"I was attracted by your cry. I'd thought you were in danger," the man soliloquized as he drove, occasionally glancing at the mother and child beside him.
The car was now as warm as it could be. The baby was now sleeping peacefully and the mother had stopped shivering. He wondered how she had come there, where she came from, if she had expected to meet someone or if she was lost. But how would he find out all these since she was deaf and dumb? He'd have to take her to the police station by morning. Hopefully, they'd be able to get useful information from her."I wonder how you ended up in such a situation though," he murmured beneath his breath. "Glad I came just in...""Thank you," Mara murmured softly and the man's eyebrows shot up in surprise."Y... you can hear me? I thought... Well, how did you end up in that place in this crazy weather? Where are you from?"Mara tried to speak, but she couldn't place the questions in the right order in her mind. Her senses were only just beginning to thaw. The best she could do was look down at the baby in her arms and that action alone spoke volumes."Whose baby is it? Your mother's?", he asked softly, alternating between watching her face for a reaction and keeping his eyes on the road."My baby," Mara mumbled almost inaudibly. For the second time, the man's eyebrows shot up and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. Her baby??? She looked small and young enough to be someone else's baby herself. But he knew better than to pursue the topic any further even though he was burning with curiosity. It was obviously not a happy one for her."So... what's your name?", he questioned instead."Mara," she said and turned to glance at him for the first time. But that brief glance was enough to tell him that she was as beautiful as she was young. Those bright green eyes were just so unique and captivating. He found himself wishing she would look at him again."Ahem... well, I'm Leo. And it's nice to meet you."No response. Even Leo knew his statement sounded awkward. So he didn't even bother saying anything else and they went through the rest of the journey in silence.***The rain had stopped falling when they reached Leo's house. But since it was night and also, she had so many things on her mind, Mara did not get the chance to appreciate the beauty and size of the mansion. Instead, she simply stayed put and followed the lead of her host.It was another small struggle again to get her out of the car since she wouldn't allow the baby to be taken away from her hands. Eventually, they were able to get in and ended up in Leo's grand parlor. It was certainly the largest parlor Mara had ever seen. It looked more like a stadium than anything else. She couldn't help but look around in wonder at the brightly lit room with a massive chandelier overhead and a super-soft rug covering every inch of the ground. Inevitably, her eyes were drawn to the pictures lining the walls. She recognized Leo in one of them and another which looked like him was that of an older man, probably his father. But the one that arrested her attention was that of a young lady, very beautiful and long-necked. She imagined it was his sister, but there was not enough resemblance to prove that. "My wife," Leo clarified as if he had read her mind."Oh." Mara was surprised. It never crossed her mind that he would be married."Welcome, Mr. Stanson," a strange female voice arrested her attention and she turned to see an older woman, not at all resembling Leo, standing close by. Mara wondered where she had come from. But then, the place was so massive that it would be difficult to know if anyone was coming from any side."Thanks. Is my wife home yet?", Leo questioned the woman. "No, but she called to say she'll be back tomorrow.""Okay. Take care of this lady please. She's been in the cold recently," Leo ordered, referring to Mara. Without a word, the woman beckoned for Mara to come with her."Excuse me, Mara," Leo stopped her as she went, "what's the baby's name?"Without thinking, Mara said the first thing that came to her mind: "Leo." But the moment the word left her mouth, she wished she could take it back. Frankly, the baby had no name, but why on Earth did her mind not come up with something other than the man's name??? Damn!Leo, on the other hand, was grinning boyishly. "Really?! Well, that's great," he chuckled, rubbing his hands happily. "What a beautiful coincidence, eh? I'm doubly glad I encountered you and my namesake. But... but don't let me waste your time. Go with Tomasina."With her eyes on the ground, Mara followed the housekeeper and went out of sight."Whew," Leo sighed and slumped down on a sofa, little knowing that Mara herself had also breathed a similar sigh the moment she was out of his presence. Somehow, they felt slightly embarrassed and shy in each other's presence, and neither of them knew why. But now that they were apart, Leo, mindless of the fact that his clothes were still quite wet, sat down to ruminate over Mara's situation. It was clear that she had no home and no money. It was also clear that the baby was most likely newly born. But he was curious to know her