Chapter 53 : Come Back Home.

Present Day

It was already 6 a.m., and Rakiza was preparing to leave for home. She was waiting for Theo on the dorm veranda. The sun's rays filtered through the leaves and illuminated the woods in front of her. She was both terrified and excited to see her mother again. She had to ask her mother for forgiveness and re-establish contact with her. She had a deep thought about it last night. She was holding her cellphone and had called her school's dean and her manager, Miss Lyra Brinson.
***
Yesterday, at 7 a.m.

Miss Lyra Brinson was a little worried about her decision to stop working with them, but she promised to finish her novel. "You can still write and submit manuscripts online."
"Thank you, Miss Brinson," Rakiza promised.
"What caused you to resign? You haven't even begun your work properly, and now you're quitting? " Miss Brinson inquired, adding, "What made you feel compelled to quit?"
"And one thing that I need to put in place is my misunderstanding with my mother," Rakiza stated emphatically. We haven't spoken in a long time. And we have a disagreement to settle. "
"Rakiza, your table is always open," Miss Lyra Brinson said. "If you change your mind, please contact me."
"Why?" Rakiza fixed her gaze on her manager, who frowned.
"What... why?" Miss Brinson inquired, her voice trembling.
"Why are you so good to me, Miss Brinson?" Rakiza finally said. It bothered her a lot to see her manager always favoring her. And she could sense the unusual offer that was too good to be true that was made to her.
Miss Lyra Brinson remained silent before responding, "You qualified for the job descriptions and qualifications, which is why it was offered to you. However...”
Rakiza waited for her to continue her statements. Miss Brinson was pale and uneasy as she looked at Rakiza. Rakiza had the impression that someone was behind all of the jobs that were offered to her.
"To tell you the truth," Miss Brinson drew a breath, "you really qualify for the job description we're looking for." In addition, you come highly recommended by someone with clout in this publishing house. "
"Who is that person, Miss Brinson?" Rakiza frowned.
Rakiza inquired. She had been curious about who had assisted her during her time at Reign-Bridge Book Publishing. Miss Brinson's reference to "someone" piqued her interest, and she demanded to know who it was. "Please, Miss Brinson, tell me the name."
"Just keep it to yourself that someone is looking out for you and wants to be with you and see you all the time, Rakiza.”
"I'm looking for a name, Miss Brinson."
"Mr. Lyra Brinson stated it clearly, "Nikolas Augustus."
Rakiza had been frozen by the name Nikolas. She had no idea his name was connected to anything. And this gave her the impression that he was interested in her and had planned everything for her from the start.
"And what do you think is the reason Mr. Augustus supported me?"
"Rakiza's curiosity grew like grass during the rainy season. She wanted to know the truth and come to a final conclusion about Theo's accusations that Nikolas Augustus's pursuit of the bloodstone was unjust.
Miss Brinson remained silent for a few moments longer before saying, "I have a confession to make." At first, Mr. Augustus didn't tell me the reason for his favors and kindness, but now that you're going to be his wife, he'll tell you. Every question had been addressed. That's why she loves you. "
"Did you know about our wedding?"
Rakiza was taken aback.
"Yes, he summoned me one day and assigned me the wedding planning." And, sadly, you declined. Why? "
"Because I just realized I didn't fit in with the family." I was born into a poor family. And it's all a fantasy. "
"But, Rakiza, he loves you more than you know."
"It remains to be seen," Rakiza said sadly, adding, "So, he backed me up to get a job in this company?" How did he do it? "
"He owned Reign-Bridge Book Publishing, Rakiza," Miss Brinson stated bluntly. "Didn't he mention it to you?"
Rakiza was lost in a whirlwind of thoughts that were gradually connecting one event to the next. And it began the day she picked up the magazine outside the dorm door where she had read the ads for writers in Reign-Bridge Book Publishing Company. The approval of one of her storylines, "The Bloodstone of Sheba," followed. "This isn't all a fluke."
Miss Lyra Brinson was just staring at her, listening intently. Her face turned pale as she realized something was wrong and that she had made a major error. She stood up and said her goodbyes to Rakiza. "All right, that's all I can tell you right now. Also, please let me know if you have any questions.
***
Present Day 7 a.m.

