Untitled Page

Section 01

Martta started to walk around the park. Even though the night air was cold, the movement helped to warm her up some and take some bite off the cold. It was still cool, but not freezing. So as long as she kept moving and stayed out of the breeze, it would be tolerable and not deadly.
While walking, Martta took time to look and feel the different plants and trees. It had been so long since she could physically feel with her body that she was enjoying the different sensations and feelings. It was like she was feeling every sensation for the first time.
When Martta had wandered the earth in her soul form, she could only see and partially feel. Now, she was feeling everything. It felt invigorating. Martta was like a little girl in a plant nursery, all wild eyed with wonder and fascination at the colors and things she was feeling. Of all the things she would encounter, she had not prepared for this.
Martta was actually running and jumping. She was skipping and chasing butterflies in the night. She was even signing to herself. Martta rolled in the grass and played in the mud. She skipped in the stream and splashed in puddles that had been made by the sprinklers. Martta even ran through the sprinklers a few times, giggling in fun. In short, she was acting like a four-year-old.
Martta was even trying to talk to and be friendly with the nocturnal wildlife. A few owls just stared at her activities with curiosity. She even picked up a garter snake talking to it while petting it and then put it back down gently. She picked up a spider and let it crawl up and down her arm. Eventually she let it crawl off her hand and onto a tree.
After a few hours of playing in the park, Martta began to realize she needed to find clothing and food.
Martta could see the lights of the buildings and started walking towards some. By this time it was past midnight and a lot of the city was quiet. But there was still some life in the city.
Martta stepped out of the park and onto a sidewalk. It felt rougher on her feet than the grass she had been walking. While it was rougher and warmer than the grass, it wasn’t uncomfortable or painful.
As Martta walked, she came across many businesses closed for the night. She mainly kept to the shadows as she walked, until she heard music from a violin. It was beautiful. She walked towards it.
When Martta got near the source, she saw it was an old black man sitting in a chair, with his violin case laying on the ground, open for donations. The man noticed her, because no one else was around and looked at her. He saw her trying to hide and started to speak.

Section 02

“Ah, my audience for the night has finally arrived. Enough rehearsal, let the concert begin”, the man stated. He then repositioned himself so he faced Martta.
At this point, he changed the music he was playing. It actually became incredibly better. Martta had never heard better playing on the violin. He played like a retired concert hall musician. As he played, he changed the type of music he was playing.
It felt as though he was playing the music from his soul and sending it directly into Marrta’s. She had never felt this effect music before.
He would smile as he watched how the different music would change Martta’s posture. He was truly a world-class musician and knew the affect his music was having on her. Like a tired old man who knew this may be his last performance, he played with all his heart and soul.
The music he played changed the mood Martta was feeling depending on the music he was playing. Its effect on her was intense. When it was sad, it made her feel so sad she started to cry. If it was angry music, she felt anger to the point of physically shaking. If it changed to happy and joyful, she literally started to laugh in joy.
When Martta realized what he was doing, she started to look at him with concern and some dread. When he saw that she was starting to go on the defense and resist the music, he just looked at her and gave her a friendly smile.
Martta could see no malice from his smile. She somehow realized that he was not acting with ill intent towards her and was just playing to give her the best experience he could. His smile reminded her of a school teacher who was trying to encourage a student.
After another hour of playing the man stopped for a few moments and unfolded another chair and motioned for her to sit down in it. “Young lady, you won’t be able to enjoy the show if you are sore from standing. Please have a seat. Relax and enjoy the music. By the way my name is Lucas.”
Martta moved a little closer but still remained in the shadows. The more Lucas played the more comfortable Martta felt. She slowly moved a little closer, still clinging to the shadows. Finally, Martta got to the edge of the shadow and prepared to step into the light. Lucas smiled to encourage her.
Martta cautiously stepped into the light. When she did, Lucas’s smile turned to shock and then concern. He stopped playing and picked up his jacket from the ground, holding it out for her.
Martta was confused by what was happening. But she saw the look of concern. What she didn’t realize is that, when she was playing in the park, she was scratched and had blood and mud all over her very naked body. To Lucas, it looked like she was a mugging victim.

