Fifty-Five

VALERIA

I listened carefully. I heard the sound of a car engine. It couldn't be Dimitri. He had been away for two days now and I wasn't expecting him back today. I turned off the volume of the television, whose channels I had been idly flicking through and hurried to the door. The tall, lean fair haired man standing on the other side of the door was unfamiliar. In one hand, he held a parcel done up in brown paper. There was a moment of silence where we looked each other over, and though I was sure that I didn't know him, there was something in his eyes that made me feel like he knew who I was.

"Er- hi?" I made the greeting sound like a question.

He quickly recovered. He smiled. "Hi. You must be Valeria."

I blinked in surprise that he knew me but found myself shaking his proffered hand. "I am Valeria, but you seem to have me at a disadvantage. I don't know who you are."

"Ah. Sorry. Forgive me. I sort of forgot myself for a moment there. I'm Silas-"

"Dimitri's friend," I cut in.

His smi