Strange dreams still lingered on Aqua's eyelids as she awoke early the next morning. She tried to grasp them as she became conscious of the world around her. As the dreams left her mind, one image did remain, a blue tear-shaped necklace.
Just the thought of the necklace caused Aqua to bolt upright and look to her left where her nightstand was. Still sitting on top was the sapphire necklace that she had found yesterday while her friends were over. Curiosity tugged at the back of her mind as to the origins of the necklace and where it came from. All she did know was she needed answers and that was what she was going to do today.
Aqua reluctantly hopped out of bed and proceeded to her bathroom to get ready for the day that awaited her. After finishing putting her hair into a ponytail, Aqua grabbed her necklace and headed downstairs toward the kitchen where she poured a bowl of cereal and checked her phone. While she was eating, a knock came from the door, "Who could that be?" Aqua said aloud and walked swiftly to the door.
Maudie's bright and always cheery face greeted Aqua at the door. She was dressed in her usual maid outfit, a simple black dress with a white apron; Stota told her she did not need to wear this specific outfit every time she came over, but since she had been a maid in Britain and this was what she was forced to wear, she had insisted. Besides her usual attire, she also had with her a basket, which was filled with some food, in one hand, and trailing a suitcase in the other.
"Maudie!" Exclaimed Aqua, "It's so great to see you." "Great to see you too love. I see you've grown some since the last time I saw you," said Maudie as she walked inside. Aqua listened to Maudie talk about her recent trip to England, where she was born, as she finished up her breakfast. After she finished talking about her trip, she started asking Aqua questions. "What are you going to do today?"
"Probably going to do some shopping and study for my finals."
"But I thought you didn't like shopping?"
"I'm not a big fan, but I'm not going to shop for clothes."
"Then what are you going to shop for?"
Aqua inhaled then exhaled, trying to calm herself. Ever since she can remember, people asking so many questions really got on her nerves and if she did not control herself, she would get mad, so she took up this technique to help herself. "I'm hoping to go jewelry shopping, but not for too long," Aqua replied as she took her last bite of her cereal and proceeded to the kitchen.
"I can drive you if you'd like," Maudie offered. Aqua rinsed out her bowl in the sink then set it down in the dishwasher as she spoke. "No thanks. I want to get some fresh air, so I'm going to ride my bike."
"You sure?"
"Yep," Aqua replied as she headed to the front of the house where they placed their shoes and put them on. She then walked toward the garage as Maudie spoke for the last time, "Well alright. Bye love." "Bye Maudie," said Aqua as she hit the garage door opener and hopped on her bike. As soon as the door was completely up, Aqua raced out of there but waved goodbye which Maudie returned. She patted her pocket to make sure the necklace was still there, thankfully it was, so she sped off in the direction of the nearest jewelry store.
The closest jewelry shop was about twelve miles away, so it took Aqua about twenty minutes to arrive there. The outside of the store was painted white with some black or dark brown trim, it was kind of hard to tell. Two front windows displayed gorgeous arrays of earrings, watches, necklaces, and bracelets all of which had diamonds or some type of expensive gem that unfortunately, she could afford with her dad's high paycheck. Sometimes Aqua wished she was not so rich, so her dad could be home with her, but she gave up on that idea many years ago.
Taking a deep breath, Aqua entered the store. A bell rang announcing her arrival and the clerk at the desk looked up from helping his customer and said welcome in. A woman about five years older walked up to her and said, "Anything I can help you with?"
"Actually yes. I was wondering if you knew anything about this necklace I found," said Aqua as she fished the necklace out of her pocket and brought it into view. "Or maybe you could tell me its owner because I found it in my backyard and I would like to return it." The saleswoman with beautiful blond hair that was perfectly curled took the necklace from her hand and studied it. She looked at the clasp, then the black string and finally the sapphire before returning it. "From what I can tell this is a Blue Ceylon Sapphire which is one of the rarest sapphires in the world let alone the most expensive. It has no manufacturer name which is really odd, for such a jewel. As for the owner, I have no idea. I'm pretty sure someone would remember losing this."
"Thank you for your time," replied Aqua as she stuffed the necklace into her pocket once more. "You're welcome," said the woman as Aqua headed out the door. The bell rang as she left the building and headed around the corner. The next shop was only a block away, so Aqua did not bother with bringing her bike.
As she approached the second jewelry shop of the day, she noticed it resembled much of the one she had just been in with the similar white look and window display. Hoping for the best she walked in. No bell rang like the other shop and no one rushed to her side like knights in battle like the last store either. She looked around the shop and noticed several people in it. Some were men, probably buying rings for their wives or girlfriends, and others were women hoping to add a new accessory.
Aqua headed over to the necklaces and noticed a man looking as well, he was maybe two to three years older than her. He reached for a diamond necklace that was on display revealing a really cool wolf paw tattoo that had a face of a wolf in the middle. "I like your tattoo." He looked up almost as if he was shocked she had spoken to him. "Thank you," he replied then he hid it from view. Odd, Aqua thought to herself.
