THE HEART AND THE MIND

THE FEELINGS STARTS

About one o'clock AM, Smith returned to his room from the group discussion. He is fixing his bed for sleeping. His phone rang. Myheartie is calling as it appears on the screen of the phone. He smiled and then picked up the call.

" Hi, my heartie, I can't believe seeing your call at midnight." What's up?" He asked while lying on the bed.

"Hey, my guest, I can't sleep, that's why I have just given you a call." She said in a low voice.

"What makes you not sleep, mydearsis?"

She then starts sobbing and snivelling on the phone.

"Oh, I can't resist listening to you sobbing over the phone. I'll go out of my senses. Please, what's happening to you? What's wrong? Who touched you?" He keeps asking a series of questions out of sense.

While snivelling, she said to him " Mummy came to know about Bryce... she said and then groaned loudly on the phone.

"What!! Who told her about Bryce?" Smith asked angrily.

Its... It's...my elder brother Anwar who came to know about him..." She said while sobbing.

"How does he come to know about him?" Smith asked.

" I don't know... but he went and met Bryce and humiliated him and then warned him against approaching me...He was so much belittled beyond all expectations by Anwar." She said.

"Oh, why would Anwar do that? I don't expect that from him as he is a self-respected man I have ever recognised."

"But how does mum come to know about him?" Smith added, asking her.

While sobering, she answered, " He just told her and mum...mum...mum" she then loudly cried as she failed to say what she wanted to say.

"Oh sorry mydearsis, calm down and relax. Listen to me very carefully... I knew it was not easy for you..and I know how Mum would treat you in this case. I knew no one would support you as they thought you were too young to be wooed. But that's not it. It's your time, they should let you have a boyfriend now. I think there is no fault there. You are already 18th." Smith said while coaxing her and relaxing her to stop sobbering.

Bid by bid, Smith is persuading and relieving her from the sadness of what happened to her. She stops sobbing and her voice becomes stable.

"Thank you my guestie, now my heart is relieved from the pain of what happened. She said.

He laughed at her and then said "hmm mydearsis, I'll always stand for your happiness."

"But do you know what is surprising me?" Smith asked.

"Uhm-Uhm" Alicezaks answered.

"How did they come to know about Bryce?" Smith asked.

she smiled and then said, " I subscribed to your advice, it took me more than a month without giving him a chance to see me, and I don't pick his call, or sometimes when I pick it immediately, we greet each other, I'll end the call. He's so worried about that to the extent that he came to see me at home. He met Anwar and then asked him whether or not I was at home and even went on to explain what brought him to meet me." Alicezaks replied.

"Oh, he has faults here," Smith said.

"Hmmm, do you see how mum reacts? She almost beat me."

" Smith laughed and teased her, " hhh did he take out her whip for the beat?"

She also laughed and said, "She almost took it out. I just keep crying and abracadabra like a new mad woman."

They all laughed and then Smith said, " mydearsis Mydears, do you hear how sweet your voice is when you're sobbing and crying? It's awesome! "

They all laughed and then, Alicezaks said "hmmm you're teasing me, ko? What I brought before you is not a joke. I don't know what suddenly relieved my mind from the pain of it."

" The power of your guestie is what waved away your sorrow and instilled happiness in you," Smith said.

She laughed again and said "See you! What power do you have? If it's true, let me see it in another woman.

" You disdain my power of public oratory. Give me one month, I'll present my baby girl to you." He said jokingly.

" Oh, I have given the whole year if you present me with your ladylove, there is a special gift for you," Alicezaks said.

They all laughed, and then there was interminable silence for a few minutes. And then, Alicezaks sighed and said, Smith, when are you coming back? I'm missing you a lot. I want to see you. I'm missing how you took me down for a hike. And how you are treating me? I'm missing your warm caress. I just want to smell the good fragrance of your body."

" Hey, this is Smith, your guestie not Bryce," Smith said humorously.

"Yeah, I know, my dear mind." She said in a serious voice."

OK, how you are serious and softly present the talk is as if you're talking to your loved one. That's why I thought you were not talking to me, you were speaking with Bryce. Maybe, unknown to mum, you brought him to your room.' Smith continues teasing her.

She laughed and then responded, " you're a humorist, how can I talk to Bryce like this?". I mean you."

He smiled and then said, " Don't worry, my dearsis, you're only too far from my eyes, but indeed, you're too close to my heart. I always think of you as you have a special place in my heart, whether you're near or far away from me. I will come back to you soon."

