END OF THE BEGINNING

#6: A World of Silence.

" Top 15 Things Money Can't Buy:
Time, Happiness, Inner Peace, Integrity, Love, Character. Manners, Health, Respect, Morals. Trust, Patience, Class, Common sense, Dignity."

Roy T. Bennett , The Light in the Heart

Day 4 of the ultimatum.
6:00a.m

In the morning, I woke up in a grumpy mood, no fault of anyone though, I guess it has to do with my hormones.

I pulled a leg out of the blanket and placed it on the floor, I swung my other leg over the edge of my bed and placed it on the floor too.

Pushing myself off my bed, I walked to the bathroom and washed my face with sufficient water. I wiped away the stray drops of water with a face towel and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

My hair was in a messy state and there were black circles under my eyes. My lips were a little bit chapped and I licked them with my tongue to moisten them. My phone rang from my room and I darted out to snatch it from my dresser where I left it last night.

"Hello."

The number was an unidentifiable number.

"Hey Florence, It's Sebastian."

My entire body went into an alarm. Why was he calling? Does he have news about the location of my sister's kidnappers.

Events from the coffee shop rapidly played in my mind.

"I think I might know where to find your sister."

💭💭💭

"What did you find?" I faced Sebastian who was seated next to me on a bench in the park. He had a tee-shirt and a pair of sweatpants on him, his face looked like it was recently shaven and his jawline was more prominent than the last time I saw him.

"I was able to track down their location, though it wasn't really clear, they are somewhere close to Miami."

My mouth fell ajar. Why Miami?

Sebastian had a sympathetic look on his face as he watched me lower my head in despair.

"I couldn't pinpoint their exact location. I'm sorry." His placed his hand on the flat surface of his laptop which was sitting on his lap. His other hand was draped over the backrest of the bench and his fingers gently brushed against my bare skin.

After Sebastian called, I made a phone call to Mr. Adam informing him that I wouldn't be at work today. He said he'll handle everything quite alright.

I had taken a bath and dressed in a tank top, and a pair of jean shorts, after which I rushed out to meet Sebastian at our present location. Before I left, Michael dropped by and proposed to take mom out for lunch and she obliged.

I banished my mental wanderings and lifted my head, fixing my eye on a grasshopper hopping happily from a leaf to another.

"At least, we have a headstart, it's better than nothing." I spoke when I noticed that Sebastian silently demanded for an answer.

"I've told Philip already, he said he'll meet us later by four in the evening."

I clenched and unclenched my fist, trying to straighten my slender fingers. I cracked my knuckles and looked up at Sebastian's blue eyes that were as clear as an azure sky.  He gave me a weak smile which I returned. His hands crept over and  rested on my fingers. I froze at his gentle touch and broke my eyes away from his.

I think he remembered Philip because he withdrew his hand and stared down at his laptop with a grim expression.

We retired to a world of silence as Sebastian typed into his laptop. I turned on my observation mode and scrutinized every tiny activity that went in in the park, from the family picnics to dogs and their owners strolling around to the young and old couples holding hands and laughing at different things. My eyes trained on the bench where Peter and I sat the last time we came here, instead of finding I and Peter seated there, two young ladies (probably sisters) occupied the bench, one of them was dressed like me and the other was coincidentally dressed like the way Tam would have been dressed had she been here.