👁IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE, DON'T SKIP!!!!👁
          
       💎 Dedicated to ocelot101 for the beautiful cover :)💎
       It was already four thirty when she reached the garage. The sense of tranquillity was overwhelming after the past few days of tension she wallowed in. I definitely needed to visit her. But how long am I going to keep this up? She quickly deterred the dark thoughts looming to overshadow her newfound serenity. Not today.
      "Hey Zara." A man in his mid forties emerged from the back of a red car wiping his greasy hands with a piece of cloth.
     "Hey Greg." Zara grabbed the jumpsuit she worked in from the hanger and put it on. "The owner of the Volkswagen came by, I presume?"
   "Yeah, he just left. I have got some business to attend to. Sam will swing by later and you two can close up."
   "Sure." She immediately dove into finishing up the job her boss, Greg, had started before she arrived. Fixing up cars wasn't what Zara would  classify under a job,it was something more. The satisfaction she gets from hearing a broken engine roaring back to life was boundless.
   She was transfixed by the coil of metals under the car as her hands worked their magic she almost didn't hear someone approaching. The person walked past her and seemed to stand at the door of the little room meant to serve as a reception. She could only see feet adorned with tasteful black boots.
     The feet retraced back to where she was as she slid from under the car. She easily hoisted herself up using the car rim, ignoring an outstretched hand at her immediate view. She came eye to eye with deep grey ocean.
     He was definitely out of town and as old as her. "Something is wrong with my car. It wouldn't start."
     "I am alone right now but you can wait for a bit until my coworker shows up." She sounded professionally apologetic.
    "Sure. I am in no rush."
   He leaned against a wall while she busied herself again.
     "Are they going to take long?" The stranger asked. As if on cue, another masculine voice followed.
"Zara! Where the hell did-Hey didn't see you there! Have you seen a girl around here? It isn't like her to desert the shop."
    Zara ignored him until she could finish tightening a bolt.
   "Actually-"
   "Sam." Both of them turned to look at her.
"Zara." The stranger was assessing her face, as if trying to sort out an enigma.
  "Can you see what's wrong with his car? He said it wouldn't start. I will go through today's account book and we can close up."
  "Okay." He turned to the customer,"Where is your car?"
    "I parked it in front of the guest house down the road."
    "Lead the way."
   Sam came back in less than ten minutes and he seemed to be in deep thought, his shaggy eyebrows arched up to his hairline like he heard a joke.
   "So what is wrong with his car? Do you need help?"
     "Nah. I fixed it." He seemed to snap out of whatever got him amused." It was just a loose fuse. It was a brand new car..." She gazed at him, inquiring, waiting for him to elaborate.
   "So?"
"So. Are you done closing the tabs for today? I am ready to go home."
   "Yeah  let us close up." They did just that silently and Zara could have it no other way. Sam was usually chatty but he kept his mouse shut today. He had tried engaging Zara in conversation the past few times they were in the shop since she started working but of no avail.
    He asked to follow her in his car to see if she arrived safely (like he usually asked) because it isn't a safe neighborhood and she turned down his offer with a curt, 'No, but thanks' , as usual.
    She set out for home accompanied by soft music flowing from her radio. The road was free of traffic which didn't surprise her; it was past nine and nobody felt safe to leave their houses around there. She glanced at the rear view mirror in order to switch lanes and caught sight of headlights that appeared to be not moving. She maneuvered her car to the right and continued driving.
     The radio started playing a melodious tune, one with the soft caress of violin added to it and made her feel nostalgic. Her eyes wandered subconsciously to the rear view mirror again only to find the earlier headlights where she last saw them, at the same distance. The car the headlights belonged to was moving at a steady speed as she has maintained, she realized.
    The cold hand of suspicion and fear grabbed at her spine. She increased her speed, the car did the same. Now, she was positively shivering. Even if she knew it was a bad idea, she slowed down, just to be completely sure. But the car kept increasing speed. Her breath clogged her throat when the car got near hers. She timidly switched the right signal on, urging the driver to hopefully drive past her and it obliged. She heaved a sigh of relief. What is with the paranoia? The inner voice mocked her.
    When the car's rear was out of sight, she stepped on the gas eager to reach home already. Familiar houses started emerging on either side of the asphalt, calming her nerves in an instant. She swerved her car to the thin inclining trail to the mansion on the hill. Driving through the wrought iron gates, she drove further inside and stopped in front of the huge garage door. The door automatically started lifting upwards in response to her clicking on her car keys.
     

