It was evening, with the soft wind whistling through his ears and sending slight shivers down his spine.
He cared less about that. All that engulfed his soul was the need to keep walking farther away.Taking careful and calculative ambles, he strolled farther off into the woods.At a distance, he caught a glimpse of a glimmer of light, flashing at a mountain top. As though that were a signal to him, he hurriedly walked towards there, following a pathway that stood as a guide.He came across a meadow that looked so green and lovely. It was a pleasant sight and almost immediately, he felt at peace.The mountains in the surrounding had peaks that looked sharp and at the same time, cruel. The sky above the meadow was pleasurable and a feast for the eyes. It was bright blue and filled with pairs of fluffy white clouds.A calm and clear river ran through the center of the meadow and as he approached it, he became more certain and convinced that he had finally found peace; something his heart sought and desired.He crouched low until his hands were one with the river. Abruptly, he closed his eyes to allow the silent tears that clouded them to trickle down his cheeks until they dropped into the river.The natural sound of the meadow, along with that of the water and the whispering of the wind, made him break into a louder and much fiercer sob.Never in his life have he experienced such peace he felt at the moment.Just then, he heard a melodious feminine voice, singing aloud from a distance. This caused him to jerk up to his feet while opening his eyelids to search for where the voice came from."That can't be the voice of a human! It's certainly that of an angel", he mumbled, swallowing hard and looking around.Her voice was sweet and mellifluous. It came straight into his ears and down to his heart, making him melt in anxiety and hope.He wanted to see the angel that sang with such voice, he was bent on discovering who it was.He approached the mountain where he had earlier seen the glimmer. From all indications, the song came from there.He strained his eyes, hoping to see a glimpse of who it was. However, irrespective of how he tried, it only became more blurry.Almost immediately, he saw her back and her long black hair that danced in unison with the song she sang.All he wanted to see was her face and so, he trudged towards where she sat.“Ding-dong”, he heard the sound of a bell that rang straight into his ears.“Ding-dong”, it rang again, making him groan angrily, still with his eyes closed.He would rather not wake up. He was at the verge of discovering the identity of the beautiful long-haired lady.His quest to discover that failed because for the third time, the bell rang into his ears. This time, he jumped off the bed with a large frown plastered on his face.“Well, you finally woke. For a moment, I thought you decided to die. It would have been a considerable relief for me”, he heard a voice he detested.He kept mute, trying to take in the light that made way into his eyes. He was furious and this was visible in his expression.His brows were raised and rage pulsed through his veins.The realization of getting up from a beautiful dream struck him so hard, making him more furious.“Why did you wake me up?” He bellowed angrily, wishing that he could go back to the realm he had just woken from.Barbara hissed aloud and strolled to the desk, where she dropped the small alarm clock.He followed her with his eyes, clenching his fists and breathing heavily.She was mischievous and he knew it! It was clear that she had intentionally woken him up.Barbara turned around and peered into his eyes that were red in fury. Her lips curved into a wicked smile as she huffed and walked towards the door.“Richard, stop gazing at me as though I committed a cr
Emily was running late to work. Just as she approached the restaurant where she worked, it became evident that she was at the verge of losing her job.“Hello Miss Emily, where are you heading to?” She heard a voice that made her shudder in fright.It was that of her manager; someone she dreaded so much. Emily took in a deep breath and slowly lifted her face to meet that of her manager.She was out of words to utter, and all she could do was gape at him as though she had seen a ghost.A massive scowl made its way to his face as he took a careful look at her. From all indications, he was displeased and tired of her presence.“I'm so sorry sir, I, I was quite ill this morning”, Emily apologized as her voice trailed off.A loud laughter emanated from the manager, making Emily jerk up in surprise. She stared at him in disbelief while he laughed in mockery.“You really expect me to turn so soft and feel compassionate after your fabricated excuse, isn't it?” He asked in a stern voice, stari
Emily gulped hard as she stared at Richard who walked into the restaurant and headed straight to the table at the back.That was his usual spot, and it seemed to have become a norm for him.The restaurant wasn't as fancy as one would expect for someone of his status. It was one of the ways he used to relax whenever he felt so sad and emotionally drained. At those points, he resolved to going to the restaurant to watch people of low class and status who were seemingly happy and fulfilled with their lives.“Would you go and take the order of our customer?” The manager said to Emily with a cold voice.Emily swallowed hard as she tried to maintain stability while walking. She couldn't decipher why she felt so uneasy and nervous whenever he showed up at the restaurant. There was something about him, something hidden and difficult to clarify. Unknowingly, she became troubled and hoped to know what disturbed him.Richard always smiled whenever he came to the restaurant, and it wasn't ou
