The travel from the city to her grandfather's place took three days. Violet kept herself busy by doing selfie pictures, listening to music on her phone, watching movies, or mainly just sleeping. She tried talking to her friends through SpeedChat, but none of them answered any of her messages. She didn't bother calling them after sending them a dozen.
The whole trip bored Violet out of her mind, so she was relieved that she finally arrived after three days on the road.
Violet immediately got out of the car to have a stretch and looked around.
"Really? Not a single change?" Violet asked almost to herself as she scanned the surroundings.
She has been at the very same, quaint, little Schivour Village only once when she was eight years old. Violet could still remember what the place looked like even then despite the years that she has not been able to visit for some reason. The girl doesn't have any idea as to why she couldn't get the image of the village out of her head and she didn't even care. She has parties and what to wear to parties to worry about.
The village is simple. Tiny houses made of wood are around the area. There are small merchants going in and out of the village in carts and some other local men selling vegetables they grew from their backyards, fruits that their trees and vines gave them, or meat that they hunted. Women came in and out of the tiny houses selling local craftsmanship such as necklaces and bracelets crafted from wood. Children are laughing while playing tag. The village is surrounded by a vast forest as if it is its own sturdy wall.
After a whole five minutes of scanning the place, Violet groaned and turned back to her driver irritably.
"How much longer do you need to finally pick up my bags?! Let's go!" Violet shouted at her poor driver, successfully getting the attention of all of the village people. "Grandfather's house is still up the mountain! Let's get going! What are you waiting for? Christmas? New Year?"
"No, Ms. Violet," the driver said as he lifted up twelve bags with a grunt.
"Then let's-"
"Let me help you with that," a man in his thirties said to her driver. The man took three of the twelve bags.
"No- Sir. I-" the driver stuttered as he tried to think of an excuse. His job is on the line.
"Let me help, too!" another man in his mid-twenties said and approached.
Soon, the driver only has three bags in his hand. Three local men came up to him to help him carry the heavy bags.
The driver looked at Violet with scared, pleading eyes. The driver knows that if Violet doesn't get things her way, he should bid his job goodbye.
Pity his children and wife waiting for him at home.
But, luckily, Violet is in no mood for shouting at the poor driver.
"Whatever. Let's just get to it. I really need to take a bath," Violet said as she started the long walk.
Along the way, she could hear the lively chats and laughs of her driver and the local men who helped carry her bags. Violet annoyingly plugged in her earphones and turned on the music to drown them out
"Thank the stars that I downloaded songs. I usually just stream online," Violet thought.
What a way to start the vacation for dear Violet. She didn't even notice a lad watching her amongst the trees of the forest surrounding the village as she went up the mountain to her grandfather's place.
The boy watched her from afar with keen eyes, then jumped from tree branch to tree branch, eager for the right time to come.