story. She didn't look like someone who was used to living on the streets, so when and where did she give birth? Who had delivered her of the baby, and why didn't they care for her? Was she running away from someone?Despite wracking his brain and coming up with so many possible explanations, Leo spent an hour without getting any closer to understanding the the girl's situation. If only he could ask her... but he feared that she would be embarrassed or might clam up and get scared of being exposed to whoever she was running from. He preferred she opened to him on her own, but that might take a long time and he was nearly burning with curiosity already! Finally, exhausted with his fruitless thoughts, he went off to take his bath and prepare for bed. Hopefully, tomorrow would bring him closer to the knowledge of Mara's history.***The next day, Mara sat down on one of the sofas in the parlor, with her baby in her arms. She had not seen her host yet, but the housekeeper had acted on his instructions to take care of her, so she had had her breakfast, a warm bath and a clean set of clothes. But she knew that her baby would also need food, so while awaiting the presence of her host, she popped out her left breast and awkwardly pushed it into its mouth. She had no prior experience with breastfeeding; the only thing she knew about it was that babies were supposed to feed on the breast milk of their mothers. She watched in fascination as her baby sucked eagerly on her breast and she couldn't help but feel a little pang of guilt. Obviously, it had been hungry and she had not bothered to think of it until now. She knew the nurses at the hospital may have fed it, but she still felt guilty for not thinking about its feeding sooner.She was still in this position, feeling the tugging and suction and staring with a half-smile into the wide open eyes of her baby, when she heard a slight sound. She looked up immediately and found a tall, richly dressed woman looking straight at her. Mara swallowed and her heart rate picked up speed. She didn't need anyone to tell her that she was looking at no one other than Leo's wife. And from the hard and bitter look on the woman's face, it was crystal clear that she and her baby were not welcome here. Oh what a life hers was. She had moved from being unwanted in one home to being unwanted in another home!Throughout the rest of the day, Mara lived in suspense. Whenever she heard any footsteps, she started in fear, thinking it was Leo's wife come to throw her out of the house or Leo himself coming to ask her to leave. Earlier in the morning, after fixing her with her worst withering glare, Leo's wife had left her alone and she had not seen her since. She knew she was somewhere in the house. God knows the house was large enough for many people to live in it and still not come in regular contact with one another. But she had seen Leo and despite trying so hard to see if his manner towards her had changed, she could not find any proof of it. Instead, he had eagerly asked about her health and went on to play with the baby after she had repeatedly assured him that she did not need to see a doctor. He seemed happy to have her in the house and he and little Leo (she had decided to keep it as the baby's name) were strongly attached to each other. This made Mara wonder when or if his wife woul
"Sh... should I take this one back to them?", the new secretarial assistant stuttered in confusion.Leo said nothing; he simply turned to her with an "are you okay" look on his face. This was the office and the familiarity between them was for the house alone."Sorry. I'm sorry, sir," she apologized, gathering the papers with trembling hands and dropping them on the floor in the process. It was her first day on the job - her first job ever - and she was so nervous."Will you pack this stuff and take your clumsy ass out of here!", Marks roared, startling her and nearly making her trip. But Leo raised his hand immediately to quiet his friend.One fuming and the other patient, they both watched as the trembling Mara struggled to gather the sheets of paper on the ground. When she was done, she held them to her chest and bolted from the office as fast as her legs could carry her.Marks exhaled deeply as soon as she'd left the office. He had been holding onto his temper all the time she had
Leo hummed a tune as he brushed his teeth vigorously. He was late for work and he was so much in a hurry. Being late was not his usual MO but somehow, he had overslept last night. So much that Dalia who usually went to work after he did had already left before he woke up."Hmm," he sniffed as the bell on the front door rang for the second time. Wouldn't someone go answer whoever the hell was ringing??He continued brushing until... the third ring of the bell. This time, it was long and obviously anger-driven. Furious at the inefficiency of the domestic staff, Leo slammed his brush on the sink and hurriedly washed his mouth before rushing over to the front door. He expected to see one of the staff also rushing to open the door, but none of them were in sight! What mad inefficiency and stupidity! He would give them a piece of his mind before leaving for work this morning."Yes?", Leo questioned almost angrily as he pulled open the door to find a young man in a ironed white shirt standin
