The Invisible Mystery

Chapter 4: Secrets

I took a deep breath as I looked at the gate of the Pristine University in front of me. I was feeling the very same nervousness that I felt yesterday, and I did not know if that was a normal thing or not, but then again, I did not pay any attention at it anymore.

I just continued to stare at the huge gate of the University, as though the people inside wanted to point out that this campus is prestigious or whatever they wanted to call it. I just continued to calm myself down, because, really, it felt like my heart was going to burst any time soon.

Though I knew that I did not have any choice any longer. I was already here. H*ck, I even took that special test, and now, I would back down because I was too nervous because of this?

No, I would never do something like that. I would never back out just because I was feeling nervous, once again. I would never turn around, not now that I was already right in front of this University.

Also, I have already informed Dad about this, as well as my sister, the night before, and our talk last night still gave me a smile on my face.

I was so excited that night, because I already knew that my Dad would be proud of me once again. I also knew that my Sister would be really happy for me too, though she was a but hesitant when I had agreed to transfer on this university.

I guessed that she might be glad with this opportunity that I had, and she would not be that skeptical any longer, which made me anticipate on their reactions more than I ever did before.

I excitedly opened my video call because I really wanted to see their reactions, not just through their voice but also through the expressions that I would see on their faces. I wanted to see what they were about to react after they had figured out that I passed that special examination.

Even though I was so tired with everything that had happened this day, and even though I had promised to myself that I would take a rest that I really deserved, I still could not help myself but to feel excited as I really wanted them to know what I had done on the first day that I took a step inside the Pristine University.

After all, we were always like this. Informing each other about what had happened on our day whenever we were apart. I also knew that my Dad and my Sister really wanted to hear something from me now as they both knew that it was this day that I had to go on the university to introduce myself.

I knew that they wanted to hear something from me, and I was really excited to share everything that I had encountered and experienced on my first day on this University. I wanted to tell them almost everything that I had encountered, but I refrained myself from doing so as I already knew that I still needed to act, properly, in front of my Dad.

It did not take long for them to answer my call. In just two ring of my phone, I already saw that my Sister had picked up the call. I saw how she immediately smiled as soon as she had seen my face.

“Liana!” she said in her always cheerful voice, which made me smile once again. “It is good to see you again!”

I laughed a little as I knew that it was not that long ever since we had seen each other, but then again, I also knew that that was how she always is to me. That is how she always acted whenever the both of us were apart.

It was as though she really missed me and wanted to talked to me until her eyes drooped, just like how she always do whenever the both of us were talking with each other.

“It is nice to see you too,” I said to her with almost the same smile as hers, and even though I was trying to hide it, I knew that she had already seen it on my face.

She was about to open her mouth to speak to me once again, but she stopped and think for a while, before she said to me, “Oh wait!” as though she had remembered something, which made me feel alerted. I even heard her laughed when she saw the kind of expression that I had on my face. “It was not that serious, Elisse!”

I let out a sigh, as I shook my head from side to side as I asked her, “Then, why are you suddenly acting as if what you had just remembered was something that serious?”

I saw how she frowned at me, before she laughed so loud as if she could not believe that she had just heard those from me. I just pouted at her because it seems like this would just end up on her endlessly teasing me, because of something I really did not have any idea on what it was about.

“I am not!” she even defended herself, which made me pout even more than before, and made her laugh, loudly, once again. “You know? I think that you are in daze right now,” she even added, which made me sulk as I knew that I was not in a daze any longer.

Or was I? And I just did not noticed it? Maybe, I was still in a daze and did not snap out of it even though I was already on my dorm?

After all, it was not that really long ever since I came back from the University, right? It was not that long ever since I found out about the results and everything that had happened this day, right?

I was just thinking of that when I saw how she shook her head once again as though she already knew that I was thinking so many things once again.

“You know?” she said, which made me snap out of my thoughts as I refocused all of my attention on her once again. “Never mind what I just said to you.” She waved her hands in front of her and I saw how she prepared to stand up from her seat. “I think that I needed to call Dad now so we can talk to each other once again. After all, he already said to me that he wanted to see you once you had called me.”

I just nodded my head, mindlessly, at her and watched her walk with her phone on her hands, which made the scene that I was watching become so blurry to the point that it almost made me feel dizzy.

I just decided to wait for her to arrive on wherever our Dad is, because I really felt so dizzy just watching the blurry figures on where she was walking to, and just listening to her hurried footsteps as though she could not wait any longer.

It only took her a minute or two, until, finally, she stopped on her tracks and I saw a glimpse of the familiar door of my Dad’s office. I already knew that he has been working overtime once again, but I did not expect that he would still be inside of his office, even at this kind of hour.

I heard that she knocked on his door, twice, before she had called him. I also heard that they had talked for a little while, until she finally entered the room where Dad was.

It took them a while before they finally settled Abigail’s phone on the table, which I presumed was my Dad’s office table, and I had already seen their faces, clearly.

An involuntary smile crept up into my lips as I had already seen the both of them, once again, in the same frame. I also seen them smile at me as though they were also glad that I had finally called the both of them.

I missed this, though it was not that long ever since I had talked to the both of them. It also seems like I was not the only one who missed this kind of interaction between the three of us, because I saw the excited glint on their eyes.

