“Elise?” A calm voice called her, seeping into her unconsciousness. She was still; she didn’t budge or move. The warm darkness that had blanketed her made her unresponsive until she felt a light tug on her arm.“Wake up, Elise” The familiar voice called again—this time, it was firm and commanding. Then, she felt the tug on her arm. She slowly stirred and her eyes fluttered open.At first, she squinted to the brightness that was all around. When her eyes got acquainted to the eyes, she blinked rapidly, trying to remember where she was. She saw people. So many people who sat in chairs around her. Then, the voice came again. “Finally, you’re awake. Elise”She craned her neck and looked sideways at the smiling face of a man who stared down at her.“Do you still feel the cramps?” He asked. He was no longer smiling as he now had no iota of emotion on his face.It all came rushing back to her. She was in a plane, seated next to Richard—her personal security guard. The last thing she had rem
As he stood at the busy road, he realized how much time had past. It was almost 5pm and Richard’s ached with weary. He needed a cold shower, a warm and tasty plate of food and a long sleep. But, he had already made up his mind to find out, directly from Niko, the reason that he was called up out of the blues at the competition.He decided to pick a cab to his old apartment which was on the other side of town. While in the cab, he texted Niko, asking him to come over to his place. Richard knew how sensitive the role of the CEO of the company was and he always tried as much as possible to avoid being seen with Niko in public. He wasn’t ready for people to start drawing lines of connection between him and Niko. He did not want people to figure out that he had something to do with the director of the multinational company.Richard arrived home with an anxious mind. His staff at the apartment greeted him but he only threw a small nod at them. He strode towards his room as swiftly as he co
“Are you serious about this, Niko?”Niko was solemn. “Let me show you a few pictures of the destroyed part of the company. I took pictures” He picked up his bag that was lying besides him and searched through it.Richard watched in stillness. He knew the amount of money that had left his account during the first few months after which his company had rented that space in the middle of the city. He had spent heavily to refurbish the entire place. All along, everyone assumed that it was Niko who was providing the funds. It was better that way as Richard wanted to remain as anonymous as he could.Niko finally found his phone and he went through it, checking for the pictures while Richard waited. He passed the phone to Richard after about a minute. Shock gripped Richard as he stared at the pictures. He looked at a few before pushing the phone into Niko’s hands again.He wanted to react but, he cautioned himself to be calm. “Is that all that happened?”Niko nodded. “There’s a part I’m yet
Some minutes after he left, Richard’s phone rang from the glass shelf where he had left it earlier. He was almost falling asleep on the couch and he shot up from his seat to get the phone from where it was.The caller ID showed “Master”He gasped under his breath.Why was his Master calling at past 9pm? He was almost hesitant in picking the call because he had a slight feeling that his Master wasn’t calling on good note. Perhaps, he called to caution it reprimand him on something.He drew in a deep breath and braced himself for whatever his Master had to say. He answered the call and the sharp voice of his master floated over to him.“Richard!”“Yes, Master. Good evening”“Where are you right now?”Richard scratched his bead, wondering what his Master was up to “I’m in my apartment. I returned from the competition today and I can’t go to the school’s hostel right now”“Okay, Boy. What is this news I hear about your company?”“My company?”“The fire incidence! Since yesterday, it’s bee
Elise bounded down the staircase to where her mother was seated in front of the large glass table. There was a laptop on the table in front of her and her fingers ran with fury on the keyboard of the laptop. Her reading glasses where on the bridge of her nose and she looked up as Elise came down the staircase.A distinct smell of coffee hung in the air.Elise approached her mother and leaned on the work table. “Morning, Mom” She yawned.Her mother ran her eyes over her face, “You’re on makeup. Are you going somewhere besides school?”“Yes, Mum. I’ll be going to the hair saloon I told you about last night. Also, I need to begin my shopping for the party”“Your birthday party! I almost forgot. Why don’t you wait for us to do it during the weekend ? I will be less occupied then.” Susan asked, peering over the rim of her glasses at Elise.Elise pouted and folded her arms on her chest. She knew how fussy her mother could be over things and she really did not think that it was a good idea
“No way!” Elise squealed as she read the content of the paper again, for the third time. “Dad! Are you for real?”Her father smiled and bobbed his head. Then, he stood up from where he was and walked towards her with his arms wide open“Give me a hug, My Baby” He urged.She dropped the envelope and paper on the couch before rushing into his arms in excitement.Her thoughts ran wild in her head. She felt like she was dreaming. How did her father know what she wanted and even did more for her? She wondered to herself.She held on to her father, tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of how much she had missed her father. He had been away from home for the last five days and now he returned with a letter that showed how he had bought an estate in her name and had rented an entire luxurious island all for her in celebration of her birthday. What better surprise did she need for her birthday?The envelope that she had dropped contained two papers. The first was an Evidence of payment o
She joined them and soon, they got caught up with talking about the past; the period before Aunt Erica had gotten married.Elise was more focused on eating up a sizeable amount of her own food so she could sneak out of the house and escape the annoying questions that would be thrown at her. She only contributed to the conversation at the dinner table by nodding her head or flashing a quick smile whenever she agreed to anything that was said about her.It wasn’t long before she heard her name. She stilled for a moment.Her Aunt repeated herself, “Are you in any relationship at the moment?”Her father shuffled his feet underneath the table. He was uncomfortable with the awkward direction that the conversation was headed to.“Yes, She is.” Her mother quickly answered. She looked across the long table at Elise and forced a smile at her.“An elite? “ Her sister asked. She noticed how Elise barely contributed to the conversation and she didn’t understand why her sister was so quick to speak
“You shouldn’t say that Erica” Susan cautioned her younger sister, frowning. Both women had aprons tied around their necks and while Aunt Erica was chopping some vegetables at where she stood by the counter, While her sister, Susan, was stirring a sizzling pot of stew.Lines of sweat formed on Susan’s creased forehead. “There are so many eligible men out there. What exactly are you telling me about giving up on love?”Erica heaved a breath and dropped the kitchen knife on the tray. She could feel tears well up in her eyes and she held on to the edge of the counter, silently praying that her unnecessary tears should go away.Just a few minutes ago, Erica was all smiles and bubbly with the excitement of Elise’s birthday.She had been making plans with her elder sister , Susan, concerning the party and before both women could stop it, the conversation took a different turn and soon, Erica was almost crying about her failed love life.Susan observed her in silence, without saying a word.