First of its kind

2

James

"What the hell got into that woman? Everything was so nice and I just wanted to take a peaceful afternoon nap and then she goes and decides to run away."

I wasn't worried too much though, because I was sure to get her back. Shouldn't take more than few hours maybe, thanks to my great sense of smell. Sometimes I do think it's bit odd that our entire family, for generations have somewhat highened senses. Some have hearing, some smelling, some with vision and so on. And I could still smell Sophia in the air. Aahhh... the lovely, fruity scent with a hint of lilys. I had smelled the fruit before, but the lilys was still bit new for me even after a month. Oh well... it only makes it easier for me to find her.

"Ok, enough daydreaming on the porch. I should start moving if I want to catch her before dark."

I left the porch and took a walk through the garden. Walking on the pathway, I couldn't help but admire the flowerbed Sophia used to work hard on. It covered almost half of the garden, but I didn't mind, since it looked stunning, filled mostly with different coloured lilys and edged with natural rocks. I even noticed that single fern we both planted there when we moved here. Everything was so simple back then. Why did she have to run away like that? Other side of the garden was simple grass, with a garden swing in the middle of it. Like it was yesterday, when Sophia sat there, holding a teacup and enjoying the sunset.

"And when she noticed me looking at her, she always gave me a warm smile..." 

I rushed to the end of the pathway, through the bushes and the trees surrounding our house, and got on the main road right afer. I took a moment to wonder whether she followed the road to the town nearby when her fragnance hit me. It came from the meadow at the other side of the road. Why would she go somewhere so open? But then I remembered the north side of the meadow is edged with a forest. I started jogging and sped up a little every time I felt her scent getting stronger.  I was halfway through the meadow, when I saw Sophia reaching the forest. Calling for her, I started running as fast as I possibly could, but she disappeared between the trees.

 When I reached the forest, there was no sign of Sophia. But this did not discourage me, since her scent was almost everywhere, pointing the right way like big red arrows. This is easier than I thought. Following the trail of her fragnance and turning left and right every once in awhile, I came across with a small cave. It was surrounded by rocks and bushes.

"This is way too easy..."

I inspected the cave, but couldn't find Sophia anywhere, which is extremely odd because her smell was the strongest there. And it would work as a perfect hideout. Suppose she is smarter than I assumed. Leaving the cave area, I walked around a bit, just to see if there is any other direction where her scent might be coming from. The only thing I did catch was horrible stench of something I would rather leave in the toilet. I guess some animal found that huge evergreen tree comfortable enough to drop some gifts there. I sat on the nearest rock, grabbed my head and started thinking hard. Where could she possibly go? There wasn't any visible trail either that I could follow. I was so sure of my sense of smell that I never bothered to develop other tracking skills. If I leave this place now, it will be harder for me to track her later. She must be hiding somewhere, that means she must come out of her hideout at some point. And when she does, I will get her.

3 years earlier

"Sophia! Sophia! Come take a look at this!" , I shouted towards the kitchen. Only response I got was the sound of a cup breaking against the floor and some suffocated cursing. "This better be worth it James! Because of you, I broke my favourite cup.", she said as she walked to my home office. "Oh, believe me my dearest, you will not regret it. Look what I found. A perfect place just for two of us and it's not that expensive and yes, it does need some renovation, but I think it's totally worth it. What say you?" I looked up to Sophia to see what she thinks of the house I found someone selling online. 

 "Does it even have water system inside? And what about the sewer? Are there any grocery shops nearby?", she kept asking.

 "Yes, I checked every detail. The sale advertisement is legit and so is the seller himself. And the nearest town is like 1.5 km away. And yes, there are grocery shops and clothes' store and everything else we might need. First I thought it's too good to be true, considering the price. But I did some calculations and with my current salary, we can pay it off within 5 years, plus we have saved up quite a sum. Yes, it might feel hard at first, but think of all the possibilities. No more snoopy neighbours who won't even let you have breakfast in peace. No more constant traffic and the pollution it comes with. All the greenery for ourselves and we can do with it whatever we see fit. You always said you want a garden of your very own..."

 "Hold your horses James! Yes, I agree the greenery is rather flattering, but you are forgetting I also have a job, which I can not do while sitting at home like you, my darling. Would you please give me atleast two to three days to think about it...", Sophia raised her hand to keep me from saying anything, "without you trying to affect my decision in any way. Afterall, this is a life- changing decision and I don''t want to rush it."

 "Alright honey." I stood up and gave her a kiss. "Take all the time you need. I will be waiting for your opinion on this. You already know mine, but I do not want to do this without you. And as you said, it is a life-changing decision." Looking at her going back to the kitchen, I couldn't help but smile. Our very own house. To be honest, the apartment life started to make me feel bit sick, but I haven't said anything so far because Sophia simply loves her job at the restaurant. I sometimes didn't understand her passion about it though. What is there to like about serving people who, in most cases, act like complete jerks and even then you have to put on a smile and be polite with them. I personally woulnd't have the patience for it, but then again, I'm not working there either, so I just let her do what she enjoys. As for me, I got my career going as a writer. Hot, romance novels. Bleh. My publisher informed me that my books are top products and most of them are bought by women, young and old. What is with women and romance novels? The books don't give you any knowledge whatsoever and in a way, are complete waste of time. But it does put bread on the table, so I have settled with that for now. I shook my head to clear it from silly thoughts and turned back to work.