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The Mark of Love by GIUSEPPE DE ANDREIS Mark of Love Page 1 of 5 This is the unauthorized but true biography of how Esmeralda, one of the most famous African models in the 1990’s escaped from her misery and humble beginnings as the daughter of Tonya, a black slave at the infamous “Blood Diamond Mines” of Sierra Leona in Africa. This is the story of her intense struggle against incredible obstacles as she escaped her roots and eventually became the ”Emerald Eye Gazelle” of the Fashion runways worldwide before marrying Count Alexander Von Laroche and becoming the legendary Countess Esmeralda.… Raised by her grandma, Esmeralda’s childhood started full of love and innocence, playing by the river banks where every day they would collect branches, small and shiny mother of pearl shells and leaves to weave them into artful baskets which they would later sell to the owners of mansions on the rich part of town. While her grandma would stand by the servant’s entrance selling her craft, young Esmeralda would take a peek through the large windows into great bright and elegant ballrooms… where young, pretty blonde girls dressed in beautiful dresses would practice ballet at the rhythm of a celestial music. A naive Esmeralda would dream of the wonderful life her mom and grandma will have if she could only take one of the enormous diamonds hanging on those chandeliers! Her eyes had never seen diamonds that big! she thought that her dear mother would not have to work till her fingers bled as a slave ever again, and she would be able to stay with little Esmeralda everyday…. Akira (Esmeralda’s grandma) never knew why her granddaughter would smear the golden sand all over her body and hair while dancing and jumping on top of the large river stones by the water falls, where the kiss of the sun and the water mist would surround her in colorful rainbows, but this was little Esmeralda’s way of dreaming about becoming a graceful “Blonde” prima ballerina just like the rich girls she would spy for hours…. This dancing and balancing act over rocks, would eventually give her a very distinctive posture and personal way to move as she walked, a style which made her famous as she glided through runways around the world…. We empathize with Esmeralda’s pain as her single mother, a slave, is tortured and gets her hands cut off, left bleeding to death in front of all the other slaves, when she is caught trying to keep a small diamond for herself on a failed attempt to sell it and move away to offer her child a better life. Esmeralda’s future was not a promising one, since as the rest of the women of her village, she was destined to be genitally mutilated with sharp river stones at the age of sixteen, to become a wife, a mother and a slave. Mark of Love Page 2 of 5 On her death bed, her elderly grandmother Akira begs Esmeralda to marry Lamar, the son of a good friend of the family, who could protect her and together move far away to the town of Tanger and start a new and safer life. In Tanger, a married Esmeralda quickly becomes pregnant; giving birth to a beautiful baby boy she names Akire in honor of her grandmother. Esmeralda develops into a gorgeous woman desired by all the men of Tanger, but she remains grateful and faithful to her husband and devoted to their son. One morning while bathing her baby by the river, Esmeralda notices a red spot on the little chest…later, the midwife who helped her give birth to Akire will give her the horrible news that the baby is suffering from a skin cancer which will shorten his life...maybe the Gods are punishing her for leaving behind her roots, her destiny? The young couple decided to use their few savings and take Akire to the big city seeking a cure or treatment for their baby boy. Later that month, while returning from the fish factory where he worked gutting fish, Lamar is robbed and killed, crushing Esmeralda’s hopes of migrating to seek a cure for Akire’s skin condition…. As a young widow and mother, Esmeralda was helped by many neighbors, but she also became prey to many deviant men. A fatal night she is attacked and raped. She could not see her attacker’s face, just the stench from his hands covering her mouth….hands that smelled of rotting fish and sea water… she never knew this was Dante, a co-worker of Lamar at the fish factory and the same predator who had killed him in a failed attempt to later conquer the young widow’s heart… After recovering from the trauma, Esmeralda armed with courage and the desire of a better life for them, decides to endure the long journey that takes her to Benzu in Northern Africa, and with her baby in her arms she joins a group of other twelve illegal fugitives inside a small frail boat filled with hopes and dreams, that takes all of them through the Strait of Gibraltar to the land of freedom and possibilities, to Cadiz in the South of Spain. With horror we observe how Dante suddenly surprises everyone on board by jumping out of the turbulent waters during a stormy night, reaching for Esmeralda but unfortunately grabbing her baby’s arm instead, yanking Akire from her arms and pulling him down into the depths of the dark and cold ocean!!! A distraught Esmeralda is left on board screaming and desperately seeking for him the rest of her life… Once in Spain, after spending months at a psychiatric center which helped her overcome the recent tragedies she faced, Fashion Designer Erve finds Esmeralda at the local Arts and Craft flea market where she sells hand-made jewelry and baskets like the ones she learned to make as a little girl with her grandmother. Erve notices the potential of Esmeralda´s statuesque beauty and convinces her to follow him to Paris and start a new life, he plans to make her become his “MUSE” and a Top Model, so… and Eliza Doolittle (My Fair Lady) make-over starts… Mark of Love Page 3 of 5 During her make over, since she still lacks refinement, culture and speaks poorly, he prohibits her to talk to anyone, especially to the paparazzi which increasingly become intrigued by the new exotic beauty gracing the runways at Erve’s shows… Having a body guard and driver drop and pick up Esmeralda from each fashion show, turns into a publicity stroke of genius on Erve’s part, it created a media frenzy and obsession to capture the beauty everyone knew as the “Green Eye Gazelle” in candid photos. This became nearly impossible since they would always