1: SIMON

Present day.

The loud crash of a fallen mug echoed through the Walkers' mansion early that morning, all the workers looked up for a second from their chores before they continued with their duty. They all knew in their hearts that soon the new caregiver would come downstairs with eyes brimming with tears and her bag on her shoulder, leaving the house never to come back.

"She lasted the longest. You know." One of the maids whispered to her colleague as she dusted the large shelf of the Walkers’ family library.

"That's because she has more endurance. Have you seen her when she takes his food upstairs? She's always shaking. I even heard the cook said she bawls in her free period, regretting ever choosing to be a caregiver in life." The colleague whispered back.

"Really? It must be hard on her. Sir Simon is just too heartless. Seeing the way he treats those poor women, I would never allow anyone in my family to ever work as a caregiver, being a maid is way better."  The first maid said passionately.

"Yes it is, but what do you expect of someone who lost his parent as a child and now he has lost the use of his legs." The colleague said with a sigh then continued, "It’s too bad that his grandparent’s love is not enough to warm up his frozen heart." the colleague murmured as she walked away to her next assignment.

True to their words and thoughts, in one of the king-sized bedrooms in the mansion, a young man in a black colored striped suit is seated in front of a small breakfast table on a mechanical wheelchair. He had a breakfast napkin around his neck, a sore look of anger distorted his extremely handsome and manly face.

He looked at the woman who was kneeling on one side of the table weeping in frustration, a shattered mug with its spilled content laid just beside her.

Simon closed his eyes and wondered continuously why his grandparents were bent on punishing him. Why they were making him meet with people with such low IQ? Was he the first person to get crippled in the world? Why must he be the one to have such frustrating caregivers? 

He didn't even want any. All he had ever asked for was an electronic wheelchair and to be left alone. But they never listen. It wasn't as it they could not afford it. They were just choosing to punish him.

I mean why else would they bring him caregivers, and female caregivers for that matter? It wasn't as if they did not know how he felt about women. They just kept on doing what they please. Even if the caregiver goes to the sun and back for him. He was never going to accept them. He could only hope his grandparents realized this very early and save them all from the torture.

"Tell me, how long have you been working here?" He asked in frustration but his voice must have come out stern and angry because the crying woman shook with fear and fresh tears fell down her eyes.

"O…one week" she whimpered.

"So one week is not enough for you to remember that I drink my morning coffee black? Even the dumbest maid in his house knows that!" Simon thundered.

"I….it's black. I swear I made it black. I don't know what happened." The woman tried to defend herself. But she was frustrated. God knew she was frustrated already. She had taken this job for the large sum of money it offered just like everyone else would. 

She wasn't even sure it was worth it anymore. On the first day she arrived, she had seen the other maids shake their heads and walk away when they saw her. She hadn't understood at first, but now she knew. This was the worst job she had taken. She had tried her best to endure sir Simon for at least a month so she could leave with her pay but she hadn't even lasted a week.

When she hit six days yesterday, she had been applauded by all the maids, even the elders of the family did the same for her patience, and today, this happens. It wasn't even as if those days have been easy on her. It was so mentally depressing she had to cry her eyes out during her break and at night as she had begun to see herself as nothing short of the worthless person sir Simon called her.

She was supposed to be a caregiver but here she felt even lower than the maids

"So you're saying I am wrongly accusing you?" The woman shook her head vigorously in reply, "then is it that my taste buds have become as handicapped as my legs then?"  Simon boomed angrily. His voice echoing through the cold room.

"No! No! I dare not say such a thing. I was just saying….." 

"You're fired." Simon declared not spearing her a glance. She looked up at him, her heart thumping with excitement at the freedom she would get but her head filled with worries about where she would get a job to foot her bill, so she knew she had to follow her logical mind or she would starve even with a happy mind.

"Sir, please….I don't have anywhere…." She started, but Simon immediately cuts her off

"You should have thought about the importance of this job to you when you were making silly mistakes." He angrily pulled the napkin out of his chest and slams it on the table filled with breakfast he had lost his appetite.

He turned his wheelchair around to leave her, cursing his grandparents for giving him a wheelchair that took so much effort to control personally, in the process the woman rushed to him without thinking and held onto his legs.

