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Mainda is a woman trying to live peacefully. What will happen when her life turns upside down and she finds herself making a deal with an individual possessing abilities similar to a God?
Ch1: What a life!
Promise me Mainda., his voice was etched deep in her consciousness, his
words haunting her every night before she slept and every morning when she opened
her eyes. Promise you will keep on
living. Make something of yourself. Become the best you can. She took a
deep breath as she sat up on her single bed, glancing around furiously,
ensuring she was still in her apartment. Mainda sighed and removed the bedding
from her, getting up, her naked feet feeling the cold of the white tile
flooring. The woman dragged herself in her small bathroom, wanting nothing more
but to wash the night from her face. She splashed some cold water and glanced
at her reflection, her blue eyes looking back at her. Her shoulder length,
curly, raven hair were as wild as ever and she did her best to bunch it up in a
bun.
‘’Another day in
the jungle…’’, she muttered to herself and smiled forcefully, moving her face
sideways, her sharp features showing through. Her expression immediately
switched to an exasperated one and she walked out of the bathroom, heading for
the single large window leading to a balcony, still in her undies and t-shirt.
She opened the blinds, enjoying the bright sun outside. If one thing put a
smile on her face, was the sun. She dressed up quickly and grabbed a banana and
some nuts as a breakfast, before placing her bag over her shoulder and running
out.
Mainda lived forty
minutes away from work, in a small apartment, in a relatively quiet
neighborhood. It was all she could manage with the pay she got from her job as
a chef. Being in the kitchen and working nonstop was a sick passion of hers and
the only reason she woke up in the morning. Getting to work by bus at that time
of the day had always been a frustrating situation, since the buses were packed
with people, all wanting to get to their jobs. Upon exiting the stuffy vehicle,
Mainda took a big breath of the busy town’s morning air and headed for the
restaurant. She walked in Rostro, a semi-fancy pub style restaurant she had
been working in for the past three years of her life, her second job ever. She
enjoyed working here and the owner was an ambitious and kind person, a rare
occurrence these days.
‘’Mainda! Just in
time.’’, sir Jason Trot commented, the owner, his bald head shone under the dim
lighting of the restaurant’s main hall. The place was
beautiful, simple, elegant and had dining tables in brown colors and walls
decorated with minimalistic paintings the owner’s wife had drawn. The restaurant
had two different sections, one was exclusively a dining room, serving thirty
customers, while the other was a restaurant and a pub, a large bar at the side of
it and served thirty more customers. There was also a corner for musicians in
the pub part of the restaurant. Yet for Mainda the most beautiful part of this
restaurant was the kitchen. She had two fellow chefs by her side, Nicolas who
prepped and George who was her wingman.
‘’Nick!’’, Mainda
exclaimed upon noticing the blonde, way too tall male in the kitchen, setting
up. He gave her a generous smile, his green eyes gleaming as
always.
‘’Good morning.’’,
he uttered and returned to his job. Maida got to the back to wear her equipment
and wash up, before getting started. Time always went by extremely fast in the
kitchen and the next shift arrived soon enough. Mainda changed up and even
though it was nearly nighttime she refused to go home just yet. It was Friday
night and a new musician would perform in the pub. She tried to make herself
presentable, even if she never wore any make up, and tried to tame her curls
with her fingers. She washed her tanned and freckled face and straightened up
her white shirt, before heading out.
‘’Good job
today!’’, Jason shouted at her with a wide smile, cheeks slightly flushed from
the alcohol. His wife, Matilda, was by his side, a gentle woman his age, with
graying hair and brown eyes, same as her husband’s. They both enjoyed some
food, wine and the live music. Mainda nodded to them and did a thumbs up as she
sat next to the bar.
‘’Aren’t you
tired?’’, Jess asked, leaning near her over the wooden surface of the bar, her
bust nearly falling through her revealing red dress. Jess was the bartender of
the pub, a very attractive and feisty woman in her mid-thirties, a woman with
too many experiences, too many stories to say. Mainda might be a decade younger
than Jess, but she was the closest thing to a friend she had these past three
years. From her long, blonde, wavy hair to her gorgeous blue eyes and her
incredible proportions, Jess was truly a beautiful woman.
‘’I can handle
it.’’, the black haired woman brushed off her friend’s concern. ‘’Get me a
beer, lager.’’ The blonde chuckled and proceeded to fill a small glass with
beer, adding a cup of nuts next to eat. Mainda focused on the singer at the
corner, who played a nice rock tune with his guitar. He had a gruff, very
balanced voice and sang Rory Gallagher.
‘’Such a handsome
man, don’t you agree. Looks young too.’’, Jess commented right next to the
blackhead’s ear and she chuckled. He did look good and Mainda was sure that the bar-woman was going to hit on him after his shift. The singer had a full head of
raven hair, straight and short, not reaching lower than his earlobes. His eyes
were pitch black too and almond shaped. He had sharp features and looked in his
mid-twenties. The grey sweater he had on snugged on his physique and anyone
could tell he was well built.
