JULIE A. D'ARCY 

THE GOLDEN IDOL

Excerpt 8,000 word story

by Julie A. D'Arcy

Sherry awoke with a start, her body drenched with perspiration.  She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stumbled toward the bathroom, tripping over her slippers as she did so. She righted herself, moved into the bathroom and stared at the pale face in the mirror.  She could remember nothing of the dream except...a golden idol. 

The statue had been beautiful and ugly all in one, depicting a man and woman in an embrace of what could have been love, or the throes of death.  She shook her head trying to clear her mind. The face that peered back from the mirror seemed like that of a stranger's: eyes huge pools of desolation, skin ghostly against a back drop of brilliant auburn hair.  She ran a washcloth over her face, dragged a brush roughly through her disheveled auburn hair and turned for the door.  She needed air.

She had to get out of the motel or she would surely go insane.  She had been held up here for five days...waiting.  Now, there would be no more waiting.

Tears came unbidden to her eyes and she hastily wiped them away.  This was supposed to be her honeymoon-- yesterday her wedding day.  But that had been a dream, and this was another day.

She stepped from the motel lobby into the main street of Rio de Janeiro and was struck by the heat.  Slowly, she pushed her way through the crowd, and moved down the congested sidewalk.  She had forgotten about the parade.  It was evening and the Mardi Gras was in full swing. 

Sherry felt hot, dirty and uncomfortable .  She flicked her damp hair back from her eyes.  If there were anything she hated more than this relentless heat, it would be the laughing, noisy, crowd, which jostled and pulled her in every direction.

A man in a garishly painted mask of a blue wolf lowered his face into hers and the stink of garlic from a harsh laugh filled her nostrils.  She shoved him away and squeezed through a narrow gap in the crowd. 

An elbow struck her ribs and she staggered into the doorway of an old shop.

Plucking her shirt away from her overheated body she sighed and leaned against the wall.  The sign above the entrance read, 'The Old Green Door.'

            Curiosity motivated her to reach for the door handle.  To her surprise it opened, and she stepped inside...

Sorry there is no more at the moment. You might like to purchase the book, and read my 8,000 word story G*  Along with my other 30,000 word novella, "Face of a stranger".... coming soon. check back for details.