Paris and us

Chapter 10

16th, March, 2019

It was Saturday, I was not supposed to work, but here I was, in one of the stores on Champs-Elysée, digging out some old files in the back office. Apparently Madame de Blois needed them for Monday. Why they were not transferred into the computer system was beyond my comprehension. I had to stop asking 'why' in France. There was no logic in France, there were rules, but came with one thousand exceptions beneath them. Suddenly I heard noises from a huge crowd outside the door, people were shouting and chanting. It was strange, Saturday before noon should not be busy, and customers would not shout in a luxurious boutique either. I could hear the sound of breaking glasses and objects falling. Shit, please, not another terrorist attacks! I opened slightly the office door and left a tiny gap to peep what's going on, a crowd of men wearing black masks were inside the boutique, they were breaking all the glass display boxes and threw all the stuffs on the floor. They ransacked the shop and trashed everything they could. Fuck! All the employees left the shop already.

I quickly closed the door. And fuck! It had no locked. I hoped they wouldn't come to the office. I looked around and pushed the chair to block the door. My hands were shaking and my legs were trembling terribly.

I did not know why, but I took out my phone and texted Aurélien.

I was in the back office of the boutique M in Champs-Elysée, there were crowds ransacking the shops right now. What should I do?

Thank god Aurélien saw the message, I could see that he was typing it.

Listen through the door, once the crowd left, you ran outside.

Don't stay in the shop, it is not safe.

Once you were outside, ran to the alley or any small streets, text me where you are.

I will come to pick you up. Wait for me.

All I could type was:

OK.

I put my ears on the door, the noises diminished gradually. I removed the chair and opened the door slightly. The crowd was gone. I put the files in my bag and grabbed my phone, ran out of the shop. There were glasses everywhere on the floor, I almost tripped. I could see many masked people dressed in black were marching and shouting. The streets was covered in smoke, the burning smell filled in the air. I saw several shops caught on fire, many of the display windows of shops were damaged. It was like Paris was at war and Champs-Elysée was a battlefield. It was so surreal.When I reached the intersection between Rue de Berri and Rue d'Artois, I texted him my location.

He replied, "Wait for me at the intersection of Rue de Berri and Blvd Haussmann. I will be there in 5 minutes."

I fastened my pace. My heartbeats were fast, my palms were sweating. I was never so scared in my life.

"In 5 minutes, he would be here, and I would be safe." I kept telling myself.

When I reached Boulevard Haussmann, I texted to tell him that I would wait at the gas station. It was the longest five minutes in my life

At last, I saw him in the car pulling over. He gestured me to get in.

I started sobbing and tears streaming down my cheeks. I was relieved to see him.

He grabbed my hand and squeezed tightly. "Shhhhh.....it is ok now. Everything is ok."

"Thank you. Thank you for coming." That was all I managed to say.

He drove the car away, before the crowds trashed his brand new Maserati.

He handed me a cup of tea when we were sitting in his kitchen. I looked down and sipped it quietly.