Rakiza was brought back to reality by the cold wind from the woods. But she was troubled by the information her manager had given her. It came to the conclusion that Theo was correct in his accusation of Nikolas Augustus. He was after the bloodstone, for which they believed she had connections. But no matter how hard Rakiza tried to connect herself to the bloodstone, she wasn't convinced she could do anything about it.
Her grandfather's story was the only thing they had in common. Aside from the legends surrounding Sheba's bloodstone, she couldn't recall anything else.
"Are you ready to go?" asked Theo from behind her.
Rakiza said, "Yes," but if you're busy, I can take a bus.
"You needed me, Rakiza," Theo insisted, explaining further, "and that is what you must accept right now." And I need you to help me with my mission. I owe it to my people to protect them until the end of my days. And their hope is to keep you alive and away from vampires. "
Rakiza said, "All right, let's go," as she moved towards the door, and they began their journey.
They were deafeningly quiet on their trip. Rakiza's attention was drawn to her mother, who was not returning her calls. She had been calling her since the past day but had received no response. Rakiza replied to Theo's inquiry, "Perhaps she was so preoccupied with her work that she couldn't answer my call."
"What do you think this is all about?" While steering the car, Theo cast a glance at Rakiza. "How come she suddenly wants you to come home?"
"That I don't know," Rakiza said, catching a glimpse of Theo, "and you're right, this is unexpected. She's not used to sending messages. She would text it to me. But now she had sent a letter that was out of character for her, with the message, "Come Home."
"Have you ever had the experience of your mother going out of her way to get you somewhere?"
"Yes," She was always concerned about me when I was a child. She was always thinking negatively about everything. We're polar opposites; I'm always a positive person, and my mother is always a negative one. " Rakiza remembered her mother being afraid of letting Rakiza go to prep school. "She was terrified of being kidnapped."
"Perhaps that was her previous experience that she couldn't let go of," Theo speculated, "and that is why she wanted you to graduate college and have a secure life someday."
"I had asked her about her experience, whether she had been kidnapped and rescued," Rakiza shrugged. "She never mentioned such an experience. But she was afraid that I would be kidnapped."
"Did she suffer from depression?" Theo inquired cautiously. "Or do you recall her seeing a psychiatrist?"
Rakiza remained silent as she remembered her mother when she was a child. She said it solemnly. "She had been seeing a psychiatrist during my adolescence," she said quietly, "and there was this incident that I couldn't forget."
Rakiza's mind wandered back in time. The event was fresh in her mind. She tried to forget about it, but it came back to haunt her and confuse her mind, making her angry at times. She began to recall that, "one afternoon, my mother appeared at school shaking and tense." She asked Rakiza's teacher to let Rakiza out earlier than usual.
Theo was intently listening to Rakiza, occasionally interrupted by the loud honking of big tracks or hauler tracks. They were traversing a mountainous section of their journey.
All I could remember was that, we were away from home and my mother was avoiding something to happen.” Rakiza sighed, took a deep breath and recalled what really happened that day.
"She dragged me so hard that I tripped and fell in the school lobby." I couldn't figure out why she was in such a hurry or what she was afraid of. And why was it so important for her to pick me up from school so early? "Mother, where are we going?" I kept asking her, but she wasn't listening, and she was keeping a close eye on me that afternoon. I could tell she was terrified of something or someone. And then, riding in her beetle-car, we went somewhere I don't remember. But she had plans to take me far away from home. After a few hours of driving, we came to a halt in the middle of the woods in a cabin. I couldn't remember whose cabin it was.”
Rakiza averted her gaze, tears welling up in her eyes.
"What happened in that cabin?" Theo became intrigued by the cabin. "Did your mother tell you the name of the place or the cabin?"
"No, she was always silent and vigilant, and she forbade me from speaking loudly; I could only make a hand signal at the time." And then, as far as I recall, we stayed at the cabin for two or three days. "
"What did you do in three days?" Theo inquired; his brow furrowed in front of him.
"We didn't do anything; we just ate and slept." And my mother was constantly peering out the window. When my mother went downtown for our supplies one afternoon, I had the opportunity to step outside the house. I wandered around. I reached a clear stream, and after a few minutes, I heard my mother's voice shrieking with rage and calling my name frantically. I dashed back to the cabin, but she was already standing outside with a long stick for beating in her right hand, and as soon as I got close enough to her, she beat me with the stick, and I screamed in pain.”
Rakiza paused, the pain she was feeling that day refreshed, and she began to lower her voice and speak more thinly. "My mother was furious with me. She was yelling. *Never leave the cabin! If you do, you'll vanish!* She kept saying those words to me and locked me in my room.
"That must have been terrible for a child like you at the time," Theo sympathized.
"Yes, it was," Rakiza said, her eyes welling up. "I was enraged by her rage." I couldn't figure out why she was so upset with me. We left the cabin after a few days and returned to town to find a new home. And I was back at school, and my mother was back at work. "
"Did it happen again?" Theo inquired.
"No, after a few years, we were back to normal." But that episode in my life left me with a scar. " Rakiza drew her right sleeve, and a three-inch-long keloid scar from the stick remained visible on Rakiza's white skin.
"When did her psychiatric session begin?" Theo gave her a sidelong glance.
Rakiza was sad. "She started seeing a psychiatrist after that incident in the cabin," Rakiza said.
"Can you recall or draw out the location of the cabin you were talking about?"
"It happened a long time ago," she sighed. "I couldn't recall the exact location." I was only a child at the time. "
"You should try to remember that cabin. It might be useful to us in the future."
"What are you likely to do?" Rakiza inquired.
"Nothing," Theo said as he turned the car and parked next to a burger joint. "We have to eat something."
Rakiza's eyes widened as she noticed something outside the car and said, "We're here. This is our town. "