Dear Arda, I know that you have no idea who this is but at the nearest possible time, you will. I wish you a happy twenty-first birthday and hope that you like the present attached to this note.
PS: If any male asks you out, tell him that you’re already taken because you belong to me and I will mate you at the right time.
I am The Alpha you will soon get to know.
Having finished reading the handwritten note, Arda was at first filled with fear and uncertainty. The handwriting was clear, cursive, and written with dark ink on a plain sheet of white paper.
She could not make much sense of the note. Alpha? Mate? What did that even mean? And why would the anonymous man say that she belonged to him? She was a human being. She belonged to no one. You cannot just own someone. Why was she even letting the message bother her? It could be a prank.
Resting on that thought, she rolled her eyes and cast an amused gaze upon the note, believing that it was probably a prank from one of her friends. She did not have many friends, making it easy to have a culprit in mind.
Jacob, she thought. She would not put it past him. Between her two friends, he was wittier, laid-back, and prone to mischief.
Arda was seated in the living room at the dining table currently occupied by several half-unwrapped presents. The house was an apartment off-campus, which she shared with her friends. Arda looked up at Jacob and Karina, who stood before the table, watching her unwrap the presents.
Jacob had the looks of a typical boy next door- five foot seven, plain-faced and friendly, with kind blue eyes. Karina had the snobbish looks of an average cheerleader- fit and sassy. She was around the same height as Jacob. They were waiting for the moment when she would have to guess what each of them had gifted her.
To the three of them, it was a fun game and it had become their custom ever since they had all become friends in the university and started sharing the apartment as flatmates.
The house contained four bedrooms and each occupant, owned a room, but shared the large living room space and kitchen while using the extra room as a study room.
The living room still showed the aftermath of a party. Empty pizza packs and snack wrappings were converged on the wide living room center table and tiled floor amidst empty bottles of soft drinks, beer, and vodka. Karina yawned and they all looked at the wall clock, which read 9:00 pm.
“Some of us are early birds,” Karina complained. “Hurry up, Arda.”
“Speak for yourself, Karina.” Jacob chided playfully. “Allow the birthday girl to take her sweet time.”
“I am right,” Karina said to him.
“Of course, you’re always right,” Jacob responded.
“Be very careful with your next words.” Karina threatened, glaring at him and he raised his hands in mock surrender.
“Arda, you better show us how well you know us. I cannot defend you for long. Karina is a warrior.”
“Shut up, Jacob.” Karina retorted.
“Quit bickering, you both,” Arda said lightly.
“He started it.”
“She started it.”
Karina and Jacob had both spoken at the same time as they pointed accusing fingers at each other. Arda shook her head at them and laid down the note before her on the table, turning it over to hide the words.
Then she stuck her hand inside the brown envelope from which she had retrieved the note, taking out the gift inside.
Her friends joined her in admiring the expensive-looking jewelry set. It was a sixteen-inch gold necklace with the pendant of a wolf and matching wolf earrings in gold.
“Wow,” Karina said, reaching out and taking it off her hand. “It looks like real gold. Allow me to study its authenticity. ” She began peering closely at it.
“I hate to challenge your expertise," Jacob said to her, "but without your glasses, I’m afraid we won’t have the right findings.” He held out his hand to receive it. Karina rolled her eyes and handed it over to him. Jacob received it and raised it close to his eyes, studying it for a few seconds.
“Hmm. You didn’t tell us you’ve met a rich man, Arda. ” He said. “This is pure gold and the pendant looks captivating.”
“Finally, Arda is dating.” Karina teased. “Come on, tell us something. Who is it from?”
“I have no idea. There is no name on the envelope.”
“Is it perhaps from a secret admirer?” Jacob asked.
“A guy crushing on you, maybe?” asked Karina.
“Shut up guys, I know it’s one of you and that’s Jacob, precisely. Everyone knows how naughty you can be.”
“Me?” Jacob asked, incredulous. “How can I afford this? I come from a middle-class home.”
“Then it’s you, Karina.” Arda accused, but Karina shook her head.
“I come from a middle-class home too. No offense, but I’ll rather buy this for myself than for you.”
“Me too,” Jacob said and Arda gave them a hurt look, a frown furrowing her brow.
“You both have just hurt my feelings.”
“I understand, Arda, but trust me, I didn’t send this.” Jacob insisted.
Karina shrugged. “Seriously, I didn’t.”
Arda picked up the note and passed it to Jacob.
“What’s this?” he asked without looking at the words, but Karina had drawn close to him and was scanning the note with her eyes.
“That message came with the gift,” Arda responded and watched him lower his eyes to the words on the note, which he started reading aloud.
Karina glared at him as soon as he had finished reading it. “Did you write this, Jacob?”
“Of course not.”
“Swear it.” Karina insisted.
“Let your no be no and your yes be yes…” Jacob began.
“Spare me the bible quotes.” Karina interrupted, cutting him off.
