City Vibes

My homesickness worsened as soon as we stepped into the bus and entered the highway, compared to my ecstasy some days prior to that one.

I was next to the window with Mrs. O'Neil beside me, my hair styled in a way that it fell over the part of my face that was unsightly, if not I would have attracted the attention of quite a few people.

My gaze was plastered to the scenery outside as I subconsciously stroked my bracelet which I made by simply wrapping the pendant around my wrist. The trees breezed past us in a blur and it seemed as though I was fascinated by the view but truth be told, this didn't even bait my attention in the slightest.

"Ooh how I missed them so..."

Sighing wearily and pulling my duffel bag closer to me, I turned to her. She hadn't said anything to me since we entered, being quite the conversationalist that she was. Maybe she noticed that I was anything but in the mood for such chit chat and even if she did talk to me, I'd probably be too self absorbed to answer.

"Uum...how long till we get there?"

She examined her watch before raising her head again.

"Two and a half hours dear, don't think about it too much, we'll be there in the blink of an eye," she said.

Oh jolly! That's how far away I'd be from home. I resisted the urge to sigh again as my hand went to my good luck medallion to fiddle with it, looking around carefully for the first time since we got on that bus.

There were 20 occupants in total, plus the driver who looked like someone obliterated his cat. We were all headed to the same place but unlike me they knew what to expect.

I spotted a little girl on her mommy's lap who was peeking at me, no, openly staring at me like I fell from the sky. The reason was obvious and I grimaced whilst cupping my face in my hands.

That was going to be a long ride.

"Carina... Carina wake up, we'll soon be stopping," I faintly heard her call.

"Mmmhmm..." I mumbled, running a hand over my face, trying in a futile attempt to shake off the sleep. With the unwithstandable boredom that ensued and all the breeze that continually flew in from the windows, who could resist?

I wanted to sleep some more, why was that woman pestering me?

"Don't you know where we have to be?"

Yeah, in sleepytown that's where I'm in. My body only jolted awake when the bus jerked forcefully to a stop, launching us all in like motion forward in our seats. I knew that driver was anything but happy, but no need to transfer the aggression and try to kill us all! Sheesh!

It was obvious that others harboured the same thoughts as me because the driver was bombarded with insults from all directions, I think I heard some profanities too.

"This is where we stop, Carina," Mrs. O'Neil said, she was still looking a bit shaken from the incident and I instantly looked out the window and what I saw next impressed me greatly as tall, looming buildings came into my line of vision.

I wondered how those things were erected, it seemed so impossible and how exactly people reached the last floor without wearing themselves out just climbing stairs.

I saw some buildings that had major parts of them made with glass, how stupid was that? I also saw how some people were so scantily clad, whoa! How could someone feel so comfortable wearing those type of things…

It was only when I heard the clearing of a throat behind me that I noticed how much I'd been rotating my head 360° on that window just to savour the view and how much attention I'd attracted whilst doing that. Some were of irritation and disgust as I noticed some strands of my hair covering that part of my face had slid towards my ear.

Dejectedly, with my head hung low, I rounded my things up and followed her to alight the vehicle.

Well, so much for laying low.

"Your behaviour back there was quite immature. I expected more from you," she said plainly after we'd been standing in silence for a few minutes when the bus left, facing the road that's got all these markings on them.

She was undeniably right. I know I made a fool of myself but right then seeing all those strange, exciting things, breathing in the fresh, wonderful city breeze...it was messing with me.

I resisted the urge to start looking around again as I bowed my head in remorse.

She waved her hand to an incoming vehicle. It looked yellow with some black detailing.

As soon as we got in, she spoke;

"Take us to the Numman Estate." At her utterance, the chubby driver turned his head to us, stunned as though we'd just asked the impossible.

"Are you sure you're not mistaken?" He voiced, a hairy brow raised.

"I don't think I stuttered." Was Mrs. O'Neil's monotone reply.

The seats were softer than the ones from the bus, it was soothing.

