“There’s no need to threaten me. I’ll do my best to find her even if it’s not for your sake,” I replied in a flat voice.
Back then, I had no idea what he had in mind when he told me that I would have to take responsibility if I couldn’t find my sister.
…
**The next day**
Despite telling my parents that I would try my best to find my sister, I still didn’t have any solid idea where I would find Diana or why she had suddenly decided to disappear. The timing was just too perfect because it was so close to her upcoming wedding. The only source of comfort for me was my gut feeling that told me that she was doing fine wherever she was. If she was truly distressed or if she needed help, I was sure that she would have tried to get in contact with me by now.
After making my escape from my parents and out into the long hallway of the mansion, I ran into one of our oldest housekeepers. The way her eyes lit up told me that she was pleasantly surprised to see that I had returned. Lauren must have worked in our household for way more than ten years now because she started since I was still a child at that time.
“Miss Dahlia…” she whispered my name before smiling a little my way.
Her nervous reaction as her eyes darted up and down the hallway to check if anyone would witness our interaction told me that she was stepping out of her boundaries to greet me. Sometimes the harshness of the life that I’ve led made me forget that I was fortunate to have met and interacted with many kind souls and this woman standing in front of me was one of them.
“Lauren, have you been well?” I asked before showing her a genuine smile.
“Yes, thank you, Miss Dahlia…” she replied softly.
I could tell that despite her fear of being spotted conversing with me, she was glad that she was able to greet me. A sudden idea sparked up in my mind and although it was a risky move, I didn’t have that many cards left up my sleeves and my parents were right that time wasn’t at all on our side.
“Can we talk for a bit? Perhaps, outside in the garden?” I suggested before smiling sweetly at her.
“Umm…yes…” she replied hesitantly.
Lauren seemed more relaxed now that we were together in the garden. The vast garden surrounding the mansion hadn’t changed at all from the last time that I had been there. The various statues of mythical creatures that I found so interesting when I was a child were still there although they had failed to capture my interest this time around.
“Miss Dahlia…what is it that you would like to talk about?” Lauren asked and I could tell that she was more scared than curious.
I turned toward her and offered her a smile before I slowly reached for her hands. The housekeeper’s eyes widened in surprise at my action, but she did not pull her hands away. I still remembered vividly the various times that she had helped me out in the past whenever my parents got mad at me. I may not have that many allies in this house, but I wouldn’t hesitate to count her as one of them.
“Actually, I was just wondering if…you know…any male staff of this mansion had suddenly resigned or disappeared recently?” I asked while focusing my eyes on her face to read her reaction.
“Well…” she murmured before her eyes darted away to the side.
Her reaction gave me the answer that I was looking for. She may not know something directly, but my guess must have been spot on.
“Can you tell me who he is?” I asked softly before applying a little pressure to her hands that I still held in mine.
“I’m sorry but…” she began apologizing.
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. A male staff of this mansion suddenly decided to quit his job, how can that be your fault? Right?” I continued pressing further.
I could see a few emotions raging war on poor Lauren’s face as she hesitated. After a short moment of struggling with her own fears, Lauren let out a long sigh of resignation. She turned to face me again before showing me a sad smile.
“His name is Gordon and he suddenly resigned not so long ago. He was working as one of the drivers here,” she whispered as if it was a guilty confession.
Gordon…a driver…
“Thank you. You have no idea just how big of a help you were. Also, I’ll make sure to keep this little chat that we had a secret. Ok?” I said before smiling reassuringly at her.
“Thank you, Miss Dahlia…” she whispered before letting out another sigh.
As if she had just lifted a huge mountain range off of her chest, Lauren looked more at peace and relaxed than before. She smiled at me and nodded.
“Please just call me Leya like you used to…” I told her warmly.
“Miss Leya…I am so sorry that there was nothing that I could do for you and because of that…that happened…you couldn’t come home…” she said in a broken voice, and I could see tears well up in her eyes as she stared up into my face.
“It’s not your fault. If you’ve been feeling any sense of guilt, it has to stop. You shouldn’t feel guilty. What happened…was the way that things should be,” I replied before braving a smile.
In a sense, it wasn’t at all a lie. Instead of my words comforting her, a few tear drops rolled down Lauren’s cheeks and then she started sobbing before her hands flew to cover her face. I wished that I could comfort her properly, but I had bigger problems on my plate to deal with. A slightly bitter taste filled my mouth as I was forced to recognize the start of a very similar pattern that I had seen countless times before.
Dina, what have you done this time?
