1. The Nashville Mansion

“Come on, Nora! We are late!” a hoarse voice of an old man lingers in her ears as she continues to set her hair into a ponytail. There is a vast smile on her face and as excited as she seems, she believes her day is going to be delightful. This is the first time she is going to the Nashville mansion with her father - before that, she was always used to hearing stories from her father. 

“Coming, father!” she chirps in her beautiful voice, turning to rush away from the tiny room. The small cottage barely consists of two tiny rooms, one for her with a single bed that makes creaking noises at night, along with a broken mirror that hangs upon the wall, she has a wooden box that carries her few pairs of clothes - the other room is for parents. 

Reaching outside the small cottage she smiles as soon as she watches the wrinkled face of her father, speaking in a melodious voice, “I am here, father. Have you eaten?” Her father chuckles as he retorts, “Yes, indeed. And I packed a sandwich for you. Let’s go -” she clings her arm with her father’s, cheerfully chatting with him as they both start walking together. On the way, she can’t stop talking about the mansion she is going to work on - her hazel eyes sparkle with excitement and she utters, “Father, tell me more about the palace.” 

Her father rolls his eyes, he seems to be bored by the same subject now. “You are going there, you will see.” Arriving at the magnificent mansion which is no less than a grand palace, her eyes twinkle once again and her mouth falls open. Astonishment takes over her expression as she gasps in awe, “Oh my God! Father, this is beautiful.” 

Nashville mansion, it has several balconies and terraces, and it is suitable for a maximum of ten people. The villa has two floors, with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, as well as a four thousand square meter garden. Exotic ipe hardwood flooring is laid throughout the mansion. The mansion is set behind an automatic wide gate with plenty of covered parking spaces. From the parking area, the mansion can be easily accessed. It is fully furnished with personalized a/c and heating throughout the entire house and bedrooms, as well as a hot tub, an infinity heated swimming pool, a gazebo, barbecue, hammock, smart TV, PlayStation, indoor and outdoor Bose sound system by the pool and garden alarm and free Wifi. 

The main entrance is on the top floor - the living room one can sink into the three comfortable sofas with an attached fireplace. The fifty-inch Smart TV hangs beautifully on the wall. The kitchen is large and beautiful, and can also be accessed from the patio. It is fully equipped with a refrigerator/freezer, six-ring induction, stove, dishwasher, wine refrigerator, pots and pans, plates and silverware, American coffee maker, ice maker, toaster blender, and much more. The kitchen is also linked to the dining area which is furnished with a spectacularly large handmade majolica rectangle table with matching chairs. The classical and modern paintings and antiques are placed beautifully on each corner, giving a mesmerizing look. 

While she is busy exploring the vast mansion, her father brings her back to reality, breaking her daydreaming. “Come on, the tools are this way -” he takes her hand, walking towards the giant garden that is filled with fresh and colorful flowers, the freshly trimmed grass needs some water. “But father, the garden already looks so beautiful here. Did you do all this?'' She is amazed by the gardening skills she never knew her father had. Her father chuckles lightly as he starts to water the plants. “Come on, grab the water pipe. Give water to the ones on the left -” he politely asks his daughter. 

“Henry!'' There comes the voice of a lady and Nora turns to take a look at her. She smiles at the lady who seems to ignore her after giving her a look and walks forward, still referring to Nora’s father. He politely refers back to her with such respect, “Yes, ma’am -” Coming forward is a lady dressed in a plaid skirt with a black top, her black hair neatly tied into a bun and she adjusts her glasses as she utters, “Is she your daughter? Does she know anything about the garden?”

Nora, of course, knows small details about the garden, her father taught her a few things. Yet she is interested in working indoors, she is curious to see what’s inside. 

“Yes, Karen. She is my daughter, Nora. She barely knows anything about plants. But do not worry, I will teach her.” Upon hearing this, the woman named Karen raises an eyebrow, carefully scanning at Nora who smiles once again at her. Things get awkward as her smile fades and she hears Karen saying, “Careful, Mister David likes his garden filled with beauty. You know that, right?” Henry nods certainly, then Karen turns to walk away. Just as Nora asks her father with a doubtful look on her face, “David as in David Nashville, father?” 

“Yes, Nora. David Nashville. Now you don’t want to upset him, do you? Start your work.'' Both Nora and Henry continue to do their work, using the trowel to dig up the sand. Henry places a seed into the sand, asking his daughter to water the sand. It is almost midday, the sun is shining at its brightest and both the father and the daughter are sweating. The heat is too much for them to bear, Nora is almost exhausted and feels thirsty. “Father, I need water -'' her father looks up at her face which is turned scarlet red and full of sweat. “Yeah, go ahead. Take the left from that door over there -” her father guides her the way as she walks inside. Entering the kitchen from the patio, she is looking around when a voice interrupts her thoughts. 

