Beginngs

The warm breeze of July ushered into the room,as the sunrays streaked through the open shutters sending in light

The morning birds tweeted and chirped in reluctance to explore the day's beginning

Vera barnabas woke up unwillingly to the smell of smoke and coals. 'were they heating up an already heated house' she wondered. Starring at the lamp on the nightstand, she turned it off. Her thoughts instantly narrowed to the years of her stay in the coker's home, it was ten years presently. Her thoughts dropped,taking an espy at the small grey clock on the worn wall. It was 7am, she pondered who would be at the fire grate. The coker's never woke up this early...

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Allen doughlas's face was becoming a common encounter in the coker's home he'd been visiting them for the past two months and he always came with cash and gifts and veda never seemed to understand the stared he casts at her each time they made eye contact. Not that she hated the man,she just didn't like the presence in their home and the energy that hung around him and he spoke with so much authority like he owned some planet in the earth. Unlike her aunt Regina and her uncle damien who were always thrilled and looking forward to his next visit in their home. The weirdest part was they never made conversations in the living room,they were always secluded in her uncle's study and she had never for once thought of eavesdropping on them, not that she couldn't but it wasn't her habit.

Again, today he dropped by and her uncle and aunt were in the same study discussing now she she understood why they woke up early and tidied up the house a little 'their favorite visitor was coming' but she house warming by the aid of the fire grate was of no use except priscilla her niece was at her habit of doing nonsense to get her to work

Vera busied herself doing the dishes and humming a song along as she thought of how the years rolled by quickly since the tragic death of her parents, people she loved dearly. He was a miner in a local town and he had lost his life during a natural disaster that had affected the mine. when her mother learnt about it, she had heart failure and passed away since that painful loss she had been living with her late mother's sister, the coker's here in the states . She was grateful they sheltered her and took care of her but those ten years followed with cold treatment. They clothed and fed her the way they could but deep down she knew she was totally considered a part of the family. The piles of work were usually on her neck , she felt like she never got a break or personal space except in the night but she was certain if they had the opportunity to steal some hours of her night they would but for the roof over her head she was grateful.

Her aunt and uncle never sent her to the higher institution as they kept promising her for three years now.she took online courses at night through the help of Matt her nephew who would lend her his laptop to study online. He was the only one nice to him in the family. Matt had once wanted to get her a mobile phone of her own but she declined because she knew of the problem that would follow. Matt was a joiner and he was good at his joinery business so sometimes he secretly gave vera some cash for her personal upkeep without the knowledge of his parents.

A harsh drop of a ceramic plate on the sinker brought her out of her thoughts

"Vera what world did you travel to?" It was more of a comment than a question. Priscilla gazed at her without a care