MY HUSBAND’S BROTHER

NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK

Almost everyone in the Jackson household is in search. The maids are looking through the pantry shelves; nothing is in hiding, but they can't help looking shelf by shelf just in case someone is hiding in them, but who would hide on a shelf?

The security team is thoroughly reviewing the household surveillance footage in every room. However, they are having trouble finding the subject they are looking for as they are uncertain about the exact time they need to search.

Drivers are looking at the oversized massive garage, inside the cars, under the cars, in the car boots, and inside the tool room, and thoroughly searching every cabinet, but they find nothing.

The personal assistants have also been called; they are searching through every corner of the home offices, but they find nothing. They split up again, searching thoroughly in other rooms.

The stable managers are searching each and every stall behind the horses, under the horse, and in between the haystacks.

Everyone is almost busy searching, except for Fatima and her twins. Fatima reads her novel while sipping her coffee like it's nobody's business. Her twins are busy playing hide and seek in the game room.

Maizah wakes up from her slumber hours later. After she cried herself to sleep last night, she didn't wake up until today, and it's almost afternoon.

She gets up, takes a quick shower, and wears warm clothes. It may not have been cold sleeping in the closet, but she doesn't want to get sick.

After she's done with her business, she looks outside the window and sees all the employees, including their bosses, spread outside, searching in the garden in between the flowers, just everywhere.

"I wonder what they are looking for?" Maizah murmurs as she walks out of the bedroom; she finds herself standing in the kitchen doorway; the chef is searching for something inside the oven, and then he moves to check on the cabinet. Maizah decides not to interrupt him; she walks to the back door.

The chef momentarily stops for a few seconds, feeling like there's someone behind him. He slowly looks behind him, but there's no one. "Hmm! That's weird," He mutters. as he continues searching.

The house is not quiet like usual; footsteps and scrapping sounds like someone moving the furniture can be heard, but Maizah decides to mind her business; she walks out of the house, finding the gate open with no one in sight; everyone is busy searching in the front.

"Maybe they lost a dog? But I didn't see any dog." Maizah thinks as she walks the dirty road leading to the lake.

Rebecca's assistant walks out of the house holding an employee list; she hands it to Rebecca. "Enough people! Gather around, and when I call out your name, you move to the other side, okay!" She says, shouting.

Everyone stops searching and hesitantly gathers around, but one of them can't help but speak up.

"We all know each other here. Don't you think we could have recognized her if she was with us?"

Rebecca looks at her from head to toe, and she can't even tell who the hell she is; she doesn't even know what she does, but with her black and white uniform, that means she's a maid.

Rebecca doesn't answer the maid. She just continues calling their name, and they move to the other side without hesitating.

Upon reaching the lake, Maizah is pleased to find it serene, stunning, and immaculate. Nevertheless, she realizes that she is not the only one there as she spots a familiar face from the family photographs.

Before she can think about stranger danger, the familiar face smiles brightly and walks over to her.

He is handsome, not perhaps in the conventional sense, but he has that appearance that could make him stand out in the crowd. He is fair, almost pale white. His unfathomable, golden brown eyes contrasted exceptionally with his light-toned face. His eyes are so deep and expressive that you can get lost if you stare long enough. His smile, which reaches up to his eyes and wrinkles them, flaunts his modesty and humility.

He is wearing a loose white shirt, pants, and sneakers. His shoulder-length blonde hair is down.

He's handsome and all, but if it was dark outside, he could be easily mistaken as a ghost, no offense intended.

Maizah chuckles. "Hello." He greets.

"Hello, Tarid. I believe we haven't officially met; I'm Maizah." She greets him, extending her hand, which he gladly accepts.

"It's nice to meet you, Maizah. What brings you to this side of the forest?"

"Lake. What brought you here?"

"I needed a peaceful environment to write content for my blog. Besides, this is the best place to take selfies." Says Tarid smiling

Maizah chuckles, "Oh, I see. It's a beautiful place indeed."

Maizah continues making small talk with Tarid, and unsurprisingly, she finds out that Tarid has a straightforward personality. Unlike his mother, who laughed at Maizah, Tarid is naturally friendly.

