Bullet in the heart

Anna It’s been a busy year for me since I started to work for our company. It has been six years since I started working after I graduated from college. It has been six years since the last time that I had a decent vacation. Yes, I admit that I was always out of the country at least once a month or sometimes once in two months, but all those travels are for work and expansion for our company in New York. Meeting with clients and new investors attending events for business and all. It is all for business. I remember that I had my last vacation in South Africa with my best friend Helena. She has been my best friend since I went back to Russia when I was still in grade school until we went back to New York to study college and we both graduated from the same school. Helena is the only friend that I have had since grade school except for that boy who I met before I went back to Russia. I only have a few friends at school because most of them are afraid to talk to me. I don’t know why they are afraid of me or maybe because they are afraid of the bodyguard that I had before. I was standing near the glass window of my office. Looking at the tall buildings in front of me. My office was at the top of our building where you can see the City Of New York. People are busy walking, cars everywhere. I realized how to live an ordinary life where you can spend more time with your family. I have everything in life, the things that I want. I can travel anytime and anywhere in our private plane. I have fast car collections and all everything, but the only thing that I don’t have and I wanted to have in my life was a family. I have my mother and father but it feels like they are not there for me. They are always busy at work. I grew up with my nanny beside me and my bodyguards who always guarded me for my safety. I didn’t understand before why I needed to have so many bodyguards at a young age, but when I started to grow up I slowly understood why they are always beside me, but still the same. I have all the things in my life, but there is still missing deep inside. I took a sip of coffee that my secretary gave me while I was still watching from outside the window when someone came to my office and— “Knock! Knock!” a woman said while she was knocking on the glass door of my office. Then I turned around and checked who it was. To my surprise, it was my best friend, Helena. She was back from her business trip to London. “When did you arrive, Helena?” I asked her and she just looked at me and said, “I miss you too, Anna.” She answered me and she smiled. I went to her and hugged her tightly and— “Oops. My bad. I asked the wrong question. How are you? I missed you.” I changed my question and smiled at her. I hugged her tightly. Tight enough that she complained that I almost choked her. “Seriously? You are a terrible hugger, Anna. I have just arrived and I am 30 minutes fresh from the airport.” Helena went to London to meet one of our clients because I couldn’t meet them myself. I have an important meeting to attend and that’s why I sent Helena to represent me. Helena is my right hand in running the company. Our first year of working was a hell of a ride. I didn’t expect that my parents would immediately put me in a position where I would be the CEO of our company. I wanted to manage our gallery in New York but it turns out that they gave me a bigger responsibility in running our businesses in New York. I graduated in Fine Arts from one of the universities in New York and I have loved art since I was a child, but I didn’t expect that I would be working on a different path. “The meeting went well and I am happy to tell you that we have the deal. The client agreed to our proposal and they loved to sign a contract with us.” Helena said to me with her happy face. I can see in her eyes that she enjoyed London. “I can see a glow in your eyes. Is there something that I need to know aside from the business side in London?” I asked her with curiosity in my voice. And I was thrilled to hear the answer but she just smiled at me and said, “Nah! Nothing happened there. For my eyes only.” “Holy sh*t! Don’t tell me you went to a strip club?” “HAHAHA. For my eyes only.” Helena and I love to go to the club when we are still in our college days. We went to a bar or any club except a strip club. I don’t want to visit one of those clubs. I remember when Helena told me that she wanted to go to a strip club alone. But I didn’t expect that she would do it in London. I think one of her bucket lists has already been checked. She looked at me and asked me what I was thinking earlier. She noticed that I was looking outside with deep thought. “Is there any problem? You look serious early while you were watching outside. Is there someone bothering you?” she asked me and I just looked at her and said, “I don’t think anyone will dare to bother me if someone doesn’t want to face a platoon,” I told her, smiling and— “Then what is it?” “I was just thinking that I was so busy at work and I didn’t have time to travel. A decent trip where I leave the work inside my office and go somewhere else to enjoy life.” “Yeah, I know it’s hard for you to have a long vacation, especially when we are fast expanding the business.” I called my secretary and asked if I had an important appointment next week, then my secretary generously answered me and with the answer that I wanted to hear from her. She told me that I don’t have an important appointment next week. I have meetings but it is just for updates. Then I told her to cancel all my appointments next week because I would be going somewhere for a week. My secretary immediately went out and cleared my schedule. Then I looked at Helana and I said— “You want an adventure? We will go back to South Africa.” I smiled at her. “Seriously?! I am in.” Without any hesitation to answer, Helena agreed that we would be back to South Africa again. We are both busy at work, so I think we need to relax sometimes. It’s been so many years since we traveled together and now, we will do it again. ------------ It had been a long journey until we arrived in South Africa. We went straight to our villa and, as usual, I am always with my bodyguard. We arrived late in