Welcome to Lion
Marilyn had just moved to a new country. Her old life had eventually swallowed her whole and she felt so badly to start afresh, so one morning she booked a night flight and started towards her new abode after randomly renting an apartment online without much ado.
'Miss Marilyn Macka...' the immigration officer at the airport where she landed found it hard to pronounce her other name.
'Makaloughson. Marilyn, Makaloughson' she replied the man with a straight face.
'Next'. The immigration officer ordered to indicate that he was done with Marilyn and her difficult name.
Marilyn rolled her eyes and grabbed her passport, set on her way towards the apartment she had rented online. She had no idea at what texture of the part of town she had rented the somewhat exotic two bed room apartment.
'I'm headed towards Kingston Street at Jake's boulevard' she said to the taxi driver when she stepped into the car.
'Oh, that's a lovely neighborhood to be at' the man told her. Marilyn's eyes shone in excitement. She had hoped while she was making the apartment reservation online, that it was not a trick. She saw that the apartment was surrounded in an area she most definitely looked forward to being a part of, but what she didn't know for sure was if it was as real as she was seeing it on her iPad.
'Really?' she asked the driver happily.
'Yes indeed, are you new in the city?' he asked her. Marilyn squinted at the man, she was not sure if she should give out the fact that she was new there, she didn't know if he would take advantage of it. The fact that she supposedly didn't know anyone, and then attack her while she was unaware, so she quickly weighed the situation to see how to maneuver.
'Not really. It's just been a really long time since I was here, and might not be all that conversant with the place anymore' she lied.
'What's going on over there?' she asked, looking out the window at a five star hotel. The entrance of the hotel was flooded with onlookers on both sides of a red carpet that led all the way into the hotel lobby.
'Big fight tonight' The taxi driver yelped at her boisterously. He turned to look at her briefly.
'You are indeed a novice here. Every one in the country is aware of the bare knuckle championship kicking off today, and our city has been graced the opportunity to host it. Other cities are flooding our's just because of this championship that you are not aware of, that's very wild' the driver ranted.
'I told you, it's been a couple of years ago since I was here, you don't need to wash me all over the place just becasue I'm not aware of any championships whatsoever' Marilyn replied, obviously sulking at the man. The remainder of the ride towards Marilyn's new house was silent. She was blown out of her mind when the driver pulled up into a reserved neighborhood area. Not in the life of her did she think that she was ever going to be surrounded with such nature, peace and tranquility when it came to where she lived.
'I should think your house is this very one' the driver said when he pulled up in front of a portable, yet exotic apartment that looked very much like the one Marilyn had seen on the internet.
'Yes, it's the same one, thank you' Marilyn replied. She tried to hide her excitement from the driver. She knew she was going to throw a back flip as soon as she was inside the house and alone.
'Finally away from all that madness' she said to herself while she grabbed her luggage from the trunk of the car and headed towards the front door of her new apartment.
'Enjoy your stay ma'am' the driver said cheerfully to a now smiling Marilyn and pulled away.
A couple of phone calls and she was met with a care taker who handed her the keys. He seemed like he was in a hurry to leave her.
'What's with the impatience?' Marilyn asked him in a friendly tone.
'My apologies, but this is such a time to show up and make me miss the press conference of the bare knuckle fighters. The championship kicks off officially tonight' the care taker told Marilyn, dismissing his meeting with her before Marilyn could even reply anything.
'What damn championship is every one on about?' she asked herself while she stepped into the cozy apartment that was now hers. She couldn't believe her eyes, everything was exactly as she had seen it online.
It was most definitely going to be such a time in her life, moving forward. At least she hoped on that more than anything. The brand new slate life had served her seemed like it was going to be a rollercoaster, more of fun than any other texture anyone would hope for.
'Okay, I think you need to pay me that visit you started to dream of before I left home' Marilyn told her sister Agnes over the phone.
'Is it as fancy as we saw it online?' Agnes asked hopefully.
'I feel like some sort of queen and what not' Marilyn replied. 'It is exactly as we saw it' she added. Agnes was excited, and started to plan her arrival with her sister.
'You are paying for your fare here though, I can't deal with all that expense anymore, I swear, I almost lost my sanity trying to manage paying for this one, and then this house, and then every other minimal stuff that is not so minimal' she told Agnes.
'I'd start saving for it right away, I've always dreamt of being in Lion' Agnes replied happily. The remainder of the day was faced with Marilyn trying to settle in to her new apartment. She unpacked her luggage and started to arrange it around the house, to her taste.