Whirlwind (On Hold-Will Be Back Soon!)

Chapter 5

Alexandra wandered aimlessly down the cobbled streets of Verona. She never had any problems living or travelling alone. In fact, she rather enjoyed it. She had the independence to do what she wanted to, how she wanted to do it and when she wanted to do it. She stopped right in front of a tiny bakery-like shop and entered, planning to buy some food for her car ride back to her hotel in Rome. It was 4:15 pm and she figured that she would have to leave soon, if she planned on reaching in good time. Within the next 15 minutes, she got two delicious-looking tomato calzones and a box of Veronian chocolates packed for herself in a brown paper bag.

Locating her car, she got in and was off in the direction of Rome.

Alexandra was speeding towards her destination with the music on at full blast. An Italian radio station was on. She had no idea what the lyrics of the songs meant, but the melodious music was enough to keep her from changing the station. She hummed along the music, trying to imitate the lyrics and failing miserably.

Suddenly, the car engine sputtered and the speed began to slacken, before coming to a complete halt. Alexandra jumped out and pulled open the bonnet. She checked the water tank and the engine for over-heating, but could not discern any issue. She kept the bonnet open, hoping that once the car cooled down, it would start working again. She waited for ten minutes and then tried starting the car again, but to no avail. She whipped out her cellphone from her purse and tried calling the cab service the hotel manager had recommended to her, but there was no network on the damn phone.

She came to the unhappy realization that she had stopped in an entirely remote stretch of the route. She could see no cars or cabs coming her way. Then she questioned whether she even wanted somebody to come along. She had heard of how dangerous Italy could be and how theft was a common crime here. This one thought seemed to suck out all the romance from her trip. She was scared for her life! Adding to her worries was the evening and imminent darkness.

She debated whether to sit inside the car with the windows rolled up and the doors locked, or to stand outside and try to get help. She decided in favour of the latter and stood leaning against the car.

Alexandra’s ears perked up when she thought she heard the roar of an engine. She straightened up her back and looked down the road. It was definitely a car… a red convertible, perhaps. She started to wave her arms up and down but stopped herself-she didn’t want to look too eager. God alone knew what kind of creep was driving that car. She wasn’t taking any chances.

She stood to one side of the road, trying not to look too desperate for help. The red convertible reached her and halted. Sitting inside was a man maybe a few years older than her-he must have been twenty-five or twenty-six- and he looked Italian.

He looked towards her and asked, “Va tutto bene, signorina? Avete bisogno di aiuto?”

“Uhh do you speak English? Inglese?”

The man grinned up at her, “Ah. Victor Drago at your service. Your car seems to have broken down?”

Alexandra’s relief at the dissolution of the language barrier was so immense that she did not even roll her eyes at his ridiculous question.

“Yes, Mr. Drago. I was on my way back to my hotel when suddenly my engine died out. And I have been waiting here ever since.”