Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Romance

Chapter 28
Chris and Bea stood frozen in front of a 3-story bungalow, jaw agape in awe at the magnificent architecture. Both having never ever been in such close proximity to such a big and extravagant house in their entire life. 
“I had my guesses that Zool would be rich but I never expected it to be this overwhelming.” Bea stated. Even standing outside of the gates radiated an intimidating feeling of foreigness. CCTVs at almost every corner of the house, it's almost as though the owner didn't want a single blindspot. 
Chris took a good look at the castle, telling himself that he shouldn't have been surprised, given the bungalow was located on a hill not faraway from a beach. He looked at himself and Bea, they were both in casual shirt and pants, they clearly didn’t belong in this high end residential area. Mrs. Helda could have at least warned them about this. Not that he had anything fancy in his wardrobe to change into anyway. 
Suddenly, Chris felt a hand land on his shoulder. And he was pretty sure the same had happened to Bea as they both sprung around at the same time. 
“Who are you two? Fans? Stalkers? Who gave you two the address of the one and only Zool?” The man  bombarded them with questions as he inspected them, looking them up and down. 
Chris took a step in front of Bea and placed his hand in front of her to protect her from this weird creep.
“We should be the one asking you that, You look like a weirdo.” Chris wasn’t exaggerating, the man had unkempt hair and his attire, although formal was messy, sleeves rolled up lazily and his tie loosely tied, barely hanging on. He had huge bags under his eyes and facial hair not shaved, making him look way older than he probably is. 
“You look familiar..….” Bea said, bringing Chris's hand down. She observed the man attentively. 
The man sighed before pulling out a pair of round glasses from his shirt pocket, putting them on, he asked, “Do you recognize me now?” 
Bea thought real hard, her brows furrowing in concentration. Finally, she only shook her head as an apologetic look adorned her face. The man slumped his head in disappointment before pulling his glasses off from its bridge. Tucking it back into his pocket, he backtracked a few steps before crouching down to sit on the edge of the sidewalk. 
 
Taking out his phone from his pants pocket, the man mumbled, “I’ve been waiting here for 2 days……” 
 
