At The Graveside

POV: Selina
It’s grandmother’s anniversary today. It’s a day I will never forget in my life, the day I lost the last family member I have. Mom and dad died in a plane crash when I was just eleven years old. Grandma came to pick me up from Canada after the banks seized everything we had. Grandma couldn’t give me the best education, but she had salvaged some money from selling off some expensive gifts she had before my parents died. She sent me to school and did her best to make me forget about my parents. She is my hero and I owe it all to her.
Today I decided to visit her grave and tell her how I’ve been faring since she left me. I plan to tell her about Felix and how he makes the butterflies in my Tommy go crazy, how he makes my heart flutter like a teenager on her first date. I always chat about my life with Nana, and even if I have Amara to chat with, I still miss her. I end up going to her grave every anniversary and sometimes when I’m feeling sad and need someone to talk to.
As always, I get her favorite flowers, lilies. There is a vendor two buildings to the graveyard, but he doesn’t give me what I want. He’s always short on supplies. So I have to walk two blocks away to get it before heading to her graveyard. I had my bath, got dressed in a t-shirt and blue jeans. I glanced at the weather report and it said we are going to have clear skies today. It a welcome change to have a clear sky at least this once, it’s been all snowy and rainy these few days.
I still carried my umbrella anyways, you really can’t trust the weather report these days. I was all smiles as I stepped out of he house. On my way to buy the lilies, I felt like I was being followed but as usual, I could not spot any suspicious person following me. I keep turning around and looking around me like a lunatic. I think I’m just being paranoid, a part of me wants him to be my stalker.
It’s as though I wish to see him at every turn, I think I just want him to appear in front of me and sweep me off my feet. I stopped looking back when I could not find anyone behind me. I arrived at the graveyard, sat on the floor, right next to the headstone.
“Hi Nana, It’s little Vee again. I missed you do much, Nana,” I let out excitedly, leaning my head on the headstone. I told her about my new job, telling her about the cute stranger that is driving me crazy.
“Nana, the banks called again. I only have a few months to pay up for the house or they are coming to get it. Isn’t it great that I got a job that could pay me enough to pay up for the house?” I asked in excitement. I know everyone thinks that the only reason I want to work with FY Glams is because of the fame, the career growth and climbing up the social ladder.
But that’s far from it…
Yes, I want the fame, I want to climb up the social ladder and let my designs be seen all over the world. But my main reason is because only them can pay me enough to pay the mortgage of Nana’s house. The bank did not stop at seizing my fathers houses and businesses. They kept coming back and taking everything we had, every same property my father bought.
Nana’s house is bought in dads name and the bank wanted to take it from us. But Nana had a deal with them, she has been paying off the mortgage for this house for many years now. It’s remarkable how she was able to keep up with all the bills in her old age. And now that she is gone, it’s left for me to pay off the last part of the mortgage so all my grandmother’s hard work would not have been for nothing.
“I won’t let you down, Nana. I’ll pay off the mortgage and also buy back some of our properties before they are auctioned off. That’s my promise to you, I’ll certainly make you proud.” I promised happily before kissing her headstone, ready to leave the graveyard because of the weather change. I guess the weather report was wrong because the cloud was dark and it seems like it was about rain heavily.
It started pouring before I even got to the gate of the gravesite. And as I was returning from the gravesite visit, I encountered a man getting soaked in the rain at the bus station. I guess some people still listen to the weather report and take it seriously. He was so drenched that I took pity on him the moment I sighted him. Out of compassion, I offered to shield him from the rain with my umbrella. To my greatest surprise, when he looked up to acknowledge me, I discovered that the man was none other than Felix Yeats.
As I looked into his eyes, my breath caught in my throat. His intense gaze locked with mine, sending a shiver of desire down my spine. I felt hypnotized by him, I could react or move away from him. I just stood there like a statue and looked into his eyes, wishing he would kiss me right here and kiss away the cold from the rain and make me warm again.
“Is it just me, or You would share your umbrella with a total stranger?” he asked me sternly. I nodded this question, not really sure what I was nodding to. My heart pounding in my chest. Despite the fear and uncertainty that stirred within me, I couldn't deny the magnetic pull I felt towards him. His presence sent a surge of conflicting emotions through me. I felt desire mingled with fear, longing intertwined with caution.
“Don’t do that next time, don’t be nice to strange men out there. It’s only me you should treat with love, no one else deserves such courtesy but me. I don’t want you being friends with any guy, I don’t want you being friendly or nice to men. And the next time you visit this place, I want you to tell me before coming. I want to know everything about you. I mean every damn thing.” He warned angrily.
As I watched him speak, my mind raced with questions and doubts. Could I trust him?
Was he the one watching me earlier, or was it just a coincidence?
He stood before me, his eyes filled with a mix of longing and determination. I could tell that he is trying to be cool, but he can’t keep it up for long. His dangerous nature and possessiveness began to stir within him. He pulled me closer, and he grabbed the umbrella from me and held it up for both of us. It felt kind of awkward to be standing this close to him.
He’s breath fanned my forehead, I could smell the mint in his breath. His free hand was wrapped around my waist, hold me in place and keeping me close to his heart. I felt trapped under the shelter of the umbrella. I was forced to take speak up just to ease the awkwardness between us.
“Why are you here, Mr Yeat?
Did you also come for a graveside visit, did you lose someone dear to your heart?” I asked him curiously.
"No, Lina. I am not here for the gravesite visit. I’m here because I miss someone sincere about." He confessed. He never took his eyes off mine as be spoke. His words was loaded with an unspoken meaning. I couldn’t help feeling my heart being faster for him. The butterflies in my stomach decided to do a somersault party without letting me know.
I felt smitten, I could lift a muscle or say a word. I just stood there like a statue. The bus finally arrived and I hurriedly bid farewell and rushed to get in immediately. He chuckle at my reaction because he knew I was rushing to get say from him and put more distance between us. He said he is here because he is missing me, but how did he know that I’ll be here today. If he misses me, does that mean he loves me?
“Shut up, Lina!” I scolded myself. I’m trying to come up with excuses for all his weird actions. I’m making excuses because of how I feels about him. I can’t believe that I’m willing to forget about his rudeness and the fact that he is too possessive and over protective. How long can he keep this up, how long will I keep evading his presence and the feeling that come with it?