The sun seemed to be up quite early, one would think it was just next door. The sharp rays of the brightly shining morning sun pierced trough the transparent white curtains hanging lazily over the window gently brushed through the skin of the duo, as they laid snuggled on their bed, cuddled up in each other’s arms.“Good morning my love”, Levi said“Good morning, I feel so hungry,” she replied with a lazy sleepy tone as she stretched and yawned.“Would you like me to order some food for us or should we freshen up then step out to grab a bite” he asked.“I think we should eat out, at least we’d get a firsthand view of the resort” she said in response.In a short while, the couple had freshened up and were set for the days adventure and so headed out of their room to tour the resort and grab breakfast while they were at it.Bethany spotted a hut nicely knitted with raffia from a short distance, she fell in love with the sight and requested they sat there for breakfast. The view from the

It wasn’t Bethany. His past was indeed closing up on him faster than he thought.He turned to look but couldn’t seem to know this person. Though the voice seemed familiar, it was too good to be true, so he refused to assume. Everyone wore their mask, making it difficult to recognize anyone in such a party filled with masked people.All he could think of that night was the voice, “Could it be Natalie?” More than ever Levi seemed very confused. What if it was Natalie, his wife from his exile days? What would he do? How would he manage to keep her away from Bethany?The next day, Bethany woke up to a knock on the door. While Levi was still fast asleep, she stood up, put on her slippers, and headed for the door. She opened the door, and all she could find was a small red souvenir bag lying by the door. She picked it up and looked around but caught sight of no one, so she closed the door. Eager to know what was in the bag, she immediately dipped her hand to check. It was a similar package

“Where have you been? You didn’t tell me you were going out”, Bethany said to Levi as soon as he walked into the room.“I’m sorry I had to do something quick, I didn’t want to disturb you” he said.“Something quick that doesn’t have a name,” Bethany wondered“You love surprises don’t you, I see you really want to ruin the surprise so I’ll just tell you,” He said quite disappointed.“Really?” Her eyes lit up at the sound of a surprise.“No, you don’t have to tell me, I’m sorry I was being nosy. We are late for the Lunch date, can we go now?” Bethany said with a smile.“Sure.” They headed out and arrived at the venue within a short time. Natalie was still seated and as soon as she saw Bethany, she put up her best behavior and wore the brightest smile.“Hello Bethany, you made it. It’s so good to meet you again; I thought you won’t make it anymore”. She gave Bethany a hug, “please have a seat.Levi was already uncomfortable but he just had to go with Bethany because he didn’t trust Natal

“Hmmm,” He exhaled and began to tell his story.I and Catherina were still very young when we lost our parents. Just like you, we lived in a small house with a lot of good memories, and one night while I and sister were sleeping, my dad rushed to our room took us from the bed, and hid us somewhere in the house. His last words, “Whatever happens, don’t make a sound and don’t come out, and then I heard him and my mum argue. As soon as the men stepped in, they shot my mum and within a twinkle of an eye my dad was down as well and it happened on this spot, this was where we lived with our parents. You see this pot doesn’t only hold good memories for me, bad ones as well.I watched both my parents die, right in front of me and I wasn’t even allowed to cry. My sister Catherina was too young to understand what was going on at the time. For days weeks, and months I couldn’t sleep. Whenever I closed my eyes, I would see them; their images were imprinted in my mind. And I swore to take my reven

As she sat there with her face down crying, she felt a touch on her shoulder. The touch felt familiar and was confirmed by a voice that called her name. It had to be Levi, but how possible was that?“Bethany,” Levi called out.It felt as if she was in a trance, “Am I dreaming,” she said still trying to snap out of her shock, her face sore from crying.“Oh my God, Levi, this is you. How? I thought you were supposed to travel with…” Levi cut in, “Yeah, but I had a change of mind, there’s nothing to go back to. Why are you here? Are you traveling?” He asked.Bethany yelled with a shaky voice, “No! I came to stop you from traveling.”“Why, I thought you didn’t want to see me?” Levi asked rather surprised.“Who told you that?”“I called you several times but you weren’t taking my calls so I thought… wait! You’re not mad at me?“Of course not, who said I was? My ring volume was muted so all the while I didn’t hear my phone ring. I just needed some time to think, and clear my head so I’d kno