Blind The World

Chapter five

.Alicia Felt Speechless, she stood there silently, trying so hard to take in all Miranda said. Her friend Miranda seemed to have so much anger towards her.

"I am sorry. I never listened. I am sorry I thought we were close enough for you to call me out when you felt I needed an attitude change. I am sorry I thought we were friends. Now I know better” Alicia said, not sparing Miranda a second glance, she walked out of the house.

She walked into the street with her sight clouded by tears. She covered her face with her scarf as she made her way back to the mansion.

The distance between Miranda’s house and the Mansion was quite far, and she hadn’t noticed it on their way to the house because they were too busy talking and laughing with Miranda as they walked.

The long walk gave her more time to think about Miranda’s words.

She realized she was all alone. Her Aunt Caroline wanted to do away with her, her only friend didn’t even like her.

The thought of her father was the worst; she wondered what he felt when he abandoned her and what his reasons possibly could be. She suddenly felt the need to hear his reasons, embracing the idea of leaving Veeradawalls.

‘I can start afresh in Saintfields,' she though

She arrived at the mansion, the front yard was heavily guarded with guards roaming. she was spotted by Jackson at Jake's as she entered the gate.

"My lady, where have you been? We have been looking for you” he said, he paused as he noticed Alicia's pale face and swollen eyes.

"Is everything alright my lady” he asked, his voice changing from a formal to a concern tone.

"Yes” she answered, she ignored him and continued walking toward the mansion.

"Alicia!!!" Lady Caroline yelled as soon as she sent eyes on Alicia.

"Where in God’s name have you been? Your father arrived minutes ago, and he has been asking to see you” Lady Caroline rushed down the stairs.

"What happened to you?" Lady Caroline asked noticing she wasn't wearing her regular clothes and her eyes were swollen.

"Nothing, I just went for a walk," Alicia answered.

"Your father can’t see you like this," Aunt Caroline whispered.

"Hurry up, freshen up, then come down and welcome your father” she said to Alicia softly.

Alicia nodded walking up to her room, as soon as she got to her room, She fell on her bed immediately, tears striming down her eyes.

“You need to leave this place’ she told herself, pulling herself together and wiping her tears. She got up, walked to the bathroom to clean her face before going back to her woredrop to get dressed.

She wore one of her casual outfits, a black short-sleeve gown, and combed her long brown hair, letting it fall down her back.

Forcing a smile, she left her room and making her way to lady Caroline, who she found pacing back and forth by the guest parlour.

"I am here," Alicia announcedLady Caroline took a deep sigh, “go in, his waiting for you.

Alicia walked into the guest wing inner parlour, where she found a man seated on a chair, she stood behind him, noticing he looked a bit uncomfortable, he kept looking at his wristwatch, and constantly adjusting his posture.

She paused for a while watching him, before walking towards the middle of the room making her presence known.

William sat on a much familiar chair at Lady Caroline’s mansion, he had sat in this very same room 11 years ago, waiting for Matilda and Alicia.

The room brought back so many memories, as he sat there patiently waiting for his daughter, watching the time as minutes went by, feeling tensed and nervous, he hadn’t seen Alicia for 10 years and he knew she had no memory of him, he wondered how their conversation would go.

‘Am I seated well, is my outfit okay, this is the right time right” his mind bugged him with thoughts.

'Better late than never’ he assured himself, as he tried to convince himself that the decision to come to see his daughter now was the right one.

“Alicia” William said immediately he set his eyes on her, she looked exactly like her mother beautiful and elegant.

he rose to his feet to see his daughter properly, just 10 years ago she was a little child who would have ran to give a big hug, but today here she was a tall beautiful lad.

he felt overwhelmed to see “wow!!! Alicia, is this you” he said staring keenly at her, his face curved into a smiled and a teardrop of joy rolled down his eyes. seeing her again reminded him how much he missed them, how lonely and miserable it felt without them.

“you look just like your mother, may her soul be at peace” he added.

His words made her heart skip a beat, she always wondered how she would feel when she finally met her father, was she going to feel excited or furious, But here she was feeling neither, all she felt was nervous, the image she had of him In her head was different,

He was a tall, well-built man, and looked younger than she would have expected, she was always told she looked like her father, but she saw no resemblance at all, he had a friendly smile, making her feel a bit safe.

she tried to speak but she was tongue-tied, she tried to avoid eye contact but her curiosity took the best of her, making her stare, she tried to see if she could remember anything about him, any memory of him from her childhood but she had none.

“Are you my father??” she finally got herself to ask, she could see the smile on his face fading, he looked hurt for a few minutes.

“Yes!! my dear, my name is William Humphery, and I am your father” He answered his smile reappearing as he spoke, but this time it looked fake.

She stood there quietly staring at him, she had so many questions to ask, for as long as she could remember this was the only moment she hoped for, to be face to face with her father, and the chance to ask him.

“why he abandoned them, why he felt they no longer deserved to be part of his family, what could have happened to make him feel he didn’t want anything to do with his wife or only daughter.”

But here the moment was, her father standing right in front of her and she was unable to say anything.

Staring at him, she searched for any memory of a man with this face or statue in her life but she had none, doubt started to creep into her mind, could this not be her father after all, she thought.

“If you are, then why do I have no memory of you” she finally got herself to ask, trying to clear the discomfort she got from staring at a completely unfamiliar face.

“Lady Caroline set a table for us to have lunch” William ignored her question, changing the topic immediately.

“shall we!!” he said, turning to walk towards the dining table.

His response made her feel even more uncomfortable, as she realized he was hiding something, she cautiously followed him to the dinning room.

She watched him sit in the dining, before sitting down on a chair opposite his, her eyes never left his as she gave him a stare down, wondering who the man sitting in front of her was.

William was set aback by her question, hence deciding to ignore it, he wasn’t sure how to start explaining to his daughter why she had no memory of him.

He knew this question was bound to come up and he had planned to tell her everything, but he didn’t expect it so soon.

William ate his food quietly thinking of how to tell her everything, and when to start answering the questions.

Alicia watched as William concentrated on his food for someone who abandoned his family, he seemed quite happy and healthy, a part of her hoped to see her father looking a bit miserable and she felt horrible for it.

She was told her, her father left when she was 10, and at that age, she should at least be able to remember something, she thought, realizing she had a faint memory of her entire childhood before that age.

She tried to remember her childhood but she had little memory of her before eleven, just a few flashbacks here and there, most of them with her mother alone.

her first clear memory was of her waking up beside her mother, with a serious headache, she remembered her mother calling her name, and asking if she felt better, she remembered Aunt Caroline standing at the far end of the room looking disturbed, and rushing to call Mr Eric.

She remembered celebrating a grand 11th birthday weeks after. But everything before that was a big blur,

Was he ever in her life at all she thought, She tried harder to remember anything about him but instead, it gave her a serious headache, she felt her heart in a state of panic, making it heart race, and her breathe shorten, fear creeping in as she began to panting for air.

“Is everything alright” William asked noticing Alicis gasp.

she was too engulfed in her thoughts to hear him, she felt shivers down her spine.

she tried to steady her breath, still shivering as her muscle tightened, making her sweat profusely.

“Alicia, is everything okay!!” William asked this time louder, almost shouting.

She heard William shout, changing her train of thought, “why don’t I have any memory of you” she struggled to say, her body trembling as she spoke, “who are you..” she whispered, as her eyes began to close, she felt herself falling to ground before everything went blank