In the midst of the bustling kitchen, the enticing scent of freshly cooked meals enveloped me in a cocoon of anticipation and eagerness. I was clad in my uniform, highly focusing on my arduous but lowly-paid job. Each precise movement provided me a sense of my own liveliness from the chaos of the clanging of pans and utensils around me. All of a sudden, a current of tension hinted that a storm was about to unravel my peace.."EVERYONE STAY STILL AND DON'T MOVE!" A stern but high-pitched voice resonated throughout the wide and hollow kitchen. The voice was reflected all through the kitchen because most of the appliances were made out of stainless steel. .Much hot air was already produced from the cooking process. The voice made the air seemed much heavier and hotter. Not soon after, I realized that the owner of the sound must be none other than Elaine..Elaine, the bitchy and snotty daughter of the restaurant's owner, strode into the kitchen with an air of entitlement that clashed w
BEEP! HONK!!!I was sitting on the passenger seat. The car almost crashed, but Harrison quickly swerved. "Harrison, are you okay?!""Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that.""You can stop for a while, if you're not feeling well, we are not in a rush after all...""It's okay, Aria, I don't know what has gotten into me...""You look like you got something on your mind this whole time.""I don't know, Aria."He drove the car to the curb of the street, and slowly stopped."Harry, you can talk about anything to me if you want to, you know I won't mind at all...""I'm sorry, Aria, it's just... It's just that..."Harrison's face suddenly dimmed, he looked so gloomy. He was looking out the car window. I did not know what to do, so I stayed silent while he did too. We were in complete total silence for quite a long time, until I finally opened my mouth to initiate a conversation."Is it about me, Harry?""...Um...""I'm sorry if I sounded too nosy, but... I guess you know what happened back in the r
TW // sexual violence , sexual abuse , claustrophobia , abortion."Come on, Aria, give me another chance!". "I've given you enough chances, it's getting too much and too unbearable. I'm not giving you another one."."I miss Amy, and I miss you too."."You're the one who left me, Ken, what made you think I will take you back that easily?"."You've always been this stubborn and annoying, Aria."."It's a good thing that I haven't blocked your number yet, Ken!". "I will try to find you, and then I WILL take Amy with me."."You're fucking crazy, she has been with me ever since she was born!"."But I'm her father!"."I will never give you a chance to meet her, you deadbeat! She will never want to be with you!"."I'm still trying to stay calm here, Aria, don't make me come and get you too."."Go on, if you can find me."."Oh, I will."."You never will.".I stopped the conversation as I hung up the phone.."Mommy, why are you so angry? Who called you on the phone?"."Amy, so
The sun had just begun to rise on a Sunday morning, casting a soft glow across the room as I stood by the kitchen counter, carefully pouring cereal into a bowl for Amy. Our breakfast, especially on Sunday morning, was always a silent routine and a serene step to start the day. We enjoyed this quiet moment together, and I wished I would have moments like this with Amy forever. Remarkably, Amy also had been up early as well, her energy matching the sun's motion of rising..As we ate, the world outside seemed to stir with a hushed quietness, the chirping of birds providing a gentle soundtrack to our shared solitude. I couldn't help but notice the way the sunlight played upon Amy's face, illuminating her features like a painter's brushstrokes. She caught me gazing and smiled, her eyes sparkling with a mix of playfulness and something deeper, something that hinted at hopes and dreams..As we continued to have our breakfast, the soft morning light filtered through the curtains; which creat
As the bus approached the stop, I could already discern his presence near the roadside. His motorcycle, a sleek black machine, rested just a few paces away, and I knew this was our meeting point. With a mix of anticipation and a hint of nerves, I prepared to disembark from the bus, my daughter Amy by my side..The bus came to a halt with a soft sigh of air brakes, and I leaned over to Amy, who was peering out the window with wide-eyed curiosity. "Amy, it's time to get off the bus," I said with a smile, my voice laced with excitement. Her face lit up as she turned to me, a tangle of enthusiasm and wonder in her expression..Gathering our bags, we made our way down the aisle, Amy clutching her stuffed bear tightly. Stepping out onto the pavement, the crisp morning air surrounded us, carrying the promise of a brand new day. Amy's grip on my hand was firm, her steps a mix of eagerness and shyness..Walking toward him, my heart raced as I watched him turn to us, a welcoming grin spreadin
I was laid off work for two weeks. I needed to earn money so I could feed myself and Amy. Harrison offered to pay for everything, but I declined every single offer of his. I was still able to earn money myself, I wouldn't want to mooch money off him. .I started to look for freelance work online. I was hoping to get some work that was not long-term. I only needed the side jobs for two weeks, too. .I searched and searched, but none of them caught my attention. That being said, none of them : A.) pays well or B.) had a job desk that suited to my skills..Sigh..I threw my body to the couch, but I suddenly remembered to contact either Kanika or Zoe. They were my flatmates at the building I used to live in..Kanika is a freelance worker, so she usually works from home in front of her laptop and devices. Zoe works in a job-searching company. She usually assists people online and help them find the jobs most suitable in accordance to their skills..I tried to call Kanika first.."Hel
