Sweet Home
The rain starts pouring as the bus enters Ridge City, Shaika is fast asleep, now that she has told her mother about everything she feels better.
Her father is still in the dark about her situation but her mother has promised to talk to him and try to make him understand,. He is a difficult man and the situation at hand can anger any parent.
She opens her eyes slowly. She had fallen asleep on a random guy’s shoulder. “ooh! Sorry,” she apologizes moving away wiping off the sleep off her eyes. While the nap was short, it’s the best she’s had in a while. “it’s fine, no harm done,” he says flashing a smile.
Shaika adjusts her self from her seat, sitting up properly.
She stretches her limbs in the tiny space she has making sure not to touch the man seated next to her.
She went home during a busy weekend in her job because she couldn’t take the sleepless nights any more. She had to come clean to her parents.
At the end, she couldn’t tell them the complete story. But at least her mother knows the most important part.
Even so, her journey was not for nothing as she got to be with her most beloved beings in the world.
Shaika had missed her mother’s embrace so much. While at home she got a lot of that, every night she fell asleep in mother’s arms, safe and loved.
The bus ride is longer than usually because of the slippery roads due to the heavy rain.
The young man next to her is busy reading a book that has way too many pages with no pictures at that. Shaika is not much of a reader so she is in awe at how a person can take all that information in with all the events of basic daily lives. “their lives must be with no worries,” she always think when she meets such a person. To completely dedicate your time to read a book this thick is impressive to her.
People who loves to read always say that reading helps them escape their reality while educating them or introduces them to new things.
With things like the internet, people who still read this much are really fascinating to her, especially young ones like the guy.
The bus is now travelling on the quite road surrounded by trees, on a clear day the scenic view here is out of this world, but since it’s raining the fog is clouding the breath-taking natural view.
Shaika wipes the steam off the window. She leans in looking outside, she sees nothing but fog and exhales looking straight ahead.
With nothing else to do her attention is grabbed by the man seated next to her.
She is intrigued, the way he is so invested in his book makes her interested too. He looks lost in his own world in the midst of all the chatter in here. “cosy weather is always an aider of juicy gossip,” her mother always tells her. Shaika smiles listening to the chatter and laughter filling the bus.
She keeps glancing on the guy and the book, she is curious to know what it is about since he seems so invested in it but she does not want to interrupt him.
He has been turning page after page. Shaika wonders what the book could be about, she hope it’s not about the trending explosive stuff people are interested in these days.
She pulls her head back taking a more intense look on the guy. “he does not seem to be the kind to read those books,” she thinks to herself. Shaika is not even aware that the guy sees her from his peripheral view.
The guy laughs noticing Shaika’s peeping tendencies. “you’re interested?” he asks lifting up the book.
Shaika looks flabbergasted, she did not expect that. “well ah, a little” she says signalling with her hands.
The guy looks at her. “ask away,” he says getting ready for any question that comes his way. Shaika’s actions and face gives it away that she is not much of a reader which makes him interested in what she is so curious about.
“Well to begin with, what is it about?” she has been trying to read even one line in the book to make out what it is about but she couldn’t as it would make things a little weird.
“Its about the human body,” he says. As soon as he says that Shaika makes a face, a face that suggests she knew what the book was about, she’s a little disappointed too. the guy laughs after seeing Shaika’s face, she just displayed an uninterested look.
“Why?” She asks. Turning another page he answers: “just because. I am very much into anatomy.” His answer makes her think maybe he is a student, medical student maybe?
“A book this long with no pictures,” Shaika makes note. “it has no pictures but it does have illustrations, do you want to see?” Shaika nods her head.
The guy shows her explaining things to her about the human body, she looks to be enjoying it. “Okay I get it now, it is quite fascinating, but why? Are you a student?” Him being a student is the first thing she thinks off that could make him this interested in such a book.
“I work with human bodies a lot,” Shaika opens her eyes. “don’t tell me you are a mortician,” she says gasping. “something like that,” he says moving his hand.
“Something like that, what is something like a mortician?” she asks spooked. “I work with bodies too, like a mortician but just not in the morgue. Well sometimes but not really,” he is being vague on purpose, he sees how spooked she already is.
