Blinded By The Darkness

Chapter 8 - Laotong

Ansel what? What’s that supposed to mean?

I smiled as I apprehended that my dad hadn’t been delusional. I had been so lost in my thoughts that I had not realized Ms Redwood had entered the balcony and was calling me till she tapped me.

“Cali” She angrily shouted

“Yes ma’am” I turned around and answered her sweetly

“I have been searching for you since” She yelled

“Inside the house was a bit stuffy, I came here to get fresh air” I lied through my teeth

She looked furious- “You aren’t supposed to be here, it’s dangerous”

Shoot me but she was concerned about me? Maybe she wasn’t as bad as I thought

“I saw you bending over the barricade, you could have fallen down or something and then I would have lost my job” Ms Redwood clearly stated. I knew it was too good to be true; she just didn’t want to lose her job.

“I didn’t die now, did I?” I asked sarcastically

“Fortunately” She said “I was looking for to get your details down since I couldn’t get it yesterday, I have to create a folder for you like I did for the remaining foster kids” She continued

“Okay, no problem” I replied

Right then at that moment, the sheet of paper that I was holding fell down. Ms Redwood noticed and swiftly picked it up before I could get it

“You were lifting this paper up while bending over the barricade?” It was more of a question than a statement

“I was feeling a bit lonely” I said with a downcast look “So I was just playing with the paper actually” I answered her

A sigh escaped from her lips-“You’d get used to it- I meant the loneliness” She went ahead to squeeze the sheet of paper.

“Nooooo” I immediately screamed “I wrote something on that sheet of paper” I quickly said. This woman can’t just spoil all my plans in a single minute.

She straightened and examined the sheet of paper and said “But it’s blank?”

“It’s not blank” I uttered as I furrowed my eyebrows. Couldn’t she see the word on the piece of paper? Maybe she needed a pair of glasses? But she was still reasonably young though.

“But it is” Ms Redwood showed me the sheet of paper and I saw the word Ansel once more.

“Can’t you see what is written on it?” I pointed to it on the sheet of paper.

Ms Redwood had on a confused look then it changed to one of anger “Cali, are you trying to make a fool of me?”

What was going on here? I could clearly see what was written on it. It was then I remembered what my dad had said. He had said something in the lines of –“You have the eyes to see far beyond what generally meets the eye”

It finally dawned on me- The word was meant for only me, meaning I was the only one that could see it. Some voodoo shit was going on here. Playing along with Ms Redwood what was I had to do to save myself from this trouble
I started laughing “Ha ha, you got me there”

Ms Redwood just kept staring at me

“I was just pulling your legs” I told her when she was still staring at me strangely “I noticed that you were tensed up earlier, so I wanted to ease your tension” I stopped laughing

“I’m sorry ma’am, if you were offended by it” I apologized to her.

For someone that was a novice in acting and lying, I’d already become a veteran in like a day or two. I looked up to Ms Redwood to see if she bought it and she looked convinced enough. I desperately needed to collect that sheet of paper now.