[Primrose's POV]
I could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me.
"Hello, honey."
"Hello mom, I'm inside the car now. See you." I replied.
"Hurry up honey, I've got something for you." Mom said with excitement.
"Okay. Bye mom. I love you." I said.
"I love you too, honey. I'm hanging up now." Mom replied.
That's my mom. My supermom. She's the only person I have right now, since my father died. He was shot four months ago in his car. The suspects were put in jail that night also. It was kind of weird because the suspects were the ones who went to a police station and gave their selves up. They didn't even say to the police officers who were behind the gunshot, who commanded them.
I miss my dad so much. I always think of him every day. He was the one who pushed me to pursue a journalism career. Now that I am an actual journalist in the finest publication office in Asia, I promised myself, that I will do good in serving the entire humanity.
I've always taught myself to look for the beauty in everything. This world where people and other creatures are living together, an intact unity must always be present. This unity could lead to a thing we called "happiness". It is something worth fighting for. Happiness plus contentment is a good foundation of everlasting, never-ending unity.
CAR STOPPED
"We just arrived Ms. Primrose." Our family driver said.
By the way, his name is Nicolas, but we call him Nick.
"That's so kind, Sir Nick. I told you before that you could just call me Prim." I said to him.
"Uh okay, Pri-, Prim." He was shy.
"Uhm, by the way Sir Nick, you can place my stuff inside the house because I have to go to Mom now, she's waiting for me in the poolside." I humbly requested.
"Okay, Prim." He equally replied with humility.
Just a simple background, Sir Nick has been working with our family for three years now.
As I left the car, I quickly went to the poolside because my mom was probably waiting for me since our phone call.
While I was jogging going to the poolside, I suddenly heard a gun's sound again. This is the second time I heard that sound today. It sounded quite near to where I was standing. Then I walked. As I was walking towards the poolside, I saw my mom holding a gun and wearing something in her head.
"Mom, what are you doing?" I yelled.
"Oh, honey. You're here. Come, I have something for you." Mom smiled.
I walked slowly until I reached her.
"So, what is it you want to give to me, mom?" I asked her.
"This gun." She swiftly replied with excitement.
"What do you mean, mom? And how come you got a gun?" I asked her out of confusion.
"Oh, Prim, sweetie. This was your father's gun. I have found this in his room earlier. So, I decided to have some gun shooting practice." Mom replied. She looked so excited. I don't know why. It was pretty strange.
"Mom, so you were the one who produced a gun's sound earlier?" I asked her because I remember the sound we heard earlier near the publication office. But it's impossible because our house is pretty far from the pub and in a different direction.
"No. I have fired the first bullet just now. So, what you're saying is impossible." She replied.
"Oh, okay mom. I was just wondering." I said to her.
"By the way Prim. Where did you hear the sound you were saying? Can you specify the place?" Mom asked with her slowly getting bigger eyes showing curiosity.
"It was near the publication. Me and my co-workers were outside the bookstore there." I replied.
"Oh, my Prim. You better take care of yourself more because everything and everyone is completely dangerous. Don't trust anyone quickly. They might be good and kind to you, but they could also the ones to bring you to an end. I don't want to lose someone I love so much once more. You know what I mean, sweetie." Mom worriedly said. She was in tears, quiet tears.
"Yes mom. I love you!" I said to her.
"I love you t-"
Mom wasn't able to continue her words as we heard another sound coming from somewhere, it was quite far from our house. We were scared.
"This gun is my gift, I mean, your father's gift for you."
"Mom, you can't be serious." I contrasted her.
"I'm seriously serious, Prim. You have to learn how to use this." She demanded.
"Why would I have to learn using a gun?" I curiously asked.
"For protection, of course." She replied.
"Mom, I-"
"Take this already, Prim. You'll soon find out why you have to learn how to use a gun." She gave me the gun.
"But mom, I don't even know how to use this. I've never held a gun before." I said to her.
"That's why we're here. I'm going to teach you." She smilingly replied.
"Mom, I'm really tired right now. Can we do this some other day?" I requested.
"Prim, criminals don't waste their time." She replied.
"I understand that, mom. But I'm just really exhausted today." I said.
"As you wish, honey. Let's go inside. Place your gun somewhere easy to find." She said.
"Okay, mom." I replied.
Mom hugged me. Like, a close hug, full of feelings.
We decided to go inside and prepare for dinner.
As we go inside our house, I just feel so tired. I just wrote one, simple article and I'm this tired.
"Mom, I won't eat tonight. I just want to rest." I said to mom.
"Prim, are you sure? You should eat to get some energy." She replied.
"It's okay, mom. I really want to rest now." I demanded.
"Okay, honey. I love you." She smilingly said.
"I love you too, mom." I smiled back.
