Undeniable Encounter
1068 Words
The sky is bright and blue and the atmosphere is so clear today unlike Norrie's mind which seems to be full of haze. Her mind's been on the incident yesterday when she was nearly shut by someone in the woods. She was scared out of her wits. At that time, she couldn't think of anything but questions. Why is she being killed? She may be a brat but she never offended anyone before.
Honestly, she thought it would be her end and she has already succumbed to the idea, but what happened? Why is she alive? Who saved her? No matter how she thinks of it all, she can't figure everything out. Her survival has been puzzling her for several hours already since she woke up early this morning. She has been staring for hours outside, trying to understand all but she can't fit all the puzzle pieces in her mind together no matter how hard she tried. There must be some things kept hidden from her sight and that, she has to know.
But how? Her parents are so protective of her to the point of shielding her from the whole world. She has not been able to make friends as a young lady. In all her activities, she has to be with one of the trusted "adults" serving the Grande family. Honestly, she has never been on her own which she does not understand why. She has met other rich kids too, but their cases as not the same as her.
But how could she know all these things without hurting her parents? They may be overprotective but she knows that they are doing what they are doing for her sake. However, she cannot just close her eyes to her experience yesterday. The facts are glaring on her face. Lifting her hand, she massaged her temples with her fingers.
Knock! Knock!
Frowning, she looked at the clock on her bedside table. Oh, it's already a quarter past 6 in the morning without her realizing it.
"Norrie, baby?" Mandy knocked softly outside the door.
She stood up and headed to the door.
"Good morning, mom, dad," she said upon opening her door and seeing her parents in their pajamas standing on her door, her mom holding a glass of milk. She tiptoed and gave her parents a kiss on the cheeks. She has maintained this practice ever since she was a kid until now.
Her parents smiled as they looked at her with tender eyes. She doesn't know how but her heart melts every time they do this.
"Good morning, baby," they both chorused and moved to enter into her room.
She frowned.
"Aren't you going to work today?" she asked. At this point, her parents should be preparing for work.
"Nope," Bill answered while shaking his head.
"Baby, we need to talk," Mandy said with a serious tone.
She looked at her mom and realized that the situation could be serious. Once she speaks like this, it only means that things are difficult.
"Would you like to come in?" she said and opened the door of her room wider to accommodate them.
They both smiled.
"Yes," Mandy answered and extended her hand to give her the warm glass of milk. "Drink this first."
She took it.
"Thanks mom."
They walked near the bed and sat down as a family. She sat between her parents. Honestly, this is the part of being a Grande that she loves the most. Although she is already a grown up, she loves being treated tenderly by her parents. She feels like a treasure whenever she is with them.
"Baby," Mandy started. "Yesterday, did something unusual happen?"
This question startled her. If she is to tell them the truth, will she have all the answers to her questions in mind? Will it not unnecessarily burden them? She cannot underestimate their concern for her. The moment she has something going on, she has seen how they dropped and left everything for her sake.
She remained silent, weighing things before speaking.
"You know you can tell us everything," Bill spoke after seeing the reluctance in her eyes. He is skilled enough to see through her facial expressions. He knows his daughter so well for this expressions to pass unnoticed.
She took a deep breath.
"Yesterday..." she started and paused. "I... I saw a gun barrel pointed at me."
"Gun barrel?" Mandy frowned, taken aback. She already knew what happened through Carl but she never thought that her daughter actually saw the gun barrel. How could her innocent daughter spot a gun barrel out from the grasses? How did she even know that it is a gun barrel in the first place? Has she underestimated her capability to perceive things? She sounds not too innocent from life at all. This made her a little uncomfortable but at the same time a little assured.
"Tell us more," Bill said without sounding surprised of what he heard.
Mandy shifted her eyes to his face only to see the firm resolve in his eyes. Knowing her husband, she has an idea of what he is thinking about right at this point.
"I- I got lost," Norrie started to relay. "I heard the sound of a river somewhere and I thought it would be good to see it. You know that I have a thing for rivers that I cannot explain..."
Upon hearing this, Mandy's eyes widened as she lifted her eyes to meet Bill's. Bill opened his mouth but said nothing.
"I lost track of the others in my group until I arrived in the riverside. There, I saw a spark and looked closely until I realized that it's a gun's barrel pointed directly at my direction. I tried to run but I tripped over a sharp rock that cut my foot. The moment I saw blood, I fainted and that's where it ended."
Mandy held her daughter's hand. She can feel that she's trembling while relaying what happened as if it just happened a few hours ago. Lifting her other hand, she stroke her back tenderly.
Bill stared at her daughter's face and saw the fear in her eyes. However, something else sparkled there that he cannot explain.
- Writer
