~Sofia~
There was something in the air when I woke up that day.
I smiled to myself and looked around my bedroom without getting up from my bed yet. My room was everything I wanted it to be. Mia, being the responsible elder sister, had made sure all of her savings went to me having the life she couldn't have. And I was so grateful to my sister.
From the storm clouds mural on the ceiling to my wall of books. And from my sweet wardrobe to the little vanity that Dad had been so reluctant to get for me because it was out of his budget and Mia had snuck in a few hundred dollars to make sure I ended up getting that antique vanity from P*******t that I had been obsessed with. Not to mention my art supplies that she often snuck in on payday because she thought I had a 'natural talent' for painting.
I smiled to myself. We weren't rich but life was great. We made it happen. We shared the house because it was cheaper than Marcus and his wife moving out. But, I had big aims. I knew that as soon as I got out of college, I was going to look for a job and make sure I helped Marcus and Mia run the house.
"Sofia Hayes! If you are not up and ready in half an hour, I'm leaving for office without you." Marcus, my elder brother, called from the other side of my bedroom door.
I knew he didn't mean it, he just loved to play the role of strict old brother.
"I'm up!" I yelled back and jumped out of my bed. I smiled when I looked at my writing chair that had my outfit for the day spread on its back. It was my early birthday gift from Mia.
"Love you, Mia," I muttered smiling wide, and skipped over to my dresser to get ready for the day.
~
"Morning, Mum!" I rushed to kiss her cheek before going to Dad with the same hyperactive energy, "Morning, Dad!" And placed a kiss on his bald head making him laugh.
"How does this girl have so much energy so early in the morning?" Mom muttered.
"Ignore her." Dad laughed with me.
"It's the air, Mom. There's something in today's air." I twirled and came face-to-face with my sister.
"There's something in the air every day." Mom laughed sarcastically.
"Morning, Mia!" I hugged her and she hugged me back, reciprocating my energy, "Good morning, Sofie. Let me guess, you dreamt of Brad Pitt?" She smirked.
I made a face at her and she laughed at my shenanigans. I loved it when everyone was happy. We had issues but which family didn't?
Well, almost everyone.
I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl in the middle of the dining table as my sister-in-law scowled, "Sofia, I made breakfast. Don't skip it today. It goes to waste if you do and my husband doesn't work so hard to earn for us, just so you can waste good food."
I rolled my eyes but put the apple in my bag for later and grabbed a plate to get the breakfast.
"Hurry up, I have to get to the office early." Marcus looked at his watch and stood up.
I rolled my pancake to-go and rushed after him, "Have an awesome day everybody!" I yelled back to my family before getting in the car. My brother was going to drop me off at the university before heading to his office. It was convenient and saved ticket money for public transport since my institute was on his way.
~
"Don't tell me he is here today too!" My best friend, Lena, whisper-yelled at me during the lecture.
I simply nodded with an excited smile.
"One of these days, your parents are going to find out that you have a secret boyfriend and it's not going to end well for either of you." She tried to advise but I was in love and love is blind.
"Shush, now. Just cover for me, will you?" I winked as I packed my things quietly into my bag so that the teacher wouldn't know that I was going to skip classes for the rest of the day again.
"Do I have a choice?" She replied sarcastically but I knew she was on my side.
"No, you don't," I said, not being able to control the wide smile that lit up my face at the mere thought of being with my boyfriend since high school. I got ready to slip out of the back door of the classroom, "Lena, you know I love you, right?"
"You better. It's not easy covering for you in every class." She smirked, "Now, go. Carlos will be waiting." She pushed me and I left after blowing her a kiss in gratitude.
Once outside the class, I ran to the gate where we were supposed to meet.
And there he was. My handsome boyfriend, getting more handsome each year, waiting for me on his motorcycle.
I stopped a few feet away and gave a Victorian bow holding my imaginary ballgown. He tipped his imaginary hat and we laughed at each other. It was amazing how in love we were.
I felt like my whole body was smiling when I sat behind him on the motorcycle and fastened the helmet with my initials on it. He had it custom-made for me. I held on tight and we left the premises of my university.
I knew where he was taking me. Even though it was a famous tourist spot, we always thought of it as 'our' spot. In high school, we had gone on a school trip for local sightseeing and the Two-lover's-Point was where we had first noticed each other. It had been an accidental meeting but since then, we had talked often. Until he asked me to be his girlfriend. My parents were strict in this regard and refused to let me have a boyfriend before college. Which was why we kept it hidden. And then, I was in university, he was looking for a job, and the right time to tell my parents just never came. Due to his joblessness, we were sure my parents wouldn't approve of us. So, we were delaying introducing him to our family till he got a job and was able to respectfully ask for my hand in marriage.
