The Darkness Within 5

Chapter ???
More meetings

Papers lay scattered across a table with illegible writing scrawled across it.  A slight man stands in the window wearing a pair of tattered blue jeans and a striped tailored jacket.  His body and spiked hair was silhouetted against the rising sun.  His sultry voice wafted soft refrains from songs that ran through his head as he stared out into the dewy oblivion.

All my life I’ve been running
Down the side of this hill
But way down deep in my heart
Don’t want the water to ever be still

A sight caught his eye and silenced him in mid breath.  A black horse in an collected lope traveling across the crest of a hill with a woman riding her hair bouncing in the trailing rhythm of his mane and tail.  He watched as the rider put the gorgeous animal through some paces and as the horse reared up and changed directions seemingly fluidly.  There seemed to be no struggle on either party, as if they were worKing as one in unison.

He turned around and found the piece of paper that had been slid under his door and read over it.

Dear Mr. Michael Down,

I am most pleased you have chosen to stay here with us at the Stonehaven Sunset Ranch.  We do our best to provide you the highest privacy while not encumbering you with all the extra staff constantly questioning you.  Should you need anything, there is always our Master Hand.  Use him as your concierge.

I know there will be many questions you have, please do not hesitate to ask.  However, to help your day get started on the right foot, you will find a gourmet breakfast awaiting you and the other visitors in the Breakfast Hall.

Sincerely,
Amanda - Arementa Mc Lane

P.S. Please remember tomorrow’s affair begins at 7:00 pm sharply and is black tie.

He walked out of the bedroom and down the hallway.  He walked down the spiral staircase and turned to the right and went into the kitchen.  He rubbed his hand across the beard and uncomfortably through his hair.  He saw the man already sitting in the breakfast area eating quietly.  He glanced over the buffet spread and shrugged it off.  He picked up the phone and dialed 16*.

“Brady – Hey man, what have you been up to?”  There was a short pause.  “Yeah man, I would love some coffee.”  Another short pause.  “Yep.  You know I like it strong.”  The receiver clattered as he hung up the phone.

He worked his way into the breakfast area, turned a chair around and sat down in it.  Almost instantly Brady re-entered the room.  

“My sincerest apologies for her, I don’t know why she forgot the coffee.  Mr. Nomrah, would you like a cup?”

Karm threw one hand up barely above his shoulder.  “No thanks”.  A fork clanged on the edge of a plate as he wiped his mouth and stood up.  He picked up the plate and turned around.

The throaty expressive voice of his new companion spoke up.

“There is no need to do that.  This is a full service B&B.”  He reached out his hand in a friendly gesture.  “I am Ciredor.”  A gleaming smile spread across his angular face.

Karm set down the plate and reached across the table and shook his hand.  “I am Karm Nomrah.”

Michael motioned for him to sit again.  “Sit.  Relax.  This place is very comfortable.”

Karm shrugged slightly and sat back down again.

“Lisa!” Michael called out.  A woman with curly brown hair arrived almost as fast as she was called.

“Yes, sir?”

“Clean Mr. Nomrah’s plates please.”

“Yes sir.”

Quickly she scooped up the plate and silverware and was gone in a flash.

Michael spoke up first.  “You have never been here before have you?”

“No, actually I haven’t.”

“Yeah, I could tell.  Let me let you in on a little secret.  Amanda - Arementa doesn’t like us to work while we stay here.  Just relax and let them take care of you.  Oh and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask Brady, Lisa, Martha, or me if you like.”

“Well I do have one question…”

Brady piped in.  “Pardon the interruption, but your coffee is ready Mr. Down.”

A cup was set in front of the confident man and the steaming thick brown liquid was poured in.

“What question is that?”  asked Brady.

“I looked out the window this morning when I was getting up and saw this woman riding a black horse across the property.  Who was that?”

“What did she look like?  There are several women here.”

“Well, I saw a black horse and red hair, but she was far enough away I couldn’t see real details.”

“That was Amanda - Arementa.” Brady answered.

