"Are you tired of being picked on because you are ugly or different? Come to us and we will give you a chance to be reformed? A new look is what will make a difference". Having a sharp memory, she quickly memorized the phone number and the address on the car before the car zoomed off.
Two weeks later, fifteen years old Stephanie who was desperate for a change found her way to a very huge Mansion through the address she had scribbled down from the bus. The address took her to a very magnificent Mansion. The magnificent Mansion shone brightly even in the daylight. The sight of the Magnificent building looked like the one she had always seen in fairytale movies. She was mesmerized by the beauty of the magnificent Mansion. She stood steady but slow steps inside the compound which had no gates. Immediately she knocked on the door of the huge Mansion, she vanished into thin air. The rest that happened during the three months she went missing was something world best scientists could not prove its existence. To them, it was the most absurd and unbelievable thing they have ever heard but to Stephanie, it was a miracle that she has been fervently praying for.
ELEVEN YEARS LATER
In a five star hotel in City S, an exquisite looking lady dressed in an off-shoulder floral dress sits beside a handsome guy wearing in casual wear. She was so lost in thought. No matter how loud the guy sitting down in front of her babbles, she was lost in her fantasy. She couldn't hear a word he said. Her long eyelashes flutter, as she smiles to no one.
"Hey Steph, don't tell me you are daydreaming again?" Clifford said, waving his hands at her face. "Snapped out of it already or have you forgotten that you promised me not to think of anything else when we are together so why are you breaking your promise now?" Clifford asked displeased as he pinched her nose gently when he noticed that she was not listening to him. His action startled the absent-minded beautiful lady before him.
"What were you saying again?" Stephanie asked after she came back to her senses. Clifford frowned when he realized that she wasn't paying attention to all that he has been saying.
"Steph, you know you promised me you won't act weird like this right, so why are you going back on your words?" Clifford asked, turning away as though he was angry.
"Sorry about that. I was thinking about the new cosmetics that our company will be launching in two weeks. You know how anxious and nervous I always get whenever our company wants to hold such big events," Stephanie lied trying to cover up the thoughts that had occupied her mind some moment ago. She knew her brother would definitely get mad if he knew that she was thinking about the very thing he had warned her against.
"Steph, I know you too well so don't lie to me. I know you were thinking about him again," Clifford said, turning around to face her. "For crying out loud girl, it has been seventeen years now since you met him so when are you going to get him out of your head? If he likes you like he had said he would have searched for you like you have been doing. Steph, stop wasting your time waiting for someone you don't even know whether he is alive or dead Ok," Clifford scolded her, not minding that they were in a restaurant.
"Calm down Cliff, you know I can't stop myself from thinking about him occasionally," Steph coaxed. She felt guilty for making her brother angry. "But don't worry I have gotten over him. I was reminded of him because of the little boy that just walked by. I promise I will try to completely forget him for you," Stephanie said reassuringly. She knew within that she won't be able to keep her promise but she said that to soothe her brother's anger. Clifford did not buy her words because she has never for once kept her promise of forgetting the little boy who showered her with abundant love like nobody else has ever done when she was just nine. Sometimes he finds it absurd that she still remembered him despite the wide gap since they met. She was just nine back then so how could she not forget about him till now?
"I would have really loved it if you could keep your words but I know you won't so let's eat," Clifford said. He has known her for fourteen years and there is one thing which has not changed about his pretty sister. That is her love for the mysterious boy called Young Master V whom she met in an amusement park when she was little.
"And Steph doesn't forget you promised me to meet Clark later tonight for your blind date, hmmm," Clifford who knew that his sister did not recall a thing about the date like she usually did remind her calmly.
"Blind date?" Stephanie asked. The expression on her face shows that she didn't recall anything about the date.
"I thought as much that you will forget your date with him that is why I took it upon myself to remind you and Steph why didn't you answer Clark's calls? He said he called many times but you ignored his calls and text messages," Clifford said. He momentarily stopped eating and stared at the confused expression on Stephanie's face.
"Was I supposed to go on a date today? How come I don't remember it," Stephanie said scratching her head awkwardly. Clifford has seen this too often to get angry with her. Stephanie always forgot her date because she was never interested in it. The guys always complained bitterly to him after being stood up for the entire day.
"I am not surprised at all. I bet you were daydreaming about your Young Master V that is why you can't recall when you agreed to meet him. Your date is 5:00 pm, don't stand him up or else no guy will want to go out on a date with you," Clifford said before he resumed eating again.
"I will. Even though not because of anything but for my handsome brother," Stephanie said playfully as she winked at him. Her brother just smiled at how naughty his sister was. He could still recall how shy and timid the now confident lady before him was when they first met. Her self-esteem back then was crushed because she was often trampled on. He could not stop smiling when he recalled his reactions when he first saw the transformed Stephanie eleven years ago.
They had a great time in the restaurant. He drove her home afterwards. He still reminded her about the dates before he left after seeing her enter her apartment. Stephanie stepped into her well-furnished beautiful apartment painted all white. Many pictures of her hung on all corners of the wall. All the pictures tell a story about her past. As she sat down on the couch, her back resting on it, her eyes met the first picture of her that was officially taken when she came back from the mysterious house eleven years ago. She could not stop her from reminiscing about that fateful day.