I sat looking at the raging fire and the wind that swayed the fire. Damn, I was so close. I glanced up at the sky and decided to walk away before people started crowding the area. I am glad, the impact of the fall wasn't so bad. I felt like some bad bruises would start to form around my body. I got up on shaky legs and then started to walk away. I glanced at my cracked wristwatch. It said it was 2:00 PM, I had to get to work in half an hour.
I quickly hopped over the hill and watched as clouds of smoke formed in the air. I heard shouts coming from within the town and quickly hurried. My aching body throbbed and my head spun. Was it from the sight of the fire, or was it from my paining legs? I couldn't tell. All I wanted to do was flop down on my bed and cuddle Leela. I smiled as I crossed the roads. People started to rush past me towards the direction of the fire. I glanced at myself through a window and noticed how I had ripped my clothes and my knees were scraped. I tied the cloak around myself tighter to cover my body.
I can make it, I kept telling myself. I walked a familiar set of stone steps and walked around a bend. The familiar bakery shone in the sunlight. The breeze in the town was soft and there wasn't much sand floating in the air. People were laughing and dining inside, checking out the cute little baked goods. I couldn't see the elderly couple anywhere, but I felt happier knowing I would meet them later.
I walked to the side of the bakery towards my door and had to pause against the wall for a bit. I closed my eyes as the pain in my leg cramped.
"Nadia?" a familiar voice called.
A smile lit up my face as I looked up towards the direction of the voice. The pain seemed to lessen and I felt a bit more relaxed. But that stopped as soon as I looked at her. Granny Sufia was waiting there, but with a worried expression on her face.
"Granny Sufia, what happened?" I rushed towards her despite the pins and needles tingling at my feet.
In the dark alleyway, I couldn't see properly but I could soon tell that she wasn't alone. With her, there were two mages that I had noticed were from before. I gulped, and my head started to throb again. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second. Holy crap! I heard myself scream on the inside. Why the hell would they come to where I live?! This is absurd!
"These young men were asking around for a girl named Nadia Rafsani," Granny Sufia explained.
This was not the time to act scared. I raised my head towards the two mages as I pulled Granny Sufia towards me.
"What do you want from me?" I asked straight-forward.
The brown-haired dude from before stepped in front as he took a more intimidating stance.
"We want to investigate you," he said, "rest assured, that this is only a check-up. We are not suspecting you of anything."
Yeahhhh right. I know they suspected me for some reason, that the public can't know about. I stared him straight in the eyes and looked at the guy next to him. His senior furrowed his brows as he glared at my form. His eyes looked down at my cloak.
"Oy, my eyes are up here," I pointed my fingers at my face.
He coughed and looked away, and I smirked. The brown-haired dude beside him was taken aback.
"I suggest you mind how you talk to us," he replied stiffly, "we are high-ranked officials that won't idle around for play-talk."
Oh, gee. So what? Is it my fault that two adult men are walking around a single girl's room like that?
"Then, I request you to respect my privacy. As dignified people, I think it is common knowledge to wait patiently out in front rather than request to meet a girl directly in front of her room," I retorted back.
If they wanna spit fire at me, I will spit fire a thousand times hotter and faster back at them. I won't back down and succumb to stupid men like these who dismiss commoner folk-like us like we are nothing. I have my privacy that I have the right to maintain, and I don't need these snotty dip-shits to go flaunting around their asses into my personal space like that. The two seemed to go speechless for a second before the red-head continued.
"We are sorry for this sudden request, but we don't have time, and we would like to investigate you as soon as possible," the red-head announced.
My anger boiled.
"I understand, kind sirs, that you wish to investigate me. Let me at least have some time to change and clean up my room. I think you will be able to spare at least five minutes for me," I reasoned out with the two.
"She's right, she just came from work and I don't think to have two grown men invading her space like that is appropriate," Grandma Sufia stepped up.
She usually kept to herself, so the fact that she spoke up for me made me feel so much better. We didn't even know each other that much, but she still did this for me. I almost teared up, and I glared at the two men. If they dare defy her, I'll seriously bust their asses.
The two men looked a bit ashamed and nodded their heads. Grandma Sufia told them they were free to wait in the shop and that I would ring them down when I was ready. The mages passed by and I couldn't help but feel relieved. The brown-haired dude glared at me as he walked by, but I pretended not to notice and entered my house.