"These are much softer than the ones from that homicidal vehicle, aren't they?"

I turned realizing that she was speaking to me. I nodded, not knowing if she was still mad at me for my unruly behaviour.

As if reading my thoughts she said, "It would be rare for someone of your circumstantial standing not to act the way you did few minutes ago," she smiled, looking out the window, reminiscing about something. "I will not lie that I didn't feel half the same way you did when I initially came—the city's a fine-looking place but there's still danger at every turn...be careful." Her expression turned serious for a moment however it dissipated as soon as it came. "You'll have a chance to see more of it at some point."

"Thanks, Mrs. O'Neil," I said, not being able to resist smiling.

"That's okay and call me Evelynn." She said.

"OK, Mrs. O-Evelynn but can I ask just one question?" I mentioned.

"Yes, what is it?"

"What are these little red things?" I excitedly pointed out the window.

"They're called fire hydrants, Carina." She replied.

The car suddenly stopped and when I looked out, I saw this pole thing with lights that had the colours; red, orange, green.

"You're probably wondering what those are, they're traffic lights, when it hits green we're good to go."

As soon as the car could move again, the driver turned on the radio and soon Evelynn and the driver were discussing the recent happenings, with me simply looking out the window, unconsciously fiddling with my necklace and admiring the view. It was evening now with a lot of beautiful lights turning on.

"Yeah, I'm finally here."

The car soon took a turn into a street paved with Belgian blocks as Evelynn had told me, the assortment of highly expensive buildings marvelled me more than all I've seen today.

Evelynn told me once again to round up my things 'cause we'd soon be stopping. In no due time, we had to alight for the second time that day. I was still fiddling with my things that I hadn't noticed her paying off the man or the vehicle driving away with haste.

Raising my head to the elaborately embellished wrought iron gates and the enchanting view beyond that, not only was I in awe but the nervousness from before had multiplied greatly as my hands clenched on the straps of my duffel bag.

"Well, welcome to the city at its finest," she gestured around.

The environment looked secluded though, enough for it to be spooky but who cares. Even from out here the air oozed affluence from all directions and emitting from the few vehicles that passed us.

The next residence was a few blocks down. Even when we came in through the gates Mrs. O'Neil...uuuh-Evelynn had to smooth some stuff out with the security personnel before they'd let me in and those guys had brutal faces which unnerved me but that wasn't all; there were cameras everywhere.

Lining the circular driveway were tall pine trees and a nice elaborate fountain with lights—as night had fallen—in the centre.

And the house itself was humongous with nice blue stuccoed walls, all these were on the clearing while the expanse of land around seemed like a dense forest.

When we entered, I almost let out a gasp. The place was definitely bigger on the inside and when Mom called it opulent, she meant opulent. That initial scent of affluence was surely concentrated here. It was so prominent, you could almost taste it.

The ceilings being as high as anything, even the windows, sparkling and spotless—the linens too and we were still in the entryway. On entering the huge foyer, there was this huge colossal thing that was about to fall on us and when I alerted her, she laughed at my stupidity, telling me it was only a priceless gold chandelier and that it was suspended so it was not going to fall on anyone, anytime soon.

Across it was the parlour demarcated by ornate glass, the decor was exquisite with cream plush seats strategically arranged. I took a peek at the expensive plush rugs and intricate paintings lining the wall, the colour scheme mostly comprised of blue and gold combined in varying attractive shades.

Truly I was a stark contrast to all this wealth, I felt unworthy to be here, tainting the grounds with my cheap odour. We were now ascending the stairs with glass balustrades and I had to ask a question. "Uuum...Evelynn, how many rooms are there in this place?"

"Well I'm not too sure, even though I've been working here for quite some time but it's around 45 or so, which must be cleaned everyday."

"This place is a dream come true," I thought as we reached the landing, there were more paintings, most depicting animals amongst other random things and expensive looking vases mounted on pedestals. The other maids and staff were in sight then and while some ignored us entirely, some stopped to gawk at us—well, me specifically and most gave me disgusted looks.

