Kismet: My Grumpy Love

Chapter 2-"Quagmire"

QUAGMIRE

:  a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position :  predicame 

--Miriam Webster2015-http://www.merriam-wester.com/dictionary/quagmire

"Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, because hate in your heart will consume you too."                                                                                                                                              --Will Smith

Feeling the road with my left hand and the other on my heart while slumping on the sidewalks, I tried to focus, calming down my heart. Things happened so fast that my mind cannot even remember how to breathe. I don’t remember what the normal heartbeat but hell is; I am pretty sure my heart went out and flew somewhere this very same street or probably somewhere far from here. Voices of people asking me if I’m fine is barely coming to my ears, all I can manage to do was to nod as a response.

 “Are you okay? A woman came and let me stand and tap my cheek asking me the same questions I’ve been hearing.

That brought me back to myself. I utter many thanks of being alive after, just wanted to say how fortunate I am having my heart back in its place. I notice the woman the woman standing in front of me still holding my both cheeks. She seems familiar to me but I can never believe how this person portrays this kind of face so full of concern. I thought I ought to assure her how fine I am.

“Yes. I answered in breaking voice looking at her straight in her eyes. Now I know why she is familiar. She was the woman I saw in the van with her cute kid.

“You sure??  You seem pale... She asks worried.

“Yes ma’am. I’m fine now. Thank you so much for your concern. I answered giving her a wry smile.

“That driver might be an addict or something. I thought he will hit you! Good thing he did not.”She said.

“Yeah—I want to thank God for sparing my life.”

“You sure you don’t want to go check in a hospital?”She asks me after.

“Nope, I’m good.  I gave her a smile.

“Oh, okay! Careful next time, okay?”She asks for the last time.

“Yes sure. Thank you again.

She bids her goodbye and walked to her van. I walk past to that place and took few more steps to the bookstore still thinking of why I of all people did that driver chose to pull prank on? Why would he do that? Why?—And who the hell is that?? I’ve got plenty of questions on my head when I entered the bookstore. The wind chimes resonates the room, I saw Mr. Wong sitting on his desk counting his cash. Wow he got plenty of cash! I was a bit surprise to see how huge that some of money is.  Why would Mr. Wong have that sum of money? It’s Sunday and it’s still morning. We don’t have any customers that much yet. My questions are then answered after Mr. Wong noticed that I’ve arrived.

“Tash! A Good Morning for both of us! He beams at me.

“Morning, Mr. Wong.”I greeted him back. Awkward it is. Mr. Wong was never this perky to me.

“This will be your last day of work here and I’ll be giving you enough money for your pay. The bookstore is sold to my friend’s friend.” There came his longest and deafening reply to me.

“WHAT?? Mr. Wong, I don’t understand. Why would it be my last day of work? I spat.

“This is not a thing to be shocked about Tash. You absolutely know what we are talking about since the day we got things fixed here.” He dryly told me.