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A Day in Life
There was silence. Ariel was standing still, in front of her house. She was listening for sounds, she heard none. She walked up to her front door and observed the door handle. It was intact, then she went around the house and checked all the windows, they seemed just as fine. Coming back full circle she took out her key and put it in the lock and turned it once. It gave away a click and the door unlocked. She opened the door and went through as quietly as she could, still trying to listen for sounds. She heard a glass break and then a scream. The neighbors? She softly crawled to the kitchen and looked out the window. There was a scuffle happening inside their house. Someone probably had dropped something, they were arguing over it. She reached up and closed the curtains, then retraced her steps back to the dining room. She already had half of the plan ready.
Ariel had been a spy for a long time and what they extensively taught her in her training was to recognize patterns. Code was the only language she could afford to talk in if they ever wanted to communicate with her and so she had to know all about it. The letter Bernard had received was full of them. The first clue was, when the letter addressed her and said her thanks for everything she had done. That meant mission over right there. The dog was a cipher for the danger. Reggie being chased meant the other agent was already down or will be by tonight. She is the only one remaining and has to run back to safety as soon as possible. At first she wasn’t sure whether it was really a message with a code or just an innocent father-daughter conversation, that’s how obscure they can be! But then the woman who told her about the event had cleared the slightest of her doubts. ‘Felicity’ meant a lot of things, one of which was suitability. The time suitable for her to get away, they had managed to organize an event, which would create a buzz in the town; everyone would be talking about it, an environment of chaos, perfect conditions for a getaway. The letter had reached Bernard today which meant they had dispatched it a week ago. But if something had happened a week ago, there wouldn’t be any need for a letter, she would be long dead by now, which meant they had done it after they had dispatched the letter. She was not able to get any info on her target for the last couple days and now she knew why, they had taken him out and now his people are on her trail, only she has no idea whether they are close to nabbing her or still searching her whereabouts. She had signed up for the contest just so if they stumbled across the list, they would know that she would be participating and would bait her out giving her that window she needs to make her escape.
She stood quiet for a second thinking about it and then went to the kitchen. She drooped down and opened a cabinet. It had cutlery in it. Two plates, a pair of cups and a utensil. She brought it all on the dining table and placed it next to each other shown in her . They all had rubber cups attached to their bottom so they wouldn’t make a noise when placed on a surface. She couldn’t afford the neighbors or anyone to know she was in the house. They all had rubber cups attached to their bottom so they wouldn’t make a noise when placed on a surface. She couldn’t afford the neighbors or anyone to know she was in the house.
She made herself lunch and ate quietly. It was late afternoon. After she was done, she went up the staircase to her bedroom and took a nap. She was hoping for a good sleep because the night was going to be a weary one but she had no idea yet, what the night had in store for her.
Ariel’s neighbor, Mrs. Powell was in her kitchen struggling with a turkey. It was huge and she was having trouble fitting it in the oven. She decided to cut it. Although it would ruin the presentation but at least they would get to eat it and on second thought she decided it was fit for what her husband had done today. Mrs. Powell had expressed her wish to participate in the literary fest being held in the town, she said if she won they could all have a vacation to Hawaii but her husband had said he couldn’t take her because there was some urgent work that had shown up and he had to leave. She was pissed at him and it had demeanor when she had berated at her children earlier in the day for breaking a glass while playing around the house. She sweared she wouldn’t take anymore nonsense and grabbed the knife to cut the turkey loose when there was a knock at the door. She ignored it at first, focusing on the turkey, but the knock came again and again relentlessly, maddening her. She went storming to the door and pulled it open violently, what she saw punched the breath out of her lungs. Four men were standing outside, one of them with a gun pointing straight at her head.
“Mrs. Powell I presume? May we come in?” said the man with the gun as all four of them walked in on a quivering and chalk faced Mrs. Powell
“My name is Phil” he said, “Don’t worry, we are here to talk about your neighbor, Ariel Johnson”
“Ariel? What about her?” her voice was weak and shaky.
“Let’s sit down first” he said proceeding over to the sitting area near the kitchen. His three companions seemed to linger towards the center of the room.
