Behind The Face Of A Stigma

Thoughts

The wind blew violently and the small trees happily danced to its tune. Although the big trees were not pleased by the wind's invasion of their privacy, they knew better than to disobey. They bowed reluctantly, moving in the direction that it willed.

In triumph and mocking pride, the wind blew again in another direction exercising its absolute power and control on the big trees and they bowed still. Ironically, the luscious, lime-green bushes swayed joyously and even the grasses on the lawn joined in the feat. The Sun cast its spectacular rays on mother Earth and synced with the blowing wind. The air smelled fresh, cool and clean.

From the corner of his apartment, on the balcony, Nathan watched the view in fascination. He had been born into a life of luxury, a life he had grown to love and relish yet he also loved nature and never failed to revel in its beauty.

Never ignore life's small joy in search of bigger ones... His father had once told him. He smiled at the memory. He missed his old man, friend and mentor.

He wondered why he was still in Africa. For the life of him, he could have asked some of his numerous employees to carry out this business investment which was even a non-profitable one.

It was his one of his father's many philanthropic gestures to support the organization yet he had chosen to oversee it himself partly because he wanted to know more the organization, IITA, and partly because he wanted to discover the diversity of African cultures and their numerous social practices.

Deep down, he also knew that it was partly because he wanted to avoid his father's not-so-subtle attempts at getting him to settle down.

He wasn't scared of commitment and neither was he pushing off the idea of settling down but he just had not found the right one.

He wanted what his parents had. He had grown to see them so in love. He could not understand the passion they shared in doing things together and he often asked himself if he would ever get to know what love is.

How do you not get tired of seeing each other? He had asked his father one day who had only smiled in response and said, "when you find the right one, you'd know."

He looked out again towards the Green hills and he reflected that it was peaceful here, very different from the hustles and bustles of the Miami life but this wasn't home. He thought with unexpected regret.

Sooner or later he would have to go back home. He shouldn't have stayed this long but he might as well take a vacation here.

The image of a pale skin girl with long legs cut through his thoughts. He smiled. Naomi... He wondered how his thoughts had managed to drift again. Nowadays he found himself thinking about her more and more since the signed contract was enacted. He could not seem to control what his mind chose to think about or who to think about.

He shook his head violently as if to erase the thoughts.

Something must be wrong with me. He thought. Granted, she was beautiful and young but not in the least classical like the Hollywood models he had dated before yet he found himself thinking about her. It must be the different climatic conditions or the food. He concluded, reassuring himself.

He had always been one to talk slow but think quick especially when it came to business deals. Most times it served as an advantage. That fateful night however when he had needed her to act as his girlfriend, his quick thinking ability was considered a disadvantage. As a man who owned up to his responsibility, he had to keep charge.

Yes he needed to take charge. It wasn't only because he wanted to take responsibility but because he needed her to help him, keep off those girls. With her as his pretend girlfriend, they just might back off.

He had another event by the weekend and he needed her as a date. Twice he had been invited to similar events and twice he had not gone with a date which had not earned a praise, but raised eyebrows and questioning eyes which of course he considered to be none of their business.

He did not mind but what he found irksome was the fact that the ladies who were brought as dates threw themselves at him and were not even discreet about it, they made it obvious. Raymond had been his guardian angel and had helped free him from the enemy territories.

What was he to do now that Raymond was not in town?

She was strange though, he thought. It was every girl's dream to date a rich guy and he wasn't only rich, he was wealthy and he was even offering himself to her on a platter of gold and yet she had turned him down. He found that strange. Yet he remembered the way she had really looked behind those smiles, troubled.

Remember everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something. His father had admonished him one day, while telling him to be nice to everyone he comes across especially business clients.

His curiosity was ignited and when that happens, he would not back down. There was only one way to find out and that's getting to know her. He decided against it on a second thought. It wasn't his concern and moreso he would be leaving soon, it wasn't worth the effort.

Yet his mind lingered on her. He had even given her a pet name. Emoji? He smiled and ruffled his hair at the same time. I mean where did that come from? He silently asked himself. He was never one to give a girl a pet name no matter how close they were. Strange, something is indeed wrong with me.

He had sent her a text to meet up for dinner three days ago and she didn't reply. What is wrong with her? He questioned. What is she so afraid of? Or maybe she was avoiding him. He had no idea.

Maybe it's better this way. He reconsidered. He liked that she wasn't too keen on the idea he had proposed. That reassured him that there was at least one person who was not trying to get too clingy and after the contract, they would go their different ways with no regrets or an emotional breakdown.

Satisfied with this thought, he picked up his iphone to inform her of the upcoming event and get her to prepare. He dialed her number and she picked up on a second ring.

"Hey."

"Hi" came her timid voice.

"How are you?" He smiled into the phone. He had no idea why he did it but he did anyways.

"Good." She replied.

"Are you free this evening?" He asked.

She hesitated.

"Please don't say no because I know your work schedule, and if you tell me you're so busy that you wouldn't have time, I could ask Mr Montez to give you the evening off. So back to my question, are you free this evening?" He finished off authoritatively.

She hesitated for a brief moment before saying, "Yes, Why?"

"We need to talk."

Naomi froze on the other end. Whenever someone uses this line of statement with her, something bad has either happened and she was involved or the person knows something about her that she doesn't know.

It's happening again. She panicked as she hung up.

Hey guys, I know I said I was going to update on Friday but I couldn't because something came up. Sorry.

Thanks for the support as usual. It means a lot to me.💕