In between

Chapter Three

'-the man's plan was bound to fail!' My employer's acquaintance guffawed loudly, as if witnessing one's failure is the funniest ordeal ever. He had his top hat on and a firm grip on his cane, digging its tip onto the floorboards whenever he doubles over from laughter.

'Well, what do you expect from an illiterate with a well known reputation of underestimating smaller suppliers?' Mr. Robert says around the pipe that he was smoking 'clearly shows what he knows, doesn't he.'

'How could I argue with that,' the man says, then made a show of raising his glass of liquor before downing it in one go.

I was forced to listen to their conversation with too little options on my end. This place, where meetings and the manufacturing process itself are conducted, does not really offer a lot of space to allow any form of privacy and for some apparent reason, which is really not apparent, Mr. Robert did not feel like entering his office this morning, so him and his lovely friend ended up taking occupancy of the small rickety table across from where I sat.

I am trying not to find it irritating, however I can sense that he had done this on purpose just to deny me the pleasure of enjoying a quiet morning, despite the known definitions of a quiet morning in my dictionary are whirring of machineries and non discrete murmurs from the working men.

It's a noise which I became accustomed to, honestly.

What is unacceptable though, is why would he insist that I must finish going through a five hundred page folder of awaiting applicants before the clock struck noon all the while making a nuisance of himself within the vicinity of my breathing space. Not that I am complaining. This is still one of the things that I thought was unattainable unless a heavenly body somehow struck the earth and turned it completely upside down.

If Mr. Robert is really keen on having criminals as his employees, then be my guess. He would be missing a few dollar bills in no time.

'This your secretary?' The man, who's name I still did not bother learning, unsurprisingly shifted his attention on me. There was a knowing grin on his face that I find highly punchable if I did not value my overall livelihood. 'A pretty face for a pretty penny, hm?'

'Yes' my employer says as he expels smoke from his mouth 'but not in the way you're thinking, you dirty old twat!'

'No, no' the man laughs while he waves a hand around 'I misjudged your thinking, my dear old friend. A man who hires a woman as his right hand in command would never be blamed for conspiring such unlawful acts, let alone commit it, right?.'

I fought the strong urge to roll my eyeballs. Of course. That's just the way it is, is innit.

When I made eye contact with Mr. Robert, I cannot help but have this assumption that he also shares my sentiment towards this talkative man.

When the not so gentleman took his leave, which was later that morning, Mr. Robert finally entered his office however not even a minute went by and his head popped back out as he informed me that I may go home after I am done with his given task.

Then of course, as a person who gets paid an acceptable amount of wage for a reasonable job, I question his unnatural consideration because he's the kind of employer who will squeeze every little drop of labour out of you just to make his money's worth and I am certainly not an exception.

Well, not until now.

'Nothing else to do, really.' He simply says 'and you look clear headed when you entered this morning. Must've done you good.'

Thus I found myself, once again, enjoying the afternoon breeze on the field from yesterday. If he is giving me this much free time, I ought to find another hobby that is somewhat productive. Tomorrow, I faintly decide. My body is utterly immovable and it will take great willpower alone to lift a finger.

Gazing up at the blue skies, I wonder what secrets they held. Being able to witness everything there is to witness, the good and the bad. Would it speak fondly over the old days or would it cry from the frustration of it all, watching people make poor decisions again and again, thinking when would they ever learn. There is nothing that could possibly stand between a determined leader and his desire to attain power over a continent except nature itself. How it all depends if the weather would do them the kind favor of behaving as they undergo their excellently structured operation, because one commando from above can make men lose their sense of direction, or any sense in that particular matter.

It is indeed a funny thing. One can appear bigger than life but a single kick in the shin from those who truly matter, they crumble like withered stones, which somehow perfectly demonstrates our insignificance in the grand scheme of things, honestly.

Although I wonder, is tragedy merely by pure coincidence alone? Or do the gods find joy in watching people fight all the odds in which they initiate?

This town was obliterated by fire that started from a simple lightning strike during one stormy night, creating wildfires in the forest and giving no time for the people to evacuate nor gather their belongings as it spread throughout the houses within a few minutes. By dawn everything was burnt to the ground, buildings, stores, even the windmills that had a lengthy distance from the main civilisation. The extent of its damage was truly non retractable.

Townspeople were helpless to do anything but wait for the others who called for help, they watched their lit up homes through blurry and wet eyes. Clutching at their soaking coats with shivering limbs all the while supporting their loved ones who were either weeping or injured.

However, afterwards I am unsure how many were affected or passed away from the incident. My ability to discern history seems to have run out of fuel and was cut short. The last thing that I saw was a little girl with huge brown eyes, and then there was this unnatural white spark in her eyes, no, not spark, rather a reflection of something shiny...

The desire to know what happened is so strong, I almost wanted to go to the local library and search for any records regarding this town, which is a rare occurrence in itself because I was never much of a reader. Reading requires your full attention and I do not really possess that kind of amount.

I sat up from the lying position I have been willingly stuck to for hours, probably, and finally noticed the darkening skies. Time flies by in this place.

When I was finally preparing to leave, my eyes went back to the thick forest. I stared for a prolonged moment and I did not realise that my feet had started moving on its own until a young voice distantly spoke above me.

'Miss, need another ride home?'