional Fiction short story...Thank you Linda for believing in my talent and thank you all my friends for your constant support)
Carla Love Frank
Behind the steel bars Carla smokes her last cigarette, looking back with a cynical laugh at her past life. There is no present and no more future. This is the end of the plot.
She remembers when she first met with Frank at his office on the 10th floor. That day, her destiny was determined. She walked in wearing her white chanel ensemble, black heels and a hat. She never forgets her red lips at home. She enters then knocks the door. Behind a cloud of smokes, Frank appears, speaking on the phone with a wrinkled frown. He gives her a signal to come in and sit down. It's humid outside but the vintage ventilator cooled the air and pushes documents away from the desk. "Oops" Carla murmured, with a grimace she moves to rescue the papers. She slightly kneels to pick them up. Frank notices her posture and smile. Carla is the brunette Marlin Dietrich but as sweet as Rita Hayworth. Frank is a mix of Humphrey Bogart in a Frank Sinatra's spirit. He hangs up and takes a long breath. "Hello" he start, "How can I help you ma am?" Carla hesitates then speaks "someone wants to kill me detective". "Then you came to the right place sweet lady" Frank giggles. They fade with the scene while a Dean Martin Swing tune comes from the 11th floor.
At "Zaphir" club, Carla is the lead singer 4 nights a week. The place delivers first class services for it's cliental. Show rehearsals are always conducted early mornings and changed twice a month to keep the atmosphere vivid. The stage is centralized between the round black leathered lounges. The walls painted in shimmering white screams jazz. On the opening day of her new show, Frank checks audiences from behind the beaded curtains. Carla finishes her song on stage with a steering storm of applauses. She's every man's fantasy and every woman's jealousy. Her velvet voice hypnotized Frank that he didn't care enough why he is at this club in the first place. He fell for Carla's irresistable charm. Does he know she fell for him after their few meetings at his office? No, he doesn't.
Days go by; Frank and Carla are madly in love. They meet daily at her apartment late at night and sometimes she drops by his office early afternoon when she's not performing. They drink, smoke and make love. Carla's obsession with him grows. She's possessive. She's not immune to his gaze or his husky tone. The scar near his left eye is like a magnet that pulls her whenever she wants to escape him. In bed, she sometimes calls him 'Raoul'. He used to laugh then he hated it when she did that. Did he know that Raoul was the love of her life? Did he know that Raoul once existed? He was the love of her life and yet she murdered him. Why? Coz he left her and broke her heart apart. What about Frank? Would he face the same destiny?
Carla becomes more and more agitated when she senses Frank's distance. Would she cover her hands with more blood? She wants revenge as she cannot accept being rejected. She considers giving away her heart to someone a sacred act and she always expects rewards. The detective disappeared like a phantom. He never returned back to the club. He never goes to his building. A massive mystery embarks on the stage of the femme fatal. Suspected for a crime of love, Carla gets arrested. No more silk, no more lace, she is facing her destiny within the grey walls behind those bars of steel. She puffs her last cigarette with her challenging eyes and her red lips that she never forgets at home.
Carla Love Frank
Behind the steel bars Carla smokes her last cigarette, looking back with a cynical laugh at her past life. There is no present and no more future. This is the end of the plot.
She remembers when she first met with Frank at his office on the 10th floor. That day, her destiny was determined. She walked in wearing her white chanel ensemble, black heels and a hat. She never forgets her red lips at home. She enters then knocks the door. Behind a cloud of smokes, Frank appears, speaking on the phone with a wrinkled frown. He gives her a signal to come in and sit down. It's humid outside but the vintage ventilator cooled the air and pushes documents away from the desk. "Oops" Carla murmured, with a grimace she moves to rescue the papers. She slightly kneels to pick them up. Frank notices her posture and smile. Carla is the brunette Marlin Dietrich but as sweet as Rita Hayworth. Frank is a mix of Humphrey Bogart in a Frank Sinatra's spirit. He hangs up and takes a long breath. "Hello" he start, "How can I help you ma am?" Carla hesitates then speaks "someone wants to kill me detective". "Then you came to the right place sweet lady" Frank giggles. They fade with the scene while a Dean Martin Swing tune comes from the 11th floor.
At "Zaphir" club, Carla is the lead singer 4 nights a week. The place delivers first class services for it's cliental. Show rehearsals are always conducted early mornings and changed twice a month to keep the atmosphere vivid. The stage is centralized between the round black leathered lounges. The walls painted in shimmering white screams jazz. On the opening day of her new show, Frank checks audiences from behind the beaded curtains. Carla finishes her song on stage with a steering storm of applauses. She's every man's fantasy and every woman's jealousy. Her velvet voice hypnotized Frank that he didn't care enough why he is at this club in the first place. He fell for Carla's irresistable charm. Does he know she fell for him after their few meetings at his office? No, he doesn't.
Days go by; Frank and Carla are madly in love. They meet daily at her apartment late at night and sometimes she drops by his office early afternoon when she's not performing. They drink, smoke and make love. Carla's obsession with him grows. She's possessive. She's not immune to his gaze or his husky tone. The scar near his left eye is like a magnet that pulls her whenever she wants to escape him. In bed, she sometimes calls him 'Raoul'. He used to laugh then he hated it when she did that. Did he know that Raoul was the love of her life? Did he know that Raoul once existed? He was the love of her life and yet she murdered him. Why? Coz he left her and broke her heart apart. What about Frank? Would he face the same destiny?
Carla becomes more and more agitated when she senses Frank's distance. Would she cover her hands with more blood? She wants revenge as she cannot accept being rejected. She considers giving away her heart to someone a sacred act and she always expects rewards. The detective disappeared like a phantom. He never returned back to the club. He never goes to his building. A massive mystery embarks on the stage of the femme fatal. Suspected for a crime of love, Carla gets arrested. No more silk, no more lace, she is facing her destiny within the grey walls behind those bars of steel. She puffs her last cigarette with her challenging eyes and her red lips that she never forgets at home.
The End
