Gift

CLARE

Have you ever felt like rushing, racing to get something over with, something you are dreading to face but instead of trailing and delaying it you are running to get over, get it done and try your best to just forget about it?

That is exactly what I am feeling, doing. The only difference is whatever it is I know I’m not gonna forget it.

It would be impossible to do so.

It always is.

That message was just another reminder of the presence of enemies, traitors around me.

A reminder of everything that happened six years ago.

I receive these reminders every now and then, at least thrice every year.

Not that I ever forgot anything. Not that I could forget anything.

But I still receive them.

Whoever the murderer is he knows Danny was the last person who saw me.

And Danny has been a mediator since then.

It had only been two weeks since ‘The Fall’.

Danny was visiting me constantly, trying to get me out of my trauma, trying to get me to talk.

To speak anything.

That day he was doing the same, talking to me about random things, trying to get me to voice my views and opinions but nothing was working.

Sighing defeatedly, he patted my hair before standing up to go out.

When his phone dinged.

He looked through the text and his expression changed to shock, alert, and panic all at ones.

With a frown, I snatched his phone and read the message.

His first message

It said

Congratulations!

You have survived. The good thing isn’t it?

Well, you don’t have to worry.

I’m looking after you in your last days.

Your brother was an idiot, but I ain’t one!

Get ready to see your family and don’t forget to convey my greetings

Until then

XOXO

“Help me” Was the first thing I said.

Through these messages, things were getting clearer.

Not crystal clear but what happened with my family wasn’t just something out of the blue.

I still had so much to know, understand, find out.

It was clear that someone was keeping a watch on me.

And whoever it was, he made another thing very clear to me.

When my brother Adion killed my family. It wasn’t his plan.

A part yes, but not his play.

It relieved me, in a way it relieved me to know that my brother didn’t kill the whole family for his bloody reasons.

But someone else’s.

And that open more possibilities, he could have been forced, blackmailed.

But how, on what?

In a matter of hours, I vanished.

Vanished in thin air, only Danny and Cole knew where I was, how I went.

I could trust Danny because he was a stranger, in a way though I knew a lot about him, but still a stranger.

I had to tell Cole because I didn’t have another option.

I couldn’t tell anyone else, because they would know me and they weren’t strangers I could trust.

The Irony!

But yeah I vanished.

We made it certain that whoever it was he didn’t know where I went,

I made it certain whoever it was had no idea how I looked.

That’s how the chain started.

The chain of unwanted reminders.

Danny continued receiving messages.

He continued to pass me messages.

I continued to dread.

I continued as clare.

My speedometer was crossing 150, I released the accelerator a bit.

Normal, I need to be normal.

No one should know, nothing should feel off.

The black car in my rearview zigzagged passing cars, trying to reach me in mild traffic.

I breathed Normal. Normal. Normal. Normal.

They will keep an eye on the House of Alaaiya building, watch every visitor, entry, and exits try figuring out who Alaaiya is.

I can’t park my car and go inside straight away.

No no no no no

The kids need to invite me, they will have to invite me that’s the only way to get in.

I’ll park my car outside my house.

I’ll get inside my house and wait.

Wait until someone notices my car and invites for or brings in dinner.

What could the gift be?

A thing, a bomb.

What if it’s not noticeable.

What if they never call me in.

I’ll have to wait.

‘Breath breath breath Alaaiya’ The voice sang in my head with a chuckle.

I’ll have to wait and watch.

What if the bomb explodes.

No no no no.

Matilda has a piano class right now.

If it’s a noticeable thing, something big or weird she would come to tell me after seeing my car.

But...

But what if its something ordinary for her, something she wouldn’t feel intrigued or interested in.

No kid would pay notice, they would never get me in.

What is there is nothing

There is a possibility it’s a trap to know my identity and there is no gift in reality.

But what if it is and I lose someone today.

Do I even have anyone to lose?

What if the kids get hurt.

What if those innocent kids die.

No no no no.

He didn’t kill anyone yet.

Not anyone not involved already.

He wouldn’t.

He could.

Panicking inside but my exterior just a stone plan wall I do as planned.

I parked my car and start walking inside my house when I hear someone call me.

“Clare!”

I turned around to see Jaxon grinning at me.

“Come on in!” He said loudly while walking towards me.

“Why?” I ask emotionless as always but there was a storm of destruction in my head.

“Just come on in! we have something to show you!” He said excitedly.

And that traitor heart in my right, I swear it stopped beating.

“What?” I asked

It could be a hidden bomb.

“Just come on in,” He said getting a hold of my wrist he pulled me inside.

“What is that something?” I asked with as normal cold ice voice as always.

“Not something, its someone actually,” He said grinning bashfully and continued to pull me past the hall.

“Somefour in this case actually” He muttered chuckling to himself.

I could sense no humor at that moment.

Who could it be, are they the gift.

Can they be a mediator of the gift or the murderer himself?

Or what if something id lying around here that could blast.

I looked around trying to pinpoint anything uneven, unusual.

Anything new.

Nothing.

Jaxon continued to pull me passing rooms, we finally stopped in one.

He opened the door of Delilah’s (in-charge) office and then introduced.

“Clare meet…. Adion, Alaaiya, Joey and Jody”

“Guys meet Clare”

My World Stopped.