Section 03

“Miss are you alright? Do you know who did this to you?” Lucas asked, as he approached Martta, he looked her carefully up and down to see if she had any severe injuries that needed immediately medical attention.
Martta could see by the way he was looking at her that he was looking at her out of concern, not lust. This put her at ease, but she still wondered why he was concerned, until she looked at her reflection in a store window. She saw how she looked, covered in blood and mud.
“Here let’s get you covered up and warmed up,” Lucas said, as he started to put his coat on her. She let him put the long trench coat on her, covering her up. The coat felt warm, as Lucas had been just wearing it.
“You poor thing, they took everything from you. Here lets at least get you in my shoes so you don’t hurt your feet anymore,” Lucas said, as he then took his own shoes off and had her sit in the chair while he put them on her.
Martta looked at Lucas with a curious stare. He was a total stranger, who was giving up his own coat and shoes to protect her and help her. His acts reminded her of the old British gentleman and knights of old. When he looked at her, to see how she was doing, she smiled gratefully at him.
When he saw she was OK, Lucas packed up his violin and the chairs then put them in his luggage dolly. He then said, “We need to get you to a hospital and then the police so you can report this”
He saw the panic in Martta’s eyes when he said this. The years Lucas had spent on the streets had shown him a few experiences. What he saw in Martta’s reaction made him ask the next few questions.
“Do you know who did this to you?”
Martta remained silent but nodded her head up and down.
“Are you running away from someone?”
Another nod.
“And do you believe they are powerful and have many resources?”
Again another nod.
“And you are afraid they will catch you if you get help from a hospital or police?”
One more nod yes.
“OK, I understand. I know of a place we can get you some help. There is a former doctor who works there. He won’t ask any questions. It’s a homeless shelter and food kitchen, just a few blocks away. Is it OK for us to go there?”
Martta tried to speak. Her response came out as a “yes” but because she was so thirsty it came out sounding very raspy.
“OK let’s get you there and have you checked out.”
They got to the shelter and Lucas had the doctor look Marta over. He patched her up and made sure she was OK. They had her shower, then eat and gave her some donated clothes and then put her to bed.

Section 04

When she woke up in the morning, Martta saw that Lucas had slept in chair next to her bed, watching over her the whole night.
“How sweet,” she thought, “no one has cared for me like this in a long time”. As she sat up in the bed, it creaked and woke up Lucas.
“Take it easy,” Lucas said, “do you know where you are?”
“Somewhere on Earth,” Martta replied, “I think in the United States by your accent.”
Lucas shook his head back and forth, “Those sex traffickers really did a number on you. I am glad you are OK. The doc says you have just a few minor scrapes and bruise, but nothing to worry about”.
“Well if you’re ready, let’s get you some clothes and some breakfast,” Lucas said, as he held out his hand for Martta to take, so he could escort her around.
First they went to the office and got a few clothing vouchers for Martta. They then went to the clothing area to get her clothing. The lady at the clothing room asked for the vouchers and for her name. This caused Lucas to stare at Martta with a blank, then embarrassed, look on his face.
“I am so sorry, in all the rush last night I didn’t get your name. My name is Lucas Maddix Barlow, but folks call me Lucas. May I please have the pleasure of calling you by your name?” Lucas asked her.
Martta looked at them and then said, “Martta”.
When the clothing lady looked like she was going to prompt Martta for more, Lucas interjected, “Martta appears to be a human trafficking victim running away from her captors. If we could just go ahead and fill out the rest for her please”.
The lady seemed fine with that and wrote down a fictional middle and last name for her. She then asked Martta, “Do you know your measurements?”
Martta shook her head no.
“Well let’s go ahead and get them,” the lady said.
To everyone’s surprise, Martta stripped totally naked right there. This made Lucas turn away, to give her privacy.
The lady said the measurements out loud to an assistant who wrote them down, “34 inch breast, 32b cup, 25 inch waist, 34 inch hips, size 7 shoe, height 5 foot 5 inches, weight 120 lbs and a misses size 6”. She then led Martta to an aisle and started having Martta try on different clothes she handed her.
In about an hour, Martta had 4 complete changes of clothing with a couple of coats, hats, scarfs and purses. She gave Martta a couple of duffel bags to put her stuff in.
After Martta picked up her clothes, Lucas escorted her to the dining area. While eating Lucas states, “For today they will let you stay here without ID, but we will need to get you some. I know someone that can help. We will go there today and get it all taken care of.”