I hurriedly went to my room. Feeling the coldness of the air conditioner. Smelling the aroma of tulip kind of spray as refresher. My room has always been filled with flower designs, but not actually a primrose. The flower designs were roses, red roses filled with thorns. These designs were paintings. Mom and Dad bought them in a rose garden souvenir shop in Thailand.
It was a bit strange. This is the very first time I wonder or explore my own room. I haven't done it since I was young. As I walk going to one of my old-fashioned, patterns carved, shining in brown cabinets, I noticed something. It was on top of the cabinet. It caught my attention. It looked like a crumpled-up piece of paper. I decided to get and hold that paper. It was indeed strange as I noticed that it wasn't my penmanship. That wasn't a property of mine. It belongs to someone else.
As I read the words in that crumpled-up piece of paper, I got emotional. The sentences and phrases and words being written there was my dad's letter for me.
To my lovely Primrose, life is indeed unpredictable. You can't tell if someone good to you could be considered as your friend. Kid, a lot of people especially my so-called closest friends have shown their true colors in trouble times. I thought that they could help me when I needed them, but I was wrong. Very wrong. My beloved Primrose, this very first letter I made for you would also be the last one. Later, I'll be home late, I have something to do. I have to clear things up. I love you so much, Primrose. We love you very much. I have to deal with some issues later. I don't know why am I writing you a letter now, but one thing's for sure, I love you and your mom. Get a job that is worth your sweat. Do good and be good at all times. It's better to be good than to be kind. I love you much, Primrose.
After I read the letter, I cried. I cried in silence so mom wouldn't hear. I just cried and cried and cried. I miss my dad so much. I even wanted to see him even in my dreams only. Every day I woke up, I always stare at his portrait in my room, remembering his days when he was still with us, when he was still alive.
The letter was written four months ago. He was shot four months ago.
For a moment, it sounded that this was my dad's final message to me. I guess that he already had an idea that he's probably going to be dead. This letter looked like a goodbye message. Thinking that way, it has given me a clue that the person behind my dad's assassination was his close friend. Based on his second sentence in the letter, I couldn't tell if someone's good to me could be considered a friend. He also added that his so-called close friends have shown their true stupid colors. I might sound overacting, but a close friend of my father betrayed him and hired people to kill him.
I could use these pieces of things to create a proof and bring down the person behind the gunning.
I went to my father's room and look for something to help me solving this case.
As I was walking to my father's room, I got emotional but determined. I'm determined to know what has really happened that night he was shot.
DAD, I LOVE YOU. IT'S PAYBACK TIME!
I said silently.
I'LL BE COLLECTING THE FRAGMENTS OF YESTERDAY.
Nothing. I saw nothing in his cabinets neither files on his table. I looked everywhere in his room and I saw nothing. I was about to leave my father's room and I pulled the door and something has fallen from the concrete nail on the upper middle part of the door. It was a paper being rolled with a thin, silver ribbon. It fell from being hanged up in the door. I picked it up. I opened it.
I saw a photo in a grayscale filter. It looked like it was captured a long time ago, probably 90's. The photo contained a group of five, dad was in the middle. There were two other males in his left side and two other girls on his right side. I didn't know who were those people. I kept the photo as I went back to my room.
I was in my room. Eyes were closed. The heart was quickly beating. The mind was confused.
Then I decided to sleep.
ALARM CLOCK RINGS. [7:00 in the morning]
As I woke up. I stood up and looked myself in the mirror and said, "It's payback time. It's time to do some work."
INSIDE THE PREVALENT PARAMOUNT ARROWHEAD PUBLICATION
As I enter the room of writers, my co-workers were already there. They looked just fine. Sierra Jean looked stunning with her black blouse with three buttons. She was also wearing a black pair of diamond earrings. She seemed so fierce and unstoppable. Joven and Luke were both wearing plain colored polo shirt; Luke was in red and Joven was in some kind of blue, probably navy. They both looked handsome today, their hairs were perfectly combed and gelled. Marco was in a white shirt with a design. It was a word being printed in the chest part. Karma. That was the word being printed in his shirt, the font was great, big and bold. He looked strong. Athena was wearing some carnation pink off-shoulder kind of thing. She looked like a princess in Disney. And Love Janine was wearing a plain white blouse. Her hair was curled. She looked gorgeous. Then, there's me. I was wearing this royal blue blouse, no designs, just plain. No accessories.
Then I went to my seat to sit. That sounds like a tongue twister kind of thing.
"Good morning, beautiful." Marco looked to me.
"And then?" I fiercely asked him.
"Then, I'm handsome." He replied.
"And then?" I asked him back.
"Primrose, you look like a black primrose now." Marco said.
"And then?" I repeated.