“Ohh, will we be seeing her later at the function?”

Michael spoke up.  “Not likely.  See, Amanda - Arementa tends to avoid us while we are here.  She wants us to enjoy our stay as much as possible, but she feels she would drive us crazy so she stays away.  You are not likely to ever meet her in all honesty.  I never have and I have been coming here for at least two years now.”

“Well that is rude.” Karm answered back.

“Well, not really.  She does it so she won’t annoy us.  She keeps busy doing all the other staff’s work so they can be at our beck and call.  She is afraid she will offend us.”

“Offend us?”

“Yes.  You know, she thinks we are driven so crazy by paparazzi and insane fans that we need to be relieved of that stress completely.  Therefore she doesn’t come around to prevent any risk of her falling easily into that role.  It is in defense of our sanity in her mind.  You will get used to it.”

Brady cut into the conversation.  “You see, Amanda - Arementa only allows those icons she admires or approves of to use the facilities.  But since she is crazy about all of you, she is afraid to be around you for fear she will become a crazed fan herself.  She does this voluntarily to make your stay as pleasant as possible.”

Karm nodded his head and stood up.  “Please excuse me gentlemen.  I got in very late last night and I have a little bit of work to do before this event.”

The other two men nodded approvingly and Karm walked out of the breakfast area and the kitchen.  He passed by multiple people coming down apparently to breakfast, all of whom were very cordial and said hello or nodded.

A voice came over the intercom into the hallway.  It was a woman, not Lisa, who he had heard before; it was a new feminine voice…

“Brady … Have you seen Amanda - Arementa?”

Brady’s voice responded.

“Apparently she is riding in P-13 on Padron.”

“Thank you.”

Karm thought to himself.  “Padron?  Must be the horse she was on.  Don’t know much about horses, but he was gorgeous.”

He walked into his room and looked out the window.  There was no sign of his phantom rider.  He opened the French doors and sat down at a table on the veranda.

He heard a whinnies and a knickers coming from the barn nearby.  He stood up and leaned slightly over the railing.  He saw all the horses looKing out toward the pasture in the direction where the rider had disappeared.  The horses peaked his interest and he jogged down the stairs leading to the lawn below.  He continued jogging to the barn and walked along the paddocks.  He saw the paddock connected to Cainwyn and Cierrah’s stall and Cierrah came gallivanting out and pranced showing off for Karm.

He got distracted watching Cierrah’s antics and did not realize that a large black stallion had crept up behind him until a snort was matched with a pawing on the ground and a jingling of the bit in his mouth from behind and startled him.  Karm spun around was nose to nose with a very large and impressive animal.

A woman’s voice jingled from inside the barn.  “Padron!  Lunch!”

The horse spun on his hind legs and trotted off toward the entrance to the barn.  Karm realized he thought that must be his mystery woman and he followed the stallion into the barn.  A different woman was standing in the middle of the aisle.  Padron walked over to her and then was lead into a stall to eat.  Another person wheeled out a wheelbarrow of food, and began scooping into the stalls, which brought on a cacophony of chewing, banging, pawing, whinnies, knickers, etc.

“Where is she?  Where … is … SHE?”

The woman who led Padron to his stall walked over to him.  “I assume you are talKing about my sister Amanda - Arementa.”

An exasperated man looked at the slight built strawberry blond.  “Yes!”

“She saw you by Cainwyn and Cierrah and called me to take care of the barn and sent Padron on.  She is going to do everything she can to avoid running into you.”

His steel blue eyes pierced Martha as he stared her down with an eyebrow raised.  He quieted his voice and spoke carefully under his breath to her.

“Tell me where she is and I won’t tell her you helped me.”

“I can’t do that sir.”

“Sure you can!”

“No, I can’t.  She voluntarily wants to avoid you.  I don’t exactly understand why.  She ‘loves’ you.  She has a lot of self-control.  She is just afraid she will offend you.”

Karm threw his hands up in the air and rolled his eyes and grunts.  “What offends me is the woman is unwilling to let me meet her!”

