TST, 2020
Every second the clock ticked, Isla’s heartbeat rate increased. She kept on reading the letter.
“I’m sure this is Leo.” She said.
“Stop moving and sit. You need to relax.” Rosemary said.
“I used to meet with Leo in the store. This is him.”
“You haven’t slept the whole night.”
“When I close my eyes I see him, when I open my eyes I miss him.”
“We’re not sure if Leo wrote this letter. It’s printed, not handwritten.”
“This is Leo. I need to go.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“No, it says alone.”
“Isla—”
“God will never give you anything you can't handle, so don't stress.”
The clock on the wall read 8 PM. Isla waved at Rose and walked out. The school was very quiet, so was her heart. Trees were quiet without the birds. Her heart was quiet without him. She couldn’t remember the last time she slept well. She’s been having many late conversations with the moon, he tells her about the sun, and she tells him about Leo.
After five minutes, she found herself in front of the storage room. After hesitating for a moment, she pushed the door. It wasn’t locked. She slowly paced inside. It was very dark. Memories she had with Leo the last time they were in this room began circulating in her mind. Good memories are best to be cherished with both eyes closed, she slowly closed her eyes.
A flick of lights jolted her from her memories. Her body started trembling. Was it Leo? She slowly turned as she opened her eyes. Her eyes widened as her body temperature rose.
“What are you doing in here?” Macy said.
“I should ask the same question.” Isla said.
“Is this one of your tricks? To kidnap me as you did to Leo?” Macy unfolded a piece of paper.
Isla’s heart was pumping fast. Macy was holding a letter, similar to the one she received.
*********
He was confused. How would he steal the cards from SJ? Why was the old man asking for the cards? Who was the old man? If he needed money, he could’ve taken the 1.5 million in a bag but the old man returned the bag with money to him. What was inside the cards? Leo forked his fingers in his hair. He had to save her mother’s life. She was the only one he’s left with.
“Leo? Oh my God!” A guard at the gate stopped him. His eyes were wide. “Follow me.”
Leo followed the guard into his office. It was a room near the gate. The clock on the wall read 8:10 PM. There were two other guards in the room. They were all shocked seeing Leo. The guard who brought him made a call.
“Leo is back. He’s in my office right now.” The guard said over the phone. He hung up.
“Where have you been all these days?” Said the other guard, he seemed to be the oldest in the room.
Leo sighed. “Somewhere very bad.”
“What happened?”
“I need my lawyer.”
The two other guards chuckled. After a minute, a car stopped outside the office. SJ rushed inside.
“Leo?” she muttered, not believing what she saw. “Wait for me outside.”
Leo walked out. News spread like a virus, a person sneezes and it is everywhere. Many students were outside the guard’s office. Their faces reflected the happiness they had in their hearts. His heart was relieved. He gave off a healthy smile to his fellow students. Baraka rushed out of nowhere and hugged him.
“Hey man, I’m glad to see you.” Baraka said.
“You’ve grown thin man.”
“Many bad things happened.”
“Where is Isla?”
“Go finish up with SJ, we’ve a lot of things to talk about.”
Leo entered SJ’s car and they went to her office.
“How are you?” SJ said.
“Fine…”
“You disappeared, police have been looking for you everywhere in the past two weeks without success and today you just reappear out of nowhere and you’re saying you’re fine?”
Leo sighed, staring at the rotating fan.
“What happened?”
“Nothing good…”
“If you tell me the truth, I can help.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Were you kidnapped?”
Leo gritted his teeth.
“Did someone kidnap you?”
“Why are you so worried about me?”
“Tell me the truth.”
“I have nothing to tell you.”
SJ leaned on the couch. “Fine.”
“Can I leave now?”
“No, your father gave you a card. Do you have it?”
Leo’s heart started racing.
SJ dug into her drawer and came out with two cards. “The card is similar to this. Looks like an ATM card but has no bank name.”
“I’ve never seen such a thing before.”
“I knew your father. He was my friend.”
“My father’s friends attended his funeral.”
“There is a huge amount of money hidden in a safe box. We need three cards to open that box. This money will help you and your mother. That’s what your father wanted.”
“Is that why you pretended to care about me?”
“No. This money—” Her phone rang.
She stood. “Yes, I’ve him.”
SJ walked out of the office. “The kid is very stubborn but I’ll handle him. We’ll get the card Patrice, don’t worry.”
SJ returned to her office. It was empty. Leo was nowhere to be seen. She rushed to her drawer, the cards were gone.
She rushed to her phone. “Put the school under lockdown, now. Make sure nobody walks in, nobody walks out. Take every other guard you have and search the whole school. Leo Felix has something that doesn’t belong to him in his hands. I want him caught as soon as possible. Announce this to everyone in the school, including students. Whoever helps us get him will be awarded 1 million cash and whoever helps him hide will be terminated.”