Nex Moribus Levum

"I lost my eye twelve years ago, The world has been half as interesting ever since."

The statement took Salamar off guard, its been a while since hes been taken by quite simple words. He was a man of action, hence immune to words. However it wasnt what was said rather than how it was said.

Salamar decided to give the speaker a closer look. "Hardly your regular handicapped" he thought.

The speaker was a tall fair skinned woman with jet black hair, probably dyed, and a green left eye with a subtle yet effective beauty spot a few decimeters below. The right one was covered in a black velvet eye patch, with clear white stiches at the seams, probably a designer thing. She had nothing else that was familiar about her face to be described, other than probably she'd remind you of Yasmine Bleeth.

Salamar always felt uncomfortable in the presence of pretty people, however her handicap confused him. This uneasiness he feels, is it because she is pretty, or because she misses an eye?

Her being pretty places her above him, her with only one eye places her below him, so is she above him or below him. A logical thought passed through his head to say shes probably in his place, for both attributes cancel each other out, but if that is so....

then why is he feeling uneasy?

probably because all 23 eyes in the room were on him, waiting for him to talk...

"Hello my name is Salamar....and Im an Alcoholic.."

"Hello Salamar!..." They all said in unsion.

"I dont want anything new...new needs change, and change scares me...it bears the equal risk of both success and failure, I just want to stick with what i know...and what i know is alcohol..I tried Golf..I might get better at it with time, but for now Im not Tiger Woods, Im not even close..But I am good at alcohol, and being good at something feels good..

I hate alcohol, I really do...my Liver cant take it anymore, it brings me headaches and i want to stop it..

Im just too good at it to stop it...

I stopped it since i started coming here, and ive been detached from everything, couldnt care less about anything, ran over a guy when driving home one night, lost my job and spent all my money on it...but its still the only thing i am good at..."

Joel has been bothered with what Salamar had to say from the moment Salmar opened his mouth, he wanted to say something. He waited for the right moment when it wouldnt be perceived as an interruption, and after introducing himself for the 100th time to the same crowd and getting the similar "Hello Joel" back...he said the following:

"Salamar..you really dont need to keep on going at something you hate just because you are good at it, I think your problem is with accepting that you failed, you are being stubborn, and by doing so you are just falling deeper into an abyss, it will only make your ascent all the more weary and longer, cause you've fallen too deep.

You need to work on accepting failure, its okay to be a failure..its not okay to do nothing about it let alone deny it...we all learn from our mistakes, and we rise out of them better people".

Salamar in his prime wouldnt have let this go, and would have argued to the last of his breath...however he simply told himself he cant be bothered. His response was filled with Silence.

The meeting continued with the next three speakers, all through which Salamar didnt get his eyes off the one eyed girl (hereinafter referred to as "OEG"), who in turn had her one eye focused on the watch high up on the wall.

As the meeting concluded, oeg grabbed her black coat and headed for the door. Salamar followed, he wished he wasnt daydreaming throughout the meeting, only then he woulda picked up her Alias, and he simply cant just yell One Eyed Girl dead into the corridor to attract her attention..I mean it most certainly done the job but that would be downright offensive. He at least had adherence to that.

she stopped outside the building to hail a cab. He offered a ride, she reluctantly accepted.

They talked quite jovially for a first meeting, and he felt a feeling he has never felt before...

He felt like he was good at something other than Alcohol.

For the following few months..he enjoyed the meetings, and the coffee with oeg after the meetings..and he really got to know her quite well, her name is Sylvia, she lost her eye in one of the many bouts of domestic violence she had with her ex-boyfriend. the rest is history he knew from the meetings...

Sylvia has been cold and reserved, and nonetheless cynical ever since her accident with her eye. She considered having a prosthetic eye but then shed pass for normal. She wanted the world to know she wasnt normal.

"Sylvia?"

"what.."

"you make me happy.."

"ok"

" I really would like to repay the favor...I want to do something for you.."

"go ahead"

"yes, but what would make you happy?.."

"I am happy.."

"Yes, but i want to make you happier, i want to show you what you did to me, how you made me feel..."

"get a grip...what did i do...i did nothing"

"no you did, and i want to show you, what can i do to show you?"