The next morning, I sent the email that I have typed the night before through my phone. Then I got out of bed to make breakfast for me and Amy. I was thinking of making pancakes and waffles with whipped cream and fruits such as strawberry, blueberry, and mango as the toppings..I opened the kitchen cabinet. Since I first moved here, the contents of the cabinet haven't really reduced a lot. When I first moved here, the cabinets were well-filled with all kinds of food, canned fruits, canned meats, canned beans. It is hard to mention them all one by one. The refrigerator was also stocked up until the door was difficult to open..The food stock in the fridge was used up quite a lot, because I cooked almost all of them already. They were all organic and extra fresh. Harrison truly knew how to pick the right vegetables and food products. But hey, who knows, maybe he had his assistants picked out and bought them for him..I took out some flour, sugar, butter, eggs, a cup of milk, and cream
Stepping out of the elevator, I picked up my pace towards the exit of the posh apartment building. Harrison, always ready to assist, had arranged a driver to take me to the job interview spot, but today I was in the mood for some independence..This spacious lobby exuded luxury, the kind that screams "wealthy residents." I lived in its irony. It was funny enough that I was jobless when I moved in. It was even funnier that I was applying for a personal home assistant AKA butler now. Rich had never been my middle name. Alas, I was still able to trudge here and there in this luxurious lobby. I made my way through, a mix of nerves and determination propelling me forward. This job interview was a game-changer, a chance to shift gears and steer my life in a new direction. Hopefully, it would open new opportunities for me and Amy. I wanted to do more than just this, especially for my beloved daughter..As I stepped into the fresh air outside, I took a deep breath, mentally gearing up for wh
I opened my eyes slowly, and the first thing that went inside my eyes were the sharp jabs of light coming from the ceiling of my hospital room. Oh. Huh. How long have I been sleeping? All I remembered was one of the nurses coming in to give me my daily dose of medicine, which I have to take in full doses every morning and afternoon. There were three types of medicines, but I did not know their names exactly. .All I knew was that one of them had a function of preventing the possible infections that were happening inside of my body which could be the results of my external wounds. The second one had the effect of keeping my blood articulation to flow smoothly without any disturbances. Aside from external wounds, I also had some internal wounds. The doctor once said to me during one of the examination sessions that there were some blood clotting at the areas of my internal wounds. I should be taking these prescribed pills, which I totally forgot the name of, to help reduce the clotting
I have gotten a call from Noah last night. He said that he had gotten more clues for the search of Amy. Phoebe and Kanika had joined together with Noah and kept updating one another with informations about Amy. It was also last night when I finally realized that Phoebe and Kanika used to be friends in high school because they both were born and grew up in this city. They caught up with each other through Noah. Noah initially called Phoebe up for help. I have introduced Noah to Kanika too beforehand, when he had some issues with his computer network or something that one time. I took Kanika to his apartment to help him with his computer issues. That time, Kanika popped into my mind because she was so brilliant with electronic and IT stuffs, which I truthfully had zero information about. .They got along very well that time, I thought that there was a spark going on between them. Then I realized that Kanika is more of that independent woman type of girl. Kanika is also very very serious
Noah's POV -.When I tried to gain access to the building along with Kanika and Phoebe, the security tried to stop us several times before. They even warned us that if we tried to enter once more, they would consider it security breach and they might call the other securities and even polices for backup. Hell. Why are they making it so hard for us to just get inside the building? There must be something really really suspicious about this whole situation. I never actually liked the way the security communicated with us the whole time too. His tone and his voice were really hostile and intimidating. It was as if he was trying to make us feel scared or something like that. Sheesh. I know he was only making up the whole expression, because why would anyone act like that in a daily basis? He might caught a hypertension issue in the near future, surely enough, if he could not manage his anger properly. .Actually, I could have gone into full on brawl mode. I needed back up though, and at
