Enigma

Prologue

"Hello."

"Hello?" she asked in a quiet tone, still distracted by the figure she just saw a few seconds ago. "This is Axelia speaking. May I know who is this?"

"Hey!" The voice on the other line was clearly offended. "Don't tell me you can't even recognize your own brother's voice now."

She blinked a few times as his tone snapped her back to reality. She then tightened her grip upon the suitcase handle as a tiny smile tugged at her lips upon finally recognizing the owner.

"Sorry Jourdaine," she apologized with a guilty smile as if though the other could see her. "I spaced out for a moment."

"And let me guess, you didn't even spare a glance to know who was calling, did you?" he asked with a chuckle, thinking of his younger sister who just picked up the phone without even looking at the caller ID.

"Yeah, it was my bad." Her eyes silently scanned the buzzing crowd for the last time before walking towards the exit with her luggage.

"It's fine,"Jourdaine replied. "Anyway, I just called to know how you're doing. Almost fifteen hours had passed since you left here, you should be home by now."

"I'm doing good so far. And I'm still at the airport, Jourdaine." She tilted her head a bit to look at her wrist watch. "I just got off the plane but I have to go for the meantime. I'll call you later, alright?"

"Of course. Mom and I will be joining you there shortly- after taking care of a ton of paperworks, that is. Give Dad my regards."

"I will. I'll see you both soon," she said before the line was cut off.

Her attention was immediately diverted from her phone when a black car suddenly parked in front of her, followed by a man- who only seemed a few years older than the latter- getting out of the driver's seat. His lips were curved upward into a blithesome smile as he approached her.

"Welcome back, Miss," he greeted, his tone radiated of nothing but felicity upon her return.

"It's nice to see you again, Jared," she replied as she spared a small smile back to the said person before getting inside the car while he took care of her luggage. After a while, he got back inside the driver's seat and started the engine.

"How have you been, Miss?" He looked at her through her reflection in the rearview mirror.

"I've been well, Jared. And there's no need for formalities," Her voice turned soft as she said the next sentence, "You can just call me by my name, like how you used to back when we were little."

"If that's what you want." His fingers kept on tapping against the steering wheel while the former seriousness of his face morphed to that of exhilaration. The excitement was no longer hidden in his voice as he said, "I can't believe you're finally back."

"Neither can I," her tone grew silent as she stared catatonically at the tinted window with her chin resting against the palm of her left hand. "Ten years is quite a long time, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is," Jared concurred. "You were gone for too long. You have no idea how exuberant the staff became once they were informed of your arrival."

His statement brought a bittersweet smile to her lips and her thoughts began to wander to those whom she had to leave behind.

"Is Mr. Kim still working as the bartender?" she asked with a hint of curiosity.

"As a matter of fact, he is," he responded. "A lot of things have changed in this city after your departure, and yet most of the staff in the hotel remained."

"What about you, Jared?" She turned her gaze away from the tinted window to look at him. "I thought you were supposed to be the receptionist, and instead here you are driving me home."

"Your father allowed me to pick you up, hence I asked someone else to fill in for me. And you know I'd never turn down the opportunity to welcome an old friend-" He tilted his head backwards to look her for a second. "-especially one who went away for ten years."

"I see," she replied shortly. Silence reigned inside the car for the following minutes because none of the two decided to speak afterwards.

Axelia looked out the window for the second time but unlike before, she could then see the changes the city had undergone in the previous years. And if she was being veracious with herself, she would knowingly admit that she couldn't even recognize half of the city anymore.

The car took several turns until a black gate came to her view. The said gate was opened by a man who smiled politely at them as the car entered the premises. After a while, the car pulled over in front of a house. Before she even had the chance to get up, the door of the backseat was already opened by Jared who also helped her out of the car.

She found herself staring at the manor as she was suddenly hit by a wave of nostalgia. The memories of the time she once spent there resurfaced and came rushing towards her like a flash flood. Even though she could only remember tiny fragments of the years she spent there, she couldn't bring herself to stop the longing which was slowly forming in her chest.

"Miss Choi should be inside, along with the rest of the main staff," Jared said and she was even a bit startled to find him standing beside her, looking at the building with her suitcase already next to him. "You should go, I'll see myself inside after I park the car."

"Jared," she called to him just as he was about to go inside the car once again. There was no doubt that she caught his attention but what she said next caught him off guard.

"Thank you." Her voice was sincere and the solemn expression on her face made him reminisce about the girl whom he met many years ago. There was no denying that she changed over the years, hence it was such a relief for him to see that the smile she always wore had remained the same.

He only nodded with contentment before getting inside and driving off once again. With him gone, she was left standing in front of her former home. She then got her luggage before starting to walk. After climbing a few steps, she slowly came to a stop. Standing alone on the porch, her grip on the suitcase handle tightened once again as she took a deep breath before gathering her courage to finally open the double door.

The hesitancy and nervousness that she previously felt slowly dissipated as soon as she saw the smiling faces of a few familiar people waiting for her. Then a woman wearing a warm smile whom she remembered as Ms. Choi stepped forward.

"Welcome home, Miss Lumierre."

~~~