“Well, you know that I don’t swear. It is against my faith. But I didn’t do it. This isn’t my writing. ” Jacob looked serious.
“I believe you guys,” said Arda. “Don’t sweat it.”
“Maybe it was one of the guests,” Karina suggested.
“Probably.” Arda agreed.
“Whoever it is would probably be laughing their head off as they imagine what your reaction would be,” Jacob told her. “Just ignore it.”
Arda began to wonder why someone would play a prank with an expensive item.
“But who would play a prank with an expensive item?” she asked and there was a slight pause as they all contemplated the question. Then Jacob shrugged.
“Someone with money to throw around, I guess,” he said.
“Exactly.” Karina agreed. “Can I have the necklace?”
“You’re so greedy,” Jacob told her.
“No way, Karina. I get to keep it. ” Arda responded. She opened her palm and Jacob returned the note and the gift back to her. She placed the note on the table and put the gift on it.
“Fine, I wish someone would prank me like this with a Rolex,” Karina said dreamily and they all laughed.
“Hey, let’s not forget that Arda has still not shown us how well she knows us.” Jacob pointed out and Arda looked at the two separate unwrapped presents that sat together at a corner of the table. One of them was an Apple iPod. The other one was an SM58 headset. Karina rose to her feet and smiled at her friends.
“You both came together and bought these for me.” She said. “Because you knew I’ve had it on my A****n wish list for so long. Thank you so much.”
Her friends did not deny it. They smiled at her as they drew close to her and hugged her.
As Arda hugged them, her eyes went to the gift resting on the note.
“Are you going to wear it?” Jacob asked as soon as they disengaged.
“I don’t know,” Arda responded.
“It is really pretty,” Karina said. “You have nothing to lose.”
“Maybe I will. I don’t know.”
“I also think that you shouldn’t just disregard the note,” Karina advised. “We could have a stalker on the loose.”
“Who would stalk her?” Jacob asked. “She’s not a celebrity.”
“You don’t have to be a celebrity to be stalked.” Karina pointed out.
“Whatever.” Said Jacob.
“Arda, I suggest, you should try dating to see if the mysterious man would react,” Karina suggested.
“Well, I’ve already started dating.”
Surprised, her friends exchanged looks before returning their gazes to her and their eyes were questioning.
“I accepted to be Luke’s girlfriend today during the party.”
“Oh my God, that’s amazing,” Karina said excitedly. “My friend finally has a boyfriend.”
“Well, it's about time,” Jacob commented. "That guy has been on your case since our first year.”
“What made you agree?” Karina asked.
“He’s nice. He has always been nice. So I figured, why not?”
“Congratulations.” Her friends chorused, smiling at her and she couldn’t stop the blush that stained her cheeks.
“Thanks.”
“Just look at her.” Jacob teased. “Does he know you’ve still got your V card?”
“Shut up, J.” Arda and Karina told him and he raised his hands in surrender.
“Anyway, this development is welcome,” Karina said. “Now, we’ll easily know if the mysterious man is for real.”
“That’s true.” Jacob agreed and the three of them cast their gazes down at the present from the anonymous man.
As she stared at the note and the gift, Arda did not want to admit that she was a bit scared. But then, she also thought hopefully that dating Luke without any unpleasant incident would, at least, put her fears to rest.
Arda woke up to the beeping of the alarm clock on her bedside table. Without looking, she already knew that it was 7:00 am. She had set the alarm clock the previous night to sound at exactly 7:00 am so that she would have enough time to prepare for the day. Although the room curtains were down, the evidence of daylight was obvious as brightness lurked behind the curtain in the background. The room was already bright and from the windows of transparent glass, natural light effortlessly seeped in through the dividing space between the sliding window curtains. Arda found herself frowning at the alarm clock even though it was only doing its job. She had to report to her project supervisor at 9:00 am and then meet up with Luke for lunch. It would be their first date as a couple and the thought of it excited her. The thought also brought to her mind, the bizarre note and gift she had received last night. She hated to admit it but she could not completely dismiss the message as a prank
It took her a few seconds to make her decision and she ended up leaving the jewelry where it was. She did not think it wise to tag along, a constant reminder of the current puzzle in her life, be it a prank or not.Arda exited the bedroom and walked into the corridor. On either side of the corridor, there were shut doors to the other rooms in the house.When she emerged from the living room, she saw Jacob at the dining table studying the morning paper with a cup of coffee before him.He looked fresh from a bath and wore loose grey slacks beneath a white vest. He smiled at the sight of her but she threw him a pout as she drew closer to the table.“You promised to make me breakfast.” She reminded him. “You promised.”“Calm down. You didn’t even say hi to me.”“I’ll greet you when I see my breakfast.” She said as she came to stand beside him.“And some folks envy me for living with you girls.” He said with mock bitterness. “If only they know what I’m going through.”“Drama king.”“You loo