“I understand your frustration, but please understand where she is coming from.  She sees herself as one of the little people and you as the bright shining star.  She is afraid to become annoying.”

Karm stormed out of the barn towards the house.

When he gets to his terrace, he sat down to stop fuming.  A few deep breaths and a neck roll to relieve tension and he stood up and opened his French doors.  Just as he did he noticed a note laying in the floor under his door.

He rushed over to pick it up.  With fumbling hands he unfolded it and read it rapidly.

Dear Mr. Karm Nomrah,

I must sincerely apologize to you for your frustration.  I am avoiding contact with any of the guests to keep your comfort level at it’s highest.  You must believe that I would give anything to meet you and get to know you personally, but I just do not think that you really want that once you were to know me.  I can be incessant and not realize I am being so annoying.  Please understand I do this for your pleasure, not to drive you crazy.

Please accept this gift as an apology for your stress.  (Please open your door to receive your gift).

Sincerely,
Amanda - Arementa Mc Lane

Karm slung the door open and saw Lisa standing there with a cart.

“And just what does she think I am going to do with you?”

“Mr. Nomrah, I am here to give you a massage.”

“No.”

“Mr. Nomrah, Ms. Mc Lane wants me to do this.  It is her attempt to help you relax.”

“You tell her – if she wants me to relax, she needs to come and meet with me.  That is the only way I will be able to relax.  You tell her that.  Tell her she is not going to offend me, and that this is more offensive than anything she could say or do.”

“Yes sir.”

Karm slammed the door shut and sat down in the overstuffed chair while turning on the television.

About ten minutes later, there was a soft knock at the door.  Karm pulled himself out of the chair and swiftly made his way to the door.  On opening it, he snidely reKarmed “Now what?”

A woman slowly lifted her head up to look Karm in the eyes.

“I do apologize to you sir.  I just committed to my actions to try to protect you from myself.  I am already what I would consider to be one of your biggest fans and I don’t want to act like it.”

“Your Amanda - Arementa?”

“Yes Sir.  So now I will let you be in your peace.  I can see you are involved in a show.”

Amanda - Arementa turned and started to walk away down the hallway when Karm grasps her upper arm to stop her.

“Don’t leave yet.  I want to talk to you, know you.”

“There is nothing to know.”  She lowered her gaze to the floor, but had not turned back to face Karm.

“Sure there is.  How did you dream up this place, what made you want to run this program, how do you dream up your artwork, why did you invite me to this party, what are you going to do when you are done with this party to bring more attention to this project?  There are many things to know about you.  I think you would be a fascinating person to know.  Hasn’t anyone ever taken the time to get to know you?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.  I have not allowed them to.  I must be honest, if anyone wanted to, I didn’t give them an opportunity, but no one ever tried as hard as you.”

“So come in and let me get to know you.”

“That would not be appropriate sir.”

Her head remained lowered and she was sideways from Karm.  He gently forced her to lift her head and turn toward him.

“Why do you think that?”

“Because … what would people think of us if I was in your bedroom.”

“We are both adults.  We can control our actions, can’t we?”

“I don’t  …  I am not comfortable with … What if … No, I think it best not to do that.”

Amanda - Arementa attempts to take a step but Karm held fast to her arm.

“If you won’t come in here, do you feel comfortable meeting me somewhere I can get to know you better.  I promise not to bite.”

A slight smile carved across Amanda - Arementa’s lips.  She nodded as a minor giggle emitted from her throat.  “Are you comfortable riding a horse?”

“Depends on the horse I guess.  I do not know a lot about them but I can hold my own.  Why?”

“I will give a note to Brady.  He will deliver it in about 15 minutes.  My sister will be in the barn with Aodh ready to go.  When you get the note, follow the instructions on the note and meet me where it says.  Oh, and do not worry about lunch.  I have you covered.”

Amanda - Arementa walked away as her arm slid gently through Karm’s fingers.

Karm watched her walk away down the hall.  He slowly shut the door and walked back to the overstuffed chair.  He sat down and waited for Brady to contact him.