After looking at the necklaces for a few minutes, she decided to ask the cashier if he knew anything about her necklace, but she received a similar response as the woman in the last store. "I've never seen anything like this before," said the man as he handed it back to Aqua. "I'm sorry."
"That's okay."
"You might want to try our other store, it is about ten miles from here at the Sun Coast Mall."
"Thank you, I'll head that way now."
"You're welcome. Have a good day."
"You too," Aqua called over her shoulder as she left the store and headed to pick up her bike. Once she unlocked her bike, she rode in the direction of the mall. While she was biking, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, causing Aqua to look over her shoulder several times. For some odd reason she felt like she was being watched, so she was grateful when the mall came into view. At least if someone was following her, she could lose when she blended in with the hordes of people at the mall.
Aqua quickly locked her bike on the bike rack and entered the mall from the food court entrance. Having been to this mall about one hundred times, Aqua knew where she needed to go. She headed to the escalators and decided to take a calculated risk and looked over her shoulder, she did not see anything unusual. Maybe she was just being paranoid from watching all her spy shows, either way, the feeling of someone watching her made her uncomfortable.
The third jewelry shop of the day came into view and Aqua released a breath she had not realized she had been holding. The jewelry store was right next to the puppy shop in the mall, so as she passed she could not help but stare as the puppies played in the window display. Tearing herself away from the dogs, she headed into the actual store she had come for.
Not bothering to even look at the jewelry, she immediately went to the cashier, but the old woman was busy checking out a man who was buying a necklace for his wife's birthday. Aqua waited for a few minutes, watching people come in and out of the store to pass her time. Then the young man or teenager she had seen earlier with the wolf tattoo entered the shop. Between the feeling of being followed and having him show up could not be a coincidence. As her thoughts began to drift, a woman's voice made her tear her eyes away from the stranger. "Huh?" Aqua said turning her attention to the old lady. "You're up," she replied. Apparently, the man she had been checking out had finished while she was staring. She apologized as she approached the woman who must have been in her late fifties or early sixties, but it was really hard to tell. Her name tag read Barbra and she had this special gleam in her eyes that made her look wise. "No worries," she replied in a honey sweet voice. "What can I help you with?"
"I was hoping you could tell me about this necklace," Aqua responded as she pulled it out of her pocket. Aqua placed it into the woman's outstretched hand as Barbra said, "That is beautiful."
"Thank you."
After two minutes of examining it, the woman came to a conclusion similar to what the other jewelers had said. "The sapphire is not only very rare, but no one cuts it in this type of style or at least I have never seen it cut that way. The string is also a little odd, no manufacturer would put such a precious gem on a black string such as this. It is several decades old, you can tell by the way it has dulled over time. I can't really tell you much more than that, but I can clean it up for you if you would like?"
"That would be great," Aqua said to the woman who disappeared into the back. She returned about five minutes later with the necklace in hand looking absolutely beautiful. It was no longer dull and dirty, but bright with the light bouncing off of it making the sapphire almost glow. "Thank you so much," Aqua said to the woman as she handed back the necklace. "How much do I owe you?" Aqua asked as she reached into her back pocket for her wallet. "Don't worry about it dear," she replied in a kind voice. "Thank you very much, you have been a big help."
"You are most welcome. Have a good day."
"And you as well," said Aqua as she left the counter and headed out of the store, but as she left so did the wolf tattoo man. As she neared the escalader, she saw the elevator open and let people in about thirty feet ahead. Once she was only a few feet away, Aqua pulled out her phone and pretended to look up another jewelry store, but she was actually watching the elevator, so as soon as the last person entered, she jumped in at the last possible second. As the doors closed behind her, no one else had entered. She was safe for the moment.
Out of the glass elevator, Aqua could see her stalker frantically speed walking to the escalader to get to the bottom before her. Thankfully the elevator opened before the man made it to the bottom, but he was still coming. Aqua walked briskly to the women's bathroom where she knew an emergency exit was.
Hoping the man did not know there was an exit back there, Aqua left the mall. She quickly grabbed her bike and pedaled home as fast as her legs would carry her. Did the man want to kidnap her or take the necklace? Aqua was not sure, both sounded logical, but she was not about to ask.
She returned to her house about fifteen minutes later and placed her bike back in the garage making sure to lock the doors when she came in. Aqua's heavy breathing caused Maudie to look up from dusting a picture frame. "What's the matter love?"
"A man was following me at the mall."
"What?" Said the shocked maid and stopped what she was doing. "Want me to call the police?"
"No, it's fine. I outsmarted him and was able to get away."
"That's my girl. I'm glad you're home and safe."
"Me too. I'm going to my room to study for the rest of the day," said Aqua as she took off her shoes.
"Okay dear, if you need anything just holler."
"I will," Aqua called back as she ascended the stairs. When she entered her room, Aqua pulled out her backpack in her closet and began to study for tomorrow's finals. With the events that had occurred today, Aqua found it hard to concentrate, but she had to. Even though she had answers for a few of her hundreds of questions, more began to form and she did not know how long until they would be answered.