LOST

Chapter Three:A Peek into the Past

Ayla had just returned from school.

She after changing into another clothing, fed Snow some scraps of food and then picked up her phone she had placed on the coffee table.

Quickly, she dialled her twin sister's

once she read the message sent to her by her twin sister.

"Hello, Bella,"Ayla cooed."How were classes today?"

"Varsity is cool as always. Maybe hot."

"Well, I saw someone that resembled the old Marvin today, but I don't know - he seems pretty different."

"But if it was him, why did he not_"

"I guess I must have changed a lot - I remember I had a plastic surgery, remember?"

"Give it time though. He seems like a cool guy. Is it not the same Ayla that is so in love with his content?"

"I think you are right, my love."

There was a pause on the other side before she then said almost in whisper"Am preparing for a quiz we have this week. Bye-bye, dear," as she blows kisses...

Her twin sister's voice echoed in her voice and seemed to bring succour to the turmoil she was feeling.

Ayla stood beneath the branches of a guava tree observing Marvin looking all sweaty as he was looking awkward with those ball drills - and she wanted him to get her involved.

Without further hesitation she decided to head to the football pitch. And she extended a bottle of water to him.

"Thank you, dear Ayla. I have mine as you can see."

.

"Okay," she said softly but she was disappointed to say the least.

But what he said next caught her rearguard "You want to talk..," he left the rest of the statement hanging in the air.

She then retreated and sat beneath the mango tree followed later by Marvin.

"What did you want to talk about?," Marvin asked he asked as he unplugged his earbuds...

She hesitated, then smiled "So..those t****k poems of yours, what's the inspiration..."

He threw his head, closing his eyes momentarily before he said "You mean like backstory?"

She took a deep breath and then,"Well, if you say so. I kinda love your poems, those beautiful memes of yours and_"

"Well, you really want to know."

"Yeah," she answered with a note of finality.

"There's really no backstory to my poem. Thanks for your support by the way"

"Really?"

He sighed, the kind that carried more than tiredness. "Not everything is meant to explained - just roll with it."

Ayla drew back the curl of hair that fell across her face. "Are you sure about that?"

"And why is that?".

"I don't know - you tell me then"

There was silence between them, light but tense.

"What if someone wants to understand? You get me, don't you?"

"Are you on t****k too? You got that aura after all."

She licked her almost dry lips"Trying to be sneaky, huh?"

"See you around, Ayla," he said as a parting shot. At that moment Snow's shadow flew over and she looked up momentarily before she glanced back at the retreating figure.

"Is this even the old Marv? I must be overreacting." She shook off literally those disturbing thoughts that had been lurking around.

Marvin was in the library reading a comics when a message popped on his smartphone. As he lifted his head from his phone his eyes met Ayla's.

"Have you been tracking me?"

"Maybe," was her simple reply.

He gave her a somewhat cold gaze and she reluctantly left him to his mini world.

Heaving a sigh of relief, he opened his message and read it quietly."Let's meet at Campy gate after school"

"what's the meaning of this message," he wondered.

Once the bell indicating the end of class periods rang, students began trooping out of their various classrooms.

Marvin was walking slowly in company of his younger sister Mirabel when a car pulled up in front of them.

And a young man emerged from the vehicle beckoning him to come but his sister pulled him back subtly

"What do you think you are doing?," Mirabel asked in a hushed voice.

He stopped momentarily but broke free from her grip and walked towards the man.

The fellow took Marvin's hand in a firm handshake and the former squeezed something into his palm.

The stranger said his goodbye and Marvin bowed slightly...and then the former entered his car and zoomed off.

"What was that all about?," Mirabel asked.

"Nothing... Let's go home," Marvin said with a smile as he flung his arm across her shoulder and she was rather calm - that scared her brother a bit.

When they arrived home, Marvin was expecting him to confess his deepest secrets, if it will be called that.

But to his surprise she didn't push for answers to what her eyes saw earlier that day.

Mirabel had stepped out earlier but her brother didn't seem to notice as he was absorbed in the chat with his AI assistant.

She came back with a packet of peanut roll and wanted to share it with her brother but he refused the offer.

"You don't like peanut roll anymore?," she asked playfully.

"Not now, please," he said rather calmly.

"Okay, fine. when you are hungry, you can have a bite or two," she smiled weakly - her facial appearance written all over with exhaustion .

Once his sister left the living room for the kitchen he took a peek at the peanut snack on the table smiling and scooped some rolls into his mouth...

He sat silently reflecting on the message sent by Fred - that was the name scribbled inside the envelope.

"Which secret is my father hiding and why did he just write;" blood is thicker than water" and that was it?"

And now the focus was subtly shifting from Ayla and now to his father. He was broken by this revelation. But he had to be sure first and then...

Mirabel lay in bed covering herself with bedsheet, her body sticky with sweat. The fever had eased a little. Her head still ached, her hair like ruffled feathers.

She stirred as she heard quiet footsteps approach. The mosquito tent rustled gently before a familiar hand slid up the zipper from outside.

"Marv?," she murmured, her voice very low.

"Yeah. please, sit up."

Mirabel sat up slowly, pushing off the damp bedsheet. Marvin helped her hold the net open as she crawled out.

"It's delicious, you know." Then he scooped up a spoonful of the steaming yam porridge after he had blown it with his mouth.

She chuckled lightly "You are funny"

He sat back, watching her eat. "I added crayfish too - the way you like it."

Mirabel took another spoonful of the porridge, the warmth settling smoothly in her belly. She didn't want to admit it, but Marvin had outdone himself.

"You cooked this yourself?," she asked.

" Internet helped me - just 10 percent, my dear."

They both burst into laughter - a soft moment of relief.

But behind Marvin's smile, a quiet thought lingered.

And Mirabel caught his stare as she was eating.

"What?," she asked calmly.

"Nothing," was the reply. "Just making sure you are really here."

Outside, the evening breeze with it's whistling sound accompanied with the shriek of a crow in the distance gave him the chills.

A storm was coming ...and it was closing in.