23 Promise?

Entrance, Outer Gate, Blue Bells Villa

The blue Bentley stopped at the entrance and Sara hurriedly got off as Allen watched her every move. Without turning back, she got into her private jeep and she drove off. The gate closed automatically upon its departure. Allen finally broke his silence.

"Dad, why did you let her go?" he looked at Steward Leo with disbelief, "It is still dangerous."

"Allen", Steward Leo spoke in a deep voice, "Sara never needed your sympathy or support to move on."

"Dad, I..." Allen tried to refute his words.

"That's enough", the old man rudely cut him off, "Now go. Do not come back unless you are needed."

Allen sighed deeply and frowned when he saw his Dad get off the car. Then, he gestured the chauffeur to drive him away. Allen could only sigh helplessly.

...

By then, Sara had already driven in her jeep through the main gate and entered the Villa's compound. She stopped the jeep in front of the doorsteps. She hopped down from the jeep and hurried inside. The living room was a little messy. The cushions from the sofa were mauled over the floor. In the kitchen, the bowl of vegetables was still sitting in the kitchen sink. She slowed down her steps when she saw some blood spilled on the kitchen floor. It was her blood. She inched closer and squatted down next to it. The blood had dried but the raspy, rusty smell attacked her olfactory senses. Bloodlust swept through her body and she hurriedly stood up to calm herself. She took a deep breath and rushed upstairs to her room.

For now, she thought of settling down for a comfortable and warm shower. She entered her room. It had a sea blue hue as its backdrop. Opposite her door, there was her bookshelf. Most of the books were crawling on the floor now. She could not be bothered about those now. The round bed sat cold in the center. On its left side was her dressing table and opposite to it was her closet. On the right side of the bed was the pink side drawer. A pink lampshade sat on it. Beside it was the bathroom door. She walked up to it and pushed it open. She switched on the geyser and set aright temperature for her warm shower.

Sara stepped out of the bathroom and mauled her hair over her right shoulder. It revealed the bare caramel skin of her neck. Her neck was bare of any accessories. Her hands reached behind her back and she deftly unzipped the gown. The gown slid down her body and landed softly on the floor. Within minutes, she got rid of her undergarments and quickly entered the bathroom.

She switched off the geyser but did not immediately turn on the shower. Instead, she moved inside and stood in front of the mirror placed above the washbasin. She looked at her tousled expression in the reflection. Her reflection seemed to mock her endlessly. She sighed and turned on the shower. She stood with her back facing the shower. The warm water showered down her long hair and traveled down her bare skin. She planned to wash away her thoughts along with the shower. She closed her eyes.

...

"If I get lost someday, you will find me, right?" the young girl in two pigtails asked the cute, smiling boy beside her.

"I will find you. I promise, I will", the boy smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek.

The girl blushed and smiled as she fidgeted with her fingers. With a tiny smile on her chubby face, she asked, "Promise?"

"Promise", the boy grabbed her palms as a peck landed on his cheek. His face broke into an adorable smile.

...

"I kept my promise, didn't I?"

"I don't think our relationship was that of friendship."

"You are just hiding your feelings, Sara. You are lying."

...

Riley's words kept echoing in her mind. Her eyes flew open. Her breathing became unstable and she was feeling dizzy. The wound on her forehead had not even completely healed and the continuous flow of water made her wound open up. The warm blood flowed down her cheek and dropped on the cold bathroom floor. She finally couldn't take it anymore. So, she quickly turned off the shower and pulled out a towel from the wardrobe. She dried herself with it and wrapped it around her torso.

Then, she swiftly moved to stand in front of the washbasin. With great difficulty, she removed the bangs stuck on her forehead. Then, she grabbed the hand towel hanging by the basin and soaked it under the cold water running out of the faucet. She roughly pressed the towel against her forehead and grabbed the basin with her left hand. She closed her eyes. She removed the bloodied towel and saw that her forehead was not bleeding anymore. So, she tossed the towel into the washer and walked out of the bathroom. She sat on the bed facing the side drawer and pulled out the last closet. She reached for the first aid box and pulled it out. Her eyes fell on a silver box placed inside. She stared at it for a while before shoving the closet inside.

Sara sighed deeply and moved on the opposite side of the bed. She started applying an ointment on the wound her forehead by looking at her reflection on it. Finally, she bandaged it. She placed the first-aid box inside the drawer and avoided sneaking glances at the silver box even if she wanted to. She picked up a random dress and put it on. It was a simple, knee-length dress, light green.

Then, her eyes fell on the books lying in a mess on the floor due to last night's shock wave. She sighed again and went ahead to tidy them up. When she was about to start picking, the book covers caught her attention. They seemed to fit in like jigsaw pieces. Instead of picking them up, she started arranging them on the floor itself. The pieces seemed to fit in. Almost all the pieces were arranged, making it look like a giant jigsaw puzzle. But, it seemed like a single piece or a book was missing. Sara stood up and walked up to the bookshelf. She rummaged through the few books left on the shelf and pulled out one of them. She placed it as the missing piece and it perfectly fit in.

The first point was that these books were all about different scientific studies and theories. Then, why did they have such strange covers instead of the original ones? Why didn't she notice them before? The second point was that the puzzle pieced to form an abstract painting of a woman. She found the painting familiar. She had seen it somewhere but failed to remember it.