Semua Bab Till Time Do Us Part: Bab 141 - Bab 150

“Give me ten reasons why I should go with you,” said Gray who was sitting on the dining table with her cheek leaning on her palm as she listlessly yawned, staring at her empty plate. “One, you’re my guardian,” said Zia, cooking in the kitchen. “Two, you’re the only one who knows about my situation. Three, you’re my best friend. Four, you have nothing else to do---” “Excuse you but I have a jam-packed schedule today,” countered Gray. Zia sneered. “Really? Like what?” “I have a three to five hours schedule of resting after breakfast, five-hour nap after lunch and ten to fifteen hours of sleep after dinner.” Gray leaned back on the chair, still yawning. “How rude of you to assume I have nothing else to do.” Zia brought a cedar planked salmon on a wooden plate to the table with oven mitts over her hands. “Five, a child like me can’t go alone,” she continued, ignoring what Gray just said. “Six, you won’t be spending a penny because it’s my card.” She went back to the kitchen. “Seven, I

“Sarah?” uttered Gray Stewart as she saw Sarah Lewis hugging little girl El. Sarah turned to her. “Gray? You were the one who found her?” Gray stood up from having squatted down by the corner. “Y-yeah.” Sarah put both hands over her chest. “Oh, thank God you found her.” Then she squatted down to level with El’s height. “Elreese.” She put both hands on her shoulders. “I told you not to get out of the staff break room, right? But you disobeyed me. Why?” she said in a stern but calm tone. Elreese started to quietly sob. “S-sammy.” She sniffed, big drops of tears falling from her eyes. “It’s alright, El. Sammy’s not angry.” Sarah gently rubbed her frail shoulders. “Just tell Sammy why you went out.” “Be-because,” said Elreese in between her sobbing. “I…I heard people outside…I…I went out….then…then I…saw big robots…people…ride them…I want to too.” “Elreese,” said Sarah in a calm tone and looked her in the eye. “Didn’t Sammy promise she’ll let you ride them when she’s done working?”

In a highly respected suburb on the outskirts of the city stood the two-storey house of Theresa Scott. A vintage house in calming shades of wood with a spacious front lawn surrounded with waist-high wooden gates. In the early waking of the sun, Theresa was mowing her lawn. She was a woman in her late forties, medium size with an average height of 5 foot 4 inches. She had shoulder-length straight blonde hair and ocean eyes. She wore a vintage clothing style and stood like a mighty oak. And even as her age was evident in her facial features, it could be agreed that she was an attractive woman in her youth with oozing charisma. As she was pushing the lawn mower, a sedan pulled over at the gates. Her attention shifted to the person who climbed out of the car. “Sweetie!” exclaimed Theresa as she saw Gray approaching the gates. She walked toward her and opened the gate and pulled her in for a tight hug with a big smile across her face. “Hi, Theresa,” said Gray monotonously. Theresa pull

Zia’s heart skipped a beat when she heard her mother calling her by her real name while looking at her. She must think of an excuse already or change the subject but she could not think of anything. Her mind went blank. Theresa slightly tilted her head while still eyeing her, then she said, “You’re…Zia…” She paused. Then she tucked the photo back in the pink album and abruptly tidied up and put the albums back in the box. “Oh, look at the time.” She looked at her wristwatch. “I better start preparing dinner.” She smiled uneasily at them. “I’ll be in the kitchen. You kids just stay here. You can watch tv if you want.” She rose with the box in hand and seemed to be in a hurry. When she left, Zia and Gray shared a bewildered glance. “Do you think she knows?” asked Zia. “I don’t know,” responded Gray, leaning back and tilted her head, staring at the chandelier above with her arms and legs crossed. “Is it bad, though?” said Zia looking down, fiddling with her fingers. “If she knows?”

“What?” said Colleen with furrowed brows and trembling eyes. “He put poison on your drink, Col. I saw it,”declared Belinda. “What the hell are you talking about?” asked the man, visibly feigning ignorance. “When you put your hands on her back I saw you pour some kind of powder in her drink.” Belinda pointed at Colleen’s glass. The commotion that occurred had turned quite a few heads even amidst the roaring music over the ginormous speakers around the club. “What powder, I have nothing on me.” The man held out his palms in front of him and showed them to the people witnessing their argument. “Stop giving false accusations, will you?” he added. Belinda glared at him with seething anger. “You know what? Normally, I’d call my lawyer right now and have him file a case on you but I’m merciful and forgiving.” He grinned. “So if you kneel down and lick my shoes I’ll just walk out the exit as if nothing happened.” He pointed at the door. There were ooh-ing echoing from the crowd listeni