The Lost Wolf

Naomi breaks Up With Richard.

Six days Later.

It was another Saturday morning and i felt very elated and pleased with myself. It is days like this that i used to look forward to since i started working as a sales representative at the Software company here in Seattle. Perhaps due to the long hours of the job, i always wished that the weekend would come very quickly. Weekends were the only time that i would have ample space and time to be able to engage in my own activities. For one, i didn’t wake up at my usual time of 5 AM today. I remained in bed well until around 8: AM this morning. Then, i stood up from bed and used the next 20 minutes or thereabout to do my usual early morning exercises.  I did twenty push-ups and a few other body-stretching exercises. These exercises were not a daily routine for me until i decided to enroll for the Mixed Martial Arts classes. I had visited the gym and obtained the forms during the week, but i had yet to start training. i know  very well that once i start i would be advised by my instructor to try making it a daily routine, no matter how tight my time schedule is.

A look at my to-do list showed that i have quite a lot of activities for today. Quite a number of them are things i could not do during the week due to my tight schedule and quite a good number of them are also routine activities i carry out daily. For example, i would go to the Mixed Martial Arts center for my training later in the afternoon. There will be no missing it because, for me, because of the nature of my work, it is scheduled for only Saturdays. That’s only once a week. Also, i would be meeting with Richard today at a pre-determined location which i had chosen.. Among other things, i have to visit my hair today. I had also put this off till the weekend because of paucity of time. So, i have a lot on my hands today, though, i’m not complaining.

As soon as i finished my exercise, i went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. After that, i looked at my face in the mirror very briefly before i went out of the place. I would still come back in here because the bathroom is one of the places i would be washing today as part of the house cleaning. But i had decided to start from the kitchen so i headed there first.

Before i began to mop the kitchen floor, i had to sweep it thoroughly, not forgetting the edges and under my appliances. Then i proceeded to fill a bucket with warm water. I added dish detergent. I then began to mop the floor and as i was doing it, i was also rinsing. I paid special attention to sticky and greasy spots on the floor. Afterwards, i left the kitchen to allow the floor to dry while moving to the sitting room.

At the living room, my first approach was to pick up every available piece of thrash and put them into the bag that i had broght from the kitchen. Then i packed all the clutter that were out of their original places and placed them in a pile at the middle of the sitting room to be returned to their original places later. Next, i moved to straighten up the sofa and seat cushions. I used a vacuum cleaner to pick up all crumbs and pieces of hair that might be on the Sofa.

Taking a close look at surfaces, i saw that they had accumulated a lot of dirt within the three days i was not around. I took a damp piece of cloth and ran it over the coffee table, The TV/Entertainment center and other surfaces. Then i cleaned the ceiling fan and other light fittings using a damp piece of cloth. Using a vacuum cleaner, i cleaned all the drapes and window blinds.

The floor was the last to be cleaned. I used the vacuum cleaner, starting from the farthest corner and vacuumed my way out of the room.

When i got back into the bathroom to clean it, i realized that it was the part of the apartment that needed the most attection. First i removed all items that were not supposed to be there. Then i poured disinfectant into the toilet and scrubbed it thoroughly with a brush, flushed it. Next, i cleaned all the cobwebs from the corners of the walls i cleaned the shower and scrubbed the sink thoroughly. My mirrors were not left out. I poured water on my bathroom mirrors and cleaned them thoroughly, using a piece of cloth. To complete the cleaning for the week, i swept and mopped the floor, starting from the farthest point to the door. Then, i rinsed the floor with clean water.

Looking at the effort i put in cleaning the apartment, i was satisfied with myself. I felt like clapping.  As i felt no need for the bathroom before taking my shower, i felt the urge to do so immediately. Though, i would be going against my normal convention of always eating before taking a shower, i had to go ahead. Extraordinary circumstances sometimes dictated extraordinary decisions. I hurried into my bedroom to quickly undress and come back  I took off my nightgown, tied a towel around my waist and returned to the bathroom. I immediately adjusted the shower temperature, got under the spray and started washing myself. Within a few minutes, i was done  i toweled my body and headed back into the room to get myself some casual wear to put on. I still had to cook. So there was no way i could get dressed up now. I picked a T-Shirt and a pair of shorts from the closet and put them on. Then i headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

I quickly commenced the washing of the dishes i had piled into the sink yesterday night. Within a few minutes, i was done with the washing. I put on the stove and began to prepare one of the breakfast sandwiches. I mixed the necessary ingredients together and cooked for quite a while and the food become ready. I served the food and took it to the dining table. I opened my refrigerator and brought out two cans of Soda to accompany the food. I ate the food and cleared the plates, taking them to the kitchen sink. I soaked the pots in my second sink so it would be easy to wash them later.