--To be continued…
After thanking Lauren again and giving her a brief hug, I quickly made my way out of the mansion. The sun would be setting soon, and I wanted to take a stroll in the city for a while to take some photos for what I needed to do next. Although I wasn’t absolutely sure what Dina was up to, I had a very good guess.
The city center felt even busier that early evening when I arrived than I remembered the last time that I was there. It seemed like a few more shopping malls had popped up and some new skyscrapers that were under construction the last time that I was there had opened up as well. As usual, the crowd was a good mix of people ranging from couples, university and high school students and regular working adults. I used to come here with my sister all the time to hang out after high school or whenever we were allowed or had the time.
After finding a good spot in front of one of the shopping malls that my sister and I liked to frequent, I took out my mobile phone and snapped a few selfies of myself. I almost bumped into a man that was walking by while I was too focused on posting my selfies onto my social media account.
‘I’m here now. You better come find me…’
That was what I thought in my head when I pressed the button to post my photos. Dina must have known that just like all those times when she disappeared that she would owe me something or at least an explanation. If I couldn’t find her, then the best that I could do was tell her that I was now back in the country so that she would get in touch with me and find me.
She better find me…
…
“I would like to check in please…” I told the receptionist at the hotel lobby.
“Please wait a moment,” she replied with a polite smile.
While waiting for her to settle the documentation and room security deposit, I took out my phone and took a short video of myself while making sure to showcase a good view of the hotel lobby before posting it on social media. If Dina is watching, she’ll know exactly where to find me.
“This is the keycard to your room. The Wi-Fi login username and password can be found here…” the receptionist informed me professionally.
The rest of her instructions drowned out in the background as I focused my eyes on my phone. Usually, Dina would call me but since she hasn’t done that, she must be scared of someone tapping her phone or tracking her based on her phone signal. I shrugged while thinking that she could easily call me from another number if she wanted to.
Is that it? Has the hunt for her become that bad?
Dina should be very good and experienced at these kinds of things and I shouldn’t have to worry in her place.
“Umm…thanks,” I thanked the young lady politely before heading to my hotel room.
The hotel room was a standard and modest one, but I liked its modern touch, plus the online reviews did say that this hotel was clean and had good and friendly staff. After taking a quick warm shower and washing my hair, I emerged from the bathroom with a white robe wrapped around my body and my hair still dripping wet. It was quite disappointing that my phone had not rung even once even though I had turned off its silent mode.
When is Dina going to give me a call?
I flopped myself down onto the bed before reaching out to grab the hair dryer. That was when my phone started ringing and vibrating on the same table right next to the hair dryer. My outstretched hand suddenly changed its destination as I hurriedly grabbed my phone. Just as I had anticipated, there was an unrecognized foreign number displayed on my phone screen.
“Dina…” I said in a low voice as the line connected.
“Well…someone surely sounds furious…” Dina’s sweet and familiar teasing voice replied through the phone before she let out a giggle.
My eyes narrowed at her seemingly carefree attitude. I knew that I shouldn’t feel at all surprised but that didn’t stop me from feeling irritated at how happy she seemed while I was suffering again while cleaning up after the mess that she had caused.
“Where are you right now?” I asked.
“Does that even matter? Welcome back to town,” my sister replied.
“Where did you run off to this time? Where are you and who are you with? Actually, it doesn’t matter anymore, just come back home,” I told her hurriedly.
“I’m really sorry, Leya, but I really can’t go back this time,” she said while sounding truly apologetic.
“Why? Listen to me, what you’re going through is just another illusion. It will pass and you will come home just like all the times before,” I said before letting out a sigh.
“Nope. This time it’s different. You probably don’t understand but he’s really my true love,” Dina argued stubbornly.
I had no idea how many times Dina had spoken about ‘true love’ to me over the years.
“Let me get this straight and you can tell me if my speculation is correct. You met a good-looking man who came to work at the mansion as a driver. Someway somehow, you ended up sleeping with him and now you’ve eloped with him. Am I right?” I asked although I already knew the answer well enough.
“Pretty much except you missed the fact that I felt in love with him at first sight…” she replied casually.
“Sis, how many times have you fallen in love at first sight?” I asked before pressing my lips into a tight thin line.
“Umm…a couple of times?” she replied in a high pitch voice.
“A little more than over ten times…” I corrected her slowly and clearly.
“Hmm? That many times? Are you sure?” she asked before giggling again.
--To be continued…
Commentaire de paragraphe
La fonction de commentaire de paragraphe est maintenant disponible sur le Web ! Déplacez la souris sur n’importe quel paragraphe et cliquez sur l’icône pour ajouter votre commentaire.
De plus, vous pouvez toujours l’activer/désactiver dans les paramètres.
OK