MAY

14: HIS APARTMENT.

"The secret of success is to do the common things uncommonly well."
-John D. Rockefeller.

The blood coloured sweater and black ankle-length skirt she was wearing were damp, hence the cold she was feeling. But that didn't bother her much. Dogs were barking and it was coming from Iby's compound. There wasn't a single soul outside.

He stopped the car under a mango tree, where he thought it was more convenient, and got out the car.

He waited for her to come out too but she didn't. Her eyes were as wide as a rubber band stared
fixedly at the three huge dogs that were tied to a big banga tree. Scary thing was, they had saliva dripping down their mouth as they pant for breath like they'd ran a thousand miles to get there. Another scary thing was the rope used to tie them in place. It seemed weak and was fray. It's going to snap any time.

The worst thing was, the compound had no gate. No frigging gate to climb if the dogs decide to pursue her.

"May?"

She turned to his direction. Seeing the impatient look he gave her. "What?"

"Are you scared of dogs?"

"Me?" She asked, her hand on her chest. "Of course not."

"Come out of the car then."

May scanned the compound well as she got out, clutching her purse tighter because she couldn't afford to lose the money Edric had given her. There was a rusty car, covered in dust with one tire missing and it's windscreen broken. It was parked close to the dogs.

May sucked in a deep breath trying to compose herself and stop her heart from jumping out.

"Which one did you say was your house?" She asked, referring to the seven buildings in front of
them.

"There. The cream-colored one," he pointed at a building that was almost out of view from where they stood. The Banga tree leaves had hidden it.

May gulped. This means they would have to pass the dogs, the car, and the tree, just to get to the house which she didn't want to do.

What kind of dilemma is this? May pondered.

"Do we really need to go to your house? I mean, You could take me somewhere else..."

"Come on, May." Iby prodded, wrapping his hand around her shoulder. "Don't be scared of the
dogs."

"I'm not." She snapped.

He raised his hand up in surrender, "I'm sorry. Whatever you say."

As they got closer, the dogs got angrier. They started barking- again. May tried hard not to look at them but once one of the dogs attacked, the rope, just like she had imagined, split. The one tethered to the tree remained in place.

She screamed an ear-piercing howl.

Iby wasn't scared since it was his neighbor's dog. Instead of the dog biting him, it started licking him and shaking his tail in a greeting.

Iby laughed, playing with the dog who was jumping on him, staining his plain white body hug
t-shirt with dirt. "Take it easy, Bruno."