Orm had never imagined silence could be this loud.
Not the comfortable kind of silence she sometimes found late at night in her penthouse after the city had finally begun to sleep. Not the expensive, carefully curated quiet that came with soundproof windows and luxury living.
This silence was... different.
There were no impatient car horns blaring from traffic that never seemed to end.
No rumble of trains passing overhead every few minutes.
No chatter drifting out from cafés tucked beneath towering buildings. No music spilling from restaurants. No buzzing motorcycles weaving recklessly through crowded streets.
Only nature.
The endless rustling of leaves whenever the wind wandered through the trees.
The rhythmic chorus of insects hidden somewhere in the tall grass.
Birds calling to one another from branches she couldn't even see.
Every now and then, a strange cry echoed from somewhere deeper in the distance an exotic animal, perhaps. Orm had no idea what it was. She had never heard sounds like these outside of documentaries.
The noises weren't loud.
Yet somehow...
They filled every empty space.
"...Does signal here work faster?" Orm muttered under her breath, resting her forehead against the cool window of the SUV.
Her phone was already in her hand.
One lonely bar.
Sometimes none.
She tilted it toward the window as if a different angle would magically summon stronger reception.
Nothing.
Not even enough signal to refresh her social media feed.
The driver caught her through the rearview mirror and let out a small, awkward chuckle.
"I'm afraid not, Miss Orm."
Orm closed her eyes for a second before releasing the most dramatic sigh she could manage.
"Wonderful."
She slumped farther into the soft leather seat, crossing her arms as she resigned herself to staring out the window.
The scenery refused to change.
Or perhaps it changed so slowly that she couldn't tell.
Rice fields stretched endlessly toward the horizon, painted in countless shades of green that shimmered beneath the afternoon sun. A gentle breeze swept across them, making the stalks sway together like waves rolling across an emerald sea.
Clusters of coconut and banana trees stood scattered throughout the fields, their leaves dancing lazily in the wind.
Every few kilometers, a small wooden house appeared, standing quietly among flowering plants, vegetable gardens, and neatly swept yards. Laundry fluttered from clotheslines like colorful flags.
An elderly man guided two water buffalo across a muddy path.
A woman wearing a wide woven hat carried a basket balanced effortlessly on her hip.
Children chased one another barefoot through the grass.
The moment they noticed the sleek black luxury SUV, they stopped in their tracks.
YOU ARE READING
The Fence Between Us
FanfictionOrm is the sole heiress to a wealthy family, with one goal in mind: to inherit the family business and make her father proud. So when her father suddenly sends her to live in a quiet countryside, for reasons she can't quite understand, she has no ch...
