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Disclaimer: Grim Fandango belongs to LucasArts. I'm not making money with this story and I'm not associated with the company in any way.
MESSAGE FROM HIM
It was night in Rubacava. When someone described the town he usually told first about the town's cold nights and thousands of stars that spread across the sky. The story always had a part for the thick fog at the docks and all those adventures that made some people romanticize about the docks and its inhabitants.
There was nothing romantic in docks. At least not in Toto Santos' opinion. He had never seen a broad sailor kissing his lover as a goodbye, or a group of old and yet honest seamen helping each other. He knew there were only crooks, violence and drunken failures at the docks.
In other words, he felt quite homey.
He usually didn't wander in the streets at night, that was the time when he had most of his customers. Even though the outside world annoyed him he never said 'no' to money. Yet he had done difference this time and closed his shop.
And it wasn't the first time that week either.
Lola had been missing for a couple of days and the man was starting to get worried. The woman never left for longer than a day without telling him first. Toto could have bet that something unexpected had happened and he didn't like it. Unexpected events were more than often unwelcome.
To everyone who asked about it he said it was just good that the annoying girl had finally left him alone, but he felt otherwise inside. Everyone knew that, and he knew that they did. It didn't bother him, but he would have rather died a second time than admitted that he cared.
"Watch where you're going!" he snapped at a drunken sailor who stumbled near him. The man wasn't close to collapsing wit him, but Toto was on a bad mood and -- as always -- wanted to share it with the whole world.
He was more than aware of what Lola had been up to during the previous weeks. The girl had had a serious crush on Maximino for a while and even though Toto had told her to forget about it she hadn't listened. He couldn't understand why no woman ever listened to what he had to say.
Getting involved with Maximino would not be healthy for a nice girl like Lola. The man controlled the gambling system in Rubacava, was a gangster of the worst type and was always surrounded by corrupted crooks. It was well likely that one of them would pay a bit too much attention to Lola. It was also possible that the girl would get in serious trouble when adventuring into a world she didn't know as well as she thought she did.
"She is too naive," Toto muttered to himself. "Once I find her I'll make her pay for all the money I lose while searching for her."
He hoped he would find her soon. Lost souls usually didn't come back in one piece. At least not in Rubacava.
Toto noticed that he had arrived to a dim pier. At first he was going to turn away and leave, but then he noticed a figure standing at the end of the pier. He didn't need to step closer to see who it was.
"What are you doing here alone? Don't you have anything better to do?" he asked, walking to Velasco. The old dockmaster turned towards him and took his pipe in his hand.
"I listen to the song of the ships. It's on its most beautiful at night like this," he said.
"But there are no ships at -- ah, never mind. I am not interested," Toto stated. Velasco merely snorted and turned to face the sea again.
Toto and Velasco weren't very good friends, but there was no hatred between them. Occasionally they even got together to talk about something, but it happened quite seldom. Usually at least one of them had to be drunk too.
"I'm looking for Lola. Have you seen her?" Toto asked. He knew he didn't have to explain things to Velasco. The dockmaster had a strange way of sensing what others were thinking.
"Hm, seems so," he said.
"Well, have you seen her?"
"No, she doesn't really enjoy herself in the places where I spend my eternity," the dockmaster replied.
"Well, thanks for nothing," Toto snapped and turned to leave, but Velasco's voice made him turn around again.
"Wait. Now that you are here, I have something for you." He slipped his hand inside his blue coat and drew out a bit wrinkled envelope.
"What is this?" Toto asked as he took it. The other man shrugged.
"Manuel Calavera gave it to me before he left town. It's a message from him. He told me to give it to you once I met you next."
Toto asked no further questions and ripped the envelope open. He knew that at one point Lola had had a crush on Manny and the man had considered her his friend. He felt both worry and hope while thinking that Lola must have ran off with the man. He would be alone again, but at least she was fine.
There was a simple postcard with blue flowers in the envelope. A few words had been written on the other side.
"Nick did it," Toto read aloud. There was nothing else he needed to know. The picture and the words told him enough. He clenched his fists and crushed the card.
"That snake," he muttered with a broken voice. It was strange how he managed to do it without a throat, tongue or lacrimal glands, but managed anyway.
He barely noticed how Velasco turned his back on him and let him be. Toto appreciated it, but didn't really see it necessary. He didn't need to cry or rage at anyone.
There was nothing to be done.
"Pity. She was a nice girl," Velasco stated after a moment of silence.
"Too nice for a place like this. It would have happened sooner or later."
Toto felt bad and he was angry. Lola had been the light in his otherwise so dark afterlife and it was disgusting to think that a crook like Nick had hurt her. Maybe even done something worse than merely killed again.
Velasco bent his other arm behind his back and stared at the sea.
"I know how you feel. I still keep thinking of my lady and -- " he started, but Toto was not on the right mood to listen.
"Shut up. I don't want to listen to your stories of that damned ship again," he muttered.
He could only hope Lola hadn't suffered much.
Velasco snorted. Toto knew the dockmaster had meant good, but it just wasn't like him to care.
He turned his back on the man and left. On his way home he stopped for a while to look at the majestic Cat Track. He knew that Nick Virago was there and was enjoying himself.
The End
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