Leo made himself comfortable, or at least he tried to. To avoid suspicion, he ordered a cheap drink with a part of the money he had on him - currently the only thing he had in the world. Even though he shifted anxiously in his seat just outside the coffee shop, he was determined to wait patiently till he achieved his goal. He tried not to think of his current predicament; it was a conspiracy or maybe just a huge misunderstanding. Maybe his friend, Marks, had not seen him and was mocking someone else. No matter which it was, it would be fixed. He was sure of that.Even when he had finished his coffee, Leo kept sipping at the empty cup to give him enough excuse to remain in the shop. He certainly would not dare to buy another cup of coffee, not till he was sure of his future. Hour after hour passed. He had no watch, but the clock in the shop served him well and when noon struck, he kept all his attention on the building - his building.The staff filed out in pairs and trios, to enjoy th
He was deep in thought as he climbed off the taxi, planning and arranging his next line of action. He knew that his enemies were determined to put him down and keep him there. With all that had happened, it was clear that this was no warning or a dry run either. Whew! What a tough life.Absentmindedly, he pushed the gate so he could get in, but to his surprise it didn't budge. Woah. He didn't remember locking it, so what was the problem? With a quick sweep of the eye, he found what the problem was: he had been evicted."Huh?", Leo gasped as he went closer to read the notice pasted on the gate. What on Earth was all this? Surely, this had to be against some laws? He had rights, didn't he??He looked around to see if he could find anybody who could give the slightest clue as to who had pasted the notice and locked the gate, but the entire place was quiet. Christ! This was the biggest blow yet. Where would he live? From a billionaire to a homeless beggar, in less than 24 hours?Confused,
"Please make yourself comfortable, sir," Mara said, showing Leo to a sofa as they stepped into the house he had given her back when they first met."Thank you," Leo nodded with a smile and he couldn't help but sigh in tiredness as he slumped on the soft piece of furniture. That walk from his house to the coffee shop was a long and tedious one under the hot sun. He could use some cool water now, but he felt it would be disrespectful to ask for it so soon."Here, sir," Mara said, bringing him a glass of cold water in anticipation of his need.Leo didn't even remember to say 'thank you' before he grabbed the glass and downed its contents in a few gulps. He was that thirsty! When he was done drinking, he looked up to find that Mara was holding out a jug, offering to refill the glass."Thank you," he rasped as he held out the glass to her and she filled it for him. Whew. His wife never did this for him. He wondered where Mara had learned to be so nice and attentive. He never really did get
Leo walked fast, casting his eyes all around him at the quiet and peaceful environment. It was very much unlike the city. No noise, no crowd of constantly moving people, vehicles and stationary buildings. It was all sunny, calm and quiet with the occasional chirping of insects and birds. This was why he had chosen this spot to have a secret retreat. He had been looking forward to surprise his wife with it before Mara came into their lives and he had to put that plan on hold. Good thing he did. If his wife had known of the house, he would have lost it too and both he and Mara would have been completely homeless now.Shading his eyes to see better through the glaring sunlight, he caught sight of a house up ahead. It was a house on a farm. It would do for what he had in mind. Doubling his steps, he made straight for the building.When he bought the bungalow that now housed Mara, he had not had the time to take a detailed tour of the area to know his neighbors. Back then, he had thought i
As Mara celebrated the retention of her job, Leo was there at the farm stumbling through his. It was no easy task for him. He had been saddled with the task of digging out stumps of trees from a small area of land. All the trees had been cut down and chopped into bits and all the grasses had been burned too, but the roots of the trees were still in the ground. These were the roots Leo had to take out.The area he had to cover was just less than half the size of a football field and the sun was blazing hot. So, shovel in hand, sweat streaming down his body, grunting and huffing with exertion, the former CEO was hard at work doing something he had never thought he would ever do, at least before he lost everything. Once in a while, he took a glance at the old man who was seated in front of the farm house and staring at him with the ghost of a smile on his face. He didn't need anyone to tell him that the old man was quietly mocking him, and it made him even more determined to prove himsel