     Nathanael wouldn't have known she was there if he hadn't seen the lights from her car,she was that quiet when she entered. He stood leaning on the doorway of the modern kitchen as he watched her rummaging through the drawers. "You could make quite the cat burglar." She jumped and a low scream escaped her lips. Her hands shot up to her heart. "You scared me."
      Nathanael was taken aback. "You can be spooked?!"
He took in her pale complexion and his features morphed into a concerned one.         "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, a little tired I guess."
  "Mum, made tellateli with cheese. I will heat it up for you. Go take a shower."
  She threw him a grateful smile and went to her room. The scalding hot water left angry red marks on its wake. She divulged in simply standing under the powerful shower head for a while and lathered her brown locks with peppermint scented shampoo. Then, she proceeded on scrubbing her soft skin with the loofah, paying extra attention to her arms and nails. After she was satisfied enough, she washed off the soap and tied her robe around her body. She went into her bedroom towards her drawers and picked out pajama shorts with its sleeved top. She wrapped her wet hair in a small towel to avoid catching cold and headed to the vast living room. Her nose caught a whiff of something mouth watering and she was annoyed to find Nathanael gobble up the meal that he was supposed to prepare for her.
    He glanced up from the plate and swallowed, a grin apparent on his lips."Your green glare is beautiful but unsettling sis." She glared more with a warning. He backed down a little but kept on taunting her by forking the pasta. "Hmmm, this is delicious. Doesn't it just make you want to join me?" She flopped on the sofa in front of him and propped her legs on the arm rest. That is when she noticed another plate covered by napkins on the table beside her brother. Nathanael followed her gaze and mock realization spread across his face. " Look what we have here! Another plate full of this delicious goody. Wonder who it is for. Maybe I will have another serving after I am through with this one." Zara was irked with her brother's childish antics so she reached over and grabbed the plate herself. She put it on the coffee table in front of her and knitted her fingers together on her knees. Nathanael watched her, inquisitive. He bend over and was about to grab her fork but she slapped his hand like he was a toddler but made no move to grab the fork herself for a moment.
    She always does that, she stays still in front of her food like she is having a mannequin challenge with herself.
   He never questioned her though,just stared. She finally snapped out of whatever trance she was in and started digging in.
    "So...why do you do that?"
She swallowed her food before speaking.
  "Do what?"
"Stay still before you start eating."
  "I was having a mannequin challenge with myself."
   Ha! I knew it! Wait-
"What?!" He looked incredulous.
Amusement danced in her eyes and he liked it but too dumbfounded to react by the task at hand.
She shrugged and repeated" Mannequin challenge."
    "Always?!But you do that always!" She nodded.
  "I feel like the younger one in this relationship." He muttered and she chuckled slightly. "I always pray before I eat." She decided to put him out of his misery. Now, he looked more dumbfounded than he did moments ago." As in saying grace?"
  "Yeah, something like that."
"What exactly do you say, word by word."
  "Leave me alone already. Let me eat in peace." Now she is back to being annoyed.
  He talked about irrelevant things as she ate her food. She appeared to be irritated but deep inside, she knew she liked it.
  They both cleared their plates, washed them off in the kitchen and were finally ready to retire to their respectful rooms.
  "Good night Zara."
  "Good night."
  She was tired but she had to do school work before calling it a day. She sat by her desk in her room engrossed by the passage she had to read before doing critical thinking questions when a light cracked across the night sky followed by a thunderous boom. Right on cue, rain pelted her window with a rhythmic sound.
She stopped what she was doing and sat by the window. Watching thunderstorms had a soothing effect on her. She was lost in the white flash as a thought struck her.
   I never saw that car on the road even though I sped after it.

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[Read N.B. Below! Don't miss out on the fun!! ;) ]
     Salam,salam birdies! I have outdone myself on this chapter, don't you think? I mean, come on! One thousand and eight hundred words! I am spoiling you rotten. Pats myself on the back. (I mean, more than a thousand words is kinda a big deal to me, don't get used to it though 😏) I enjoyed writing this chapter so much I got carried away!
    ***N.B.  So I had this idea. While you are reading my book, I want to challenge all of you on a treasure hunt. I will drop some incredible information which you wouldn't know unless you read furthermore. They could come in any form.
   There will be prize. What prize you ask! First off, what of the satisfaction of turning up a winner?! 😌, okay I will reward you my way. I will follow the first person who comes up with the right answer and dedications will be made.
     I will drop hints on my message board, follow me for those or you can drop by on my profile once in a while for those. Submit your answers on the comment board and I will PM you if you are right, no reason to suck out the fun for the others right?

  Stay tuned for more. Don't forget to click on that ⭐️ it isn't that hard ya know:)  Share this story and let others join in on the fun!!!