Section 05

“Now that we are done eating, we had best go get you that ID,” Lucas told Martta.
They cleaned up their dishes and then left.
As they walked about one and a half miles to a different area of town, they received a few looks from strangers, because they were dressed like street people and this was a middle income area. They ignored the looks and kept going.
Eventually, they walked into a tailor shop. Lucas walked up to the man behind the counter and said, “We’re here to see Nick.”
The man motioned for them to go on back. They went to the back of the shop and into a room where they found an assistant manager.
“Hey Nick”
Nick replied, “Hi there Lucas. What can I do for you today?”
Lucas said, “This young lady needs one of your basics. She just needs enough papers for the shelter and a few other things, nothing major. She can come back for an upgrade later when she has more money. By the way, she escaped from some human traffickers, so we can’t use her real name”
“OK, come back after 5pm. They will be ready”
Martta asked, “Doesn’t he need to take my photograph?”
Nick said, “Nope, I will just take a frame from the surveillance video”
Lucas says, “We’ll see you then”
They left and Lucas then gave her a tour of the town, showing her how to get around and some places she could go to get help.
After 5 pm, they returned and got the ID and some other paper with her name on them. It looked pretty good. Martta started to look in her purse for money when Lucas piped up, “Hey Nick do you mind if I pay you later, she has no cash?”
“It’s OK, I know your good for it Lucas,” Nick replied and waved them off.
“Now that you have your ID and papers, let’s go try them out. Let's go to the library and get you a library card,” Lucas told Martta.
They walked for about half a mile and reached the public library. While on their way Martta looked at the ID and papers Nick had given her. The papers were various utility bills for a location that was an empty lot across the street from the food kitchen.
With the papers and ID, Lucas was able to help Martta get a library card.
While there, the librarian gave them a tour and showed Martta how to use the computer to find books. She also showed Martta how to do inter library loans and to look up periodicals and trade journals. The librarian also introduced Martta to the Internet.
Martta started to research different topics like puppies, distant travel destinations and even different people. Lucas watched as Martta went from website to website, just like a little girl in a toy store.
When it got late, they returned to the shelter and Lucas helped get Martta signed up.

Section 06
Over the next few weeks, Martta got to know her surroundings and started to explore the city more. She also started to do volunteer work at the shelter, first to earn her keep and then later on to just help out people who had helped her.
Over the next few months, Martta got to know Lucas more. It turned out that Lucas had been a world-class violinist, but he had gotten hooked on heroin and had destroyed his career. He had been wise enough to set aside some investments and could live comfortably for the rest of his life. When he had been an addict, all his friends and family disowned him. These days he just liked to play the violin in the calm and quiet park at night.
During the next few months, Martta and Lucas became great friends. There were never any romantic interests, because Lucas was always trying to be noble and protect Martta, and she saw him as too good of a person to be involved romantically with her. But, at night, she would always go with him to the park to listen to him play and unbeknownst to Lucas, to also protect him. Martta came to regard Lucas as her best friend. Their time in the park was the most pleasant and happy times she would ever have. She would rarely miss them.
Because of Lucas’ health, he would often sleep a lot during the day. During the time he slept, Martta would often go to work earning money.
She started out just as a panhandler. Eventually Martta was able to buy some nicer clothes and a portable phone. With a phone she could do day labor work. A little while later, she was able to start working as a waitress.
While working as a waitress, Martta was approached by a photographer and began to work as a nude model. Lucas frowned on this, but she told him it wasn’t causing her any problems, and she had been through worse.
Her next choice of professions caused one of the few arguments between her and Lucas. Lucas was mortified when she started to be a prostitute. He was concerned that it would put her in danger. Martta was finally able to smooth things over by showing him that she was able to take care of herself and that she was selective in picking her johns. She was also able to convince him that it was alright; because she was doing it for her own fun and that they were paying her to do what she wanted with them anyway.
After a while as a prostitute, Martta started to make enough money, so she could afford to stay in a cheap hotel and no longer in the homeless shelter. Lucas insisted on staying at the homeless shelter, even though Martta offered to rent him a room at the hotel. He felt being in the shelter kept him close to the people he could help the most.

Section 07

Most nights Martta would go to the park with Lucas. She would run, dance and frolic while he played the violin. It made him happy to see her do so. She was always happy to end the stressful and hard day on a high note.
There were occasional nights where Martta would have a late client and couldn’t be there with Lucas. He understood. He would go anyway. She would eventually arrive. It was all pleasant, until one late night. Martta arrived to see an ambulance and several police squad cars.
Lucas had been mugged by a wandering gang. They had beaten him up, taken the violin money from the case and had smashed up the violin. Martta rode with him in the ambulance and stayed with him at the hospital keeping vigil over him.
Eventually, the detective in charge of the case came and talked to Lucas and Martta. While talking with Martta, the detective shared that they know who mugged Lucas, but since there was no other witnesses, the gang’s corrupt lawyers have had the charges dismissed.
During the next few days, Lucas was in and out of consciousness. When he is awake, he sees the pieces of the violin and knows that it cannot be fixed. He is heartbroken over this and starts to become severely depressed and starts to give up on life.
The violin was a gift from his deceased daughter and was his most prized possession. Now he can’t bear to see the site of the broken violin or its pieces, and he starts to stay asleep longer.
The doctors let Martta know that Lucas will require lots of rest and therapy. They estimate it will cost him over $250,000 for his stay and the recovery. When Lucas hears this, he looks at Martta and says, “It’s OK. Let me go. I have had a good life. Don’t worry about me. Thank you for being my friend.”
Martta replies, “You are not done yet. I will get the money.”
Lucas replies, “Without my music I don’t want to go on.”
Martta counters, “Then I will also get your music back for you, dear sweet Lucas.”
That day when Lucas drifts off to sleep, Martta takes the violin around to different music shops. They all tell her it would not be able to be fixed. Finally, she goes to a local museum and talks with the music department.
One of the people there recognizes the violin and tells Martta it would be possible to fix it and restore it but it will take time and cost money, a lot of it. Martta says, “Money is not a problem. I will get it. How much money and how long will it take?”
The man replies, “It will take one month and cost $500,000.”
Martta hands him $5,000 and says, “Go ahead and start. I will be back in a month with the rest.”