"So, how's your day?" Carl asked.
"So much better now that I'm with you," I replied hugging him from behind.
"You sure we can't go back to my place?" He teased but placed a hand on my hand which was on his torso and caressed it.
"I have to get back to uni. Mark is going to pick me up at pack up." I told.
"What's wrong with Subway?" He asked.
"Nothing. He said he'd be around there for work, so he might as well pick me up from university." I shrugged.
"I swear, that brother of yours," He started.
"Don't swear," I laughed and slapped his shoulder lightly.
"Careful, you want us to get into an accident?" He swerved the motorcycle on the road intentionally, making me hold him tighter.
"Carlooss!" I whined even though I knew he would never put us in danger, making him laugh and speed up so we could reach our spot sooner.
[This chapter contains mention of suicide. Reader caution is advised.]~Robert~That morning was just like any other hundreds of mornings that I had spent walking the line between living and being alive.I set my tie, glanced one last time at my perfect reflection in the mirror, walked out of my room, and down the grand carpeted staircase. I stopped at the last step, contemplating. From there, I could see an open bedroom to my right. Not a single sound in the mansion except the servants scurrying around and the stone foundation with a lion head carved out of marble as the centerpiece, dripping water non-stop into the pool around it. I took a deep breath, glanced at the open bedroom door one last time, and decided against going that way.Instead, I put my hands in my pockets, carried the usual burden on my shoulders, and walked outside where the driver was waiting with my car of the day. I skipped breakfast but none of the servants were bold enough to ask me about it. That was why th
~Sofia~"This way!" I pulled Carl who raised his hands in surrender, "Nuhuh. It was your idea to pray to these doomed lovers, not mine. I will sit and wait right here on this bench while you go and remind these stone statues that they are meant to grant me a job and us a wedding." Carl sat on one of the benches that lined the lane leading up to the Two-Lover's point."What do you mean, you aren't coming? I pray for both of us." I said dramatically before my eyes widened and I joined him on the bench feeling suddenly excited, "You know, I read in the horoscope yesterday that this week my wish will come true. This means, one of your interviews this week is going to work. I know it!""Wow, that's some quick service by your stone statues." He said sarcastically. I knew he didn't mean it but I scolded him anyway as I gasped, "Shush, don't say it like that. Anyway, they're crafted from marble not just any stone."I stood up, "Alright, I'll go throw the coin and you wait here, okay? Don't st
~Narrator~"Hey," Marcus attended the call reluctantly and tried not to sound as annoyed as he felt."Hey, Mark. Brother, how are you doing?" Russell asked over the phone call that he had been eager to dial the moment he lost sight of Sofia in the crowd at the Two-Lover's point."Did you call at this time of the day to ask how I'm doing?" Marcus asked while looking around and hoping that he did not get caught using his phone at work."Oh no. No." Russell laughed in a pretended light-hearted way and resumed, "I am the Two-Lover's point with some friends. You know that major tourist attraction by the cliff. I thought we could meet up if you and Sofia are here.""I'm at work and Sofia is at her University," Marcus told Russell. He was confused about what Russell was getting at."Oh, I'm sorry. From the distance, I could swear it was you and Sofia," Realization was evident on Russell's face that everything was not how it seemed. He was sure that he had seen Sofia there but he wasn't sure
~Sofia~When Carl and I returned to the university, we were shocked to find Mark waiting for my pack up. "Didn't know your brother was picking you at pack up too." Carl thought out loud."I didn't know either." I almost hissed. What was Mark doing? What happened to the subway?We had to take a slight detour and once Carl had dropped me off at the second gate, I came out of the first one like I had just come out of my last class. "Mark? What a surprise?" I remarked as I walked over to him."Yeah, get in. I was in the area, so I decided to pick you up, " he said and started driving."Good idea." I muttered and wondered what had gotten into him. He never picked me up from university.~Marcus dropped me at home and went back to work."Sofie, you are home early." Mom said as I walked in."Yeah, Mark picked me up from the university. Saved the wait at Subway." I answered and went to help around the house."Your brother picked you up from university?" My sister-in-law interrogated me."Th
