Playing With Fire

Chapter 7

A few months later...

I grinned as Jenny kept applauding me for my performance, “Congratulations, Rayna” She spoke for the millionth time today, "I have never witnessed a fresh graduate getting promoted this early. You merited it” She continued, tucking the strand of her loose behind her ears.

I glowed at her compliments, "Thanks Jenny" I replied, rubbing the back of my neck, "I wouldn't have been able to accomplish this if you weren't there to supervise me, so the credits extend to you as well" I appreciated her. It was true, she was my unit head, and she was always available whenever I called her for some guidance with the systems.

Jenny blushed, "Ngaw, you're the sweetest," She said before peering down at her wristwatch, "Alright, I will see you tomorrow again" She exhaled, collecting her things in her arms.

I nodded my head at her, "Okay" I too straightened my back and gathered all my material before putting them in my bag. It was time to clock out from the office.

I flung the backpack over my shoulder and raced towards the exit of the building, unbuttoning the first button of my shirt and twisting my neck to the left and right to get rid of tensed joints there.

As a routine, Mindy was waiting for me in the car. I got into the car and turned to give her a remorseful smile.

"I hope I didn't make you wait for too long," I said, believing that she wouldn't get resentful.

Not that I saw her getting angry before this.

Mindy is a pleasant woman, and she seldom gets angry. Not to overlook that she provides comfort whenever it's needed. Unfortunately for me, she is in a different unit in my office. If she was in my unit, everything would have been much smoother for me.

Mindy smiled at me back, "No you didn't" She shook her head at me, "I hope you don't mind if we stop to grab some groceries before going home" She added, changing the gears and starting to drive.

I shrugged at her, "Yeah I don't" I answered, "It's my turn to restock the kitchen anyway" I continued, recalling that she was the one who had stocked up the kitchen last time.

We had turns to restock everything for the house. If I am getting groceries, she will restock cleaning materials. If I am cooking dinner, she would do the dishes. It seemed easier for us to divide our burdens. Mindy being a harmonious person helped our arrangements a lot.

Mindy took a left, "Since you arrived here, I think I might have gained a few pounds here and there" She complained at me, glancing towards me to glower at me playfully, "Why do you have to cook so heavenly?" She demanded.

I laughed at that, "You look stunning to me" I responded to her, "I never learned how to cook until I got here. I watched a few tutorials and voila, here I am, sparing the both of us from spending some extra cash by ordering a take-out" I picked up my purse from the bag when we neared the grocery store that we always buy from, getting ready to get down from the car.

"Also saving the both of us from bad cholesterol" Mindy reminded me, pulling the car into a parking lot.

"Yeah and that too" I agreed right away. "I almost forgot to mention-" I paused to glance at her face, "I have been promoted at work today" I declared with a tremendous beam on my face.

Mindy squealed in delight at that, "Rayna, that's wonderful news" She said, absolutely thrilled for me, "Congratulations, I am so proud of you!" She said, reaching out to pat behind my back.

"Thank you" I grinned at her. It might be a minor matter for her to be proud of me, but it was an enormous thing for me. She was the only one other than Angela to be happy for my achievements.

We got down from the car and Mindy took a cart for us, "Since it's payday today, I am presuming you will be going down to the orphanage?" She asked me as we walked into the store.

"Yeah" I nodded my head at her, "I wish to celebrate this with them" I replied, seeing around the store, locating all the things we need easily as this has turned into our routine.

"I haven't met a lovely soul like you before this Rayna" I heard Mindy say as I put loaves of bread into the cart, "I hope you are lively all the time. You deserve that" She continued on as I raised my eyes to greet hers.

"Thanks again, Mindy" I smiled, "You have been my rock since the day I showed up here, and I will be indebted to you until the end of my life" I grabbed both of her hands and gripped it in front of me.

She glanced down at our hands and smiled, "You make me feel emotional" She said, peering up at me again, "Now let's go get those groceries" She said, dragging me with her.

In less than ten minutes, we loaded up the cart with goods and wheeled it towards the cash register. As we were sauntering, my eyes settled on something and I beamed.

I grabbed a sandwich and looked down at it, my mind flying back to that specific man who had bought me sandwiches a few months ago.

I never got the chance to meet him again, but I still remember his piercing green eyes so vividly.

"I don't know why every time you look at a sandwich you start to smile like a creep. It's getting weird nowadays" Mindy said, snatching me out from the train of my thoughts.

I quickly masked my face, suppressing the smile, "It's nothing" I shook my head at her, placing the sandwich into the cart as well.