Section 08

The next day Martta starts on her plan to get the money for Lucas. She has decided that since the gang caused this then the gang will pay for it, in money and blood.
Martta gets a copy of the police report and begins tracking the gang members. She stalks them one by one. She goes to each gang member’s house and tortures them for details on the other gang members and all of their assets.
After she makes them talk, she sells all their possessions, vehicles and homes. She also drained all their back accounts, maxed out their credit cards doing cash advances and sold any of their businesses. She then kills them and disposes of their bodies.
When she is done, there are no members of the gang left alive. She then proceeds to do the same to every lawyer in the law firm that represented the gang, along with the corrupt judge and prosecutor who threw the case out.
By the end of the fourth week, Martta returns to the museum and pays them for the violin in cash. She then proceeds to the hospital with the violin and pays off Lucas’ medical bills in cash as well.
The next afternoon Lucas wakes up. Martta hands him his restored violin and says, “Now you have your music back”.
Lucas tries to play the violin and to his surprise it plays even better than before. Everything that was wrong with it is fixed.
“It was broken beyond repair. This isn’t possible. Alright it is possible because you did it but it had to cost a fortune. There is no way you could afford this,” he looks at Martta confused.
“The gang paid for it,” Martta replies, “it was appropriate that since they broke it they paid for it to be fixed. They also have paid for your hospital bill”.
“I know that gang. This is not the first time they have beat me up. They would never pay for any of this,” Lucas states and now looks at Martta sternly.
“They did pay for it, in full. Furthermore, they will never bother you again,” Martta shares. Then in a more serious tone she states, “They will never bother anyone ever again. I had a ‘talk’ with them.”
“Martta what are you talking about? What did you do?” Lucas shows fear and concern.
“Dear sweet Lucas, I am not what you think I am. I have grown to love you deeply as the best friend I have ever had, but I think it is time that I told you the truth about me and where I am from” Martta says.
Martta then proceeds to tell Lucas the whole truth. When she is done, Martta shows Lucas some of her soul tattoos as proof.
She expects him to be fearful and afraid. Instead, he looks at her first with awe, then compassion and finally concern.
It is a few minutes before Lucas speaks. When he does, he considers his words carefully.

Section 09

“I can’t imagine all the things you have been through. You have seen the worst this world has to offer. But I also believe that your path is not set in stone. I believe in the kindness and forgiveness of the lord. I don’t think that you are destined to go back, you can change and lead a good life.”
Lucas continues, “I like to believe, that despite all my shortcomings, I live a good life. I can’t bear the thought that others are harmed on my behalf. Promise me that you will not harm anyone else because of me. Promise me no more violence. I believe in you”
By the time Lucas was done, Martta had tears in her eyes. Finally, she looks him in the eyes and says, “I promise you. I will not harm others anymore and will strive to be the better person like you. While you live, this is my vow”. She rests her head on his chest, and he hugs her. A content smile comes to his lips.
Martta let him hold her until he falls asleep again. She then starts running some errands.
Over the next few weeks, Martta purchases an abandoned warehouse and a few vehicles. She has it remodeled. Martta has a 5 bedroom apartment put in the top floor along with some renovations. She has installed the medical equipment for Lucas’ recovery, an elevator for easy access, for fun and relaxation a Jacuzzi, a home theater and even a mechanics bay downstairs are added.
About two months after the mugging Lucas is ready to leave the hospital. Martta brings him to the apartment. At first he is upset.
“You promised me you wouldn’t hurt anyone else,” Lucas accuses her.
Martta smiles warmly and replies, “I have kept my promise and will always keep it. This is from the money I made before my promise to you. My heart of violence is in the past where it belongs. I just want to live here in joy with you and the special friendship that we share.”
Lucas seems to accept that answer. He looks around cautiously and then finally says, “Well let’s look at our new home.” Martta holds him while she gives him a tour.
Over the next few months, Lucas recovers from his injuries enough to start playing. During one session while Martta is listening, he motions for her to come over. To her surprise, he hands her his violin. She looks at him confused and lost.
“It’s time for you to learn how to add your own music to the world.” He says. Over the next six months Lucas teaches Martta to play not just the violin but other instruments as well.
During the music sessions, Lucas would sometimes see Martta was swaying to the music. After one time, Lucas started to make a few phone calls. The next day some of Lucas’ retired dancer friends showed up and started to teach Martta how to express herself through dancing.