cover her path with large umbrellas…. until one night on a moment of weakness as the limousine takes off she lowers the window to look at a baby boy standing on a balcony…. The child reminds her of her son Akire…a tear flows from her eye and a photo is suddenly snapped capturing the silent and private moment. This close up of her sad and gorgeous cinnamon face with emerald eyes becomes the Cover and the best selling magazine of the year. And so, the legend begins; stories and articles speculating about Esmeralda are written all over magazines worldwide claiming this was “The African Princess” who escaped from her kingdom when she was forced into an arranged marriage by her father the King … these articles helped catapult Esmeralda to international fame and glory. One night while attending the Magazine’s Gala, she emerges out of the limousine to be greeted by dozens of paparazzi at the red carpet, unaware there is a predator hidden among the loving fans. While Esmeralda waves hello and flash lights from thousands of cameras are blinding her as she makes her way through the crowd, this crazy and sickly looking man carrying a syringe filled with his own AIDS infected blood, tries to throw himself at her and plunge the deadly vial into her skin. She is rescued just in time by security guards and whisked away while the perpetrator is restrained and removed before he could do any damage to anyone… Esmeralda never realizes what had happened, much less that this is the same obsessed man who years before took her son Akire from her loving arms at sea, nor that he is the same rapist who had stolen her innocence one night on the fields of her old village. She doesn’t know that this man who as a devotee of voodoo magic, after he violent rape, he saved a fist full of grass soaked with her blood, hoping to cast a spell on her to fall in love with him. But now, as he realized his plan failed miserably and motivated by the knowledge that he was at death´s doorstep, rotting away by his life style of prostitutes, alcohol and drugs, and tired of an empty existence as a Black Magic Priest on the streets, he wanted to condemn Esmeralda to his same slow death sentence and fate. With anger and vengeance in his eyes, he swore he would not allow her to be with any other man… he rather end her life! ….but his evil attempt failed. Through it all, Esmeralda stands strong and keeps focusing on building a new life for herself; she fights to overcome everything life has taken from her, so we become exhilarated for Esmeralda as we observe how she manages to find security, respect and worldwide recognition with a successful career guided by her protégée and mentor. Mark of Love Page 4 of 5 We are moved and rejoiced as we witness how life rewards her with what she is lacking, and the one thing that really matters to her….. the love of a good man, the love of Count Alexander Von Laroche and the birth of their gorgeous daughter they name Savanna. Time goes by and a serene, stable and happy Esmeralda seems to be finally clear from all turbulent waters and free of all drama. However, while rejoicing with her new family, her world once again comes crumbling down when one night she learns that her daughter Savanna was the victim of a brutal rape attack and is fighting for her life at the hospital. Esmeralda’s strong warrior spirit, her body, and even her mind crumbles at the shock of witnessing the arrest of the young perpetrator accused of the rape, since it turns out to be their young trusted gardener who lived in the servant’s chalet inside their own Estate! During his arrest, a frustrated and furious Esmeralda jumps at him, crying and screaming, hitting him, scratching and cursing at him, but suddenly Esmeralda is frozen by fear… astonished she notices that during the fight and struggle the rapist´s shirt was ripped open, exposing a birth mark on his chest just like the one on the chest of her long lost son!!! In horror she realizes that the man before her eyes is Akire!!! returning to her life….but, under what terrible circumstances?? …………. suddenly all goes black and she faints!! Her perfect life was once again shattered…. she wakes up in a hospital after suffering a massive stroke, finding herself paralyzed and only capable to move her eyes, unable to tell everyone that the man everyone is accusing of the rape of Savanna is her own brother! Later that week, Savanna regains consciousness and is brought back to health. Fully recovered she clears the name of the young man in prison, sitting by her mother’s bed side Savanna explains to everyone what she told police earlier that day; she had been attacked by her drunken date that night. The young gardener was working early dawn when he found her unconscious by the rose garden and carried her inside the house. Savanna, stands and walks to her “Knight’ and kisses the shy man on his cheek, thanking him while he blushes and smiles looking at Savanna’s gorgeous face…their eyes meet for the first time, their souls meet. There is a strange attraction between them…. noticing this innocent but incestuous chemistry Esmeralda fears the worst!! She panics, becomes agitated, the EKG alarm blasts! the attending nurse staff run inside the room and they feel the need to sedate her….. The following morning she wakes up agitated once again, her face reflecting obvious terror, tearful eyes wide open, sweating and trying desperately to speak…but she can’t!! To everyone’s surprise, a frustrated Esmeralda begins to move her right hand, slowly and with great effort…. Savanna gives her a pencil which she desperately grasps and she persistently writes the name of her son … trying to tell everyone the terrible news. Mark of Love Page 5 of 5 Unfortunately her shattered mind does not allow her to spell it out correctly, suffering a rare dyslexia condition from the stroke, with a shaking weak hand she is only capable of writing the name backwards… ERIKA, ERIKA she keeps writing…..which no one in the room understands… Who is Erika they ask her..who?? Its only during Erve’s visit when he notices the paper’s reflection on the wall’s mirror, nervously picking up the paper pad and holding it in front of the mirror… in disbelief and with tears in his eyes he shouts; “oh my God… she means “AKIRE”…she means AKIRE !!! And so, as the truth comes to light, it allows the healing to begin and the dawn of a new and bright future for the newly reunited family begins….. G.D.A.