Afterlife

Chapter 7

“Remind me again how you get to have so many properties here in Australia?” Emily asked as they arrived in front of an Inn near Mt. Gower in New South Wales. “Okay? So you want me to remind you how I singlehandedly saved your asses from being kidnapped by my own father back when we were on tour in France a year ago?” Amy replied as she gets their bags out of the trunk of her car.

“Oh yeah. Right. I shouldn’t have asked that. That gave me a trauma. After that incident, I didn’t want to go near a yacht anymore.” Emily said as she got her bag from her. “Too bad. We’ll be sailing aboard the same yacht in the coming days.” Amy said as she entered the Inn first, followed by Emily.

“What? I thought it was destroyed when it exploded that time?”

“Of course, I’m kidding. That yacht needs to be buried down under the sea for good even though I have great memories there with my mom and my dad when I was a kid.”

“You’re so mean! You almost gave me a heart attack when you mentioned about that yacht.” Emily hit her playfully. “Ow!” Amy pretended to get hurt then she smiled.

The staffs of the Inn greet them as soon as they saw them. Amy handed her bag to one of them and gestured Emily to do the same. “Thanks.” She said as she handed him her bag before following Amy inside the Inn.

One of the perks of being friends with the owner of an inn is that Emily didn’t have to worry a single cent for the accommodation during her stay. After what happened in France a year ago, Amy decided to invest the $180 million that she got. Her one-woman-shows became a hit due to her talent at impersonating famous artists, that is aside from her obvious talent in singing. She even has Becca produce her self-titled album which she released recently. And during the launch, that’s where Becca asked Emily to write a song for her. She was always aware of how talented Emily is when it comes to songwriting; Becca even used Flashlight, which Emily wrote, as her demo when she was an intern at a recording company and they even used the song and performed it at the World Championship of Acapella in Germany, and made them world champions.

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Anna pulled her bag from the compartment of the bus as she arrived at her destination in New South Wales. Before coming to Australia, Anna has already planned her itinerary and she made sure that she will cover every part of the country and visit various sites especially the ones with nature. Her main goal is to go up on Mt. Gower. Anna has always wanted to go there as a child. Her mother would tell her stories about her trips and her favorite was the time her mother went to the Mt. Gower in Australia. Anna still has the picture of her mom which was taken from the top of the mountain.

Anna pulled out her phone from her jacket. She swiped on the screen to check on the directions on how she could get to the Inn where she’ll be staying. “Oh, it’s just fifteen-minute walk from here.” She then put her phone back inside her pocket before picking up her bag and started walking. After walking a few blocks, Anna finally reached the Inn. It was a four-storey building that’s being surrounded by trees. On the right side, there’s a fountain that is being surrounded by benches where guests can sit and relax while enjoying the nature. On the left side, there’s a small bookstore that doubles as a coffee shop.

As she entered the Inn, Anna was welcomed by a staff. “Welcome to our Inn. Let me help you with your baggage.” “Thank you. Please be careful with these bags.” She said as she handed him her bags. Anna then proceed to the reception area. “Hi. I made a reservation here under the name of Anna Shepherd.” "Just a moment.” The receptionist said as she checked on her computer the reservation that Anna has made. After confirming it, the receptionist then turned to her. “May I have your identification please?” “Sure. Anna handed the receptionist her passport. The receptionist gave back the passport to her after confirming her identity then she handed Anna the keys to her room. “Here you go. Room 307 will be your room. Enjoy your stay.”

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“Here’s an idea, let’s just run away to the edge of the world and fall off.” Emily said as she held Sue’s hand as both of them were lying on her bed. “That sounds nice.” Sue replied as she played with her best friend’s hand.

“I wish I could just marry you.”

“Emily! Wake up now. We’re going to be late.” Emily opened her eyes and saw Fat Amy standing beside her bed, dressed up in her hiking attire. “Why are you dressed like that?” Emily asked sleepily. “Did you forget already? We will be hiking today.”

“Is that today?” Emily sat up. Her mind was still fuzzy. She looked outside the window. “It’s still dark outside though.”

“Of course it’s dark outside. It’s 4 in the morning.” Amy said replied. “It’s too early. I want to go back to sleep.” Emily said as she lay back down. “You even disturbed my precious dream.” She murmured. “Oh no, honey. You’re not going back to sleep. You need to wake up now.” Amy then pulled her up and shook her body to wake her up. “Alright, stop it already. You’re making me dizzy!”

“Are you awake now?”

“Yes. I’m very much wide awake now. Thank you.” Emily said as she stood up then she went inside the bathroom to wash her face.  “Good, ‘cause I’ll be waiting for you downstairs. You better get ready now.” Amy said before leaving.

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Anna finished packing her bag. She made sure that she got enough supplies for her trip to Mt. Gower later. She picked up her camera and placed it on her camera bag. Anna wanted to capture the sunrise in time. She has always been into photography. Perhaps, she got it from her mother. Back when she was in England, she worked part time to save up for her first DSLR camera. Before that, she used those old school cameras that uses films that will be developed into pictures.

Anna looked at her watch. 4:15. She grabbed her bags and her keys then she went out of her room. A few minutes later she was already at the lobby together with those who will participate the tour to Mt. Gower. As she stood there, she heard a familiar voice. She looked around and saw Emily talking with the girl who fetch her the last time.

"Alright folks, it's time to board your assigned busses now." The tour guide said through the megaphone. Anna gave one last look at Emily who is now busy checking her phone. "I wonder which bus she'll board?"