Emily knew his usual meal, because she had been the employee in charge of serving him whenever he came around.A silent smile curved on her lips as she bowed and left the table. “A plate of Cobb salad and banana split”, Emily said to the employees who stood at the counter to dish out the various meals.Inwardly, she felt extremely excited that she had the privilege to know what his favorite meal was. Giggling silently, she collected the tray of the meal and headed back to Richard, who was clearly lost in thoughts.His attention was glued to a particular direction, which Emily trailed with her eyes.Opposite where Richard was, two beautiful couples sat together, with their hands entwined and their faces carrying extreme excitement and love.It was lovely!Emily gulped down hard as she took slow and unsteady steps towards Richard, who couldn't get his gaze off the couple.Emily was 20, but still naive and unclear about matters of love and relationship. She only caught a glimpse of cou
“Clearly, I'm not okay!” Richard yelled angrily as he stood up from where he sat.The contents of the tray had spilled on him, soiling his clothes in a manner that was beyond repair.“I'm sorry sir, I would quickly find a remedy”, the female employee said as she hurriedly ran off the scene.Emily finally stood up with a trembling knee. Her head got lowered to the floor as she couldn't curtail the fierce and furious gaze that emanated from Richard and her manager.“I'm sorry”, she muttered calmly, with her heart beating out of her chest.She felt terrible, especially because of the current state of RichardHis blue tuxedo suit was totally ruined. Her heart sank in total despair when she realized that the suit he wore was probably more expensive than her salary.Richard stood still, taking in the pitiful and sorry gazes of the people around while deciding on what next to do.He had never been this embarrassed in his life and for a moment, he regretted coming to the restaurant to relax.
Richard sat on the dining table, sipping from his herbal brew and thinking of the day’s event. He had always visited the restaurant, but today’s episode seemed to be quite different because he observed something that sent chills down his spine.“How could I have observed her just today?” He mumbled to himself as images of Emily kept flashing in his memory.The moment their eyes met, he felt a connection that he never had with any other woman. It seemed as though they communicated with each other through their stares and it amused him more to think that he had really felt that way.After a while of reminiscing over the day’s event, he finally decided to have some rest.Earlier, his wife had told him that she might not return and so, he resolved to staying alone all night.It wasn’t a new thing to him. Even, whenever she stayed in the house, they usually ended up with arguments on things that didn’t actually matter.He dropped the mug on the kitchen counter and took careful ambles towa
“Where’s he?” He heard her cold voice booming into his bedroom, causing him to jolt off his thoughts.The next that followed was the loud sound that emanated from her heels which made a clicking noise.As usual, she was not quiet…“Richard, I kept calling you all through the day but you failed to take my calls!” She barked angrily and barged into the room.Richard ignored her and picked up his phone which he got busy with. Most times, he resolved to doing that in order the suppress the urge of yelling back at her, or even, hitting her.He knew he could never hit a woman, but most times, he wished he could.“I’m talking to you! You aren’t dumb, are you?” She yelled, making Richard look up to peer into her furious eyes.It was one of the normal days where she would start up an unnecessary argument. Richard was ready for that, as always…“I was so busy and couldn’t take your calls. Perhaps, you’re here now and you can tell me whatever you wanted to”, Richard replied nonchalantly after w
Emily tossed on her bed as she struggled to get some sleep. It was past midnight and all she could think of was how to get a job and pay her bills that would be due soon. She ruffled her blanket and threw it over her face in a bid to get some sleep. It was pointless, because the moment she closed her eyes, the different disturbing thoughts swung in.Finally, she sat up and picked up a bracelet that laid on her bedside stool. It was gold, with glitters that shined so bright even in the dark.That was the last present she had gotten from her parents before the accident that claimed their lives on her birthday. Her mother had entered her room by 6:am in the morning, with a little heart shaped cake and a candle on top of it.“It’s your big day my love, make a wish”, her mother had said to her with a bright smile that made her heart elated.She blew off the candle a minute later after which she was pulled into a warm hug. Her father who had been watching them from the door trudged forwa