4. Down the memory lane I

Miriam did not look back after she stepped out of the car. She was a blushing mess after Maxwell called her beautiful. She couldn't help but think of her childhood crush. He was the only one that called her beautiful during their time together. All the other kids back then looked down on her because she was from a poor family. Unlike Maxwell. He even went against his family because of her.

She was flown back in time to what happened over 15 years ago. She remembered everything clearly like it just happened yesterday. They were on vacation, and she remembered her mother going with her and Lordy to work at a mansion of a family she was quite young to recall their last name. She was 8 years old by then, with baby Lordy around 6 years old. They were sent to the changing room, where her mother changed into a uniform and an apron.

------------------flashback-------------------

"Here, have some snacks. You just ate some few hours ago. You can keep these snacks till later when you feel hungry." Gerry, Miriam's mother said with a broad smile.

"Yes, mom." Little Miriam nodded.

"Now listen carefully." Her expression took a 180 degree turn. She looked dead serious right now. "Stay here, and don't make any noise whatsoever. And don't come out. Not for any reason at all. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mom," Miriam said. Lordy did not respond, so Gerry turned to him.

"Do you understand, Lordy?" She asked.

"But, mom, what if I feel pressed and I want to ease myself?" He asked in his tiny voice with made Miriam stifle a laughter. He was just too cute with that little frown on his face.

"There's a washroom right there," Gerry pointed to a door behind them. "You can ease yourself all you want. Just don't mess the place up. Make sure you flush everything and keep it clean, hmm?" She said and ruffled his hair a little. Standing up, she said, "Okay guys I'll be..."

"But what if I want to see you? Will you close soon?" Lordy cut her off, looking like he was about to cry. He was very clingy to his mother and so he wanted to find any excuse at all to be with her.

"Lordy..." Gerry drawled frustratedly and squatted to his level. "I'll be coming here from time to time to check up on you, okay? And I'll close pretty soon, so don't worry and don't miss me too much." She kissed his chubby cheeks and turned to Miriam. "Please take care of him. I'll be going now." She kissed her cheek and quickly left the room.

Miriam was left with Lordy, and she tried to keep him occupied and entertained, so that he wouldn't feel bored and start to cry for their mother. After some hours, Lordy finally fell asleep on the bed at one end of the room.

Miriam was now bored to death. She wasn't told, but she knew from the intensity of her mother's words that they were not supposed to be seen. She sat on the bed quietly for some time before she decided to look around the room.

The room was painted white. As a matter of fact, the whole mansion was painted white. She didn't see any other colour apart from that. And there was an in-built wardrobe which contained what looked like uniforms and aprons, all white, neatly ironed and hanged at the left compartment. There were also small white towels, head nets and socks arranged at the bottom of that side. At the right side of the wardrobe, there were different clothes hanged inside, obviously for clothes worn from home. There was a shoe rack just at the door which contained white crocs, and another one for random shoes and sandals.

One thing was certain, that the house was freaking clean. Everything was white, with the exception of the different clothes and shoes. She kept looking around till she saw a glass window at the far end of the room and walked towards it. It was slightly opened, so she stood and watched outside to admire the beautiful environment.

The compound mainly consisted of neatly mowed grass field with lots and lots of different kinds of flowers. From there, she could see the main gate of the mansion, and there was a fountain around that place. The scenery was just too relaxing and the ambience was very peaceful. The compound was very large, she could imagine almost 10 of their own apartment fitting in that vast land. She chuckled lightly at that thought, and she could only imagine what the other side looked like. But she was sure it was big and as beautiful as this part, even more. She was lost in admiration so she was startled when the door creaked open and a small boy entered the room.

"Miss Ivana, have you seen my white..." He paused when his eyes landed on a girl who was staring intently at him.

"Hey," Miriam said in almost a whisper.

"Um...Hi?" the boy replied. Miriam walked toward him in careful steps.

"What are you looking for?" She whispered.

"Why are you whispering...?"

"Shhh... Keep it low." she interjected almost immediately in a barely audible tone, but clear enough for the boy to hear. "We're not supposed to make noise."

"Am I supposed to whisper too?" He asked, trying to keep his voice low.

"Yes, unless you want your mother to punish you." Miriam said and looked towards the door. She didn't want to get at the bad side of her mother. She didn't want her to come and meet her talking to a boy when she was told to be quiet.

The boy raised an eyebrow. His mother would punish him if he does not whisper? He didn't know whether he should laugh or cry at what the small girl was saying. Clearly, she was the daughter of one of the workers in the mansion. They must have been brought to the mansion because of the vacation.

"Okay..." the boy said and sat on the bed. "I don't think it's necessary, though. My mother won't punish me. But if you insist, I'll keep it low." He added and smiled.

"Really?" Miriam asked with her big attractive eyes wide open. "Your mom won't get mad?"

"Why would she get mad? She's taking a nap now at the 3rd floor. She won't even hear you if you speak in a normal tone." His voice was a bit normal now. He was just intrigued by this girl. Why would he get punished for talking normally in his own home?

"Your mom is napping? Is she not supposed to work, like my mom?"

The boy chuckled at this point.

"Well, we live here. I live here with my mom, and dad, and elder sister. My sister and dad are not around at the moment so I..."

"Really?! You live here? This is your home?" There was surprise written all over her face. She couldn't even wait for him to finish talking.

The boy couldn't help but chuckle even more. This girl never ceased to amaze him. He was mesmerized by her with all those different emotions taking turns on her pretty face. He wondered what her mother had told her about the mansion.

"Yes, this is my home."

"Wow! Your home is very huge and... and beautiful." Miriam couldn't help but admit. She walked back to the window and gaped at the beautiful surroundings.

"Would you like to look around? There's a pool at the back. And a swing. You can come with me and I'll show you." The boy said.

"For real? I can come with you?"

"Of course, let's go." He stood up from the bed and walked towards the door, but paused and turned around when he saw she wasn't following him. "Why? You don't want to come?"

"I can't come with you," she said and bowed her head, fiddling with her fingers in nervousness. "My mom told me not to leave this room for any reason at all. And I'm supposed to take care of my little brother. He'll freak out if he wakes up with no one around, especially that this is a new place to him." She explained, pointing a finger at her brother's sleeping figure. She really wished she could come with the boy to look around. But she had to look after her brother.

The boy now turned his face to the bed. For the first time since he came into the room, he noticed another person, a small boy, fast asleep on the bed.

"Oh..." the boy sighed. The girl seemed eager to have a look around, but it looked like they couldn't leave the sleepy head all alone. She looked really sad and he felt a pang in his heart because of that.

"Okay. How about we wait till he's awake? That way we can go together." He said.

"Is... is that really fine?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. You look sad and I don't like it. So I really want to show you around." He assured her.