I lowered my head, somewhat dejected but that didn't soil my mood, what did however was when Evelynn informed me that we were going to meet the Madam after speaking with a man dressed like those people outside with brutal faces. My heart sank and I reached for my medallion as more realization dawned on me.

"The point where I'm either employed or I...go back."

While we continued down the pristine halls, I kept my head lowered so that my hair covered my unsightly face, accompanied by anxiety, my merciless comrade that set my mind in a perpetual state of unrest, causing my hands to continue clenching around my good luck medallion and my duffel bag.

At the farthest room by the right, we stopped and Evelynn knocked lightly on the door. As she was about to twist the burnished door knob, she turned to me.

"Are you ready?"

I solemnly nodded.

We entered the room, it looked like a nursery, it was painted a pristine white hue with thousands of toys and abstract paintings...again, what was with that place and paintings?

Evelynn nudged me forward and that was when my eyes happened upon a tall female silhouette folded into a rocking chair and holding a painting close to her chest.

"How was your trip?" She was standing facing us now, she was also aged and her hoarse voice and reddened scelera was indicative to the fact that she might have been sleeping or...crying, I wondered why.

"It was good," Evelynn replied.

She gave a slight nod before I was swept up in a cold hard gaze, hers. She looked at me as though she saw something that no one else could, it was unsettling.

"And this is..."

"Carina, Madame, she's the one I picked."

She was still accessing me from head to toe, maybe that cheap odour of mine was so dominant she'd deem me a thief and send me out of her house, I knew it, I'd never get this job...

"Raise your head."

I complied, she didn't cringe or say anything but just nodded and started to make her way back to her rocking chair so as to continue drowning in anguish... I think.

As soon as we were out, I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

I wanted to do a victory dance but remembered her earlier warnings so I just followed quietly behind her.

"So where to next?" I asked her.

"Well, you'll have to get settled in first so we're heading to the maids' quarters," she said.

A group of maids were passing by, with baskets of what looked like laundry, laughing and chattering loudly but immediately they saw her, they shut up before continuing on their way.

I noticed she had some kind of authority there, she wasn't just part of the workforce there, it was more like she was in charge. It was obvious 'cause no one looked her in the eyes and it was like they feared her or something.

We reached the part of the house directly facing the forest with wooden boards. There was lousy noise coming from a room in that part. A man exited a room and I concluded that that was where the male working population resided and also that the female counterpart would be further down where the noise abound.

The moment we entered, the whole room automatically muted. It was huge, containing an insane number of bunk beds, a clock, several dressers...

"Girls, this is Carina," Evelynn began.

My head remained lowered as my hands clenched into fists around my duffel bag straps again.

"Because of her condition, if I catch anyone being rude or insulting her, I won't be too forgiving about it."

Goosebumps ravaged my skin, I appreciated that she was looking out for me but she was not going to be with me 100% of the time so who was to stop anyone from rough handling me.

She led me to a particular empty bunk. "Rest, you'll start tomorrow." And those were her last words before she left me. There.

I pulled my duffel bag close to my body as I started to feel eyes on me. Something dawned crisp and clear.

New Job. New Location. New Terrorists.

I could never outrun my fate now, could I? Or break that painful cycle. The more I tried to be positive about this, the more negative thoughts kept on flooding into my head.

I remembered the phone mom gave me and decided to give her a call, maybe hearing her voice would give me a much needed comfort in that time where fear, anxiety and fear would continue to ravage me, see? Negative thoughts.

I couldn't hide my face for long behind my hair and based on the looks the previous ones gave me, my guess was that no one would like to associate with me. In fact, it was better if it stayed like that. I'd never needed friends and I'd come this far without them.

After the second try, it connected and when her melodic voice filtered through, a tear escaped my eyes. I couldn't resist, I really missed them.

"Hello, Mom?"