After Charles got into his wheelchair, he dismissed his driver and wheeled himself up the curb that had been specially installed for his benefit. He glanced around his surroundings. The time of autumn had already arrived, it seemed, the bright flowers of the summer had already fallen off, and green leaves had also wilted and eventually turned brown.
A single lone leaf floated down and settled on his lap. He had been so engrossed in work these past few years that he hardly noticed the passing of time. Charles picked up the leaf and tried to examine it; however, it disintegrated into nothingness when he held it up.
'Sigh! how fleeting its lifespan was?' he thought, 'Just like the lifespan and the uncertainties in life!'
He dusted the leaf remnants from his lap and stared at the towering mansion that exuded from its very essence luxury and comfort ... but he had grown immune to it as he had been raised there.
He used to occupy half of the third floor at a point in time before the accident that had left him in the wheelchair. He had never dreamed of that happening. His parents, Mr and Mrs Wanky had converted a part of the ground floor into a luxurious suite that could accommodate his every need afterwards.
The skies were already darkening, so he quickly wheeled himself into the house.
As he wheeled himself towards the living room, he heard his mother's voice clearly: "How is she there?! When did she get out, and how come we did not know about it?! She is supposed to be there for a few years yet. What are we paying them for?!"
"Young master Charles, welcome," a maid greeted him in the hallway leading to the living room.
"I'll let Mr and Mrs Wanky know that you have arrived," she added and started to walk ahead of him. Charles usually did not like it when the maids in the house tried to assist him with his wheelchair, for it reminded him of his 'state'. The maids had learnt to give him the space he needed and usually treated him like they would treat any other person.
Charles instead signalled her, "There is no need to let them know that. I am almost there already, so it's okay; I will go in by myself," he gave the girl a slight smile that made her blush. The small hesitance in her stance reduced, and she bowed to him and then left for her unfinished tasks.
He stayed still outside for a while, listening to them discuss the program they had just watched. The anger was evident in their voices just from what he heard. Charles knew they had his best interests at heart when his family finally decided to keep it away from him.
Since they had decided on that, he would make them continue to believe that he was unaware of the contents of the show, which was already breaking the social media streams. When he finally heard the silence indicating that the TV had been turned off, he wheeled himself in,
"What is with the solemn atmosphere? Has something happened?" Charles asked them once more as he came to a stop in the middle of the room. He examined their faces. His mother's face was still red from the anger she was trying so hard to mask but failed. Joy Wanky's flaw was that she always failed to mask her emotions always. Richard Wanky's face was blank but pale, and his clenched fingers gave him away. Only his father, Ky, looked calm out of all of them.
From his observation, he did not let his thoughts manifest on his face. "What happened?" he asked again,
They looked at each other as an awkward silence ensued. "Hahahahaha," Joy Wanky laughed nervously, "What could have happened? Aren't you overthinking too much?"
She walked towards her son and wheeled him towards the dining area,
"We were waiting for you to have dinner. Let's eat now that you are here," they all hummed in agreement, and as if on cue, the maids appeared again and set the table with the prepared meal.
"What were you watching?" Charles turned and asked his mother,
"Just a silly program on the TV," Joy answered dismissively.
Within a few minutes, the table was filled with cooked rice, grilled fish as well as a, steamed cod with ginger and scallions, honey roast duck stuffed with lots of garlic, a platter filled with assorted grapes, tomato sauce for the rice, and a mixed green-leaf salad. Mr Ky Wanky sat at the head of the table, his wife Joy to his left and Richard just beside her.
Charles sat to his father's immediate right. As they filled their plates with their preference of meals at the centre of the table, a small window of silence ensued before Ky asked,
"Your blind date with the daughter of Magwort Furnitures …."
Charles, who had a fork of rice near his lips, paused and looked at his father,
"Do not worry, Father, I keep my word when I make it. I will meet Ivy Magwort tomorrow as scheduled."
A complicated look crossed Richard's face. He was yet to get married, and the subject of his marriage was yet to be brought up by his parents. They had bugged him about it some years prior but just stopped talking about it together. Sometimes, Richard felt like he did not exist at all.
Oblivious to this, Ky nodded in satisfaction as everyone at the table heaved a sigh of relief. His main thoughts were, "Whew! It looks like Charles is not aware yet. We have to ensure it stays like that for a while."
After this, Charles lowered the fork of food as he had lost his appetite. Lost in thought about the occurrences from the evening, he played with the food on his plate.
Joy frowned and asked. "What is going on with you? Why are you picking your meal?"
"I had a heavy lunch, so I am not hungry…."
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