South Africa, so we decided to rest for the next day to gain strength. It was 10 in the evening when we arrived at the Villa and the next day, I woke up at 9 in the morning. Helena was still sleeping while I was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. I have been learning to cook since I was in my teenage days. My nanny taught me household chores. She told me that even though I have all the things in life, I need to learn some work, especially household chores, because I might need them someday. After I prepared breakfast, I decided to go out and go to the beach. We are staying in the beachfront villa. While I was sitting outside, I decided to roam around the area and do my morning jogging. I changed my clothes and wore my workout outfit and started to run. There was a hill near our villa and I decided to run in that direction. My bodyguard still follows me but I told them not to get too close to me. To my surprise, I saw a big white tent where people were lined up. Because of my curiosity, I went near to the tent and I asked someone what the line-up was all about. Then that person told me that it was a medical mission from foreign doctors. To my amazement, I continue observing them outside. I haven’t been on any medical mission in my life. I admit that our company sponsored many medical missions but I didn’t get a chance to be on an actual medical mission. I was amazed by what I saw. I roam around and observe what the people are doing. Doctors check their patients and some volunteers offer free food to the people. Some play with the children. It is new to my eyes. I didn’t expect that this was the actual medical mission. I know what a medical mission is, but on my part, all I did was to present and offer money to help with the things that they needed, but I didn’t experience the actual work for this. I was about to turn around when I stepped on a big stone and I got off balance, which caused a twisted ankle. It was painful. I saw my bodyguards starting to run towards me to help me but there was this one man who helped me and checked my ankle. I didn’t know who he was, but he immediately asked me, “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Tell me if you can move your feet”, the man asked me. I was staring at him when he asked me if I was okay. I don’t know but it feels like there is something about this man that I knew before. He looked at me and my bodyguard immediately grabbed him away from me. The man tried to resist and fight back with my bodyguard. Then I said to my bodyguard. “Stop it! He was just trying to help me. He didn’t harm me.” I told them to release the man, who they immediately grabbed like a thing. The man came to me and checked my ankle. He tried to touch my left ankle and that’s the time that I felt the pain. He removed my shoes and he checked them properly, then he called someone and said, “Can someone give me my first aid bag?” he said, then someone went to us and brought a bag and said, “What happened doc?!” a female asked the man and she gave the bag to him and he started to get the first aid kit and that blue ice pack that he had prepared. But wait, did I hear it right? He is a doctor? I thought he was one of the security team on this medical mission. When I first saw him earlier, I thought he was just an ordinary person. He was not wearing that white gown like the other doctors inside and the female doctor in front of me who helped him get the bag. This man is too sexy and hot to be a doctor. If I am not mistaken, he is six feet three tall with broad shoulders and I could feel that he is lean and hard just like he had been doing a workout for a long time. And his sexy timbre and husky voice added to his hotness. The man decided to take me inside to have proper treatment because it was giving him a hard time treating me outside because of people who were lined up for the medical mission. The other female doctor asked for a stretcher but the man who helped me immediately carried me in his arms and I could feel his hard arms like a hard stone. He put me in a comfortable chair and he continued treating my ankle. My bodyguard kept on watching us just like they were ready to hit someone who hurt me. The man said, “It’s done. Be careful next time, ma’am”, he smiled at me and I didn’t want him to smile at me like that because I felt like every bone inside me was starting to melt. “Thank you so much, Mr.?” I said, then he replied to me with that smile again that made me melt inside. “Oh sorry, I am so rude for not telling you my name. I am doctor Dennis. I am part of this medical mission.” “Oh, I see. Thank you so much for the help doc. I was so clumsy and I didn’t notice that stone earlier.” “It's okay. An accident happens. Don’t worry, the injury that you have is just a minor one. It will be okay in a few days. Just don’t overdo it. Okay?” “How can I repay you, doc? Is there anything that you need for the medical mission? I can lend a hand here if you need more volunteers.” I said to him and asked him if I could repay him, but his answer put me in shock when he said to me, “A simple thank you is enough.” I didn’t expect that I would hear that answer again. I still remember the day when someone said that to me. Someone dear to my heart, even if he is not with me anymore or let me say wherever he is now. My bodyguard went to me and said that the car was waiting outside and they helped me walk and get to the car. To my surprise, Helena immediately came out of the car and checked on me. But before I went out of the tent where Doctor Dennis treated me, he gave me a piece of paper and said, “Take this with you. I wrote down the things that you need to do if it starts swelling, ma’am” he said, and I looked at him and said, “Anna. Call me Anna.” After that conversation, I said goodbye to him and went inside my car. I didn’t expect what the doctor said to me earlier to still be echoed in my ears. I only know one person who told me that and it was the person who helped me when I was still young and God knows where he is right now. I wanted to see him badly because he is the first person who helped me that day. “A SIMPLE THANK YOU IS ENOUGH”. And it is still clear to my ears what he said to me earlier. -----------