“We can sit in the dining room if you prefer, the furniture here isn’t really optimal”.
Phil smiled “No Mrs. Powell, we are good here, we like to ignore the windows as much as possible, they are too revealing. Please have a seat”. He said pointing to the one in front of him.
Mrs. Powell swallowed and then walked over. She hesitated but then sat down quietly. She was shivering.
“Feel at home Mrs. Powell, we just want to ask you a few questions and then we will leave.”
There was silence.
“Should we begin?” he asked keeping his gun on the table besides.
Mrs. Powell nodded
“Okay so first question, what do you know about your neighbor, Ariel Johnson?”
She took her time to answer. “Ariel—sh–she is a tutor, she teaches French and English, mostly to kids but–but to a few elders too”.
“Anything else?”
Mrs. Powell shook her head
“When does she leave her house?”
“Around 9 in the morning”
“And when does she come back?”
“Around 2 in the afternoon”
“And she never leaves her house after 2?”
“No, maybe she has once or twice, but mostly she stays in”
“What do you think she does in there all evening?”
“She often has a lot of homework to check and sometimes she just sleeps”
“Are you sure she never leaves her house before 9?”
“Yes I am. Our houses are real close to each other, everyday she wakes up, I can hear her moving around, all the utensils and cups she uses I can hear them clinking clearly.”
“Hmm, is she in her house right now?”
“I don’t think so, I haven’t seen any lights in her house since evening, neither have I heard her moving or eating. She might be attending the fest.”
“Does she seem like that kind of person to you?”
“What kind?”
“The kind who likes to attend fests and parties?”
“Not really but that’s all I can come up with, I don’t know where else she could have gone”
“I see, that would be enough Mrs. Powell, we will take your leave now” Phil said as he stood up
“What is this about? What has she done? She seems like such a nice person”
“Well, people are not what they seem Mrs. Powell, I seemed dangerous a few moments ago but did I hurt you?”
Mrs. Powell shivered. She shook her head.
“See? Looks can be deceptive, anyways thanks for your help, enjoy your turkey”.
Mrs. Powell stood up trembling as the men filed out of her door. With some effort she went up to the door, closed and bolted it, then ran up to her room, locked herself in and retched.
Phil with the other three guys was walking towards Ariel’s house where a fifth man met them halfway.
“What do you think about it? Is she in there?” Phil asked.
Will be continued......
© G_write$_
Ariel had been a spy for a long time and what they extensively taught her in her training was to recognize patterns. Code was the only language she could afford to talk in if they ever wanted to communicate with her and so she had to know all about it. The letter Bernard had received was full of them. The first clue was, when the letter addressed her and said her thanks for everything she had done. That meant mission over right there. The dog was a cipher for the danger. Reggie being chased meant the other agent was already down or will be by tonight. She is the only one remaining and has to run back to safety as soon as possible. At first she wasn’t sure whether it was really a message with a code or just an innocent father-daughter conversation, that’s how obscure they can be! But then the woman who told her about the event had cleared the slightest of her doubts. ‘Felicity’ meant a lot of things, one of which was suitability. The time suitable for her to get away, they had managed to organize an event, which would create a buzz in the town; everyone would be talking about it, an environment of chaos, perfect conditions for a getaway. The letter had reached Bernard today which meant they had dispatched it a week ago. But if something had happened a week ago, there wouldn’t be any need for a letter, she would be long dead by now, which meant they had done it after they had dispatched the letter. She was not able to get any info on her target for the last couple days and now she knew why, they had taken him out and now his people are on her trail, only she has no idea whether they are close to nabbing her or still searching her whereabouts. She had signed up for the contest just so if they stumbled across the list, they would know that she would be participating and would bait her out giving her that window she needs to make her escape.
She stood quiet for a second thinking about it and then went to the kitchen. She drooped down and opened a cabinet. It had cutlery in it. Two plates, a pair of cups and a utensil. She brought it all on the dining table and placed it next to each other shown in her . They all had rubber cups attached to their bottom so they wouldn’t make a noise when placed on a surface. She couldn’t afford the neighbors or anyone to know she was in the house. They all had rubber cups attached to their bottom so they wouldn’t make a noise when placed on a surface. She couldn’t afford the neighbors or anyone to know she was in the house.
