Cherished

Chapter One

"Grass, breeze, sun and the birds. What else do you need to start a day?" Nikara's thoughts were running wild as she jogged through the meadows. She always preferred the meadows over the jogging parks for her daily runs. Her day was started in the same spot as it did yesterday, a day before that and almost for all the last 15 years since she moved into the city from her village.

Nikara was from simple peasant family and wished for simple things. That may seem to be nothing, but for her, it is a she'd ever hope for. She was a landscapist and designed gardens for clients and made sure they were well looked after. Her profession kept her close to nature, made her feel like home. Admist the wonders of nature is where she is most alive. After a few laps, Nikara sat down to relax. As she watched the butterflies, she relaxed. This was her bliss.

"Seven" she looked at her watch and mumbled. This was the end of her blissful imagination as she had to return to her real world. Nikara had to return to work. Although, it was what she loved and always dreamt to do, she dreaded her job sometimes. After sitting for a few breif moments, and watching the birds fly around, Nikara stood up and went home.

Around Nine, she got ready to get to work. Her job paid her well. Mostly, she could cover most of her expenses. She didn't have a lot to cover. It was just her and her sister, Kaya. Her parents had died a long time ago in an car accident. They had been walking home whan a drunk hit them and ran off. The police never caught the culprit and, Nikara and Kaya were orphaned. Nikara was just 17 and Kaya was 8. That night changed the sister's lives forever.Now Nikara was a working woman and could pay for Kaya's school expenses.

" When will Nikara arrive?" Nikara heard her boss yell at the top of his lungs as she approached the doorway. "Damn!! I'm going to have another shitty day." Nikara thought. She glancd at her watch to see what time it was "9:20. I'm 10 minutes early. Why in the world is he shouting? Lost his mind, I guess..." Nikara was little relieved, now she could mention that she wasn't late. Her mind went rampage as she gripped the door knob. One deep breath and Nikara opened the door. With a graceful swiftness, she walked in. The room went silent as she walked with a queen's grace.

Her walk rendered the Boss speechless. He always went in a trance as she would walk towards him. And this habit made him feel even more frustrated. He would loose his control and that made him feel helpless. Nikara was only one who could force him to look the other way. He hated her, but for some reason, he couldn't really argue with the way she looked at things. And that was the only thing that had made her job secure.

" Why are you late?" Boss alias Avish yelled at her. He was fuming with anger. Even more as she had entered the room.

"I'm not late, Sir. I fact I'm 10 mins early." Nikara replied, like ice to his fire.

She was calmer than usual. This made Avish even more frustrated. But, he had to calm down now. He couldn't defy the appeal of Nikara's musical voice.

"You should be earlier, you're a team leader" Avish argued.

" I'm aware, sir. But working hours are fixed and I plan to stick to them no matter what" Nikara said according to her usual self.

Avish decided that he needed to take a breath.

"I'll be back in a moment" Avish announced as he walked out of the room.

From the corner of her black irises, Nikara looked at him and smirked.