Milo moved the seat-belt around Vann and belted her in. She was starting to panic, her eyes rounding with fright.
“Hang on.” he said as he belted himself in.
“Is the Officer following us a bad man?” Vann asked nervously.
“Relax.” Lemuel said, “Even If he probably is, I’m sure he has orders from your beloved daughter not to harm a hair on your precious head.”
The hospital sat on a headland overlooking the lake, enveloped in acres of emerald green trefoil that rolled and toppled into the city mist. It was a paragon of modest architecture, auburn-colored bungalows thrown unevenly around a two-story administration building, the compound veined with pebble pathways and flower beds, partly shaded by the spreading branches of shore live oak.Blade points of grey tile roof intruded upon a cerulean sky so untainted it bordered on the imaginary. At the intersection of land and sky, a single twisted city pine clawed at the sky. Beneath its swaying trunk, patches of yellow and blue lupine flowed like paint drips down a slanting green canvas.
“I should be aware of something like this.” Lemuel said furiously through gritted teeth. He didn’t want Inara knowing that something like that was going on. She hadn’t fully recovered from the trauma and the last thing he wanted was for her to know about what Milo had just told him.“The police detective thought it better not to tell you so that you can concentrate on taking care of your wife.”“That is not their call to make.”
The room was a six-by-six with soft ashen vinyl walls and low, level ceilings. A hospital bed fitted with leather restraints took up most of the floor space. High up on one wall was a solitary window. It had the translucent look of old Plexiglas and steel posts kept it barred.Detective Kyle was talking to a nurse who was already leaving them. She gave Lemuel a glance and walked away with a sullen face.The detective walked up to Lemuel.“This is Suzy’s room. She had a crazy moment an hour ago, kicking and screaming but has been stabilized. You’ll see her right about now.’’“Okay, I’m ready.”“Your conversation will be recorded and monitored by the Psychiatrist in charge of this place and other officers.”“I understand.”Shortly after, Lemuel was in a small room with the detective, a technical sergeant mounting a recording equipment and a male Psychiatrist in a white doctor’s coat who was in his sixties.Before them was a transparent glass that clearly showed a blank room fitted in the
One Year, Six Months Later The day was bright and sunny with a clear blue sky that was almost surreal. Heaven’s Vine had a full congregation witnessing the wedding ceremony between Nana and Feedwell. Reverend Anthony was officiating the ceremony at the altar where the love stricken couple stood, facing each other before him. In the congregation, Lemuel was seated beside Inara, her hand in his. He was wearing a navy colored suit while she was wearing a long peach colored dress. She looked radiant and a bit plump like a nursing mother. “I still can’t believe that I’m supporting those two.” He said, smiling. “They clearly broke the domestic rule.” Inara chuckled. “Because you love them.” She said. “They captured your heart.” “Just like you captured mine.” He said caressing her hand with a finger. She blushed. “Definitely, sir.” “Hmn. That’s true. They are very efficient and I will miss them.” “Why? They made it clear they weren’t leaving.” “I know but I’m sure it’s out of loyalty
"Who from hell is responsible for your pregnancy?” her father roared.As a Preacher, he was furious after discovering that while he preached for couples to remain innocent of sexual intimacy till marriage, his own daughter had gotten pregnant under his roof.“No…nobody.” she stuttered and immediately realized how foolish she sounded. Her father realized it too.“Oh, so you just magically got pregnant?” he questioned, incredulous.At this point, Inara’s mind had started working fast. She knew that she had to pin it on someone. But who? Who in her class was easy bait? Eric? No. He was a nerd and hardly spoke to anyone. Victor? No. Everyone knew that he was gay. Her friend Mike? It would be a betrayal. He was a nice guy and had a girlfriend. It would ruin their relationship.So who? Alex in the choir? He was an alto singer like her and they often scored songs together. He would be devastated and it would ruin his reputation as a good guy in church. Besides, he had already told her that he
Memories of that night returned to her, vivid as sunlight rays casting their brilliant light upon the earth. What they called The Last Party had ended and all the guests were gone, leaving a messy living room for Inara and her friend Zee but that wasn’t their problem.Having nothing to worry about, they were seated over a deck of Whot Card game, willing to bet some part of their allowances already laid down on the floor as the house keeper in Zee’s home cleaned after the guests.Inside Zee’s room where they were, no one was winning and the game was getting boring hence, Inara dropped her remaining cards onto the furry rug in the middle of the room where they were seated.“I'm bored.” she complained to Zee. She was expecting Zee to demand for the backing out penalty fee but Zee didn’t do that. Instead, she seconded her move, laying down her cards as well.“Me too.” she admitted and they giggled about it.Inara liked Zee’s home because it was a free place. Zee’s parents were permissive a
To ensure that the dare was not to be taken for granted, Zee had them seal their oath in blood. Zee pricked their right thumbs with a needle and as blood trickled out, they pressed their wounds to each other’s and Zee led her through the oath in a solemn way like an experienced priestess of some dark cult.“With our blood, we do perform the last dare. We seal an oath to perform the dare we give each other and we agree that the dare will not be one that drives the other to take a life.”Afterwards, they both wrote a dare to challenge each other, agreeing that the dare had to be life changing. After exchanging the papers,
When Inara reached her home that night, her sister had come to open the door for her.“I heard the sound of your bike. I wasn’t expecting any rebel.” Amara commented.Inara forced a smile as she walked inside the house, doing a good job of hiding her pain or so she thought.“Trouble in paradise?” Amara asked after locking the door behind her and Inara was not expecting it but the weight of dismay and disappointment over the events at Zee’s place broke her down in that moment. She fe