Fabian got up from the edge of the bed where he was sitting and was just about to head to the study when Amber flashed into view with a look of anxiety. “Fabian, I need to head back to Margaret’s for some fresh cream. There’s none in the kitchen.” He narrowed his eyes, what was the woman talking about? As if sensing his confusion, Amber pointed downstairs, “I’m baking a cake. It needs icing. I need to get it from Margaret’s.” Fabian frowned, cocking his head. One would have thought it was a matter of life or death from the way she was talking. He raised two hands offering a solution, “We could buy online?” She shook her head furiously and a few strands of her flaming curls sprung free from her bun, tumbling down the nape of her neck, “No, no, no…you don’t understand.” Damn right I don’t, he thought. Was she trying to stop him from going to the study? She placed her hands on her hips in exasperation, “Margaret’s icing i

“Margaret?”Amber walked into the bakery to find the place cleaned up and remembered that Margaret usually closed early around this time of the year. A little girl of three years sat on top of the counter with a rainbow-coloured lollipop in her mouth. Amber knew the little girl well for she often came with her mother for Margaret’s buns and pastries. She could hear Margaret talking to the girl’s mother in the kitchen behind a swing door.“Hello Darcy,” Amber smiled and ruffled at the little girl’s head. Darcy smiled back, swinging her legs back and forth as she sat atop the counter playing with an origami.“Waiting for your mummy?”Darcy nodded licking at her lollipop, her tongue was a mixture of purple, green and pink as she swooped her origami in the air mimicking the flight of a bird. Amber’s heart skipped a beat.A paper crane.It struck Amber as odd that the folding of

Amber stepped out of the shower and towelled herself dry. A little smile played on her lips as she remembered her conversation with Margaret as they were clearing the plates. Fabian had stepped aside to answer a phone call. “When do you plan on telling him?” Amber had asked as she rinsed the plate in the dishwasher. Margaret’s kitchen was a humble one, it had no automatic dishwashers, unlike Fabian’s residence. Margaret almost dropped her sponge. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her lips trembled as she answered with a question, “When did you find out?” Amber looked behind her shoulder, Fabian had walked out of the kitchen with the phone still glued to his ear. “Just recently. He misses you.” The older woman teared up upon hearing this and swallowed a lump that formed in her throat, “Thank you for today Amber….I’ve never been happier.” The two women shared an embrace in the kitchen with Amber patting Margaret’s back, and Margaret ch

It was late. The bus had moved at a snail’s pace due to poor visibility from the thunderstorm and by the time Anson disembarked from the bus, dinner time had already come and gone. To top it off, he was the last to be dropped off. As the bus drove off into the almost deserted street, he glanced at his phone. Margaret had left him a message, telling him of leftovers in the kitchen. That made him smile, he loved Margaret's cooking. Thunder rolled overhead and the storm thickened. He had to walk a little further to reach Ma’s Bakery and decided to take a shortcut instead. He was cold and hungry and didn’t want to walk under the pelting rain anymore. The shortcut was not exactly the most savoury of areas. It was a lonely street with abandoned buildings and broken windows that seemed to stare at him with hollow eyes. The flickering street lights ahead whispered for him to run out of there as fast as possible. Splish splash splish splash he quickened his pace, keep

The Aston Martin screeched to a halt in front of Ma’s Bakery but the shop was as dark as the midnight sky. There was no one there.Fabian frowned, reaching for his phone to call Amber again only to be directed to her voicemail. Ten seconds passed, twenty seconds passed and still, he failed to reach her.  Damnit! Where is she? He should have gotten Margaret’s phone number when he had the chance.Fabian would have reached Ma’s Bakery earlier had he not taken a wrong turn. He had stubbornly refused to use the navigational system as well as the auto drive, preferring to search for Amber on his own; and was just about to reverse his car out of a godforsaken street when he saw a young man lying on his back at the side of the road. He probably would have missed the young man had a dark blue Toyota not caught his attention. It was obviously a hit and run case as the car sped off with a demonic speed into the night. And though there were only a few working