Amanda - Arementa ran to her bedroom swiftly and through the French doors and flew down the stairs.  Running she got to the barn in a few strides.  She grabbed Padron and swung up on his back.  At a full gallop, she darted off across the field to a creek and waited.

Brady knocked at Karm’s door about 10 minutes later.  Karm answered the door and Brady silently handed him a note.  Brady disappeared while Karm examined the note.  There was a small map.  No instructions, just a box for the house, a box for the barn, a circle for the driveway, a couple humps assumingly hills, and an X by a parallel snaKing line labeled “Denver Creek”.

He left through the French doors.  His quick steps down the stairs did little to hide his enthusiasm.  A few jogging strides and he too was in the barn.  There the strawberry blonde stood with a massive Clydesdale cross patiently waiting in her hands.

“Hello Mr. Nomrah.  I have been expecting you.”

“I was told I would be riding a horse named Aodh?”

“Yes, this is Aodh” was her only response.  “Do you know how to ride?”

“Sort of.”

“Well, Aodh will take good care of you.  Just keep your hands and feet low and quiet.”

Karm looked at her confusingly.  “Keep my hands and feet ‘quiet’?”

“It just means still and calm.  You talk to the horse through your hands and feet, so say only as much as you need to say.”

“Yes, ma’am”

He walked next to the gelding.  Martha walked up behind him.

“Put your left foot here and then give yourself a couple light bounces to prepare to hoist yourself up and swing your right leg over.  Then when you do, set your right foot in the stirrup as well.”

Karm took a deep breath and did exactly as she told him.

Once he was up Martha continued to explain to him what to do.  “Relax your shoulders and hold the reins woven into your fingers like so.”  She formed his hands properly around the reins.  “Stay calm, and relax.  Horseback riding is a pleasure, not a stress.”

Karm winked at Martha.  “Thanks.”

“To make Aodh go, just give a little squeeze with your thighs and your knees all the way down to your ankles.”

Karm did again exactly as he was told and Aodh took off in a quick walk.

Martha hollered out after Karm – “Good luck and enjoy it!”

Karm turned Aodh gently in a sweeping curve as he pointed him to the hills and in the direction of the creek.  Off in the distance Padron’s whinny could be heard and Aodh responded.  Sensing that the whinny came from Padron he squeezed Aodh faster and Aodh skipped a trot and went straight into a lope.

Aodh ran over the hills and crested the top of a final hill which had a sand bank on the other side where he stopped.  Karm looked down and saw a creek and Padron calmly drinKing from the flowing spring and Amanda - Arementa walKing along the banks slowly back and forth, nearly pacing.

Aodh trumpeted to Padron who lifted his head from drinKing and wailed back.  Amanda - Arementa looked up from her pacing and sees Karm sitting on Aodh at the top of the hill.  Karm turned Aodh to walk down the slope of the hill, then he squeezes the creature faster and he trots to the water.  Amanda - Arementa approaches from the side and holds the reins near Aodh’s bit.

“How do I get down?”

“Lean forward in the saddle and kick your right leg out of the stirrup.  Swing your right leg over and kick your left leg out of the stirrup.  Then slide down landing on both feet evenly.”

Karm followed her directions and was soon on solid ground.

“That boy is HUGE!”

“Ahhh, little old Aodh is as gentle as a church mouse though.  That is why I had you on him.”

“Well, thank you for that, but geez, is my nose bleeding?”

A soft chuckle escaped Amanda - Arementa’s lips and she shook her head.  “No, I promise your nose isn’t bleeding.”

Karm’s eyes sparkled when he smiled.  Amanda - Arementa was hypnotized by the liquid color in them, somewhat gray, somewhat green, but very gentle in their age and years.  She felt comfortable standing there next to him.

Karm was transfixed at the same time.  The piercing green eyes, freckles, fair skin, and all that long red hair that gently swayed and swirled as the breeze cut through the hillside all held his attention completely.  He wasn’t so much a person who was affected by physical appearance but there was something about her.