They mostly talk about Lakes, and the lake before them is referred to as inland seas since the experience is more similar to living near an ocean than a smaller lake.

Tarid talks about how he is a keen sailor. He started sailing when he was pretty young. It was great fun except for the seasickness. It took him—several years to conquer that. Being near the water also meant he learned to swim quite early, so he had many great days building sand castles at the beach and body surfing.

As Maizah grew up on a farm, they also had a lake. The lake abutted their farm. They had had tons of traffic going by their house during the summer, and since their lake allowed motorboats, it wasn't quite in the warmer weather. Some boats have loud radios, loud, happy humans, and fireworks at all hours.

Tarid and Maizah enjoyed a breathtaking lake tour on Tarid's luxurious underwater submarine. They spent several hours exploring the crystal clear waters and admiring the stunning marine life.

The Jacksons also own the lake. The natural resource! Yes, they own it, not even in their massive land, but they own it. That's why people leave their boats on the lake; they know no one would trespass. But if someone did, they could become rich—the yacht alone looks like it's worth a lot.

With only one day being under the water, suddenly, Maizah is laughing. She is laughing so hard for about 10 minutes. 'The real crapping-in-your-pants laughter.'

Having jolly conversations with Tarid is precisely what she needed. She looks mad with joy. Joy, she hasn't felt after such a long time.

For once, she feels like her age, hopeful…and alive. She is not numb anymore.

The veil of darkness is lifting. Old wounds are starting to heal. She can finally see the light again. Thanks to the magic of nature.

"That was an unforgettable experience. I will forever smile until death." Says Maizah, wiping tears from her face; her face is all red and puffy from continuously laughing.

Tarid chuckles at her comment. "It was that good, huh?" Tarid asks, his voice full of amusement.

"Extraordinary! I have never wanted to live underwater in my life until today." She replies, beaming with happiness.

"Wow, if it was that good, I will retake you."

"Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

Tarid chuckles at the woman next to him. She is wearing a breezy sleeves dress with pink and white polka dots, butterfly clips in her hair, and jewelry that has hearts cute charms.

He can't help but wonder who she is; yes, he knows her name but didn't even ask anything else about her; it's not like he didn't care, but he was too stunned by her innocent look to ask anything. Could she be... wait...

"Aren't you the girl everyone was looking for earlier?" Tarid voices his thoughts

Maizah stops in her tracks and turns around. "Huh, what? Why would anyone be looking for me?" She asks, remembering everyone earlier was looking in between the flowers.

"Wait! So if they were looking for me, why did they even look between the flowers? I'm not that short. They are like knee-high flowers how...."

Tarid bursts out laughing before Maizah can finish crying out about her height.

"Why are you laughing? You are not thinking I can get lost in those flowers, are you?" Maizah asks

"Lost, no, but.. Have you been beside them up close?"

"No, why?"Maizah quickly answers, knowing precisely what Tarid is about to say. Those flowers are shorter than her; it doesn't matter if she was looking at them a few stories up, but she's taller than them.

"They are pretty tall..."

Maizah ignores Tarid's reply: "What are you trying to say?" She asks, squinting her eyes like she's about to put on a fight, which only involves her stomping her feet and making a full-hour speech about how she knows many people much shorter than her.

"Nothing, nothing, they are not that tall," replies Tarid, not wanting to upset his new younger sister.

"So why was everyone looking for me?" Maizah asks.

"Amare said you were missing, and Aunt Rebecca told everyone to start looking for a little girl, but finding a little girl in that huge, crowded house is like finding a needle in a haystack, so I left them searching."

"If they were looking for a little girl, then they were not searching for me." Says Maizah.

"She said farm girl, so I assumed it was a little girl. Have you been missing?" Tarid asks

"Mm, no, I don't think so." Says Maizah, hesitating since she knows she isn't missing unless Amare doesn't see her where she was sleeping. But it's not her fault, though. He is to be blamed for her sleeping in the closet.

"Great, then it's not you. Let's go back. It's getting dark."

Maizah quickly runs and starts walking in front of Tarid; the last thing she needs is walking behind and having wild animals or ghosts sneaking up on her. At least if she's in the front, she can turn back and start running.