"Please! Give me one more chance." She cried but this only fueled his anger. 

She knew obviously that he couldn't move his legs or wiggle her away from it still she dares to hold on to his leg. She was already using his weakness against him. He thought and he immediately shouted.

"If you do not let go of my legs now. I would make sure you lick the mess on the floor with your tongue!"

The woman looked at him sharply, then at the broken mug and spilled coffee under it. Lick….it with her tongue? She thought. She didn't know he was this heartless. Why was he so heartless?

"Let go of me!" Simon said through gritted teeth and the woman immediately did. "Get out!" He ordered.

And she immediately obeyed, as she got to the door she turned and looked at him with hatred. "You got what you deserved."

Simon looked at her shocked but before he could reply. She was gone.

.........................................................................................

The alarm rang continuously in the tiny room that belongs to Alvira Smith. She rolled over to the edge of her bed from the far corner of the bed which she had earlier rolled onto to reduce the intensity of the alarm ring in her ears and searched for the clock on the bedside table with her eyes still securely shut. Though it was morning, she still had the urge to keep on sleeping and forgetting about all of her worries in the world.

Speaking of worries, her wandering hand slaps away the clock and it falls on the hard polished concrete floor with a clang! This was enough to make her eyes fly open.

Alvira threw the bed cover away and jumped out of the bed rushing to the clock and kneeling beside it like a mother whose baby had rolled off the bed and hit his head on the hard floor. She picked up the clock with a sorrowful expression. It had really hit its head and now something was missing from it.

"Oh no! No. No. No." Alvira chanted in frustration as she looked for the missing piece on the floor. The light from her window caught the shiny tiny metal piece at the foot of the bedside table helping her find it, she immediately picks it up and attaches it to the other part but it was broken and couldn't be fixed anymore.

Dejected she walked back to her seat on her bed as she tried not to cry. 

"Not this. It cost twenty dollars. Why do you have to get spoilt now, I don't even have any cash to spare," She grumbled as she stared at the broken piece which was mainly used for setting the alarm clock.

While staring at it, she unconsciously tilted the face of the clock to herself and her eyes caught what the time said

"What!" She exclaimed again as she stood up quickly. The pitiful clock in her hand fell to the ground again. 

She picked it up hurriedly and slammed it on the table not checking for damages anymore, she ran into the tiny room that was her bathroom as all she could think about now was how to prepare for the day.

She had bigger things to worry about.

…….

 Alvira walked out of her room a few minutes later in pale blue skinny jeans and a dark floral print oversized shirt which she tucked into the jeans. Her tennis was pure white accentuating the outfit. 

She ran downstairs to see her mother, Emily, packing up food into a lunch box.

"Morning Mom." She said as she rushed to the tiny kitchen table and grabbed one of the pancakes her mother was packing away. Her mother gave her a surprised look.

"Hey honey, did I wake you?"

"No. I broke my alarm clock." Alvira deadpanned as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"I am so sorry about that honey," Emily said giving her daughter a sad look. Since they didn't have much as a family, she knew how much her daughter cherished the little things that she owned, after all, her husband had bought that clock for his daughter on her last birthday and Alvira loved it.

"But why did you set an alarm? I thought you would sleep in today after that night shift." Emily looked at her already dressed daughter and frowned, "don't tell me you are going to the hospital again?"  She asked.

When Alvira did not give a response she continued. "Alv. You don't need to tire yourself out. I can look after your Dad during the day. You don't have to be by his side all the time. What would I do if something were to happen to you too?" Emily immediately asked with a heavy heart.

Alvira swallowed the mouth full of pancakes that had been preventing her from responding to her mother. "Mom. There is no need to worry. I’m just going out to submit my CV at some agencies, okay, If I can get a job, I can help with dad's bills too. That way we won't be stranded." Alvira explained. "I am not going to over-labor myself." She finished as she walks to her mother and hugs her. "And you are not going to lose anyone."

Emily nods sadly as she tried not to cry in front of Alvira. 

Alvira pulls away, "I’ve got to go, I’m late already." She grabs another pancake as she heads for the door.

"Love you, honey, take care " Emily shouted after her.

"Love you too Mom." She heard Alvira say just before the door shuts.