03: I Hope My Babies Are Safe And Sound

When Aunt Mia refused to tell her anything with a smile, Zaria guessed that the person coming at the Anderson mansion was not that much of a significant figure in Mia Anderson's eyes. After all, only some people could catch her aunt's eyes. 

In her mind, Zaria simply just did not want to pay attention to that stranger because she was growing green with envy as she kept looking around.

She could not bear anyone receiving the treatment as her.

Because of that person, everyone was playing riddles with her! 

She hated riddles.

She liked everything easygoing. That was one of the qualities of her Elian.

He was easygoing, so she also loved easygoing things.

Easy to have her hands-on, easy to read, easy to understand, easy to see, and easy to get along with.

'If that whosoever guest were to be a person full of importance, then aunt would have had told me already about him, and not play riddles. I should not pay him attention any longer. Yes, such simple as that.' She inwardly nodded to herself.

'But what if he-'

'He is not important! Not important at all. Humph. Erase his thought, Ria!' She scolded herself and shook her head.

Amidst walking, she realized that she had not seen her garden for a whole day! Could anyone imagine that?

Oh, her cute and beautiful flowers must be missing her. She swiftly crossed the path without noticing the luggage in front of her and took her route to her garden. She wanted to talk to her flowers very badly, wanted to let all the frustration of guessing so long.

The place she was going to, was her secret garden where she would talk to her flowers about her feelings for Elian for hours. They had bloomed hearing countless talks of her love.

No one was to be allowed to enter it without her permission.

Even Aunt Mia and Uncle John obliged the rule. 

She was humming lightly and her hair was jolting; bouncing even. The day was good. She should wake up early from now on. Who knew waking up early felt this good?

Wait.

She stopped, when she stood there on the track, dead. She sniffed the air. Her sniffing sense was extraordinarily incredible among the other people.

Lisa often joked that Zaria surely was born in the year of a dog, a term she picked on from the dramas they watched together because she could easily sniff and bite.

The scent of the garden was disturbed. Someone had intruded in here! 

It looked like someone was not taking her words seriously.

She had to see the person who dared not follow her wishes.

She wanted to see how much of a good person he was. He needed to give a good explanation to her.

Zaria was rather pacing lowly because she did not want the intruder to be alerted. What if he ran away? She would never be able to scold that intruder.

She cautiously examined the whole garden around her.

No one had messed with her roses.

No harm was done to her lilies, and even her jasmine flowers were safe, too!

Her sunflowers were in the sun gently. Summing up, all her flowers were smiling at her.

So, what was the intruder doing here? In the past, whenever someone came to visit her garden, all the flowers she had tirelessly grown with her blood, sweat and tears would be annihilated.

She could never let that happen again. She remembered she cried so much that day. Henceforth, she never allowed anyone in.

'Nothing would happen if I check again, right?'

What if she had not checked thoroughly and someone had attacked her children in her absence?

Another horrible thought came into her mind and her face changed.

Oh, heavens! I hope my babies are safe and sound. 

She counted her flowers one by one.

Roses were there, Lilies were there, Jasmine was there, Lotus pound was safe and little lotus flowers in there were not harmed, Sunflowers were okay as well.

And her Zinnias still held their youth, innocently looking at her whilst shinning. 

Then what was missing? She had counted again. Once. Twice. Thrice. 

There was one thing she seemed to be missing now. She could not remember what was it, but it was important for her.

Important to her. 

Wait, again!

What about her little lavender pot? It was her most favourite! Her priced possession. 

It was her precious baby.

Her uncle John imported the most expensive lavenders specifically for her from abroad as they were not available in the country they lived in.

It was the most fragrant type which spread its scent whenever she walked in the garden, making it look like a magical garden from those fairytales.

They were ordered in the memory of her late mother, Cassandra Smith.

Zaria still remembered how her mother used to talk about having a lavender field near her home, so she could visit them daily and inhale their sweet scent all day long.

Growing up hearing it, Zaria had the same thought too, but she was not lucky enough.

She tried to grow them, but the success she achieved was of only one pot. That was why she cherished it more than anything.

Growing that exact one proved to be more difficult than ever as there were some serious conditions which were to be taken to plant them such, as a lavender plant needs well-drained soil and full sun.

She did not want to lose it. After all, it was rare and only one she could grow.

But now her beloved baby was missing! It was only 6 years old. So young. 

She ran to every spot she knew, but her baby lavender was not there.

'Where could it be!?' She vigorously peered around.

Then her eyes widened.

Why someone other than her was holding it? Much less, a man. Who was tall from her– a punch to her stomach. 

Women usually hide their ages and try to look as young as possible, but with Zaria Smith, it was contrasting!

She wanted to look older, and she wanted to let everyone know her age.

This eighteen-year-old girl was very petite which made her look like she was actually fourteen or fifteen. She was an adult! Some people had several times mistaken her for her age. 

'Why did I not grow enough!?'

'Would Elian like the way I am?' That was what she thought every day. Anyone she knew had a height taller than her.

Three weeks ago, under the protection of bodyguards, she had gone to the cinema to watch that famous assassin movie with her friends from high school, but what she faced was not an ordinary situation, but a dire one. 

"Look how carelessly this girl is jumping around. She belongs to the same age group as of our children, right?"

"Does she not care about what people are thinking about her? She is shouting so loud. What an imprudent child. Our fourteen years are better at manners here than her." They were hushed whispers, yet they sounded like someone throwing a grenade in the enemy's camp.

Fourteen years? 

She was called a child, an imprudent child who was not listening to anyone and shouting excitingly at the action movie!

In reality, everyone in her group was shouting but she was the only one who got stares from people.

It was not her fault.

It was all because of her height!

No one knew how much insult and embarrassment she had felt that time.

At the end of the day, her short figure was the biggest trigger for her. 

It was utterly humiliating!