The Many Layers Of Isabel

Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

Sitting quietly in a coffee shop, Isabel takes the final sips of her much needed latte.  Flicking mindlessly through last month’s cosmopolitan magazine, she tosses the magazine on the table and decides it is time for her to leave. She had been here for over an hour and considering she landed here two hours ago, it most definitely was time for her to make her way out of this humid café. Careful not to trip while she squeezes her way past others, she grabs a handful of tissues from the counter and stuffs them in her bag. It is always safe to carry tissue around, she thought. You never know when you’ll need them.

Dragging her ever-so-noticeable deep red Prada suitcase and carrying her signature Versace handbag, she stops outside Heathrow’s busy exit doors. She pauses and takes a piece of paper out of her bag. “South Kensington” she whispers to herself. Looking up, she spots an Indian man leaning sideways on his taxi, smoking. She speeds towards the taxi while waving her free hand to him. Realising she might look a bit odd, she lowers her hand but still running as fast as her 5 inch heels would let her.

“Excuse me, I need a ride. Here’s the address,” Isabel hands over the piece of paper she had been looking at to the man.

“Very well,” the man replied. “Let me help you with your baggage.”

Isabel dumps her suitcase on the taxi driver and takes her seat in the car. She kicks of those 5 inch jimmy choo and can’t help the feeling of relief take over her body. She closes her eyes for a split second then opens them again. She can’t fall asleep here. There is a time and place for that.

“Okay, I shall take you to your destination,” the man grinned.

What a weirdo she thinks. She looks down to her jimmy choo shoes. Those should come in handy if the situation demands so.

“Is this your first time in London then?” the man continues. The man’s voice is heavily accented that Isabel has to really concentrate to make out what he is saying.

“No,” she firmly answers. She prays this is the last thing he says to her She certainly isn’t in the mood to engage in mindless chatter. She has other things to think about.

“Oh, I see. So you must have been on holiday and now you have returned, no?” the man asks eagerly. “Where did you go on holiday?”

He really isn’t getting the message is he? Rolling her eyes, she sits up.

“I now live in London. I have moved here permanently,” she says calmly or as calmly as she can.

“You moved to London today. Wow, I wouldn’t have thought so. You have packed with you only one suitcase. You must be a simple girl,” the man says, taking a sharp left turn which made Isabel reach for the passenger’s chair headrest to support her balance.

This man is really going for it, isn’t he? He is really trying to milk information out of her. How far is this place anyway? It can’t be taking this long.

“I have a headache. Please, do you mind if we continue this journey in silence,” Isabel requests kindly, hoping the man gets the message and shuts up. He nods and there is silence.

Perfect she thinks. Just what I need.

She had not been lying when she said she had moved to London. She did. As of today, she is a Londoner just like everybody else who lives here. And she had also not lied when she said this wasn’t her first time in London. Five years ago, she arrived to London from Dubai as a shy 18 year old who had her dreams fulfilled when she had the chance to study International Relations at a top-notch university. It was like her long-term dream had come true. Her time here in London was made even better when she met him. She believed to be the luckiest girl in the world and she certainly was. She was so happy, she pleaded with her father to let her study a Master’s degree in the same university. Her father, the CEO of Dubai’s greatest banking company refused, assured her that “his little girl” is better of studying in Dubai if further education is what she wanted. Her mother offered little support in understanding her daughter’s wishes and so with that, Isabel left London behind and the love of her life.