“Anyways are you from Albert’s View?” he questions changing the subject. “no, I’m from Queensden,” Shaika tells him with ease.
He smirks turning to her with his full face on display, Shaika gasps again, he is gorgeous. He is looking right into her eyes thinking the same thing about her. “oh really we are neighbours, I’m from Albert’s View,” he ignores her reaction, or not as he lets out a tiny chuckle getting back to his book.
He closes it as he is now distracted. Shaika is not a bad distraction at all as he is enjoying the company. He has heard a lot about how beautiful girls from Queensden, but until mow he has never met one that he deemed as beautiful as her mother.
They spent the rest of the ride talking about their lives, well only the basic stuff. They are from two neighbouring small towns which are separated by only a small stream. Neither one of them can not believe they have never met.
Once the towns were one. Various stories are told about how it got dived into two. Of course all the stories sides with who ever is telling it. They share the most redundant stories laughin
With good company their journey feels shortened. The bus arrives at Ridge city bus station, people start getting off as the two wait their turn.
When their turn comes the guy helps Shaika off, also helping her with her bags. She thanks him.
“I’m Noah by the way,” Noah says extending his hand for a handshake. “I’m Shaika,” Shaika says shaking it.
A car honks across the street. “that’s my ride, it was nice meeting you Shaika,” Noah says. “same here,” Shaika is smiling so hard her back teeth are showing.
After Noah walks off and she turns back to go seat on the platform, she squeezes her cheeks with her hands “what’s wrong with you Shaika? How embarrassing.”
Shaika is now waiting for a bus to her house, the rain starts again, it had stop for short while but now it’s back to pouring like crazy.
Some people leave for cabs but she remains seated. After a while the buss arrives and she gets in.
The distance now is shorter, after twenty minutes she arrives at the stop.
Getting off, she now regrets taking the bus, she should have taken the cab too. The rain is not letting in as it keeps on pouring.
She has to walk a distance to her house in this rain. “I’m so stupid, what was I thinking?” Shaika gives up on running without even trying, she is not even walking faster. She finds something reviving about her walking in the rain, after the time she has had it feels like her sorrows are being washed away.
Getting in her yard she sees Melissa’s car. Melissa is her best friend and housemate. “good she’s home,” she says feeling her warmth before she even sees her. She had missed her so much. One would swear she has been away from her for a whole month, when it had just been a couple of days.
If it wasn’t for Melissa Shaika would have long crumbled, she is her true cheerleader in life.
The front door is open, that’s unusual.
Shaika enters the house, it’s dark inside. She switches the lights on. There are muddy shoeprints on the floor and they are not from Melissa as they are big.
“Hello! Melissa! Are you home?” no one answers. she calls for her again still no answer.
“Where could she be? Her car is parked outside,” she wonders searching around the house with her eyes.
Shaika proceeds to walk upstairs, for some reason she is not scared or have thoughts of ill will even with the eerie silence and the open door with muddy prints on the floor. In a situation like this, one would be alarmed, it’s like she is not thinking at all.
Her phone receives a notification. “hey I won’t be at home when get back, I’m at Tobey’s,” the message reads. Tobey is Melissa’s ‘situationship’. Shaika sends a message back with a sad face emoji. “got it, luv u ☹️”
That’s a bummer she was looking forward to fill her in on her trip.
“Wait, if Melissa is not here then why is the door open and this muddy prints, to whom do they belong to?” with that thought in mind Shaika starts panicking.
Only now she seems to be aware of the situation, she is alert looking around in fear.
She is startled by someone appearing out of nowhere, she screams causing the person to scream too, it’s Mason, her boyfriend.
Mason is drenched holding a mop. Shaika is confused, “what are you doing here?” she asks still shaking from the fright she got.
Mason looks lost, it’s clear he wasn’t expecting her here. If that’s so then what is he doing here?
“oh…. ah, Jesus Shaika you scared me!” When he can not think of a lie he snaps instead of answering the question.
“I scared you? Are kidding me? you are in my house, what the hell are you doing here Mason?” She asks again livid letting go of her bags.
Mason is the last person she wanted to see. “answer me!” She shouts furiously. Mason stands there not knowing what to say. Why is it so difficult for him to answer a simple?......................................