"Then-"
The mini conversation stopped when Ms. Phumsri entered the room.
"Good morning, Lucky Seven!" She greeted.
Of course, we all greeted her back like pupils in kindergarten.
"Today, we will just talk about matters that matter the most." She looked like a grammar witch.
"What is it? Say it already." Marco asked with some attitude.
"Okay. First and foremost, you'll only be writing articles every day except Wednesdays." She stated.
"But why? I mean, we have to do daily articles for people." Love Janine asked.
"It's simply because, every Wednesday, you are free to spend your time in office." Ms. Phumsri answered Janine.
"Are you saying that we're free to wander things here?" Joven swiftly asked.
"Absolutely yes." Ms. Phumsri smiled at him.
"With that, you can now do something you want." She added as she left the room.
As Ms. Phumsri left the room, I started a conversation.
"This publication is really cool." I stated.
"Right." Luke agreed.
"Hey, Primrose-"
"Just call me Prim." I said to Janine.
"You looked different today, Prim." Janine said.
"Janine's right. What's up with you?" Joven asked.
"I just wanted a sort of change for a payback." I replied.
"Payback? What payback?" Marco asked.
"Maybe a payback for your rude attitude." Luke replied to Marco.
"Shut up! You guys are going to ruin my good day." Athena stopped the two.
"So, what do you mean by payback? Did someone borrow an amount of money from you?" Sierra Jean asked.
"Not money, but life." I strongly answered.
"Life? What do you mean?" Joven asked.
"Let's not talk about it. It makes me sad." I replied to him.
"We are all friends here, you can tell us anything, except for Marco." Luke said.
"Nothing. It's really nothing." I said. I just felt that I can't trust them so quick. I have to observe first.
A MOMENT OF SILENCE
NOBODY WAS TALKING UNTIL JOVEN SAID SOMETHING.
"Guys, want to do something fun?" He asked us.
The rest of us were confused about what he said.
"What do you mean?" Sierra Jean asked Joven.
"Since we are allowed to explore everything in this publication office today, let's go to this building's basement." Joven suggested.
"Yes, it'll be fun!" Marco replied with excitement as he barely stood up.
"It's scary." Love Janine said.
"There's nothing to be scared of. We are seven." Luke said.
"So, what if we're seven?" Love Janine asked Luke.
"So, we can help each other if something happens. We are more than two, more than five. We are seven!" Luke replied.
"Game?" Joven asked us all.
"Let's do this." I said with a fierce face.
"Yeah, let's volt in." Luke said as he stood up completely.
"This is really going to be fun." Marco said with a wide smile.
"Let's go!" Sierra Jean said.
"Count me in." Love Janine also smiled.
"This is going to be an adventure. A dusty adventure. I'm sure that the basement is very dirty." Athena the Disney princess said.
We all stood up as we take the elevator to go to the basement. The elevator was high fashioned, it's a full metal kind of elevator. It was clean and the aroma inside of it is really refreshing. The smell was like flowers with milk and the sweetness of something I couldn't specify.
Not all publication offices could afford to produce a globally competitive building like this. I mean, looking at it as a whole, it's really different, and being different is being beautiful and outstanding.
INSIDE THE ELEVATOR
"I'm quite nervous." Athena opened up a short talk.
"I'm not." I contrasted her.
"There's nothing to worry, guys. This is for fun!" Luke said.
"What if-"
"What if what?" Joven asked Athena.
"Never mind." She replied.
"Chill out, girl." I said to Athena as she gave a smile of relief and that closed the talk.
As we went outside the elevator and proceed to the building's basement, we were looked like in some kind mystery movie or series. It felt great. Amazing.
We walked slowly as we took one mini step at a time. It was so dark there. It was also dirty and dusty.
"Nothing's here." Love Janine said.
"How come it's empty?" Luke asked.
"Maybe the janitors have cleaned this basement and then remove everything." Sierra Jean replied.
"Oh, look at that!" Joven said as we all looked to what he was pointing through the use of his index finger. It was a dusty cabinet in the corner.
"That cabinet looks so heavy." Marco described the cabinet.
"Let's see what's inside." Joven grinningly said.
We walked a bit as we reached the basement's corner where the cabinet was placed.
Luke opened the cabinet because it wasn't locked at all. A simple pull was enough.
We just saw papers, and folders that looked like files, and there were photos. Wait, photos?
Sierra Jean grabbed the photos with her hands as we all took a look at those photos.
"These are just photos of random people." Sierra Jean said.
We continued to chronologically look at each of the photos. Then Joven stopped Jean's hands to look at the other images.
"Wait." He said.
"What?" Sierra Jean asked him.
Joven took that piece of photo from Jean and stare at it.
We were in silence as we look at Joven. He looked so tense.