~Narrator~Sitting in his seat in his office, Robert's mind replayed the past events like a broken record.~Flashback 1~A young woman, with bouncy brunette curls, walked into his office with a sweet smile and placed a cactus in a pot on his table."What is this?" Robert asked surprised and amused."I thought that you must be used to getting flowers, but this suits your personality better." The girl gave a playful smile making Robert smile as well."Mr. Robert, keep smiling like that. It suits you." The girl complimented him and then brought her hand forward, "Friends?"Robert glanced at the extended hand and before he could change his mind, brought his hand to meet hers, "Friends."The girl smiled satisfied.~Flashback 2~ A few weeks after the events of the first flashback,The same girl with curls sat on the passenger seat of Robert's car as he drove. She held on to his hand and pleaded sweetly, "Rob, please, let's go on a dinner date. Please, come on."Robert didn't want to turn he
~Narrator~Mrs. Julia Heyes sat folding the laundry unhappily as her husband, Marcus Heyes, joined her and silently handed her some cash.Brightening up at the sight of money, Julia took the money and started counting but her smile turned into a frown quickly, "What is this? What will spend and what will I save in this?" Then she looked behind him to check that the door was closed before whispering, "And we have to pay the installment for our new house this month as well.""Try to work things out in this. This month I had to pay for Dad's physiotherapy. The house can't run only on Mia's salary." Marcus tried to explain."Mark, you know how much I have sacrificed for the sake of our new house. I keep myself from the blessing of being a mother so that when our child comes, he does not breathe this air of poverty that we live in now." Julia manipulated her husband the way she always had."Sweetheart, that's why I am asking to try and make things work this month. I will get a bonus next m
>It had taken a while for me to get Mia to come on a double date with me and Carl. She had no idea who Carl was and I had to break it to her slowly. But she had fallen in love herself before Clark at arranged the proposal in a way that it made it look like the families had arranged their marriage.We promised our mother to be back before the curfew, made up a lie, and left.Clark was already at the diner waiting for us. Even though he was Mia's fiance, our parents would throw a fit if they knew Mia was meeting him alone. They were afraid that she might say something that might ruin the relationship before it had begun. Especially when they had taken such a huge loan, with interest, for her wedding.We said hellos and Clark went back to his gobbling his order. Mia and I shared a look. I made an expression that said, "Are you going to wait for him to be done eating? Start talking now."Mia took a deep breath and started, "Clark, baby, I told you before our engagement that I was
>It had taken a while for me to get Mia to come on a double date with me and Carl. She had no idea who Carl was and I had to break it to her slowly. But she had fallen in love herself before Clark at arranged the proposal in a way that it made it look like the families had arranged their marriage.We promised our mother to be back before the curfew, made up a lie, and left.Clark was already at the diner waiting for us. Even though he was Mia's fiance, our parents would throw a fit if they knew Mia was meeting him alone. They were afraid that she might say something that might ruin the relationship before it had begun. Especially when they had taken such a huge loan, with interest, for her wedding.We said hellos and Clark went back to his gobbling his order. Mia and I shared a look. I made an expression that said, "Are you going to wait for him to be done eating? Start talking now."Mia took a deep breath and started, "Clark, baby, I told you before our engagement that I was
~Narrator~Mrs. Julia Heyes sat folding the laundry unhappily as her husband, Marcus Heyes, joined her and silently handed her some cash.Brightening up at the sight of money, Julia took the money and started counting but her smile turned into a frown quickly, "What is this? What will spend and what will I save in this?" Then she looked behind him to check that the door was closed before whispering, "And we have to pay the installment for our new house this month as well.""Try to work things out in this. This month I had to pay for Dad's physiotherapy. The house can't run only on Mia's salary." Marcus tried to explain."Mark, you know how much I have sacrificed for the sake of our new house. I keep myself from the blessing of being a mother so that when our child comes, he does not breathe this air of poverty that we live in now." Julia manipulated her husband the way she always had."Sweetheart, that's why I am asking to try and make things work this month. I will get a bonus next m
~Narrator~Sitting in his seat in his office, Robert's mind replayed the past events like a broken record.~Flashback 1~A young woman, with bouncy brunette curls, walked into his office with a sweet smile and placed a cactus in a pot on his table."What is this?" Robert asked surprised and amused."I thought that you must be used to getting flowers, but this suits your personality better." The girl gave a playful smile making Robert smile as well."Mr. Robert, keep smiling like that. It suits you." The girl complimented him and then brought her hand forward, "Friends?"Robert glanced at the extended hand and before he could change his mind, brought his hand to meet hers, "Friends."The girl smiled satisfied.~Flashback 2~ A few weeks after the events of the first flashback,The same girl with curls sat on the passenger seat of Robert's car as he drove. She held on to his hand and pleaded sweetly, "Rob, please, let's go on a dinner date. Please, come on."Robert didn't want to turn he