“Liana,” Dad called me, which made my smile widen even more than before. “I missed you, my Daughter.”

I laughed as little when I heard how his voice softened, gone the strict boss that his workers had grew accustomed to, and gone the man who was acting as though he only thinks of power and nothing else.

Though I must say that this expression that I was seeing on his face as of this moment was just a normal thing for me to see. The look that he had on his face was the look that he always had whenever me and my Sister was around him.

He was always like that. He had reserved an attitude that was solely for the both of us. It was that kind of attitude that he could not show to anyone, publicly, because of his figure on the outside world. It was the expression, and the emotion, that was only meant for me and Abigail.

“I missed you too, Dad,” I said to him in a low voice, before I turned to look at Abigail and gave her a smile, which made her nod her head at me.

We talked to each other for a while, and Abigail was also talking about the things that they had done while I was away and was not calling them. I even laughed so hard when I saw how Dad’s expression on his face suddenly soured when my Sister was making a joke about him crying every night because he missed me.

I just shook my head as I kept on listening to every story that she had about our Dad, which I already knew was exaggerated as she just wanted to see how Dad would react.

Though, because of the cool Father that he was, he just played along with it, which made it even more interesting for me as I started to ask them questions about it, jokingly.

The talk that we had has been going on for a while, until it finally dissipated because of what Dad had asked next to me.

“How was the University?” he asked me, and I saw how Abigail’s mood suddenly changed because of it, but then again, I did not point that out any longer because it seems as though she wanted to keep it from Dad.

And I would not be the one that would cause fight between the two of them, and that was also the reason why I did not tell anything about her sudden change of mood anymore.

I just focused all of my attention on our Dad as I started to talk about the things that I have done on my first day that I took a step inside of Pristine University. I even had a huge smile on my face because I still could not believe that I just passed that special examination that they had given to me.

As the time goes by that I was just talking about that examination that I had, I did not noticed that my sister’s face got paler and paler every second as though she had seen a ghost.

“I got a perfect score and the teacher said that I should return tomorrow for the introduction in the class,” I told him, and I saw how he had a proud smile on his face, which also made me want to continue what I was saying, but then again, I stopped as I finally noticed the expression that Abigail had on her face. “Abigail,” I called her name, but it seems like she could not hear me at all.

It made me frown, as I became so worried for her, and it seems like my Dad had also sensed something wrong because he looked beside him, where Abigail is, and I saw how his expression got serious for a moment.

It made me so confused, because I really did not have any idea why their moods suddenly changed, and I was about to ask what was wrong, but then again, before I could even do that, Dad had suddenly interrupted me.

“Liana,” he called my name, in a soft voice though I knew that it was just a failed attempt to mask up the seriousness on his voice.

I hesitantly looked on his face as I asked him, “Yes, Dad?” There was a hint of uncertainty on my voice, which made him mask up his true expression even more.

“I am really glad that you passed that special examination,” he said as he paused for a little while, before, finally, he gave me a small smile as though he did not want me to worry any longer. “But I think that our celebration about it should be moved for the other day, because it seems like your Sister is a little bit tired today.”

I frowned because I knew that it was not really the case, and that confirmed it when I saw that Abigail was about to protest, but then again, Dad gave her a pointed look, which made her close her mouth and swallow whatever she was about to say; this was also the very first time that I have ever seen that kind of look they had on their faces.

Dad looked at me after that, as though he wanted to check if I did not see any of it, and I did not know why I pretended that I did not know anything at all, though I did because it seems like I needed to unfold something about this.

“We will call you after this, alright?” Dad asked me, hurriedly, and he did not even wait for me to answer him any longer as he had closed the video call that he had even insisted to do when he said that he wanted to hear an update from me.

I frowned at him as I whispered to myself, “What was that?” because I was really confused about everything that had happened just now, but then again, even though I tried so hard to figure it out, I could not seem to think of anything at all other than the question marks on my head.

I let out a sigh as I remembered what had happened that night, and I could not even get it off even until now that I was already outside of the Pristine University.

I figured that I needed to find out about it, so that I would never think about it any longer, but then again, I did not know where to start. I did not know how I should find out everything I wanted to know, and I did not know if the both of them would really let me do that.

I let out a sigh because it seems like what had happened last night made me even more nervous than I ever was. It made me feel anxious to the point that I could not think about anything at all other than this.

I let out a sigh once again as I shook my head to remove what had happened the night before. I wanted to focus on my studies as of this moment, and I wanted to enjoy the first day of my school, and I knew I would not be able to do that if I kept on thinking about it.

There was another time for me to know anything why they acted like that way. I knew that I would be able to figure out why they suddenly acted like that way, even though they never did it before; not even when I did something so s*lly.

I let out a loud sigh once again as I even clenched my fist as though I wanted to motivate myself and as though I wanted to remove those thoughts and focus all of my attention on what has been happening as of this moment.

I was just doing that when I heard someone said behind me, “It is good to see that you are motivated so early this morning, Ms. Smith”

I felt a little awkward because of the weirdness that I did just a minute ago, and that made me to hesitantly look behind me to check if the person behind my back was indeed the person I had on my mind.

And I almost wanted to run away because of awkwardness when I saw the person who just talked to me.

I awkwardly laughed at her as I bow down a little, before I greeted her, “Ms. Madison.”