Strings Of Time

VIII

"You like old music, Miss?"

I got startled and screamed. When I turn around it was Mr. Bello the gardener. He was carrying a wheel barrow with dried leaves on it. "You startled me, Mr. Bello." I was embarrassed and smiled at my silliness.

He chuckled and shook his head, "My apologies, Miss. Are you here with Alex?"

"Pardon?"

Mr. Bello scrunched his eye brows and scratched his chin, "I just saw her a minute ago. She was sitting on the gazeebo listening to that music. She likes those kinds of things. It makes her sober up a little bit." We both looked around but Alex was nowhere to be found. "Well I guess she left now."

"But Mr. Bello, how can Alex find her way back to the mansion without any help? She can't see, right?"

He smiled at me and nodded, "Well, that's always been a mystery to us. Though she can't see you... she knows you're there." He winked at me and went on his way.

I was left there feeling fascinated with all the mysteries surrounding this family. I made one last look at the gazeebo and went on to do another composition. I was pretty inspired that day.

The next day, I heard the music again. I was sure it was coming from the garden. And so, I hurried myself to see if the young master was still there. I was hoping to get a glimpse of her...or rather a glimpse of Christopher's face.

My hand was about to reach the door knob going out the back of the mansion when it suddenly opened. I brought myself to a stop, however, I lost my balance and tripped in front of the unknowing young master. Her body cushioned my fall as we both fell onto the ground. The Russian housekeeper immediately came to our aid and helped us up.

"Oh my God... I am so sorry. I didn't mean to—"

Alex sighed in irritation as the side of her mouth twitched, "I thought I was the only blind one here. I didn't know there were two??" she crossed her brows and sighed some more.

"I said I was sorry, okay?"

She cocked her head sideways and tried to refresh her memory, "If I can recall correctly, you're the girl who slapped me right on my face. Ain't that right, missy?" she stepped forward and leaned her face towards mine.

I then leaned back my head and hissed, "Yeah that was me and I'm still true to my word that I would do it again if needed to. So step back and move your face away from mine!"

She smirked and leaned her face even closer, our lips were almost touching and I could smell her breath, it smelled of alcohol. "Why don't you make me?"

I pursed my lips and shoved her face away from mine making her loose her balance. The Russian housekeeper caught her young master and helped her stood up again. I made a deep breath and scowled at this conceited fool, "Don't you ever lean your face against mine, you jerk!"

"Oh yeah? You were the one who kept on raising the volume of your stupid music every day! I have to consume a lot of alcohol just to fall asleep! So who's the jerk now?"

I hissed again and smirked at her stupidity, "Huh! You're the one who growls at every maid in this house just to get what you want! You're such a spoiled little brat! You think you can treat other people like that and get away with it?"

"You think my father hired you because you're a prodigy?? Well guess again! You're just one of his stupid fucking assistants whom he will fuck at night until he gets a new one!"

I was about to lose it when Henry suddenly showed up out of nowhere and slapped his daughter, "That's enough! You are ought to be ashamed of yourself, Alex! Look at you! You're drunk again!"

Alex clenched her fist and her face was blank. I couldn't figure out what was going through her mind right now. I was still in total shock. The young master held her cheek and stood up straight as she fixes her composure. She made a deep breath and said this to her father, "You're the one who should be ashamed, dad. You're the one who wanted me dead, right?"

Right at that moment, when Alex said those words, Henry's face froze. I didn't know the story behind her statement, but I'm sure it was something really heavy from their family's history. Alex walked passed us and went inside her room. The Russian housekeeper looked at me with disgrace and left us by the door. I looked up at Mr. Mathews and he was once again massaging his temples. I took pity on him and reached my hand to rub his back, but I suddenly pulled away when I remembered what Alex said earlier.

"Come, Elise. We have much work to do..." said Henry in a tired voice.

I quickly followed him and went on to finish a composition.

The next few days were unbearable. That young airhead played all sorts of tricks on me. First, she ruined a piece I was working on by spilling a lot of ink on it, second she broke one of the strings of the grand piano... I had to call Olly and help me fix the strings before Mr. Mathews sees it, third she pulled a prank telling me she accidentally cut her pinky finger and she used fake blood just to make it realistic, and she somehow managed to order pizza in my name and made me pay for it. This blind kid sure does know a lot of magic tricks. Mr. Mathews' daughter was driving me insane and I'm sure she quite happy about it. I had to report this ruckus to her father. I can't concentrate on my work. But before I do report this to her father, a little revenge will ease the amount of stress I have to deal with.

And so, I began to spy on our brilliant young master in which I was curious on how she moves around this ginormous house without bumping into things. I noticed that she kept on touching a specific part of an object and pivots her body to a specific direction. She often used her stick to sense if she was on the right track, just her sense of touch finishes it all. And there you have it, the perfect revenge came across my mind. It was brilliant. It was perfect. It was... a mistake.

TO BE CONTINUED...