"Yeah that's what I hoped the first time I saw you looking at the sandwich like that, but now not anymore" I heard Mindy mutter under her breath and I rolled my eyes at her.

I snatched a few packages of chocolates as well, "Why are you getting so much of chocolates?" Mindy asked, sounding appalled, now, "Isn't it enough that my clothes starting to appear tight now? Are you planning to give me diabetes as well?" She shrieked, earning a few curious glances from other customers who are in the shop as well.

I sighed, "Relax," I said, "This is for the orphanage" I placed two more packets into the cart.

Mindy smiled sheepishly at me, "Oh, um haha, my bad" She looked away from me, dodging my eyes.

I shook my head at her and asked the cashier to start billing. I paid for everything and shoved the cart towards the car, Mindy trailing behind me. The both of us transferred everything from the cart into the car.

"Alright, there you go" I declared, placing the last thing into the car and speeding the cart back to the place where we had picked it from, "You take this home first, and I will join you soon for dinner. Don't burn down the house by attempting to cook. I am ordering pizza for us. My treat" I said everything in one gasp. I only reached for the chocolates that I had purchased and put them in a bag before stepping away from the car.

Mindy took a deep breath and nodded her head at me, "Okay" She said, "Later then" She got in the car and sped away from there, leaving me alone there.

I observed her car until it vanished from the line of my sight before striding towards the bus depot to wait for the bus.

As I was racing towards the bus station, I thought like someone's eyes on me and I spun around to check if someone was following me only to find no one there. I exhaled in relief before twisting to the front again.

I flicked it off as nothing and continued strolling. This is something I have been feeling lately. Maybe I am just being paranoid after watching a horror movie a few weeks ago with Mindy.

Eventually, I got on a bus and found myself standing in front of the orphanage. I sauntered in after acknowledging the security guard on duty, who smiled at me in equal tenderness.

A little boy named Neil spotted me going into the orphanage and came dashing towards me. He threw his arms around my legs and hugged me so dearly, making my heart swell.

This is the reason I loved coming down here, "Ciao, mi sei mancato" I spoke in my broken Italian, hoping the boy can understand what I had said.

Soon, everyone came flying at me and gave me a hug. These little kids here seemed delighted to see me here after two weeks of not visiting. I grinned and hugged everyone back, loving the way they make me feel.

"Alright, I am guessing you guys are hungry so, there you go," I said, but I am pretty certain that no one had understood what I had said, "Buon appetito" I smiled, handing Neil the chocolates I had brought for them.

The kids cheered, and I watched them as Neil gave the chocolates to everyone with an adorable smile on his face.

"I see you have been brushing up on your Italian"

I sighed, knowing who it was before even turning around to face her. It was Sister Sara. She is the one who is in charge here. We became friends during my first visit here.

From the way the kids are grinning at each other, it was easy to know that Sister Sara is making a pretty impressive job at keeping them happy and comfortable.

"It's a complicated language to learn, but I am trying what I can" I answered, lifting my shoulders to shrug at her.

She nodded her head, "Come" She said before turning to walk away from there.

I glanced at the kids over my shoulders and beamed when I found them happily devouring the chocolates that I had given them. Nodding my head to myself, I twisted to the front and rushed towards Sister Sara to keep up with her pace.

"You have helped us in the last few months, and we are extremely grateful for that" She spoke once I could walk beside her.

I grinned. This is not something I never heard coming from her mouth. Over the few months we became friends, Sister Sara always praised me for being kind enough to devote to the orphanage. "It's my pleasure, sister Sara," I said, looking away from her, my eyes settling on the older children who are revising their studies.

"Thank you is not sufficient, but that's what I can say to you now," Sister Sara said.

I can't make anyone understand why I am being this persistent when it comes to helping the orphans, even if I tried,

"I see myself in these children," I told her, my eyes still on the children, "I was where they are now once, and I know how exactly it feels like to be lonely" I continued, struggling for the words to convey.

Maybe seeing me become successful might inspire them to study harder, so they can get a pretty decent job with a nice and generous income.

We went to the counter, and I took out the money I wanted to contribute here. I filled up all my necessary details on the form before passing the form and the money to Sister Sara.

She accepted it delicately from me, "May God bless you for your beautiful heart, my child" She said a prayer before placing the cash inside the drawer and locking it in to keep it safe.

My heart felt a lot lighter after donating. I couldn't find words to express how I am feeling right now, so I quietly nodded at her, "I am going to go and play with the kids for a time before retiring back home" I informed her, and she nodded her head at me in approval.

I smiled and strolled away from there to have some precious moments with them before running back home to Mindy.