My appointment with Richard would be for this morning, so i had to wear my clothes and head for the Park where i had asked Richard to meet me. This meeting had been put off since Sunday night when i returned from Tacoma. Richard would have been on edge since then. I know quite well how must be struggling to contain his frustration at his inability to see me. It has never been like this since we knew each other. Well, it is for good reason. Now that i have found my pack, i would noe welcome any romantic distractions.

I went to my room to dress and go meet with Richard. Selecting what i would wear was not a problem since i was not going for a formal outing. It was just to meet up with someone, so i took a green skirt which i had not worn for quite a while and combined it with a brown blouse. I quickly put on a shoe as i made my way out of my apartment. Soon enough, i was in a taxi on my way to the Sculpture park.

Once at the Park, i used the opportunity of being here again to take a stroll, checking out and admiring the various sculptures on display. It wasn’t as if I’ve not been here before. I’ve certainly been, but it’s been a long time ago. I took a deep breath, taking in as much of the environment as possible, and then continued my stroll within the Park, admiring more objects and looking to see if Richard had already arrived and was sitting somewhere. I walked almost to the edge of the Park and came back to where i started from without catching a glimse of him. Surely he had not arrived. I then sat on one the chairs provided for visitors and kept myself busy with a book i was holding while waiting for Richard. There was no point calling him or sending a text message. I knew he would come. I looked at my wristwatch and the time was already about a quarter to ten. We had scheduled the meeting fixed for 10 AM.

As i took my face momentarily away from the book i was reading to take in more of the sights and sounds of the park, i noticed a young man coming towards my direction. His features looked to be very much like that of Richard. He was still a bit far away from where i sat, sio i could not really say whether he was the one or not. I fixed my gaze on the figure approaching and as he got closer, he looked more and more like Richard. Soon, he got very close and immediately, all my doubts were cleared. It was indeed Richard. He was wearing a black pant and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt on top. He was tall as usual. As he came within a few feet of me, he flashed a smile, but i didn’t smile back. I kept a straight face instead. As he reached me, he bent down trying to kiss me but i rebuffed him.

“Don’t do that please,” i said firmly.

“But why, Naomi,” he asked with a great deal of worry on his face.

“Because we can’t do it together any more, Richard.”

“I don’t understand you anymore, Naomi. It’s a big surprise to me. Your attitude has suddenly changed towards me since you travelled to see your Aunty in Tacoma. You were certainly not like this before. First, you didn’t want to see me the very night you came back. And since then, you have been avoiding me. You wouldn’t call. And when i do call, you would cut me off saying you are very busy. Naomi, what has suddenly come over you? Or let me put it this way. What have i suddenly done wrong?”

“Nothing has come over me, Richard, and certainly you have not done anything wrong. But i must tell you now that we can’t continue with this relationship anymore. We are over.”

His face fell. He bit his lips and stared blankly ahead for a few minutes before he coul regain his composure. And as he slowly did, he managed to speak.

“Why Naomi, but why?”

He was still standing on his feet and i felt the need to ask him to sit down.

“Please sit down, Richard, so you can be more relaxed while we talk. Yes, i have kept this secret away from you since we met. I know I’m wrong for not having told you since. In fact, i apologize. I have seen that continuing to keep it away from you is to postpone the evil day. So i must tell you now. I’m not human. I am a wolf.”

His body twitched and he almost fell down from his chair. He stared at me with his mouth wide open for quite a few minutes. He was speechless. I could see he was trying to mumble something, but he couldn’t quite get the words together.

I continued. “I want you to understand this, Richard. We can’t continue with this relationship because it has no future. I mean you are a human and I’m a wolf. It just cannot work. And besides, i have been able to discover the Pack which i have belonged to since my childhood. I mean, it was founded by my father before he died. I lost contact with them for many years until my Aunty Debbie in Tacoma helped me to re-establish contact. I and Aunty Debbie were at the Pack compound in Tacoma and they welcomed me warmly.”

By now he was beginning to regain his composure. He looked down, ran his two hands through his hair, shook his head several times and said in a very thin voice that sounded a little more than a whisper, “i knew everything changed as soon as you visited your Aunty in Tacoma. I have always known she never liked me and never approved of my relationship with...” I cut him off before he could continue. “Stop that Richard. Don’t become overly sentimental over this issue. This has nothing to do with my Aunty. The facts are what i have already told you. Please i urge you not to live in denial. I hope you will accept this in good faith. I wish you good luck finding your own woman,” i said as i stood up from the chair. “im on my way now” I announced, as i walked briskly towards the entrance of the park as i made my way out.

As soon as i got out of the Park, i took the next available taxi home.