When Benjamin awoke, drenched in sweat, he noticed a picture of his late wife, Lilith, on the side table next to his bed. Then he realized it was all a dream—he'd been dreaming of her for the third time in a row since arriving at their country home, Lavila.
Lavila was a small town in Efla, in the country of Capa Nividor. Benjamin Caliwell's ancestors were one of the founding fathers and they invested heavily in the state, so it was safe to say that they typically owned the entire state of Efla.
Taking Lilith's picture from the table, he said,
"My dear Lilith, I miss you every day, but I don't want to be tormented in this way all the time."
"It appears you haven't quite rested in peace, and I wish there was a way to communicate so you could tell me what troubles your soul," he continued.
He was about to say something to her when he heard a loud knock on his door.
"Sir Benjamin, the morning paper has arrived," the person at the door said.
He replaced Lilith's picture on the table, then properly knotted the rope on his robe. He then stood up to get the newspaper.
He opened the large wooden door slightly, took the paper from his butler, Anthonio, and then closed it. He went back to his bed and scribbled over every headline until he found what he was looking for. His mother had announced that they would hold their annual all-white party for the year—the party was halted for a time following Lilith's death, as per his request.
"Lord, help me," Benjamin mumbled, squeezing the paper and making a basket with the waste bin.
Benjamin was exhausted despite the fact that he had only recently awoken. The Lilith nightmares and the all-white party exhausted him. He desperately needed to clear his mind in order to think clearly.
After a while, he decided to go for a walk. Then he pushed himself up and walked to his dresser to change.
Benjamin put on a sweatpant, shirt, and sneakers and grabbed his headset to listen to podcasts while walking. He then exited his room and made his way to the staircase. He prayed not to run into his mother as he walked down because she had been a pain in the ass lately. She defied his orders and began planning the all-white party.
"Benjamin," his mother called out as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
Cursing silently, he turned to his left to see his mother sipping her morning tea in the dining room. Sometimes he wondered why she got up so early to drink bland teas.
"You're up so early," she commented, taking a sip from her cup.
"Yes," he replied.
"Come, have tea with your mother, will you?" she said, sensing he'd read the paper.
"I would love to, but I'm going for a stroll.I need to clear my mind," he said, knowing she'd try to manipulate him once he sat with her.
"All right then," she said, not wanting to stress the matter further.
Following this, Benjamin proceeded to the door, where he was met by his chauffeur, but he requested to drive himself.
Walking to the car garage, Benjamin chose one of his father's old cars for the ride because he didn't want to draw attention to himself—especially since most of the ladies in town knew that death had made him a single man.
He got into the car, took out his phone, connected it to the speaker, and started listening to his favorite podcast. Benjamin would never listen to podcasts on his own, but it was Lilith's favorite thing to do, and she made sure he listened with her every morning, so it had become a habit.
Benjamin was on his way to Malcon Park, his favorite spot in town, which had a hill from which you could see the entire town. Malcon's was Lilith's favourite place, and she made him go there every day. So, whenever he was in their hometown, he went there to clear his mind because he believed her happy spirit lived there, unlike the one he frequently saw in his dreams.
Benjamin was barely paying attention to the road while driving. It was 6:30 a.m., and people were barely on the road, so he felt there was no need to be extra cautious—plus, the area where they lived was overly quiet, and you could rarely see people walking around in that area, except for their workers who had errands to run outside the house in the early hours of the day.
Benjamin's phone beeped a few blocks away from their house on a quiet street, and he took his gaze away from the road to check it. He returned his phone to the console after realizing it was a spam text. He then looked up to see a young lady on a scooter approaching him.
He was coming at a high spee on the lady's part, and the lady had been honking for a long time, but he still wouldn't switch lanes. She became nervous and scared as he got closer to her. She had to swerve off the road and into the bushy areas to save her life.
She lost control of her scooter during the process and it ran over a nail, which she didn't notice at the time because she was trying to regain control of her scooter to prevent it from crashing.
When the scooter tire popped, it came to a halt, and the lady breathed a sigh of relief. She then sat silently, not returning her gaze to Benjamin.
While all of this was going on, Benjamin pulled over to the side of the road and waited for it to be over. When he noticed the scooter had come to a halt in his rearview mirror, he turned around to see if the lady was okay.