Chapter 27 - The Prying New Neighbour

Only Sydney and Ms. Peace knew that they had at that time a trillion. They were a trillionare, not a billionaire.

Nevertheless, they avoided to wear designers' apparel, foot wears, bags, accessories and others. If anybody went to their house, they would belittle them as they appeared to be in a very scanty income who could not afford to buy even a delicious food. The cook was instructed to prepare only one viand or two dishes for their meal. For instance, a fish cooked in vinegar with eggplants and malungay leaves cooked in a thick coconut milk with some dried fish.

Seldom would a steak and other popular dishes be served on their dining table should a nosy visitor would go to their house. It was only the family and the household staff should have the right to be enjoying different dishes prepared by the cook as per instruction of Sydney & Ms. Peace. Such instruction had an exemption to those relatives of these husband and wife.

As they were in a low cost subdivision, they rarely used their expensive car and van. They were contented to use their tri mobile in going to and fro, sending and fetching their children in a public school.

Not one would be suspicious of their status in life who would belong to the richest citizens in the country. Of course, this was what they thought of as they were certainly very cautious in their life style.

Unknown to the household staff, Sydney and Ms. Peace had an underground panel not only for a hiding place but also for an exit to escape from the possible hooligans. Its portal was placed in one of the built in cabinets in the servants' quarters. Another secret entrance was placed under the long and wide dining table. Once, an entry was made under it, a forked path leads to a well equipped room with all supplies that an escapee would not die famished. Another forked passage was built for an exit. The left passage would bring a refugee out of their fenced vicinity at the back part whereas, the right passage would lead him/her to be out of the right side of their gate where it was hidden behind the hedges up front the fence.

A year after they had launched their WITVEAS, a new neighbour just across their house had occupied the house that had been vacated for quite sometime.

Everybody was busy doing his/her own chores when the door bell hasn't halted ringing. The driver/gardener was forced to answer and found a middle aged man outside the gate who introduced himself to be a certain Volter Deogracias, a new occupant of the house across them.

As per instruction, he was not invited to get inside but he was properly spoken to by the driver who did not notice that his presence was unwelcome. They both separated like a new acquaintanceship was developed between them.

Nevertheless, the driver/gardener/cook decided to avoid him upon observing that the new neighbour seemed to be prying as his eyes were so quick to be peering inside the yard of the house of his employers.

Upon closing the gate he immediately informed his male and female bosses about his keen watchfulness of that new occupants of the neighbouring house across their's. Hence, sudden orientation of the staff and the children was done. They were warned of that nosy man who had shown his curiosity about them.

During the orientation, they were told that once a shrilling sound would be heard, all of them should seek for a hiding place where they could not be found. Therefore, the hidden security room was strategically blocked to give a stranger or a burglar a confusion not to be able to find them.

To be sure for their safety some cctv cameras were furtively installed facing the house of their new neighbour to monitor his doubtful movement. There was also a hidden telescope behind the holed wall of the terrace at the second floor. It has been strategically put in that place where a big and tall fruit tree was planted.

As a result, if the new occupant was prying on them, they, too, were also prying on him.

Volter Deogracias did not believe that Sydney and Ms. Peace could not afford a luxurious life style as he knew that his invention has been sold like hot cakes. So, like Sydney he would like to be an inventor only that he was a failure of every discovery he attempted to be well developed. His discovery of a medicine was the only scientific discovery that he did not fail at all.

He planned to befriend Sydney in order to learn many from him. If he could not have wheedled him to reveal his secret he could at least steal the written tools and procedure in making them. He knew that inside the house of Sydney and his own family, there lied so many treasures that would make him very rich.

He was so affirmative about it that by hook or by crook, he would get what he wanted from him.

However, he was unaware that Sydney was ready for whatever he would do so that his ulterior motive kept in his mind would be achieved at no time at all. He was so certain that it would be easy for him to carry out his plan. All he needed to do was to be on the correct timing.

It was school days when Sydney's tricycle went out of their gate, when Volter quickly got inside the yard without being noticed by the driver and by the children. Only the nanny saw him inside the vicinity and who had accosted of his intrusion.

Instead of going out and apologising, he ran toward the door where the wife, Ms. Peace and the husband, Sydney were there discussing about fetching her in the afternoon from her work.

He was less than a yard from them that the shrilling sound was heard that came from their undergarments they were had worn. The couple was alerted that the man who was occupying the house just across them had an ill intention.

Sydney who was as stunned as Ms. Peace remained to be composed and asked Volter's unwanted entry as nanny was chasing him to get out.

Sydney had never given the intruder a chance to talk. Instead he shooed him out of their vicinity threatening him to call a cop and be accused of an action of trespassing.

Volter who was very eager to see how the house looked like inside, had never seen it even a side swept glance as Ms. Peace had completely closed the main door swiftly. The more his skepticism grew that he seemed not to hear Sydney. The more the latter became outrageous dragging him toward the gate.

Volter struggled pulling himself to be disengaged from Sydney. What he did was to drag back to the main door that caused them to seemingly playing tug of war.

Ms. Peace was so quick to dial the hot line of the police headquarter who had rapidly responded to her call for a help.

They were fighting when the policemen arrived.

Volter was never frightened of the newly arrived law enforcer as he did not stop fighting against Sydney. He had only stopped when two among the officers toppled him down.

While he was handcuffed he did not stop shouting that he did not believe that they (Sydney & Ms. Peace) were not rich. He had his slip of his tongue what he wanted from Sydney. Upon the quick investigation was over in the police head quarter where he was brought Sydney learned that his name's a pseudonym.

Instead of putting him in that prison cell he's brought to a mental hospital. He's mentally ill because he's depressed of his failed invention. The couple was so thankful to God that they had an early knowledge of Volter's ailment. If not, it would put them into danger.

The incident had served them a lesson to be more cautious to avoid meeting people whom they weren't sure of their mental health.

To avoid such unavoidable matter, the inventor purchased the unoccupied House and lot that the mentally illed Volter had illegally occupied just to pry on them. Upon its purchasal, they had not yet thought of what to do with it.

It was only after a year when they decided to renovate it into a five-door double story apartment for rental purposes.

The intruder drove Sydney to make his garage no longer open as it would just display the expensive car and van they only used when they socialise with the people who belonged to an elite society.

It was the nanny who was assigned to collect the rent from the ten occupants of the five-door double story apartment. Every collection day, a month rental from one of the ten leasee was given to the nanny, another one to their other staff and the third rental payment for the third door was for the driver/cook/gardener.

They were overjoyed when an apartment was built after their unwanted intruder/ neighbour was put in a nearby mental hospital.

Finally, they had their neighbours who rented the apartment they built just across their home.