The Purple Rose of Cairo
Prologue
The Great Depression
Duo stared out the window, into the gray landscape of the city.
"He makes catcalls at the women who walk by, you know," his next door
neighbor said, sipping tea at the kitchen table.
Duo shrugged. "That’s what construction workers do, Quatre."
"I just don’t think it’s right, with him already married and all. And
how’d you get that bruise on your arm?"
Duo sat down at the table next to him, wincing at the question. "It
doesn’t matter, it’s just that we got in an argument."
Quatre’s mouth formed a tiny 'o', but he didn’t comment. "Are you…
happy? With Wufei?"
"Is any one happy right now, Quatre? With things the way they are?"
Quatre sighed. "They deserve to be."
* * *
Duo pulled his threadbare coat closer to himself, making his way to the
movie theater. He had gotten into another argument with Wufei that
morning, and then he had gone to work only to find out that the Astors
couldn’t afford to keep him any more. And just like that, he was fired.
He knew the last thing he should be doing was spend his money at the
movies, but they were the only thing that made him feel even slightly
better about his life. When he got to the theater, he saw Trowa, the
manager, changing the letters on the billboard outside.
"Hey, Trowa, are you showing a new movie?"
Trowa smiled in the middle of putting a ‘P’ up. "Yeah. You’ll love it,
it’s got adventure, romance, and Heero Yuy. I hear he’s one hell of an
actor."
"That’s good. I was kind of getting sick of the last film."
"No wonder, with the number of times you come in here."
Duo smiled as he stepped up to the kiosk, buying a ticket before going
inside the theater. The news flashed on the screen in front of him,
then the film came on, with its exotic locales and beautiful actors.
For a few hours Duo could actually imagine he was away, in the film's
landscape, and not in the existence he had fallen into. He watched as
the main couple was whisked away to Cairo on their second honeymoon,
where they met adventurer Odin Lowe, and helped him search for the
mysterious purple rose. Then he watched as all three of them flew back
to New York, where they had bubble baths and Odin fell in love with
Lola, the glamorous singer of an opulent nightclub. Duo sighed, wishing
his life was filled with bubble baths, nightclubs, and glamour. He
wondered what Heero Yuy and Relena Peacecraft were like in real life,
if they were as charming and alluring as their on-screen counterparts.
Then at the end, he decided to stay and watch the movie again. It’s not
like he had a job to get to any more.
It was the seventh time through the movie that Duo saw it. He blinked,
thinking that maybe he needed more sleep or something. But then it
happened again. Odin Lowe had looked out into the audience. He had
never done that before, not in this scene. And what more, he seemed to
be looking right at Duo. Duo shook his head, hoping to clear his mind,
when something happened.
"Excuse me," Odin said, holding his hand out to the other characters in
the movie. Duo started. This had never happened in the movie before. He
was even more astounded when the characters stopped what they were
doing to stare at Odin with confused expressions.
Then Odin turned to stare at him. "I’m sorry, it’s just that you’ve
been in this theater all day. You must really love this movie, since
you’re watching it for the seventh time. I’ve been counting."
Duo looked around him, at the surprised looks on the other patrons'
faces.
"Are you… are you talking to me?"
Odin nodded. "Of course. It’s just that you look so sad."
Duo blushed as all the attention in the room was focused on him. This
was just too strange.
"Odin," one of the characters on-screen whispered harshly, "what are
you doing?"
"I’m just," Odin stopped for a moment, then turned back to face Duo.
"I'm coming out there."
Duo was about to gasp, when the screen fluttered slightly, and he found
himself staring into a pair of Prussian blue eyes.