Chapter six

I woke on the side of the road from the noise of the subway as the train passed by , the streets was so busy as people were heading to their busy schedules , hope rose up lazily as she crossed to the shops , she caught a whiff of something delicious in the air which led her to a small coffee shop around the corner she stared desperately as her stomach growled, the croissant looked so good she would do anything to get a small bite of it.

A man walked out of the shop he was in his late forties with grey hair wearing an apron on as he walked up to her , Hope took a step up not to make any mistake she was in a foreign country with no way to communicate her desire to be left alone,

The old guy smiled kindly as he sensed her fear , asking nicely he said, Do you want something to eat ? She nodded in response as he opened the door for her to let her in as he trailed inside in the back and fetched her a cup of water and bread on a trail she proceeds to sit in a chair nearby as he walked up to her , the minute the food reached the table, Hope couldn’t help herself as she dived into the food with a minute to think

He sat down across her to the table as he observed her, by the way my name is Richard White, I owner this shop I live around the block from here, what’s your name dear?

Hope looked up as she tried to utter her name but she couldn’t with the food full in her mouth she chewed quickly as she spoke up , hum my name is Hope.... Teta Hope.

That is hard name to pronounce, do you mind me asking where u come from? Richard asked curiously as he stared at me , Hope’s heart skipped a beat as she feared telling him in fear of what happened in Rwanda and her not wanting to reveal why she was wandering the streets, she hesitated for a whole a minute as thoughts run through her mind but he looked kind and she was starting to trust him even she wanted to tell him she couldn’t just reveal the whole thing so she choose to him little from the truth to why she was here in the first place

“hmm ….. I am from Rwanda”, Hope said dryly putting a full stop to the conversation, Richard looked like he was in thoughts as he proceeded to not ask him any more questions.

Richard excuses himself as went to serve other customers, leaving me to my thoughts as I watched as different people come in and out dressed rather fancy , different outfits and styles rather different from what we wore back at home , it seemed I had to update my wardrobe if I get to have one , I looked down at the hospital gown I was wearing and felt a bit uncomfortable as people stared at me wondering what a patient would be doing here , It was in the rush hour as a young lady looking my age came shouting.

”Dad … dad you wouldn’t believe what I saw today “she spoke excited as she gave Richard a hug . Richard looked at her so fondly, “Tell me darling “. You know the school I have been applying for...…..”

“The oxford one or Harvard university...… “ Richard said with confusion as she has a number of lists of university she applied for.

” No ….. not those ones , the other one that me and flora applied to “ she said trying to give him hints as he seemed like he was failing miserably.

“No Yale university ….” she said smiling cheeky . I felt left out as I remembered how excited I was eight months ago I was going to start grade 7 and finally be done with high school the excitement of choosing university was something else , a tear fell down my cheek I wiped it up quickly as their conversation died out and they looked in my direction.

Richard waved at me as he and her walked up to me ,

“Anna meet Hope, Hope meet my daughter Anna “, Richard said as I could see the resemblance she had the same emerald eyes but a pale skin , she had on a tee top with grey sweatpants , I smiled at her as she pulled me into a hug , I froze up as she caught me off guard I was much of physical touch person.

She let go of as she sensed my unease , “ Hey “ , she said to me smiling as she had the same look of kindness as her father. Richard broke the awkward silence saying

“ Hey we were heading home soon, I was wondering if you have anywhere to go “ , Richard told hoping for a yes response, of course I had to hesitate as I didn’t this people at all but I had a good feeling about them as they looked like nice people to me.

” I insist, we have an extra room you can stay in for the night or two “ ,he said offering me a jacket as I decided why not give it a try, I walked out with them heading to the car I sat in the backseat and looking outside as I avoided Anna’s gaze , admiring the city as the wind blew through my hair .

The car ride took about fifteen minutes to reach to their house , they pulled up to a big house, I swear to me it was like a mansion, they were the old rich money type, We walked up to the door . opening inside was a large staircase leading upstairs , the house was so breathtaking I stared in awe ,a lady walked up to us , I felt the room temperature drop down to 0 degree and they smiley face turned into a serious face. She was in her mid thirties with deep green eyes like the forest, she was red headed and a pale skin , she was wearing a blue mid length dress and a four inch heal that matched the dress. She walked up to us as soon as she saw me her gaze turned into a pure devilish grin. I froze as I stayed in one spot, the awkward tension was broke as a boy walked down stairs.