~Sofia~When Carl and I returned to the university, we were shocked to find Mark waiting for my pack up. "Didn't know your brother was picking you at pack up too." Carl thought out loud."I didn't know either." I almost hissed. What was Mark doing? What happened to the subway?We had to take a slight detour and once Carl had dropped me off at the second gate, I came out of the first one like I had just come out of my last class. "Mark? What a surprise?" I remarked as I walked over to him."Yeah, get in. I was in the area, so I decided to pick you up, " he said and started driving."Good idea." I muttered and wondered what had gotten into him. He never picked me up from university.~Marcus dropped me at home and went back to work."Sofie, you are home early." Mom said as I walked in."Yeah, Mark picked me up from the university. Saved the wait at Subway." I answered and went to help around the house."Your brother picked you up from university?" My sister-in-law interrogated me."Th
~Narrator~"Hey," Marcus attended the call reluctantly and tried not to sound as annoyed as he felt."Hey, Mark. Brother, how are you doing?" Russell asked over the phone call that he had been eager to dial the moment he lost sight of Sofia in the crowd at the Two-Lover's point."Did you call at this time of the day to ask how I'm doing?" Marcus asked while looking around and hoping that he did not get caught using his phone at work."Oh no. No." Russell laughed in a pretended light-hearted way and resumed, "I am the Two-Lover's point with some friends. You know that major tourist attraction by the cliff. I thought we could meet up if you and Sofia are here.""I'm at work and Sofia is at her University," Marcus told Russell. He was confused about what Russell was getting at."Oh, I'm sorry. From the distance, I could swear it was you and Sofia," Realization was evident on Russell's face that everything was not how it seemed. He was sure that he had seen Sofia there but he wasn't sure
~Sofia~"This way!" I pulled Carl who raised his hands in surrender, "Nuhuh. It was your idea to pray to these doomed lovers, not mine. I will sit and wait right here on this bench while you go and remind these stone statues that they are meant to grant me a job and us a wedding." Carl sat on one of the benches that lined the lane leading up to the Two-Lover's point."What do you mean, you aren't coming? I pray for both of us." I said dramatically before my eyes widened and I joined him on the bench feeling suddenly excited, "You know, I read in the horoscope yesterday that this week my wish will come true. This means, one of your interviews this week is going to work. I know it!""Wow, that's some quick service by your stone statues." He said sarcastically. I knew he didn't mean it but I scolded him anyway as I gasped, "Shush, don't say it like that. Anyway, they're crafted from marble not just any stone."I stood up, "Alright, I'll go throw the coin and you wait here, okay? Don't st
[This chapter contains mention of suicide. Reader caution is advised.]~Robert~That morning was just like any other hundreds of mornings that I had spent walking the line between living and being alive.I set my tie, glanced one last time at my perfect reflection in the mirror, walked out of my room, and down the grand carpeted staircase. I stopped at the last step, contemplating. From there, I could see an open bedroom to my right. Not a single sound in the mansion except the servants scurrying around and the stone foundation with a lion head carved out of marble as the centerpiece, dripping water non-stop into the pool around it. I took a deep breath, glanced at the open bedroom door one last time, and decided against going that way.Instead, I put my hands in my pockets, carried the usual burden on my shoulders, and walked outside where the driver was waiting with my car of the day. I skipped breakfast but none of the servants were bold enough to ask me about it. That was why th
~Sofia~There was something in the air when I woke up that day.I smiled to myself and looked around my bedroom without getting up from my bed yet. My room was everything I wanted it to be. Mia, being the responsible elder sister, had made sure all of her savings went to me having the life she couldn't have. And I was so grateful to my sister.From the storm clouds mural on the ceiling to my wall of books. And from my sweet wardrobe to the little vanity that Dad had been so reluctant to get for me because it was out of his budget and Mia had snuck in a few hundred dollars to make sure I ended up getting that antique vanity from Pinterest that I had been obsessed with. Not to mention my art supplies that she often snuck in on payday because she thought I had a 'natural talent' for painting.I smiled to myself. We weren't rich but life was great. We made it happen. We shared the house because it was cheaper than Marcus and his wife moving out. But, I had big aims. I knew that as soon as