“How did you get in?”

The next day I woke up by the alarm clock tune, wiped my eyes up and took a look and found it was 5 o'clock. I was feeling tired and so I decided to get some more time inside the warmth of the blanket, so I reset the alarm, now at 5:20 and then I went on for another sleepy mode.

I woke up by some crackling sounds of plates from the kitchen and took my head out of the blanket, tried to take a look at the clock. But it's already too much of light in my room, I couldn't open my eyes. I spared one of my hand from the blanket and dragged the clock close to my eyes.

'Oh! Shit, it's already 6:30. I've to get myself and Nadia ready. I need to be hurried up.'

While jumping out of the bed I was thinking about the following tasks and suddenly again I heard another crackling sound of kitchen wares.

'But how can it come from the kitchen? Rita doesn't come so fast. Is it Nadia? Has she already woke up? What a stupid idea, how can Rita come in if the door is locked from inside and if the stupid owner has been still sleeping that time. So, then who's in kitchen? Nadia?'

While thinking this I headed straight towards Nadia's room. I thought maybe she has already been got up by herself.

I opened the door of her room, went inside and got fumbled to watch that Nadia is still sleeping.

'Then who's in the kitchen?'

In a spontaneous manner I took a baseball bat from Nadia's room and walked with it towards the kitchen.

'I am sure, it must be a thief, or will it be a ghost? But ghost does not appear in the morning. Then, who is there…?'

I set my mind with an idea that since I woke up I had been carrying a dumb thought, no sound was heard at all, this is just a result of my stressed mind. Actually with these ideas, earlier I had witnessed, you will feel a bit courageous and also get some enhanced power to handle the situation.

Now, on the kitchen door step I hold the bat in a tight grip with both my hands and pushed the half shut door with my leg.

"Rita?"- I called out in curiosity. She turned towards me and her eyes got widen.

"What are you doing with a bat?"

"No," I felt ashamed a bit and fumbled to complete my statement,

"I heard someone's making crackles with the plates, and, so, I mean, I thought it must be a thief."

"A thief!"- Rita started laughing hard.

"Yea. But, how did you get in?"- I found expression on Rita's face changed drastically in seconds. But then she managed to reply,

"Well, you might have forgotten that you always keep a key under the plant outside the main door."- I was surprised a little after hearing this.

"How did you know that?"

"Once you told me that, Oh ho, nowadays I see, you forget a lot"- I found myself silent for a while after listening to her, I wanted to put a little pressure on my mind to memorize, when did I really told her about the secrecy of the key but I couldn't really come along with any idea.

"Maybe I forgot, whatever."- I just let it go on that time.

"Well, I need to be hurry, Rita, never mind, you please carry on…." I left Rita at the kitchen and moved away, while listened her voice -

"Don't worry. I've already prepared your breakfast and Nadia's tiffin is just ready to be packed. Now your job is to get yourself and Nadia ready, and by that time your lunch will also be in your box, ma'am."

Rita normally doesn't call me by name, but, ma'am, the word is also very unusual from her, and also, is there a sarcasm in her tone?

"Yeah, okay."- I simply wanted to leave her there, and I have a job now, to wake Nadia up.

By the next half hour both of us got ready and came around the dinning table for breakfast.

"I'll drop her to school today and from there she'll go to her drawing class and while returning home I'll pick her up from there. So, Rita, you can go home early today."

Rita didn't look at me, but (I don't know, whether I'm wrong) replied again with a voice, which sounded awkward,

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," I nodded to her words and stood up from my chair. I went to my room and gathered my official things, put them in the bag, picked up the brown lipstick and left a shade on my lips. And I spread it beautifully by squeezing lips together.

Nadia has finished her breakfast by now and she needs the car key, she wants to unlock the car, she loves the bip sound created by the remote key. I handed over the key to her and she went out. Little later, we all came out including Rita.

"Do you need me to drop you?"- I asked Rita before she locked the main gate.

"Nope. I can go alone. You should go to her school first. She's being late."- she said it to me and placed a kiss on Nadia's cheek. Nadia kissed her back and then waved her before the car's wheels started rolling.

"BYE!"- I said to Rita and then headed straight to Nadia's school.

"Give your mommy a kiss."- I told Nadia when she got down from the car. She hugged me and placed a tender kiss on my forehead and hurriedly rushed towards the main gate, while my eyes followed her steps.

Suddenly my eyes went on a guy who was looking at me. When our eyes met with each other's, he just looked away and started preventing that he was thinking something.

Then I just let it go and saw Nadia was entering in the school. She threw a glance at me and waved before vanishing in the crowd of the students.

Then I again looked at the guy and once again he was gazing at me. I looked back to see that if he was looking at anyone who's standing behind me but there was no one behind me. He looked away again after I looked at him.

I checked my wristwatch and started driving again.

I stopped the car in front of the office road by watching that Steven was waiting for someone.