Section 10

In order for Martta to learn dance and music better, they renovated the warehouse. The apartment is soundproofed. The bottom portion of the warehouse is turned into a dance studio, a sound studio and a live performance stage.
They allow the downstairs to be used by community performance artist to practice, teach and put on shows. Sometimes there is a concert, sometimes dance and sometimes a play.
Through this community, Martta leans lots of different music, instruments and dance styles. Sometimes, she even partakes in the shows.
With this new group of friends, Martta starts to meet people and go to parties. The parties do inevitably introduce Martta to drugs, and she begins to enjoy them. Lucas becomes concerned, because of what drugs did to him. He does observe that Martta controls the drugs and not the other way around, so eventually he comes to be alright with her using them as long she still shows control and moderation.
Some of their friends introduce Martta to the Internet and all of it resources. She has a multi monitor high end server system installed and starts to become a computer geek. She starts video conferencing with people, even some exhibitionism. Lucas notices that Martta is starting to become a shut in and only leaving for “dates” and shopping.
One evening Lucas wakes up Martta and says, “Wake up moon flower. It’s time to go bloom”.
“What are we doing?” she replies.
“You will find out when we get there,” Lucas replies.
“Can’t we do it here?” she grumbles.
“Silly moon flower, you can't bloom indoors. It’s time to start going back to the park,” He scolds.
“The park?” she inquires.
“Yeap, it time to see what you got. Time to shine,” he teases
They go back to the park, where Lucas used to play. Martta is hesitant because of the pain Lucas suffered there, however his smile reassures her.
At midnight, he announces, “Ah the witching hour, time to cast your spell young moon flower,” and he begins to play the violin. After about half an hour, he motions for her to start dancing. She does and after a little while she starts to sing while she dances as well. This starts to become a nightly ritual with them once again.
One afternoon, when they are practicing their music, Martta stops playing. She stands up, walks over to Lucas and takes his violin from him. “Come on maestro its time”.
Lucas gets up and follows her. “What do you mean its time?”
Marta walks onto their stage which she has set up to look like a mini concert hall. “It’s time for you to be shared with the rest of the world,” she says. She points to the video cameras that have been setup. She has Lucas sit down and start playing.
“I don’t know about this,” Lucas says nervously. It is the first time he has been on stage in decades.
“Don’t worry, it’s only going to a few friends,” Martta reassures him.

Section 11

After a few songs, Lucas notices Martta on her phone making calls. Then people start arriving and take seats in the audience and watching.
Lucas starts to rise, “Now wait a minute I am not sure about this.”
Martta walks up and eases him back down, “You have been ready for decades. It’s time for you to be back where you belong”. Lucas recovers from the stage fright and begins playing again.
After the concert, Lucas is talking to well-wishers and friends. He finally corners Martta and says with sarcasm, “A few friends?”
Waving his hand at all the people there, Lucas asks, “And just how many ‘friends’ did that get broadcast to?”
“Just a few,” Martta replies innocently.
“Hundred,” she raises her eyebrows mischievously. Lucas looks at her with mild annoyance.
“Thousand,” she teases. When she sees his look of utter shock, she continues.
“Globally,” with a tone like a child who knows they were caught and are in trouble. Lucas’ jaw drops in disbelief.
One of the members of the audience walks up to Lucas. He recognizes her from many years ago when they played in concert halls together. Her name is Kaylee. “Welcome back Maestro Barlow. It has been too long. I can’t wait to buy the video,” Kaylee says.
“No, no, that is going too far Martta,” Lucas stammers.
“If I can overcome my problems, so can you. Your music is a gift to the world and needs to be shared. You are a man of hope, compassion and love,” Martta says with conviction.
“I will not get into the same trap I did years ago. I won’t let the same thing happen. It was the money that caused the problem,” Lucas trembles in fear when he says it.
“Then use the money to help others. Don’t keep it. We don’t need it. We will just keep enough to manage it and help charities and foundations with the rest,” she rebuttals.
Lucas thinks deeply for a few minutes then gets a mischievous grin that Martta hasn’t seen before, “If I have to change and accept this then you have to change as well.”
“What do you want? I’ll do anything for you,” she replies.
“If we are going to make that much money, I want to know you will be safe.”
She looks at him confused.
He continues, “No more prostitution for you. If my music is earning us money, I don’t want you to sell your body to strangers anymore. I want to know you are safe at night”
Lucas sees the hesitation and confusion in Martta’s eyes.
“I love you. If I am going to sacrifice what I need to in order to do this, then I want you to not have to sacrifice your body and soul anymore,” Lucas said with conviction.
After a few minutes, Martta decides to sacrifice, so the man she loves can have his dreams back. With tears from her eyes she says, “OK”. Then she and Lucas seal the agreement with a loving hug, holding each other in joy.
Latter in the evening Lucas sees Martta acting a little depressed, “why so sad? This is a good night”.
Martta replies, “It’s just I am going to miss feeling wanted. I liked the attention and enjoyed seeing men pay stupid amounts of money to fawn over me. I know I will have to give that up. But I won’t regret it, if it means you can be happy again”.
Lucas gently takes her head in his hands. He goes to talk to her, but before he can one of their female alt model friends comments.
“Give up what? Sleeping with yucky stranger for money. So what? Give up admires who pay you and tell you how awesome, hot and incredible you are, no way. Do what I did, start web camming and making specialty clips to sell.”
The friend sees both of their shocked and confused reactions and continues, “I can make more in a week web camming and selling video clips than I did in a month of escorting. You get the right audience base and your residuals go through the roof. Also, no one gets to touch you unless it's another model. It is completely safe in all ways. The biggest problem is filing the taxes on all the money you make”.
Martta looks at Lucas, her expression one of asking for permission.
“Why not?” Lucas chimes “if you will be safe, content and happy”.

