TWO DAYS LATER...
Flight MM4 slowed down to a halt on the tarmac of the Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta, Wisconsin.
The airport bustled with varieties of activities as different people of various races, skin tones, and ages, shuffled around while brushing between one another.
The door opened and passengers weary from the long journey, gradually descended from the plane with their suitcases and bags held in their hands.
As cab drivers appeared out of nowhere in a bid to convey the passengers who needed a ride home, a brunette woman was also approached.
She stood straight with her hair bunched into a ponytail which was covered by a black face cap.
Octavia was barely recognizable in a pair of skinny black denim, white camisole, and plaid shirt jacket, easily towering over the cab man in the knee-length, black-heeled boots she had on.
Not to mention how she turned a few heads in the dark sunglasses protecting her eyes from the harshness of the sun and black face mask.
Except for the constant raise of her dark brows, much couldn't be said about her facial features. She was an easy 5'7 but her carriage aided her a few extra inches including the boots.
Her luggage was gathered in a space next to her long legs where she stood, typing away at her phone.
"Hey, ma'am. Sorry to bother you. I can give you a ride if you want." The driver offered politely with his eyes peering at the sunglasses, curious to know the face that owned such an intimidatingly impressive feature.
Her typing stopped immediately after his voice reached her hearing. She took out an airpod while she leaned toward the man.
"Sorry?"
He repeated his statement and she shook her head in reply. "There's someone already on their way to pick me up, don't worry about it. Thanks."
The man shrugged and then walked away to meet other people who needed a ride to their destinations. The brunette returned her gaze to her phone, trying for the umpteenth time to get a reply from her sister. The screen of her phone showed about five messages sent to the same person but there were no replies yet.
"Dammit, Janice." She swore, glaring hard at the phone like it was the addressed. "Just pick up already."
She looked around her to see that most of the people who had alighted from the plane with her were nowhere to be seen.
Her eyes caught the last of them entering a car opposite the entrance of the airport.
Wondering what could be keeping her sister late, she dragged all of her stuff to a nearby chair in the waiting area while she picked a seat comfortable enough to relax in and convenient enough to still grant her eyes a clear view of the main entrance.
As she waited, she zoned out of her surroundings.
Unfortunately for her, her parents passed away before she even got into her penultimate year at the University.
They had been involved in an accident on their way to pick her up from the bus station. The crippling shock that traveled throughout her body as the news came in gave a staggering blow to her academics and she greatly suffered for it.
A few months later, she gathered herself together, pouring the entirety of her being into her studies and career like her parents would have loved if they were watching.
A publishing company already had their eyes set on her before she was through with her study and she couldn't ruin that once-in-a-lifetime chance.
As she cocooned herself into the world of solitude she carved for herself, the already poorly built relationship with her elder sister, Janice, dissipated into nothingness.
Janice had always been too busy to spend time with her little sister while growing up but instead busied herself to work on her ambition of being a popular media personality.
It was almost a reality until she got pregnant for her childhood sweetheart, Quincy Murphey, who was already climbing the ladder of success and interacting with business conglomerates owners like his budding self.
The young couple were too elated when they discovered it but as fate would have it, their dreams of a family were shattered like a ship dashed against the rocks during a stormy night on the sea.
The last Octavia heard of Janice was after the miscarriage when she had to call to offer her condolences.
Even their conversation was poor and stiff unlike when she spoke to Quincy. If anyone else had overheard them talk to each other, it would have seemed as though they were siblings or, as rotten minds would instigate, lovers.
Six years had long passed since the unfortunate incident, and Octavia just stepped foot back into a place she never thought she could be able to because of the unforgettable memories they held:
The death of her parents, and the barely recognizable shreds of the tattered relationship she had with her elder sibling.
If it wasn't for her sister's engagement party which she was invited to by the woman herself, she wouldn't have batted an eyelash but wish the couple well from where she was.
A tap on her wrist startled her and she dropped her hand from her face in shock. It was the same cab man who had approached her.
She looked at her wristwatch to see that it was already past an hour since then.
"You're ready to take the cab again?" A beaming smile was spread out on his aged face.
Octavia checked her phone for the last time, discovering to her relief that her sister had sent an address even though another message spelled out that she would no longer be available to pick her up and she should take a taxi to the address.
"You think I wasn't already planning to?" She muttered under her breath out of the hearing of the man who was still waiting for her response.
Her expression switched to a cheery one as she looked at the man. "Let's go."