Seeing that the man no longer bothered them, Chris ran the doorbell. 
Within seconds, they heard the clicking of a lock opening but it came from above them. All three looked up to the source of the sound to find the window of one of the rooms from the second floor opening and a lady emerging, the upper half of her body practically outside the window, she suddenly pulled out a loud speaker, switching it on and bringing it up to her mouth, she shouted, “Those two kids can come in but no other adults are allowed!” 
The massive gate started opening and Chris grabbed a still very stunned Bea by her hand and pulled her into the house. As the gates closed behind them they could hear the man shout, “That’s so unfair! Zool, you’re too cruel!”
Something clicked in Bea and she suddenly exclaimed, “I remember now! That man is Zool’s manager!” She told Chris and he couldn't help but wonder what might the poor man have done to be locked out for days. 
Chris and Bea walked into the house and was greeted by the lady who was shouting through the loud speaker itself. The device still in her hands.
“That man didn’t get in right?” The lady asked the two of them.
They both shook their heads. 
“Good! I already told him that I was meeting up with you guys so I won’t be attending that damn exhibition he won't stop going on about.” 
There was a moment of silence and Zool looked back at the two visitors, taking in their confused expression, she broke into a smile, saying, “You look surprised. Well, this is my everyday life. If I’m not running away from paparazzi, I’m running away from him.”
She gave them a wink before motioning them to follow her. 
As they were guided along corridors, Chris asked, “Why won’t you go to the exhibition? I’m sure they would be people who would love to see you.” 
“Don't get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t want to meet fans. Rather, it’s the organizers of the event I have a problem with. I’ve had some bad work experiences with them and I have told that manager of mine over a hundred times that I would never work with them again.” 
Zool stopped in front of a room, pulling out a keycard from her pocket, she scanned the keycard on the pad located about one and a half feet above where a door handle would usually be. 
The door opened automatically, revealing a room, Chris would rather call it a library, for it was filled with shelves and shelves of books, besides, no room is that big. 
Bea almost squealed at the sight, she marvelled at the books on the shelves. Restraining herself from just reaching out and grabbing a book, daring not to touch them, Bea said, “I read all of your releases, and I absolutely love them! ” 
Zool smiled warmly, “I see I’ve myself a fan here.”
“You truly inspire me to write. I can’t believe I get to see you in person.” Bea was so enthusiastic, Chris worried she might have gone overboard. 
“I’m honoured to hear such compliments from you. Although I would expect my fan base to be people below the age of 12.” Zool commented as she walked over to one particular shelf, picking up a brown paper bag from the ground. 
Bea blushed in embarresment. 
“I was only joking. One is never too old or young to read a book. Whatever book it is.” With the paper bag in her hands, Zool walked back to them, and upon pulling a book out of the bag, she handed it to Bea, saying, “This is my newest book and you’re the first ever to receive a copy of it.”
Bea almost didn’t want to believe that she was holding on to the first copy. She opened the book to its first page and there was even a signature on it! 
“Thank you!” Bea exclaimed in delight as she held the book close to her chest.
Zool then passed the bag to Chris, explaining, “This is for the store.”
“So how is the store? How is Helda?” Zool asked as she escorted Bea nd Chris out of the room. 
“Business is improving and sales have been going up.” Bea replied.
'‘I see…...then there’s nothing to worry about.”
Zool walked them to the front gate where the poor manager was still pacing outside the gate, worryingly. With the loud speaker, Zool shouted, “I’m not going to do the interview or exhibition so unless you’re going to agree to my terms, you can spend another day outside!” Because they were right next to Zool, Chris and Bea had to close their ears as it was really loud. 
Zool then opened the gates. “Send my regards to Helda when you get back.” She told Chris and Bea as they exited the house. 
Zool exited along behind Chris and Bea, frowning at the sight of her manager's appearance. “Jesus, you look like a dead person.”
“Are you still sending free copies to that friend of yours?” The man looked at Chris and Bea leaving. 
“Have you got to disagree with everything I do? Do you see those thunder clouds? If I were you I would at least get myself an umbrella.” 
The man was about to bite back with a snarky comment but decided against it. He didn't want to spend another night outside. “Fine. Fine.” The manager ended up admitting defeat. 
“You seriously need a bath.” Zool pinched her nose.
“Who’s fault do you think it is I’m like this?” The man complained while Zool laughed. 
“There’s a conspiracy that Zool and her manager are together.” Bea told Chris the rumours she has heard. 
“The guy looks no more than 30 and Zool is over 50. How can that be?” Chris didn't buy it. 
“Besides, who would lock their lover outside for days?” He added.
“I guess you’re right.” Bea agreed. Such a romance seemed too good to be true. She turned back to take one last glance at the house. Noticing that the manager was no longer locked outside the house. 
                    XXXXXXXXXX
On the bus, Bea admired the book as though it was a rare gem. 
“I’m sure the kids back at the store would love this story.” Bea said. 
“Aren’t you going to read it?” Chris asked, seeing that she was only flipping through the pages.
“I want to read them together with the kids.” Bea answered excitingly. 
When the store was in sight, Bea picked up speed suddenly, rushing into the store. 
“Kids! I have a new story!” Bea shouted the moment she entered the house. 
She immediately sat down on the ground and the children surrounded her like a swarm of bees. 
Chris gave a few light knocks on Mrs. Helda's office, when he was granted access, he opened the door. 
“How was the trip?” Mrs. Helda asked, not getting up from her desk. 
Chris recalled the run from the bus and the beach but figured Mrs. Helda didn’t have to know that. “Your friend has a very big house.” Chris said. 
“I purposely kept it a secret. Were you surprised?” She looked at him expectantly, waiting to see his reaction. 
Chris merely smiled. “She sent you her regards.” 
Closing the door behind him, it suddenly hit him that he had walked into the store today completely unambushed . 
He scanned the cluster of children waiting patiently for Bea to start her story time session. It didn't take him long to notice Alex, at the far outer end of somewhat one of a circle formed around Bea. Chris walked over to the boy and lifted him from the ground, placing him on his lap as he sat cross legged on the ground. Alex looked surprised when he saw Chris. 
“Did you bring me…..?” Alex asked but Chris silenced him. 
“Shh--- the storytime is about to begin.” 
Alex pouted, he hated to be interrupted but for once he actually listened to Chris and silenced. He wanted to hear the story as well.
Bea took a deep breath before starting, “A long long time ago, a princess was born. But she wasn't any ordinary princess, she was the only one in the entire world that possesses the sacred power to know her destined one once she meets him.” 
“The princess has many suiters, princes from all around the globe, but none of them were her destined one and by her 18th birthday she was to be married off to a prince in a neighbouring country which she had never ever seen before in her entire life.”
“The princess didn’t want to be married to anyone but her one true love so she cried everyday in sadness.”
“One day, the adventurous princess decided to venture into the forest at the back of the castle, knowing that once she is married off, she would never be able to visit the forest she loves so dearly any longer. Deeper she went, the princess quickly forgot about her anxieties of being married off in just a few days. In the heart of the forest, she encountered a lad who was picking apples atop a wooden handmade ladder. The moment the princess laid eyes on the lad, she knew that he was her destined one. She fell for him at first sight.”
“The princess ran back to the castle delighted that she had found her true love. She then got to know that the lad was a mere villager’s son.”
“The princess couldn’t wait to see her true love. The next day she returned to the forest. She looked around for him and found him sleeping by a tree, a straw hat over his face. The princess walked over to him as quietly as possibly. She kneeled by his side and lifted the straw hat to admire his sleeping face.”
“The lad opened his eyes suddenly and caught the princess by the hand. Upon realising what he has done, he let go of the princess's hand immediately. 'Princess, I hadn’t notice that it was you. What are you doing here?' 'I have a power that allows me to know who my destined one is just by one look. When I first laid eyes on you yesterday, I knew that the person I love is you.' The princess boldly proclaimed her love to the lad."
“The lad bowed to the princess and said. ‘I believe every word your highness says but I am nothing but a mere farmer.' ”
“‘There’s no one else but you and I know it.’ The princess was unwilling to give up just yet. She did her best to convince him." 
"'I’m not a suitable match for a princess like you. There are knights and princes who are a much suitable match for you.'The lad declined, even though he himself has always loved the princess ever since he first saw her running around the forest years back."
“'Do you not love me?' The princess asked. 'I do' the lad answered. 'Then why won’t you be with me? Can’t you see that we were made for each other. So what if you’re just a farmer? You can be absolutely penniless and I wouldn't care. I love you because it is you. Nothing else matters.'” 
"The whole country rejoiced that the princess has found her one true love and they had a huge celebratory ceremony. The country prospered under the rule of the princess and prince." 
For everyone out there who is afraid to love, don’t be. Love works in miraculous ways. One day, you’ll find that one person that is meant to be and you'll feel complete. Just like the princess that fell in love with a commoner.  


All rights Reserved @ 2018 by Anne Teng 
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