Section 12

The next two weeks were packed with activity. They end up turning the warehouse into a mini college. Lucas is able to be a mentor and instructor. He is happier than he has ever been, because he gets to be professor over his own conservatory.
The next month is a learning experience for Martta. She is reading everything she can on running business and managing them.
Lucas’ music splinters into several businesses. The first is Lucas’ own playing. The next is sponsoring other entertainers and helping them make their own videos. Finally, he starts creating instructional videos with himself and other musicians as the teachers.
Martta starts building up her web camming clientele. She becomes a mentor for other web cam model. She also starts a business selling information on how to make and run a business.
In managing the new businesses, Martta also start managing the assets and the expending of resources. They set up several foundations and sponsored different charities. They started being invited to different social, business and community events.
Eventually, their days become packed with activity. On most days, they will spend time in the Jacuzzi just relaxing from the day’s activities and unwinding from the stress.
As the weeks go buy, the stress and demands of their new life style eventually starts to build up. One night, they are siting naked in the Jacuzzi. Lucas looks at Martta when suddenly an idea comes to him. He gets out of the Jacuzzi startling Martta.
“Come on moon flower.”
Martta responds, “What.”
“You have started to wilt, let’s go,” he retorts.
“Go where?” she responds with a little annoyance.
“You won’t know till we get there,” he teases.
“Then I am not going,” she pouts.
“Then I’ll go without you,” Lucas says, as he leaves the room.
They go dress. He grabs his violin and gets in the passenger seat of the car, waiting for Martta. She sits in the driver seat and then realizes where they are going and smiles. They are going to the park. It had been so long that she had forgotten.
They start their nightly ritual at the park again. One of the nights they get in the car to go, when one of their female friends hops in the back seat.
“I want to see what the two of you do at night, because you go away upset and come back happy. I want some,” she says.
Martta looks at Lucas and he just shrugs. After that night, word gets out about the nightly park event and others start to show up. In a matter of weeks, the event blossoms, the time in the park becomes a nightly mini festival every night.
The city starts to sponsor the festival and allocates police and paramedics at it to help out.
It is truly the happiest time for Martta and Lucas. They get to teach and mentor during the day and hang out with friends in the park at the festival at night. It is the happiest Martta has ever seen Lucas.

Section 13

The running of the businesses begins to take up more of Martta’s time. She is often in meetings that run into the night. Martta is sometimes late to a nightly festival due to business meeting, but she still attends them. She may arrive late, but she always shows up.
After one such very long meeting, she gets to the park. This time there is something different. There are too many ambulances and police cars, and they all have their lights on.
She enters the park and sees officers on crowd control and paramedics seeing to the injured. A growing sense of dread and panic seizes Martta, She runs to where Lucas normally is, shouting his name over and over. She sees him on a stretcher with paramedics. As she approaches, several officers try to stop her. Without thinking, Martta performs some judo and throws them on the ground behind her. She rushes to the stretcher.
“Lucas,” she calls desperately. She ignores the paramedics and other officers, who saw what she just did and gives her room, and she takes Lucas’ hand.
“Hey moon flower you finally made it,” he says to her weakly.
She glances at what the paramedics are doing and instinctively know it is bad. Lucas sees the fear in her face and tries to calm her, “Hey, hey don’t be like that. It will be alright. We will be back to playing in the park in no time, you will see,” and he smiles the smile that always warms her heart.
She rides with him in the ambulance to the hospital, holding his hand and reassuring him, all the way telling him that she loves him over and over. About a mile from the hospital, the look on Lucas’ face changes to one of fear and then sadness.
Martta starts to see the change and begins shaking her head back and forth in a no gesture. She believes if she say no enough then what is coming next will not happen. Lucas takes her hand in both of his and looks her in the eyes with love and regret and says, “Moon flower, I think I have to leave you now,” he pulls her hand to his chest and then dies.
When the ambulance pulls up to the hospital emergency room entrance, Martta has collapsed in tears crying on Lucas’s chest. The emergency attending physician, along with the head nurse, approached the ambulance. As the doctor goes to examine Lucas, the EMT shakes his head no. Martta saw this and in desperation grabbed the doctor’s wrist.
“No, you have to help him. You can fix him,” she begged.
The somber look from the medical staff only drove her to more desperation.
“Please, please I beg you. I’ll pay you anything, get you anything. I’ll do whatever you want,” she is clutching the doctor’s legs at this point.
The doctor leaned down and looked Martta in the eyes, “He’s gone.”