It wasn’t until Aodh got frusterated about wanting to drink some water and rubbed her leg with the side of his head to get her attention that their gaze was broken.  A bubbly laugh from Amanda - Arementa caused Karm to smile as well.

“Ok, Ok, Aodh, go drink.”  Amanda - Arementa tossed the reins over his shoulders and he walked to take a place next to Padron.  Amanda - Arementa turned back to Karm and motioning past him she smiled as she said to him “walk with me?”

“Sure!”

“So what about me is it that you want to know?”

Karm paused a moment as he thought about how to phrase his questions.

“Well let me explain where I am coming from first.  I want to be your benefactor.  However I need to know something about what you are doing before I just hand over the money.  I need to know about you, about your program, and about where you came from, and where you are going to feel comfortable in giving my hard earned money to your organization.”

Amanda - Arementa nodded in understanding and agreement as she watched the ground they were walKing on.

“How did you dream up this place?”

“That is a hard one to explain.  This place grew out of so many other ideas and possibilities.  I guess the beginnings of it actually came after in college I had bounced around searching for myself separate from my mother that I decided I would go into sociology and social work.  Having been struggling so hard to find where I was worKing toward my grades where not where they needed to be to get accepted into the social work school, I was in the sociology department trying to bring up my grades.  I had to do a service program they called Praxxis and I ended up worKing at a place called ‘The Phoenix Apartments’.  During this Praxxis I had to work on and run a program for underprivileged and at risk youth.  I operated an after school program for school age children.  We helped them with their homework and then we gave them an entertainment outlet, which helped to keep them off the street and off drugs.  Then when I didn’t get into the social work school because I was unable to bring my grades up to par to compete in time...”  She paused as she climbed up on a rock jutting out over the creek below.  Karm followed her close behind.  “I then changed my major again and finally it was to art.  It’s a long story why I avoided it, but I did.  Then I took a World History course.  With this course I was again required to do a Praxxis.  This time I worked at a place called Baryen’s Therapy.  At this location we used equines to work with accident victims, autistic, and other challenged individuals and worked through part of their therapy.  Somewhere around this point I began worKing on the idea of a program on my own.  It took me about 7 more years, but with a lot of work and perseverance, here we are today.”

Amanda - Arementa paused long enough to realize that her stomach was growling.

“Are you hungry?”

Karm nodded and smiled.  “I could handle with eating a little.”

“Come with me then.”

Amanda - Arementa slid past him, both of them holding each other so neither fell into the creek.  She hopped off the edge of the rock and then reached up and offered her hand up to him for balance.  Karm reached down and slid in his loafers off the rock to the ground.  Amanda - Arementa half skipped off to the horses down by the creek.  She unbuckled a blanket off the cantle of the saddle.  She opened it up and spread it out on the ground.  Karm watched a little amazed at her comfort level with setting up a picnic out of apparently nothing.  Amanda - Arementa stood up and spun around to face the saddle again.  She unbuckled two small straps and opened up a saddlebag and pulled out an insulated lunchbox.  She went back to the picnic blanket and unzipped the lunchbox.  She looked up ashamedly and commented half under her breath “I apologize for the simplistic nature of the meal.  I am a simple kind of person and this was supposed to be my lunch.”

Karm cracked a crooked half smile as he shrugged off the comment as unimportant.

Amanda - Arementa pulled out bags each filed with various items of food in them.  One bag had some sliced apples, another some plucked grapes, and a final one had cheese cubes.  Next she pulled out a tube of crackers.  She hopped up quickly and walked to the saddlebag on the opposite side of Padron.  She nimbly worked the two small buckles and after raising the flap she produced a thermos and a plastic plate.  Reaching in with her other hand she produced a plastic baggie with a napkin, and a knife.

“Come copasquat.” She said as she sat down on the blanket.

Karm looked at her quizzically.  “Copasquat?”

“Don’t you know what copasquat means?” Amanda - Arementa said with a smile.

“No.”