To Love And Be Loved

Chapter 17

Art is a lie that tells the truth- Picasso.

The world was made of vultures, wolves and doves. Victor saw them everyday. You could recognise them by the look in their eyes, like black foul water or like the pitch black of tar or by the chill that runs down your back when you look them in the eye. Perhaps it was true when they said the eyes are the windows to the soul.

The wolves were the ones who came for you shackles raised and teeth bared, without any camouflage, tearing you to pieces with their jaws while the vultures looked on, waiting, the ultimate scavenger.

The doves on the other hand were rare to find. Victor doubted they even existed. The could mend broken hearts and heal broken souls. But most of the time, they often ended up as prey; a heap of bloody regurgitated feathers.

Victor watched as students trooped in and out of the campus. He sat in his Jaguar with the A.C at full blast and basking in the protection the tinted glasses gave him. He was parked in front of the Physics department. He had been waiting for close to two hours. He took his phone and scrolled to her number but decided against calling her.

He had convinced himself several times that getting out of the car would be a bad decision, he was sure she wouldn't want the attention. She wasn't a vulture.

Thirty minutes later, some group of students trooped out of the department building and Victor began to worry. What if she wasn't in the school? He checked his watch, it was quarter past two and Seyi could call him anytime.

He could never forget the look on her face when he had woken up with Catherine next to him. Later, behind the cameras she had walked up to him and said, "That was very good, that's what we want to see."

"Oh", he had said. "I'm sure it is. You all want to see the walking disaster." He gave her a bitter smile while trying to fight the rage building up in his chest.

"I have been completely transparent with you, Vic," she had said, the look of innocent on her face was almost convincing if not for that hunger in her eyes; that of a wolf.

Victor sat up straight, breaking out of his reverie when he saw her. A group of about seven students had just come out of the building but her small frame stood out among them all. She wore a white graphic T-shirt that read 'A seminar on time travel will be held two weeks ago.'
She also wore a blue jeans and white sneakers. She was talking to a chubby girl in a black knee length hijab. Victor recognized her from the party Yvonne invited him to some weeks ago. Cass waved a goodbye to the girl who returned the wave and turned left, joining the crowd heading for the gates.

Victor dialled her number.
"Hello", she said.

Victor smiled and tried not to laugh. He suddenly realised how much he missed that voice. "Hey, Cassie", he said.

"I thought you would have forgotten all about me by now." Victor thought he heard a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Do you want me to forget about you?"

"Well... I doubt you have time for things like this."

Victor chuckled. He could listen to that voice forever. "Trust me, I have a lot of time for a lot of things."