The Ghost Of Love by Marlene Johnsen Page A

walking for days and by the color of his pale lips, he might have been suffering from staying out during the cold nights. Was he camping out here? Alicia was utterly confused because his attire was absolutely spotless. Nothing about him was dirty. He only looked sick to her, like some sort of virus had come over him.
    A few steps further and he would be in front of Alicia as she froze, not saying a word. Most of the time, Alicia was scared of men. She looked at most of them as monsters, quickly traveling back in time to when she was just a nine year old kid. The memory took over her mind and she recalled the sting of a hand that had whipped across her face like nothing she'd felt before. It was her father, drunk again and beating on her. Alicia winced at the very thought of this, and she quickly blacked out her thoughts. She never wanted to think of those horrible years again. She was glad he was gone now. Oddly enough, her fear of men wasn't present. A warm feeling overcame her and she knew this man didn't mean any harm to her.
    A hand moved over her shoulder, gently touching it and she heard a gentle voice speak to her.
    "My lady, are you alright?" he questioned. She began to look at him with such curiosity now. He had an accent he had never heard before and his hands were as cold as ice. A shiver ran down her spine, and finally as her lips parted, she was able to speak back to him.
    "Yes, I am... What are you doing out here and why are you dressed like that?"
    He looked bewildered when she had asked him that, looking down to his own outfit. The man seemed a little uncertain of himself now. His brows lifted in a questioning expression.
    "What do you mean? My dear lady, I dress like this every day.. I'm not quite sure to tell you the truth. All I remember is waking up on the ground after a fall I had. What tis' your name?"
    She never heard a man of his tongue and became intrigued. Alicia mumbled her n name softly and was thinking too much about it. She wasn't interested in conversing at the moment but at the same time she had wanted to know more about him and blurted out suddenly.
    "Wait, do you even remember where you are from? Or what your name is?"
    The man shrugged with a lift of the shoulders and rolled his eyes.
    "I'm afraid not.. but I do still remember my name. I am Derrick Grenson, at your service m'lady... Or you can call me Darren too. My friends used to call me Darren all the time since my mom and dad would always fight about my name. " She stood there for a moment with her mind wandering, wondering why in the world he liked talking like this.

Chapter 3 - Alicia - The Boss
    "Hey, stop calling me that! I'm not your lady and my name is Alicia... " Alicia grumbled, slightly annoyed. After a few moments, she apologized to him after seeing the expression fall over his face. He looked slightly sad when she had said that. Reaching down, she took his hand in hers. She had to help him. He had absolutely no where to go and didn't even remember who he was.. or where he came from. Turning around, she began to drag him along with her. He chuckled softly and came to realize most woman were the same. They always had their mood swings and even one little word would get to them. He let her do with him as she please and began to follow. Alicia began to talk to him while bringing him to her favorite place.
    "Well, listen Daren.. Even thought I don't know you - were are both going to the amusement fair. I have no one to go with and it's late so I'd rather go with you. And.. since you don't know where you came from, you probably don't know how to get back, huh?"
    Darren fell silent at her words and realized this small woman was a bossy one but he didn't mind. In fact, he was enjoying her companionship so on their way they went...

Chapter 4 - Reaching their Destination
    The amusement fair was a few blocks away and as Alicia became closer, dragging Darren along - she finally let him go. His hand was still frozen over, despite her