"Joven?" Love Janine called him as she broke the silence and coldness in the basement.
"What's wrong?" She added.
"This is my brother's photo." Joven replied.
"How come your brother's photo is here in this old and dusty cabinet?" I asked.
"No idea." Joven shortly replied.
"Was your brother murdered?" Marco asked as we all stare at him. He hasn't said anything in a while. What a stupid question to ask.
"What a stupid question to ask." I directly said to Marco.
"Just answer me, Joven." Marco said.
"Yes, he was murdered." Joven replied with a low voice, very low and creepy.
"What?" Athena asked.
"What do you mean exactly?" She added.
"He was murdered here in this stupid publication office." Joven replied. He was trying to stop the tears to flow from his eyes.
We all looked at him as we decided to sit on the floor and talk about it.
"So, can you tell us what exactly happened to your brother?" I asked Joven.
"He was murdered when he tried to tell the country some truth." Joven replied.
"What truth? Enlighten us." Luke asked.
"I don't know. Before he was murdered, he texted mom that he'll go home late that night as he was busy writing some articles." Joven explained.
"And what exactly was that article all about?" I asked Joven.
"I completely do not know. I'm so clueless up until now." He replied.
"That's why I applied to be a news writer here." He added.
"Why?" I asked him again.
"Because I want to do something to unfold in my brother's case." He eagerly said.
"You mean, some kind of investigation?" Love Janine asked.
"Wait, are you going to be like a detective, aren't you?" I asked.
"Maybe." Joven replied.
And then there was Marco ruining the talk again and again and again.
"You'll surely fail." Marco looked at Joven.
"Why are you ruining the moment. Can't you be supportive sometimes?" Luke said.
"You'll be just wasting your time." Marco said.
"Do you know something?" Joven asked Marco.
"Yes." Marco quickly replied to Joven.
"What is it that you know?" Joven looked fiercely to Marco.
"Well, I just know that-"
Marco wasn't able to continue what he was going to say as our phones rang.
Someone messaged on the PPAP LUCKY SEVEN group chat. We all grabbed our respective phones and read the message. Ms. Jasmine Grace Phumsri sent a message to the group chat.
Hello to you, our company's Lucky Seven. Where are you all? Please proceed to the Lucky Seven room as soon as you read my message. This is urgent. This is important. That was Ms. Phumsri's message.
We immediately left the basement and went upstairs by the elevator again. Luke took the photos and the files into his bag. I was wondering earlier why he brought his bag, and it became useful. All credits to him.
Then we were back inside our room where you can really feel the coldness of the aircon. That was some kind of refreshing after being in a dusty and dirty and dark place in this building.
Ms. Phumsri arrived less than a minute when we sat on our respective seats.
"Hello again, Lucky Seven. We are now having an election. This is some kind of organization with the other writers here in this publication office. The older ones already have their organization. So now, it's your time to have one. We only need to have a leader. This leader is the one to actively attend meetings and deliver the matters to the rest of you. So, who's going to be your leader?" She briefly explained.
"I'd like Joven to be the leader." Love Janine opened up.
"I'll go for Marco." Joven said. He sounded weird. Marco isn't open for anything.
"Marco? He doesn't deserve that position, Joven." Luke said to Joven as he didn't reply.
At the moment we were deciding about the little election, Joven looked to Marco in the back and said, "You have to be leader, please." Joven demanded.
Marco looked straight to Joven as he said, "Okay."
We didn't what was happening between the two. But for a moment, we all voted Marco to be our leader as Joven demanded us to do that.
"Okay. Mr. Marco Israel is now the Lucky Seven's leader and representative. Marco, I will add you later to the PPAP organization group chat." Ms. Phumsri said as Marco smiled at her.
"Then, you can now continue to do what you were all doing. Good day!" She added as she left the room.
The room was filled with nothing but silence and confusion.
Then my phone rang. It was a phone call from a random number.
I picked up my phone and answered the call. There was a filtered voice.
"Hello?"
"How's your father? Oh, I forgot that he's dead already." The filtered voice from the phone call insulted me.
"Who is this?" I asked loudly with some anger as my co-workers looked at me.
"Take care of yourself. Beware of danger and don't cross too many lines." The filtered voice said.
The phone call ended just like that. The voice was just insulting me. It scared me when the voice said that I must take care of myself. I was very much clueless about crossing lines the filtered voice was talking about.
"Who's that? Athena asked me."
"I don't know. Maybe the caller has dialed a wrong number and happened to be my phone number." I replied to her with a lie. I didn't tell them what the filtered voice said.
WE WERE IN COMPLETE SILENCE
THEN SOMEONE SCREAMED SO LOUDLY FROM THE UPPER FLOOR
The screams were like, "Oh, my God. Help."