‘’You should hit
on him Mainda!’’, Jess added and the woman nearly chocked on her beer. She gave
her friend a look of disbelief.
‘’He is way over
my league. You have a better luck with him.’’, she replied and her friend gave
her a coy smile.
‘’Stop being so
negative! Just because Greg shot you down a year ago doesn’t mean you are not
pretty enough to get any man you want.’’, Jess pointed out and Mainda felt the
comment like a stab in her heart. She
decided to ignore the bar-woman and enjoy the man’s voice with some beer and
some potato wedges she ordered from the kitchen. Greg was in there now, doing
his shift. Mainda liked the guy a lot, but being inexperienced and shy failed
to tell him so and he, of course ended up being with someone else.
When the singer
was done he, of course, approached the bar. The pub was nearly empty and Mainda
was way too tired to stay more, even if Jess beckoned her to do so and talk to
the singer. The black haired male, after discussing with the owner, sat right
next to Mainda, trying to approach the bartender.
‘’What can I get
you sweetie?’’, Jess asked with a bright smile, her hand over her hip as leaned
over the surface of the bar. The man smiled at her, a sinister smile that made
Mainda shiver.
‘’Red wine and if
the kitchen is still open I would like a burger.’’, he commented and positioned
his guitar next to him. Jess nodded and passed the food order to the kitchen,
before prepping his beer.
Mainda tried to
mind her business, but the words her friend told her before got under her skin.
She stood there, playing with the coaster, avoiding to glance towards the
singer who ate his food and drank his beer, while engaging in conversation with
Jess. The singers name was Saika and he was a nurse in practice, trying to make
some extra money through his hobby. The woman was very impressed with the way
Jess’s casual conversation got him to open up and reveal a few things about
himself.
‘’This is
Mainda!’’, Jess uttered and the woman felt a shiver run down her spine. She sat
up and glanced at Saika hesitantly.
‘’N...nice to meet
you.’’, she spoke and smiled wide, trying to think of him as one of her friends
to get herself to relax.
‘’Nice to meet you
too Mainda.’’, he told her. ‘’Are you a regular in this place? Since the bar-woman knows you.’’, he added smirking.
‘’No...no... I am
a chef here!’’ Her words made the man raise his brows in surprise.
‘’Wow, impressive!
I am quite a failure in the kitchen myself.’’, he commented and laughed
nervously, making him seem even more approachable. ‘’I can’t even count the
number of time I cut myself with a kitchen knife.’’ Mainda laughed too, feeling
somewhat relaxed. There was no reason to feel nervous around anyone. She was
herself.
As time went by
they engaged in more conversations and soon enough it became way too late for
Mainda and she excused herself. She was more than glad to know that she would
get to see Saika again, since he would be playing music every Saturday. She
hated to admit it, but she looked forward to listening to his gruff, deep voice
again. She smiled to herself, a tight sensation on her stomach as she walked on
the deserted streets, trying to get a cab ride home.
‘’Hey hey hey!
You!’’, she suddenly heard a voice behind her and she froze in the spot.
‘’Girlie!’’ Maida turned around to see two men walk up to her. She took a step
back and glanced around her, only to see a few cars drive by quickly. She
cursed inside her head and turned around to run away. Yet she was too late. One
of the men grabbed on her scarf and stopped her, nearly chocking her in the
process.
‘’No need to be
shy! We just want the company of a pretty girl.’’, the other one spoke and
Maida could tell, from their slurred speech, that they were drunk. She turned
around, her scarf still trapped in the man’s hands. She was about to take it
off when she saw the other one take a knife out. Her mind went blank and she
tried to run once more, only to be grabbed by the shoulder.
‘’Fuck man! Don’t
get that serious. I don’t want any trouble.’’, the other one spoke, upon seeing
the knife.
‘’Relax! I have it
all under control.’’, the male with the knife replied, still slurring his
words.
‘’Please let me
go! Don’t hurt me!’’, Mainda pleaded at this point, barely managing to utter
the words.
‘’Just join us! We
won’t hurt you.’’
The black-haired
woman gritted her teeth and acted instinctively when she kicked the man with
the knife between his legs. He grunted and cursed, but released her arm. The
woman took advantage of it and, slipping out of her scarf, run away from them.
Tears already blurred her vision from the shock and she didn’t know where she
was going.
Then it happened.
It felt as if time
stopped. Mainda felt immense pain at some point, but it somehow faded. The
impact of the car that hit her, made her land next to the side walk. Her vision
still blurry, all she saw was lights and the gray road. She was soon numb and
begun losing her senses and all she heard were voices call over her.
Forgive me …brother.
C.T.K.
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