She made herself lunch and ate quietly. It was late afternoon. After she was done, she went up the staircase to her bedroom and took a nap. She was hoping for a good sleep because the night was going to be a weary one but she had no idea yet, what the night had in store for her.
Ariel’s neighbor, Mrs. Powell was in her kitchen struggling with a turkey. It was huge and she was having trouble fitting it in the oven. She decided to cut it. Although it would ruin the presentation but at least they would get to eat it and on second thought she decided it was fit for what her husband had done today. Mrs. Powell had expressed her wish to participate in the literary fest being held in the town, she said if she won they could all have a vacation to Hawaii but her husband had said he couldn’t take her because there was some urgent work that had shown up and he had to leave. She was pissed at him and it had demeanor when she had berated at her children earlier in the day for breaking a glass while playing around the house. She sweared she wouldn’t take anymore nonsense and grabbed the knife to cut the turkey loose when there was a knock at the door. She ignored it at first, focusing on the turkey, but the knock came again and again relentlessly, maddening her. She went storming to the door and pulled it open violently, what she saw punched the breath out of her lungs. Four men were standing outside, one of them with a gun pointing straight at her head.
“Mrs. Powell I presume? May we come in?” said the man with the gun as all four of them walked in on a quivering and chalk faced Mrs. Powell
“My name is Phil” he said, “Don’t worry, we are here to talk about your neighbor, Ariel Johnson”
“Ariel? What about her?” her voice was weak and shaky.
“Let’s sit down first” he said proceeding over to the sitting area near the kitchen. His three companions seemed to linger towards the center of the room.
“We can sit in the dining room if you prefer, the furniture here isn’t really optimal”.
Phil smiled “No Mrs. Powell, we are good here, we like to ignore the windows as much as possible, they are too revealing. Please have a seat”. He said pointing to the one in front of him.
Mrs. Powell swallowed and then walked over. She hesitated but then sat down quietly. She was shivering.
“Feel at home Mrs. Powell, we just want to ask you a few questions and then we will leave.”
There was silence.
“Should we begin?” he asked keeping his gun on the table besides.
Mrs. Powell nodded
“Okay so first question, what do you know about your neighbor, Ariel Johnson?”
She took her time to answer. “Ariel—sh–she is a tutor, she teaches French and English, mostly to kids but–but to a few elders too”.
“Anything else?”
Mrs. Powell shook her head
“When does she leave her house?”
“Around 9 in the morning”
“And when does she come back?”
“Around 2 in the afternoon”
“And she never leaves her house after 2?”
“No, maybe she has once or twice, but mostly she stays in”
“What do you think she does in there all evening?”
“She often has a lot of homework to check and sometimes she just sleeps”
“Are you sure she never leaves her house before 9?”
“Yes I am. Our houses are real close to each other, everyday she wakes up, I can hear her moving around, all the utensils and cups she uses I can hear them clinking clearly.”
“Hmm, is she in her house right now?”
“I don’t think so, I haven’t seen any lights in her house since evening, neither have I heard her moving or eating. She might be attending the fest.”
“Does she seem like that kind of person to you?”
“What kind?”
“The kind who likes to attend fests and parties?”
“Not really but that’s all I can come up with, I don’t know where else she could have gone”
“I see, that would be enough Mrs. Powell, we will take your leave now” Phil said as he stood up
“What is this about? What has she done? She seems like such a nice person”
“Well, people are not what they seem Mrs. Powell, I seemed dangerous a few moments ago but did I hurt you?”
Mrs. Powell shivered. She shook her head.
“See? Looks can be deceptive, anyways thanks for your help, enjoy your turkey”.
Mrs. Powell stood up trembling as the men filed out of her door. With some effort she went up to the door, closed and bolted it, then ran up to her room, locked herself in and retched.
Phil with the other three guys was walking towards Ariel’s house where a fifth man met them halfway.
“What do you think about it? Is she in there?” Phil asked.
Will be continued......
© G_write$_
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