"I dont know"

Her mind automatically shifted to something else, as if it resolved that this issue is closed, and she said with her eyes lighting up..

"you know what would be cool? Robbing a bank... I always think its cool to stick a gun to a tellers face and say, i am making a withdrawl..., Dont you think its funny?"

It this point Salamar didnt know wether to feel offended, or realize that he hit a jackpot.

"I'd crush the stupid fuck's head in if i were you" Said Douglas...

" come on, dont be too egotistical Doug.."

"whats egotistical about it, the guy deserves it...now go fill up my glass will ya?"

" I thought you quit..."

"that was ages ago..."

"didnt you do AA?"

"AA is for sissies and that was before the promotion"

Douglas smiled as if he finally proved he's a wiseass...handed his flute to Eric for a refill, and smiled cockily as he spotted a hardbody of a woman in the corner,

"Hey, can i get you something to drink?"

"sure..."she said, as she revealed a very expensive smile and a tiny triangle shaped tongue flickered from between her lips to dampen the side of her mouth..

He engaged himself with small talk and a few jokes, until Eric came over with two flutes, one of them was seemingly Eric's...yet, Doug just took both, gave one to the Girl who apparently is wearing a Vera Wang, to match his Hugo Boss grey suit.

"Did you know that Vera Wang originally does wedding dresses Eric?...oh sorry, Eric this is Jaimie with an i-e , frankly i know no other jaimies...Jaimie this is Eric, my best friend..

Eric internally choked at the introduction...

"so now im The Ego's best friend" he thought..

In less than a second, Douglas left both Jaimie and Eric to go schmooze and socialize to a high powered suit that just walked onto the main foyer..

Eric felt really awkward standing next to a superhardbody like Jaimie, he knew she will leave in 10 seconds if he doesnt reel her in.

"Look its okay, he does it all the time...thats Doug Mason for you...anyways, Im Eric..."

"And I am not interested..."

The next day, Salamar was scheduled for picking her up to go to the meeting.

Only today, they werent going to go to the meeting.

After driving a few blocks away from her house he handed sylvia a ski mask and shotgun...

"What the hell are those for?!" She exclaimed

"I thought you wanted to rob a bank..."

"Sal.. I said its cool to rob a bank , i didnt say i want to rob one.."

A look of utter dissapointment befell Salamar's face..

"So you just want to go to the meeting?"

"Is there any other option...?"

"yes, we can rob a bank..."

"You are crazy...!"

"only about you..."

"Sal, I dont love you...Sal , i dont love anyone.."

"I dont care Sil...I just love you...now will we go Rob that bank?"

She stayed silent until he parked infront of a big business type commercial bank...he shifted the gear into park and said he didnt come here all dressed up for nothing. She told him that hes on his own, she will wait for him in the car.

He got out of the car..regretting everything he did in his life.

He is just one big Fuck up..

two seconds later, Sylvia joined him with the shotgun and ski mask with a smile on her face...

* * *

Salamar's Sister has been worried sick about him for a few days now, shes been deseprately trying to hear anything about him. She called everyone, everyone who cared. Nobody has heard of him...nothing. She waited by the phone. Any lead was better than sitting like that with nothing.

Her Heart stopped and beat back to life when the phone rang...it was her best friend Sherry...

"Elsa, i think you should open the news on channel 1"

"...Have been identified as Salvatore Olp aka Salamar..an unemployed Business Development manager and Sylvia Sumner a troubled Social worker...after questioning people on scene the investment manager of the bank revealed that his efforts to releive the situation were instigated when he identified one of the assailants as a troublesome ex lover, who has a history of violence..further investigations have proven that the first assailant, Olp was refused a personal loan from the bank six months ago...and we have now Douglas Mason Investment Manager of The Bank for comment:

"Its a shame that society fails to help troubled people with fitting in..the result of which is this atrocity that has taken place today..I tried to calm sylvia down but it seems that she already had her mind made up...it was like she woke up this morning, with the intent to die..I am sure this troubled man manipulated Sylvia, and used our personal history for his own financial gain. Its a pity and a reassurance that he avoided Justice by his demise today.."

"When asked about further actions, the Investment manager replied by saying that, this matter is closed, and he will be having "a quiet night with his girlfriend Jamie"