"Good night, Cap." Surjo waved at Olivia as she alighted from the car.
She nodded at her friends and walked off.
After walking for a few minutes she stood in front of the huge gate with a nameplate saying Basu Mansion. As she got close to the door it opened automatically. Although huge and heavy the gates did not make a sound as they opened wide.
Olivia, with her hands in her pocket, walked in leisurely. The gates closed on their own the moment she went passed them.
A stone carpeted path led to the mansion from the gate. On either sides of the path was a huge garden. They were full of different kinds of trees, big, small, tall, dwarf, each of which were neatly trimmed. Just behind the entrance and against the was were several big bushes which were cut in beautiful shapes. Two gigantic fountains, tall and magnificent, stood in the middle of the garden on either side of the path. The garden on the right hand various orchids while that on the left had a big swing and many wild plants.
Fun fact was this was only the front of the residence. The garden encircled the mansion covering a massive area.
As soon as Olivia's foot landed on the first stone slab of the path, a network of white laser beams shot out from the edges of the slab engaging her. She calmly walked through them and stepped on the next slab. The colour of the beams turned black the moment she passed through them. And immediately the rest of the slabs as well as the wall surrounding the garden lit up.
Olivia kept walking until she reached the main door of the mansion. The light in the garden went off again. As she stood before the door, her watch vibrated slightly. Lifting her right hand she pressed something on her watch when the door opened automatically.
As the bright light from the interior of the mansion assaulted her eyes, Olivia squinted and blinked a few times before pacing inside. This time too the door shut on it's own once she had stepped inside.
When she entered, the people inside turned towards her and bowed slightly with a polite and respectful smile on their faces. Olivia nodded at them and everyone went back to what they were doing. Just then a man came over. He seemed to be in his fifties. His face contained a smile which was respectful but happy.
"Mistress you're back. Would you be sleeping in the guest room or your own?" He asked.
"My room," Olivia said.
"But I don't know if it's still clean or not..." He trailed off knowing Olivia always cleaned her own room and never allowed anyone to go in.
He had seen her room a few times from outside but he never noticed anything special that could be the reason she forbade anyone from entering. What puzzled him more was that those few times when Olivia called for him outside her room, the door was wide open. Anyone could see the interior which to him looked nothing out of the ordinary. And not just him but other helpers too. Yet she never ever allowed anyone to go inside. When he had just started working here, he found her behaviour peculiar but gradually he decided not to be nosy and focus on his job which was to assist her in her work. If she was fine with others looking at her room but touching it then that was her business not his.
Olivia waved her hand and said, "It's fine Uncle Manna."
The butler nodded.
"Mistress, we're done with today's work," he said checking the to-do list on his phone.
"You're dismissed." Olivia looked at the helpers who stood in a line before her and said.
"Good night, Mistress." They said together with a light bow and went to their quarter which was on the other side of the mansion.
The butler was the last to go as he stood there till everyone left and said "Mistress what about tomorrow's schedule?"
When Olivia was not in the house he took care of the day's work and made the schedule. Now that she was back he wanted to know if she would be following the existing one or making any changes.
"We'll talk in the morning," Olivia said.
The butler nodded and left.
Olivia walked up the stairs to the second floor. The lights on the ground floor went off while the second floor was illuminated. She then slowly strode to her room and locked the door. The lights on the second floor also went off. Now, the main section of the mansion was now in complete darkness but the workers' quarter still had a few lights on as everyone was preparing to go to bed.
When Olivia got inside, the lights as usual flickered to turn on but she commanded "Lights Off."
The flickers dimmed.
"Curtains out." She said.
The curtains covering the big window parted and under the moonlight, the room could be traced.
It was very spacious, as big as five normal rooms combined would be. A queen-sized bed lay near the window. There was one long sofa, a single divan, a floor-to-ceiling mirror, a walk-in closet, two bedside tables and a bathroom.
Olivia lay on the divan and closed her eyes exhaling heavily. She stayed like that for a while listening to her heartbeat and the sound of the fan. She was about to turn to her side when something poked her.
"Arh." She groaned and put her hand in her back pocket and felt something.
She brought it out and saw a keychain with three mini figurines. One with a gentle smile, another with an aloof look and the last one with a goofy grin. They looked handsome even as cute figurines. Olivia's eyes stopped on the figure at the left. Curly hair, gentle smile and enchanting eyes. After staring at it for some time she got up and kept it inside a drawer on the left bedside table. Then she went inside the bathroom.
As usual, the lights turned on after she entered. She filled the tub and stripped her clothes. Then she turned off the tap and slowly lowered herself in the tub. Feeling the cool water on her skin Olivia sighed in relief. A buzzing sound came rang in her earpiece following which came her friends' voice saying "I'm home."
Olivia hummed softly and the call got disconnected.