Noah's POV -.When I tried to gain access to the building along with Kanika and Phoebe, the security tried to stop us several times before. They even warned us that if we tried to enter once more, they would consider it security breach and they might call the other securities and even polices for backup. Hell. Why are they making it so hard for us to just get inside the building? There must be something really really suspicious about this whole situation. I never actually liked the way the security communicated with us the whole time too. His tone and his voice were really hostile and intimidating. It was as if he was trying to make us feel scared or something like that. Sheesh. I know he was only making up the whole expression, because why would anyone act like that in a daily basis? He might caught a hypertension issue in the near future, surely enough, if he could not manage his anger properly. .Actually, I could have gone into full on brawl mode. I needed back up though, and at
I have gotten a call from Noah last night. He said that he had gotten more clues for the search of Amy. Phoebe and Kanika had joined together with Noah and kept updating one another with informations about Amy. It was also last night when I finally realized that Phoebe and Kanika used to be friends in high school because they both were born and grew up in this city. They caught up with each other through Noah. Noah initially called Phoebe up for help. I have introduced Noah to Kanika too beforehand, when he had some issues with his computer network or something that one time. I took Kanika to his apartment to help him with his computer issues. That time, Kanika popped into my mind because she was so brilliant with electronic and IT stuffs, which I truthfully had zero information about. .They got along very well that time, I thought that there was a spark going on between them. Then I realized that Kanika is more of that independent woman type of girl. Kanika is also very very serious
When Noah finally set off to help me search for my daughter, Amy, I finally got some more peace of mind. Not because of the fact that Noah was no longer here, nope. Him not being here made me feel much lonelier than I used to be, because I usually have somebody to talk to and make jokes about. .I felt more peace because even though I was laid down on the hospital bed, the search for my daughter was still going to show some more progress. Harrison also often visited me then on, even though he had to be on a wheelchair. He told me that his broken bones had finally settled, though not fully and completely healed yet, but his doctors said he was allowed to go around the hospital in a wheelchair. .The doctors told him that it was necessary for his healing process, because Harrison had told the doctors that he wouldn't want to be confined in a room for any much longer. What was pretty suprising to me was that he had a nurse that personally cared and tended for his needs. The personally a
Today, when I woke up, Noah was not there beside me to accompany me as he usually did. He told me he needed to run some errands so he would not be accompanying me in the hospital room for today. But he would be here probably for the night, he was afraid that I might need anything but I could not do it myself. Sure, the nurses here could assist me, but most of them would not come if it were not for some urgent matters, I don't know why. The way they treated me and the way they treated Harrison was very, very much different. .Well, the situation and condition have spoken for itself really. Harrison is the youngest son of one of the conglomerate family in this town, whereas I am only an ordinary girl and nobody even knew who I was before the accident with Harrison. .Heck, they don't even know who I actually am probably. They only knew me as the girl, who was with Harrison, sitting inside the car along with him during the incident. When I think about it fully and thoroughly, I understa
After experiencing the dream that was very surreal, I was suddenly transported back into the reality that I was living in. It felt exactly like my soul was sucked headfirst into my sleeping body. For a while there, before feeling like getting slapped into reality again, I could see my body lying very quietly and serenely on the hospital bed. I could see that my face was filled with such a very sad and worried expression. I really could not figure out whether it was a dream or not. All I knew was that the dream was very surreal but it also felt like some kind of thing that came from reality. .If you have ever heard about astral projection, where your soul technically leaves your body and travelled somewhere far away. Travelling to somewhere in the past or probably in to the future. During astral projection, your body could go anywhere that it pleaded to go to. Sometimes, it could be places that you never even knew existed, but other times it could be places that were familiar and dear
I opened my eyes to find myself in a totally dark room. Some parts of me felt like I knew where I was but somehow it felt all unfamiliar. It is also surreal but also felt so real. I recognized the room which looks like that the one bedroom that I always had since my childhood, the one that I always shared with my older siblings and also my younger siblings, both sisters and brothers as well. But when I tried to look around the darkness and no matter how much I try to make out what's in the dark, I could not find anybody there. Not even a soul..The more I think about it, the more I realize that it was like a fever dream. You know those kinds of dreams where you felt like you know that you were dreaming but it all still feel very very realistic somehow. No matter how much I tried to open my eyes and wake up, I could never seem to do it. Trying to wake up already tire me so much, so I tried to navigate my dreams instead..I got up from my old rickety bed, but you're always made that sa