Chapter 18: The Boy

Pennsylvania, 2018

Pennsylvania, in the evening, always had something relaxing to offer, and although Maria liked the serene apartment she was living in, the clean streets and stately security, the delicate but yet disturbing voice of her temporary roommate, Uju, and the shy, law-abiding air of merited grace that surrounded Abby, it was this, the offer of a thousand dollars, that made her consider the thought of sleeping away from home for the first time in two years, perhaps the influence of money was more stronger than she had imagined. The smell of distinct valuable notes righteously earned from the pockets of rich people was what fascinated her the most as she prepared herself to leave her working place. She placed her students' books on top of her desk, ignoring the musty scent of untouched old books brought by her colleague surrounding her. The old books smelt like garbage. But money had no smell, she thought. A thousand dollars had no odour, she laughed.

She lik