Embers

Embers: A short story

People find bliss and comfort in sleep once they slumber ever so deeply. But it wasn't the case for me, as I have had disdain over that stay in the old, crumbling house of the Middletons. Sure, the stay there was a great experience but I don't think I'll ever live it down. It will haunt me for good.

I came across a list of jobs, one day, over a website and I found an opening as a teller in a newly built bank just a couple of miles off of London. It was Empskon Rural Bank, not very well known, recognized nor awarded. It was at its birth in the world of banking and I have considerable experience in working at banks. It was the perfect opportunity to have a win-win. That prospect of working there, however, went dwindling down when I searched for possible houses to rent or buy on mortgage. Most of these apartments came in six thousand pounds, seven, maybe. Sadly, I have a terrible budget of five, which, to my dismay, doesn't come for any house I searched for. I even checked on Airbnb but anywhere near Glastony was already full.

I was just about to quit making my resumé when a friend of mine, who I'll call Elle, found somewhere where I could stay. No, it wasn't at her place. She has a family of her own and she couldn't accommodate anymore people in her residence. Instead, she recommended me to her cousin's family's former residence before they moved to Sri Lanka. The Middletons were a happy bunch, she told. They almost always held a party for their friends and family monthly. I'm surprised they could budget this every month without having to suffer a monetary crisis.

As what I've heard, the head of the family, Arnold Middleton, was an entrepreneur who owned several stores all over the country. They were all clothes shop and his wife, Dana, was their head seamstress. They hired a team that could mass produce their clothes design. In a matter of a year or two, they've earned seventy-seven thousand pounds a year. This enabled them to buy the property where I will be staying while I work at ERB. Thankfully, it sells at five thousand, which is strangely cheaper than most other houses.

I met with the dealer a week later to decide on buying or renting the house.
"Mr. Macalintad, do you want downpayment or immediate pay?"
"In full." I shoved the envelope containing the money, worth five thousand, right across the desk. For a moment there, I thought that the lady had given me this sort of snicker or that bitter expression, but I blinked again. She was smiling.
"Please wait a moment." She turned and walked to a metal drawer containing several reams of paper in folders. She had thrown the pen across the desk and asked me to fill up a form placed somewhere there. She didn't seem to meet me eye to eye, as I usually don't expect from negotiators such as herself. So I jotted down on everything as she silently went through the folders. I looked up again to see her going to the corner calling someone on her phone. She seemed irritated at first but when she glanced at me, she turned for a grin. I looked back at my paper, halfway done. What was over me, I asked myself mentally. I rushed a bit more in writing. After a few minutes, I finished the forms and the woman snagged it from my hands. "The deal's been sealed, Sir." I don't think I'll forget that.

Elle dropped me off at the gate and gave me the keys to it.
"If ever you need something, call me, okay?" She gave me the phone hand sign and sped off. It was just the gate between me and my new home. Alone. Well... not really.

I have this blazing orange cat named Pepper that I rescued from the streets. I must have done her a wonderful favor by pampering her with cat treats and the squeaky rubber duck. She's always been my companion for the last 3 years. So, upon knowing I'd get to go to England, I decided to bring her along, since no one in Quezon is around to tend for her.

With her cage in hand and my luggage right behind me, I walked along the unswept, covered pathway that led to a lonely, shoddy house. It was caged by dying trees and thickening shrubs and grasses. It had been a couple of years since they trimmed the place. 5 years, I suppose, and it hadn't been bought by any except myself. I can't help but get chills from even being around that place. It was August so I didn't mind so much.