Shuffle Playlist: Unconditionally by Katy Perry
It was just that… he had heard her words earlier on. She sounded pessimistic and her voice was filled with sadness. He could tell.
Vincent put his hand inside his pocket to take out his phone and his handkerchief fell out. He didn't notice it and continued to walk away.
Sabrina saw the fallen handkerchief and took it. She hurried towards the entrance to catch up with Vincent.
"Sir… Mister…. Wait." Sabrina wasn't sure what to call him.
Vincent was about to get into his car when he heard the lady's voice and turned. He finally saw her face and he immediately recognized her. He had seen her a few days ago at the award show.
"You dropped this…" Sabrina said as she stretched her hand with the handkerchief towards Vincent. Now that she was looking at him, she had to admit that he was quite handsome and fit. Sabrina smiled and acted nonchalant after she was caught staring.
Vincent wasn't new to women falling for his looks. It was a normal occurrence for him. "Thank you!" Vincent replied and took the handkerchief from Sabrina. As he did, their fingers accidentally brushed against each other and the timer on Sabrina's wrist stopped running.
Sabrina felt a strange chill run through her body and she looked at her wrist and noticed that the timer wasn't running. Her eyes widened and she looked at Vincent.
"What is this?" Sabrina said loudly and Vincent was startled.
Vincent immediately retrieved his hand and gave Sabrina a strange look. He felt that she was strange and maybe had a few screws loosed.
"Sir, wait…" Sabrina said and held Vincent's hand again. She looked at the timer and it stopped wasn't running. She looked at Vincent's face and smiled.
"My savior…" Sabrina muttered.
"What are you doing?" Vincent brushed Sabrina's hand away and glared at her.
"Sir, I know this might sound strange but I think you are the person I am looking for. Do you mind giving me your number?" Sabrina asked.
"I do mind. As a matter of fact, I find this rude and hideous. Don't you think it's rude to throw yourself at a man so openly? Don't you have any pride as a woman?" Vincent asked.
"What? Wait? You don't think I am trying to get you to notice me, right?" Sabrina asked.
"Young lady, if you don't want me to sue you for harassment, get away from me. I hate women like you." Vincent got into his car and drove away.
Sabrina's hands quivered and she looked at her wrist. The timer was running again. It was just for a few seconds but the timer did stop and she saw it. This had never happened before.
Sabrina came back to her senses when her phone started ringing. She looked at the phone and smiled before answering it. "Hello, babe. Are you home?"
"Mm! Aunt, where are you?" Bia asked.
"I came out to buy some things. I am on my way home."
"Hurry up, Aunt. I miss you."
"Alright, babe." Sabrina hung up and went towards her car.
…..
Luna Estates- Beverly Hills.
"My Aunt has gone to buy a grave, right?" Bia asked Tia after hanging up the call with Sabrina.
"No!" Tia replied awkwardly and placed a plate of jollof rice, turkey, vegies and corn in front of Bia. "Eat, you must be hungry."
Bia shook her head. "You don't have to lie to me. Aunt Tia, I know every move of my Aunt. My Aunt is planning her retirement and death." Bia picked a fork and started eating.
"Bia, then, can you help me?" Tia pulled out a chair and sat across Bia at the dining table.
"Shoot!"
"I found a tarot reader. She is really good at what she does. I want to bring Sabrina to her but you know how stubborn she can be. Can you help me get her to go and see the tarot reader?" Tia touched Bia's left hand.
Bia sighed. "You still haven't given up on my aunt? Aunt Tia, this is a family curse. My grandparents and my father died because of that curse. My Aunt and I are going to face the same fate. Trust me, no number of words from a shaman, a tarot reader can help us."
Even though Bia spoke those words nonchalantly, Tia could feel the sadness in them. Tia stood up and went to sit next to Bia. She wrapped her arms around the kid and kissed her forehead.
"Bia, trust me. I know that you and your aunt are cursed to not live long lives, but I won't give up. I won't stop looking for solutions, even if I have to roam the world in search for a solution, I will do it."
"My eyes are filled with tears just listening to your words…" Sabrina stood at the door and said to Tia.
"Aunt, I missed you." Bia stood up and went to hug Sabrina.
"I missed you too, my little cupcake. Let me have a good look at you. You've grown lean. I need to feed you delicious food during these holidays so that you can grow fat for me." Sabrina touched Bia's face affectionately.
"Aunt Tia is already feeding me. Aunt, you must be hungry. Join me." Bia held Sabrina's hand and they walked to the table.
An hour later.
Sabrina tugged Bia to sleep inside Bia's room. When the kid had fallen asleep, Sabrina closed the door gently before joining Tia in the hall.
"Is she asleep already?" Tia asked.
"Mm! She must be jetlag from sitting in the plane for several hours." Sabrina joined Tia on the couch. She sat down and placed her head on Tia's laps.
"I bought a gravestone for myself today. The paperwork will be mailed in a few days' time." Sabrina said.
Tia ignored Sabrina's words and picked up the remote. She intentionally increased the volume to blur out Sabrina's words.
"I was thinking of picking a nice place for Bia but I felt that I didn't have the right to do so…" Sabrina sighed when she saw how Tia was trying to shut her out. She sat up and snatched the remote from Tia and decreased the volume.
"Are you listening to me?" Sabrina asked.
"What? Do you know each other? Miss, why are you telling me your personal matters? Are we that closed?" Tia was clearly hurt at Sabrina and it was evident in her words.
"Darling, we've had this discussion before. This isn't something we can prevent. I don't have much time left. Instead of getting angry at me, why don't you use that energy to make good memories with me?"
Tia stood up and walked towards her bedroom.
"Tia Carpenter. I am talking to you." Sabrina stood in front of Tia just at the door.
Tia looked at her and chuckled. "You didn't answer my question. Miss, do we know each other? Roommates don't need to talk about such things together. Since you bought a grave already, why don't you die right away?"
"Are those words from your heart? Do you mean what you just said?" Sabrina asked.
"Yes!"
"I know you don't mean it. Darling, can you stop being angry already? We are not allowed to go to bed angry or not talking to each other. It is written clearly over there." Sabrina pointed at the paper on the wall pasted between their rooms.
The paper contained their dos and don'ts as roommates.
Tia closed her eyes and Sabrina hugged her. "I'm sorry."
"If you are really sorry, then, go somewhere with me tomorrow." Tia said and Sabrina furrowed her brows and folded her arms.
Sabrina gave Tia a suspicious gaze and asked. "Don't tell me we're going to see another shaman, right?"
"A tarot reader in Manhattan. He is very popular and good at what he does. He has a good reputation and many celebrities go to him."
"I see what this was all about. You weren't really angry with me. You just played a smart one on me."
"Darling, I promise if he doesn't have a solution to our problem, I won't go anywhere with you again."
"Let me record that." Sabrina picked up her phone to record Tia's words. "I want to have evidence in case you try to double back on your words later on…"
Next day….
Finess Café.
Vincent pulled over in front of a café to get a cup of his favorite chocolate coffee before going to work. He was a regular at the café so the servers knew what his usual was. As soon as they saw him, the main server of that morning smiled and picked a plastic cup to make him his coffee to go with.
Vincent paid with his card and turned to leave, at the door, he bumped into a young man who seemed to be in his early thirties. The coffee almost poured on the man but Vincent swiftly held on tightly to the cup.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming and turned unexpectedly." Vincent apologized.
"It's alright! But what are you going to do about that woman?" The mysterious man asked with a smirk.
"What do you mean?" Vincent asked with a confused expression.
"You met a woman yesterday, right?" The man asked again.
"Who are you?" Vincent asked back.