“You’re the only student I’ve ever asked out,” he said as though that was reason enough for her to consider his proposal.Arda knew she probably could believe that because students usually walked on eggshells around him.“I don’t want a sugar daddy,” she repeated.“If you change your mind, let me know, Arda.”Arda did not believe that she would ever change her mind.“No problem.” She told him still.“Don’t worry,” he said to her. “Refusing me won’t affect your grades or my responsibility in guiding you properly in your project.”“Thank you.”He pulled out a file from the table with her name on it, retrieved a copy of the paper she had with her, ticked the last project topic among the three project proposals, and stamped Approved on it. Then he handed it over to her and she gave him the one in her hand. He endorsed it too and stuck it in her file.“Let’s talk about what is expected in your first chapter.”“Okay.”He spent some time teaching her while she took notes and when their sessio
Homeland was a small city at the end of the earth. It was surrounded by forests, mountains, hills, lakes, and valleys which gave it a suburban outlook mixed with epic civilization.The surrounding natural habitat gave its inhabitants diverse means of income hence, Homeland accommodated folks that survived with white-collar jobs as well as skilled work from carpentry to sculpting, other forms of art, fishing, and hunting.Arda drove through the streets in quite a breeze, grateful that the traffic flowed freely, the day being early, still. She wanted to hang out with Luke. It would be a welcome distraction, she hoped. It wasn’t long before she reached her destination.Landmark was a nature park. It had a neat field on a wide expanse of land where people could be seen sitting, walking, talking, and having fun.There were benches fitted around the area- some lying single, some in clusters, and some in squares. Dogs were being walked by their owners while some persons could be seen riding b
“I don’t understand. Why would they keep their relationship away from me?” she wondered aloud. “I’m their friend.” Arda was starting to feel betrayed and disappointed.Luke shrugged. “I guess you have to ask them or something.” He said. “But don’t sweat it. They may have a good reason.”“Three good years, Luke. We have been friends for three good years. It just doesn’t make any sense.”Luke reached out across the table and held her hand comfortingly.“Now I feel like I shouldn’t have mentioned it,” he said regretfully. “I don’t want you in a sour mood. Come on. Though, I must confess that you do look pretty when you’re mad.”She could not help but let out a faint smile, which lightened up her dark mood a bit. “Thanks.”“Let’s just enjoy ourselves, okay? You can confront Jacob and Karina later. And try not to be too hard on them.”“I’ll try.”“That will be nice.” He said and earned a bigger smile from her. Their gazes were connected and his eyes fell on her lips. She pressed her lips to
That evening, it was quiet inside the reading room as the occupants, Arda, Karina, and Jacob minded their business, their heads buried in their books. They sat around a large square table that bore partitions above it and provided privacy for each reader. The table could accommodate about six persons, which was useful in case they had friends over. A combination of green and burnt orange paint beautified the wall and several inspirational quotes graced it. Arda’s mind was far from her studies as nagging concerns disturbed her mind. She sat there, attempting to start writing her thesis but she just could not concentrate. Flashes of Luke’s headache episodes haunted her and replayed before her eyes. Memories of the children interrupting her first expression of intimacy with Luke also flooded her mind. Why it bothered her, she had no idea but she
Arda, Karina, and Jacob strolled towards an event center on the day of the birthmark show.It was in the late evening and the event center was a bungalow of a building with a spacious parking space that currently contained very few vehicles.A stone fence went around the building and the entrance gate was locked with a huge padlock.The signpost just outside the event center displayed a marquee that proudly announced, Marvelous Event Center.Arda and her friends joined the crowd to stand outside the gate.It was not a large crowd and a flamboyantly dressed woman in her forties holding a megaphone, came to stand beside a man around her age just inside the gate.The man had no hair on his head and it was shiny. It seemed to be the only bright thing about him. He was dressed in a black suit and wore black shoes, his face grim.“We regret to tell you that we have canceled the event.” The woman announced, shocking them all.“But why?” demanded a few people from the crowd.“We figured out to
“What did I do?” Arda was confused. Her heart was pounding incessantly with fear and disappointment.“This only happens with you,” he stated matter-of-factly.“What are you talking about?” she whined.“Are you just playing dumb or you’re dumb?” he demanded. “I’m talking about the kiss. This headache which by the way I think is strange only happens with you.”“So, what exactly are you trying to say?”“Why not save me the trouble and tell me exactly what you are?”“Luke…”“I figured it out…witch.”“I’m not a witch, Luke.” She said, her eyes wetting up with tears of pain.“Then maybe you're just a monster with a pretty face. And that’s what I came here to find out.”Arda started crying softly as she stood before him. “I’m not a monster, please.”“I’m just so sorry that I wasted so much time waiting on you. You should have told me you were a witch.”“Luke, please.” She begged, moving closer to him but he took another quick step back.“Stay away from me. Gosh, are you cursed or something?”