Section 14

With those two words, the love of Martta’s life was gone.
Martta doesn’t even remember what happened over the next few hours. She clung to Lucas’ body, crying so hard that her breathing became so labored that the doctor gave her a sedative for fear she would suffocate. When she woke up hours later, Lucas’ friend Kaylee was there.
For a moment, when she saw Kaylee, Martta thought everything was alright and it had been a bad dream. Then she saw the look of sorrow on Kaylee’s face. That is when the dread returns to Martta’s face.
Martta looks at Kaylee and asks, “Where is he?”
Kaylee responds, “In the morgue, waiting for the funeral home to come get him. I’ll take you to him”. She then helps Martta down to the morgue.
Once at the morgue, Kaylee talks to the assistant, and he opens the drawer with Lucas in it so Martta can view him. To the assistant’s and Kaylee’s surprise, Martta climbs on the morgue drawer and cuddles up to Lucas’ body. She wraps herself in his arms, holds him and starts crying. She cries in his arms until she falls asleep in Lucas’s arms one last time.
In the morning the mortician arrives to pick up Lucas’ body. Martta is still asleep in Lucas’ arms. The Mortician has seen this before, with past ones, and gently wakes up Martta.
“Miss, we need you to let us take him, so we can get him ready.”
Kaylee, who has been there the whole night in silent vigil, helps Martta down.
Martta tells the mortician, “I don’t care what it costs I want the best for him.”
The mortician, who has heard this before from grieving relatives, looks to Kaylee who just gives a nod to confirm that it won’t be a problem.
“When you’re ready, he will be waiting for you to say goodbye,” the mortician says as he then proceeds to take Lucas to the funeral home to be prepared.
Kaylee starts to lead Marta away telling her, “Come on sweetie he wouldn’t want you to be like this. Let's get you home,”
Martta whispers, “I don’t know what to do now.”
Kaylee responds, “Lucas would want you to go on. He would want you to be happy and live a life full of love and joy, of song and dance”
“I don’t know that I can without him. He was everything to me. All I want is to be with him. Hear his voice, hold him in my arms and feel his music in my soul,” Martta replied, barely holding back the tears.
“Come on,” Kaylee replies, “let’s get you home.” She takes Martta and leads her away.

Section 15

The funeral was held two nights later. In the viewing, right before the coffin was closed, Martta leaned in and kissed Lucas one last time and then placed his violin in his Arms. “So you can play your music properly in Heaven when you get there, my love”. In respect for Lucas and his life of music, it was a New Orleans jazz funeral.
In the weeks after the funeral, Martta became withdrawn and depressed. It wasn’t until she caught a couple having sex in the Jacuzzi that she started to come out of the depression.
She started to manage the businesses again, but everyone knew there was something different about her. She seemed to just be going through the motion.
Two months after Lucas’ death, Martta finally summons up the will to go see the detective in charge of the case. When she arrives, he thinks it is wise to summon a grief counselor who is also a catholic priest.
Detective Matos fills her in on what happened. There had been some sort of running fight that had entered the park that night. One of the perpetrators had sprayed the crowd with automatic gunfire, when they missed the other perpetrator who was chasing them with a sword. This resulted in 15 dead including Lucas and 60 wounded. The detective informs her that the case is active, and they are currently tracking down leads and coordinating their investigation with state and federal authorities.
“Do you have video?” Martta asked.
“Yes,” the detective replies “but we are not supposed to show it.”
The priest encourages the detective to show it to her. “Tomas, it could help her with closure”.
Detective Matos shows her various clips. At one point, Martta sees something that grabs her attention. “Could you please close up on his arm” pointing to the man with the swords. Tomas does and what Martta sees causes her to break, as she sees the tattoos on his arm and recognizes the script.
As her legs give out from under her, she says aloud one word that causes the priest to look at her with concern, for knowing a word that the churches have been keeping a secret.
“Revenant”
Martta breaks down into tears as she realizes that while she had been living a good life, the Revenants and escapees were running wild.
“It’s my fault. If I hadn’t stopped my mission for you my love, you would still be alive”. The priest tries to convince her that she was not responsible, but Martta shakes her head.
“How many innocent people were paying the price for my happiness? I thought I was done with Hell, but it seems Hell was not done with me.”
Martta holds her head in her hands, as it sinks in what has happened. After a few minutes her demeanor changes, and she stands up and looks at detective Matos.
“Thank you for showing me this. I know what I have to do now” and she leaves them.

