Sia was standing with a bewildered expression, her back pressed firmly to the boat. She had never seen so many people at one time.
They were all staring at her and chattering. She pressed her hands against her ears to drown the noise.
Her eyes searched the crowd for Sarah and Arnold. Hadn’t dadu said, ‘ I will come with boats later.’ She didn’t want to be left out of the fun. So, she had sneaked into the boat before Roasty loaded them onto the haulster.
Tears welled in her eyes and were about to trickle down her cheeks when she heard a
Sia’s steps faltered in front of the library. It was a simple structure with stone walls and a wooden ceiling. A lump formed in her throat as she looked at the name, engraved above the door, ‘ZR’. It was named after the two people that mattered the most to her, her father, Arnold Zen, and her uncle Mr. Roy.It was Mr. Zen who had kept the wonderful collection of books in one of the boats, without which having a library on the island would have been a distant dream.
A strong pair of hands pulled her out of the way at the nick of the moment. The beam fell on the shelf with a crash behind her, shattering it. “What is wrong with you, Sia? When you saw the beam falling towards you why didn’t you move out of the way?” Sam yelled shaking her up furiously.But, she wasn’t listening to him. Her eyes were busy assessing the damage caused by the beam. The fantasy section of the library was a mess, torn pages, broken pieces of wood piled in a heap. “Seems like my fantasy is shattered.” She said w
Sam’s face was flushed as he extracted himself from Rosa’s arms. He took two steps away from her and muttered, “Good to meet you.” His eyes were focused on Sia. He didn’t want her to misunderstand. Following his eyesight, Rosa realized that someone else was present too. In her excitement, she hadn’t noticed that Sam had company. “Oh! Sia… honey are you alright?” She asked adding unnecessary sweetness to her voice.
“Aunt Winnie!” Sia exclaimed as she opened the door. Her lips stretched in a polite smile. “Thank God you are alright.” She said crushing her in an enormous hug. It was becoming difficult for Sia to not push her away as she was applying too much force. She heaved a sigh of relief when she finally released her. “Ummmm…” Aunt Winnie said licking her lips. “What is cooking? It smells heavenly.” Sh
Sia’s eyes shone with excitement as she woke up early in the morning. Today was her 18th Birthday. She couldn’t wait to see the surprise Uncle Roy had planned for her. He always came up with something unique. She was never able to guess it. Sia resolved to break this record today and went in Search of Uncle Roy. She was about to wear her slippers but she decided against it. She didn’t want to warn her uncle about her arrival.She took a tour of the bedrooms, the hall, the art room, and
The leaves sparkled in the morning sunlight. The sweet twittering of the birds was like honey to the ears. Colorful butterflies flitted from flower to flower. It was as if the creator had decided to paint the most joyful picture today. Sia looked at everything with admiration but she couldn’t feel joy. She tried, she really did, but everything seemed so meaningless. She trudged through the forest aimlessly. After a while, her path was obstructed by a ribbon. It was tied to cordon off the prohibited area. Her uncle had been kidnapped a few meters from here. Hence, people were not allowed to venture beyond that line.
Sia found herself on her bed when she woke up. Panic seized her when she recalled the scene she had seen. She looked around and tried to get up. Her feet got caught in the sheets and she was about to fall but Sam caught her. He made her sit on the bed and hugged her tightly. He kept rubbing the small of her back as and kept repeating, “Don’t panic, everything will be alright.” Sia pushed him away. looking at him she said, “How?” The grief in her eyes pierced straight through Sam’s heart. He had no reply to that question. H
“Sia, you shouldn’t have come inside while Mr. Roy’s body was still lying on the terrace. How could you? If you had stayed you could have seen what the kidnappers had done to him.” This caught her attention. Her head snapped towards him and she looked at him with questioning eyes. “His body was covered with gashes that were partially healed and many other scars too.”“What kind of scars, Sam?” She asked.