“Are you looking for someone?” a voice calls and she turns around to see a girl dressed in a maid’s uniform. She seems humble and not anything like the Karen woman. She believes every woman named Karen is either rude or arrogant, nothing sweet about them at all. “Yes, I - uh …” she hesitates before the maid introduces herself, “my name is Emily.” After a pause, she continued to gasp, “Oh God! You are sweating.” 

“Yeah, I need water -” Nora hesitates once again and Emily chuckles lightly, nodding in her direction as she utters, “Come with me.” Walking to the other kitchen which is specially made for the servants, she pours a glass of water for Nora, handing it over with a smile. “What is your name? Are you new here?” Nora sips the water with a single gulp and responds with heavy breathing, “My name is Nora and I am the gardener’s daughter.” Emily nods certainly and utters, “Oh, you are Henry’s daughter.”

“Yeah, I came to help my father.” 

The day is spent well at the Nashville mansion, Nora soon becomes friends with Emily, and they even have lunch together. Karen comes to say, “Eat fast! David Nashville will ask for his coffee in a while.” Nora takes a look at her, batting her eyelashes as she questions Emily, “How many people live in this mansion?” Emily wipes her mouth and tells her that only three people live in this mansion, the rest are the servants. “Well, technically there are four but Mrs Nashville is living separately as she is looking after her mother.” 

Nora is feeling overwhelmed to work here as a helping hand - she is not used to this kind of luxury. This is the first time she has entered this magnificent villa that she has been hearing of. Now she can’t wait to get back home and tell every detail to her mother. Working in this mansion as a gardener is giving Henry enough money that he is saving for his wife’s operation. Nora and Henry arrive home and see Lola is having a rest. The noise of her cough makes them take a look at her. “Oh, you are awake.”

“You are back.” Her weak voice barely reaches Nora's ears. She walks to her mother and sits on a small stool beside her bed. She takes her hand and with a smile, she continues to caress it gently as she begins with, “Mother, do you know the mansion is very huge? Even the bathroom there is bigger than this cottage.” Her mother can see the sparkles that are dancing in her eyes. Lola knows that Nora is obsessed with luxury, she keeps on hearing the tales of the mansion from her father as a bedtime story - this not only develops her interest in the mansion but also very curious. 

Nora stands up on her feet, twirling her feet as she spreads her hands, dancing away with a cheerful expression on her face. “Come on, Nora. Help me with the plates.” her father who is putting the plates on the small table, is preparing for dinner. Lola takes a look at her husband and wants to say something but she swallows back her words, reminding herself that she must not speak in front of her daughter. “Nora, would you mind bringing the chicken from Nathan’s house? Her mother cooked for us -” When Nora is gone to bring the cooked chicken, Lola refers to her husband, complaining to him, “I don’t think this is a good idea to bring her to the mansion for work. She is young - her obsession with that mansion is increasing every passing day.”

Henry clicks his tongue, he retorts, “Uh, rubbish! She is working with me. I stayed with her there. I won’t let anything happen to her.” Henry is not willing to understand what his wife is trying to say. Her daughter is young and carefree, she is at the age of growing - the last of her teenage days. These days children often make mistakes. “What if - God forbids something bad happens to our daughter there and you won’t know -” Henry silences his wife by saying that she is overreacting but when Nora comes back, she is yet to enter the cottage when she overhears the words of her mother. 

“I don’t think she must go there. I need her at home.”

“We will see -” are the words of her father. 

Nora immediately becomes upset, the cheerful expression on her face changes with a grieving one. It was her first day at the mansion and she is already being asked to stay at home. She wanted to explore the mansion, work there even as a maid, at least she will get to live in that huge mansion. 

“Mother -” she calls out, walking inside the cottage with a tray in her hand. As she puts the tray on the table and parts her lips to speak, there comes a voice that interrupts her, “Good day, uncle Henry -” Turning around, she notices a young boy with a precious smile on his face enters that makes her roll her eyes at him. “Nathan, what are you doing here? I told you I do not want the salad.” 

He refers to Lola, “Aunty, I brought the salad for you. Would you like some?” 

Nathan is the boy who seems interested in Lola and her parents are also considering him as a future son in law. He was, after all, a perfect match for their daughter. Nathan’s father is a security guard in a high school and his mother sells homemade food. He is also poor like Nora and both of them practically grew up together in the same neighbourhood. Henry and Lola are aware that Nathan is in love with Nora, he wants to get married to her. Both of their families have already agreed for their marriage, they are only waiting for Nora’s approval.