Section 16

Martta arrives home and calls a meeting of close friends and associates of Lucas. Everyone can tell her demeanor has changed to a determined one.
“Thank you all for joining me. I have been shown some information that I am going to act on. I will be leaving for a few weeks to set things up and will be back. When I return, we will discuss the future care taking of Lucas’s legacy further.”
The others try to get more information out of Martta, but she has determined the course of action she will be taking. She has decided to perform the mission she had come to Earth to do. Not out of vengeance, spite, nor envy but out of a sense of protecting the innocents like Lucas.
In the two weeks she is gone, Martta obtains a new identity, travels to Zurich and access one of the lost bank accounts that she has access to. With the interest of the last 90 years, it contains billions of dollars that she will use to fund her mission.
Upon her return, she has a meeting with all the major friends and CEOs of the companies she has been running. When people ask what is going on she replies, “I cannot live our beloved Lucas’ dream anymore. The pains of the memories in our home are too great. I have decided upon a new mission in my life, and I will not discuss this with anyone because I have already made up my mind. I will value and cherish our friendship and what we have accomplished here for the rest of time. But, I can no longer stay here on this path. I will also not abandon all the work that Lucas and I have put into this. I have taking steps to ensure that our work and dreams will continue. Towards that goal I am assigning all of our assets and companies over to you to manage.”
When the others raise protest and express concern for her, Martta quiets them with a look of control none of them have seen before, and she states, “I will not be delayed in my mission anymore”. She then turns and leaves them, and the conservatory, for the last time.
Once Martta has seen to the posterity of Lucas’ dream, she puts her new plans into action.
First Martta buys a government seized survivalist compound. Then she starts to renovate it as a training/combat range. She adds chemical and materials research buildings. Then a data mining facility is added.
After the buildings are built Martta starts hiring one-on-one instructors for various weapons, tactics, and Martial arts. She hires contract workers to teach her about electronics, computers, physics, chemistry and medical.
Martta turns the facility into her own person war academy. She masters over 200 different weapons and 12 different martial arts. The final step in her plan was creating global networks of contacts.

Section 17

It is one year to the day of Lucas’ death. Martta has one last thing to do. As she approaches Lucas’ tomb, she sees several people there. Friends and community leaders are there talking amongst themselves, paying their respects. When they see her, all the conversations stop, and they look at her.
Martta walks by them and into the crypt. Kaylee is there along with the detective Matos and his priest friend as well.
“Lucas my love, I have come to see you one last time before I start on my path and can never see you again. I know you wanted me to give up my old ways and come with you to Heaven and I have. The part of my soul that had joy and love has gone with you to Heaven. It will always be with you in paradise. The music and dance in my soul died with you.”
Martta continues, “I have made sure that your dreams will stay alive. But, it is time for me to continue on my path. I cannot keep your love with me because I know what they will do to it when I return to Hell. I have to release it now, to go to you in Heaven. It will always be with you, where it can grow.”
Martta closes her eyes for a few minutes, resting her hands on Lucas’ tomb, as though she is trying to heal him. She cries her last cry of love with him. When she is done, she slowly regains her composer.
As Martta goes to leave Kaylee reaches out to her, “Martta,” Kaylee says with concern and compassion and trying to comfort her.
“It would be best if all of you forgot about me. I am going to be doing things that you don’t want to be thought to be a part of. As a matter of fact it would be better for all of you if you just didn’t ever acknowledge that you knew me. The Martta you knew died with Lucas.”
She starts to leave and sees the priest. “Don’t waste your prayers on me father. I know where I am from and where I am going back. You see I am here on a mission, to send all the escapees back to Hell.” The priest shows concern on his face because Martta knows such about such things.
Martta continues, “You see I know it was an escapee who killed Lucas. If you want confirmation, just ask your friend the Revenant.”
She then looks at the detective, “I mean searcher not Revenant.”
She sees the look of shock on the priest and detective, “You haven’t received my ink because Hell doesn’t know I’m here, yet.”
Martta shows them her soul tattoos. Their mouths drop open in shock.
“I am going to send all the escapees back to Hell and I know where the first one is,” Martta says with a morbid and determined look on her face.
Martta walks out of the tomb and gets in the waiting taxicab.