Oh my dearguestie, come back to me. I'm desperate to see you more, especially at this sad moment. I knew that if you were there, things would not be the way they went for me. Please come back to your dearsis.

"Oh mydearsis expect me by tomorrow, I'll be on my way back to see you," Smith said.

"Are you serious? Could I see you tomorrow?" Alicezaks said.

"Surely, you've heard my words."

" I'll be very happy if I can see you tomorrow." She said.

There was also a long interminable silence between them as they were all heavy-eyed, and then, there was a rooster crow which woke Smith from drowsiness. He looked at his watch. It was already dawn as it was 5:30 am.

The phone was in his right ear, and the call was ongoing.

" Hi, mydearsis are you on the phone?" Smith asked in a heavenous voice!

" My guestie, I'm on the phone. She said while yawning."

"It was already dawn!" Smith said.

"What! I can't believe it."

"Yeah, how can you believe it while you're already asleep, snoring like a lioness." He said humorously.

They all laughed and then said a warm goodbye to each other.

******************

By 10:am, Smith had already prepared for the journey back home. He called Jackson Khalil and gave him a notice of his one-day trip.

By 11 am he was at the railway station for the journey back home.

It was fortunate for him that only one ticket was available. The 1000-kilometre journey back home kicks off by noon.

It was a four-hour journey from Illinois to Mississippi. Smith was already at his town's rail station by 4 o'clock. He then takes a cab down to Granville Park.

Immediately, when he reached Granville Park, he picked up his phone and gave Alice a call.

As she picked up the call, Smith said "Hi mydearsis, I'm at Granville Park waiting for you there."

"What! You must be joking!" She said in a surprising voice.

Yeah, I mean it. I just came as I promised you. You said you'd miss me, and you wanted to see me, and I gave you my word. Now here I'm at Granville Park waiting for you to come and see me, hug me and feel the smell of the fragrance you want to smell! He said while laughing at her.

"Oh, are you serious?"

"I'm very serious, be quick, or else I'll go back now!" he said jokingly.

" OK, give me a few minutes, I'll be there. She said joyfully, while cutting off the call.

He sat down on the stool and started pressing his phone.

A few minutes later, Alicezaks was already at Granville Park.

"My GUESTIEEEEEE!!!" She said loudly with joy and ran toward him to hug him.

He keeps smiling and opens his hands for her to come for a hug.

She deeply hugged him for a long time and laid her head on his shoulder, and then closed her eyes taking a deep breath, which showed she was enjoying the hug.

" You're my everything, my mind, my life, and you're all of me. I thought you were joking with me, and I did not expect your arrival today." She whispered this to him while hugging him and then gave him a deep kiss on his cheeks, forehead and shoulder.

He smiled and then took his body off her and then caught her hand and sat on the stool.

My dearsis, let me tell you this, there is nothing that can stop me from making you happy. Whatever you want, I must provide it for you, no matter what it will take me. Nothing is important in my life like you," Smith said.

She was speechless, she was just looking at him for a long time, and then she cried and then hugged him while saying, Myguetie, I can't leave without you. You're my everything!"

He smiled and then, appeasing her by playing with her long dark hair, and then asked her,' Where is Bryce?"

"I don't know, we never met again since before what inspired him and Anwar." She replied.

" OK, how do you feel now about what happened?" Smith asked.

"With you at my side, I don't think I will be angry. I've forgotten all that happened, I'm just happy and feel like you took me to a wonderland of happiness!" She replied in a soft voice.

OK, thank God mydearsis, it was already at night. I had to go and sleep. I did not sleep throughout yesterday. I'm so tired."

" OK, are you going home to sleep?" She asked.

"No, I'm going to sleep at a hotel nearby. I don't want anyone to see me. I'm here for you only. By tomorrow morning I will be going back to school." He said while standing up.

"Oh, thank you for everything, I shall leave you to go and rest! Can we meet tomorrow before you go back? She asked.

" Uhmmm I don't think so, I have already booked an early morning ticket....but if you wish, I can cancel the booking.

Oh no. Don't cancel it, please. Thank you for everything, and I appreciate it. She said while caressing him for the last time.

She holds his hand while accompanying him to take a cab to the hotel.

He went in the cab to the hotel where he would sleep for tomorrow morning. The cab started moving while she was standing there waving her hand at him, and he was also waving at her.