Fan Fiction |
by Jiajia
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“I suspect something is still going on between Flora and Bowie!” Maggie wasn’t exactly worked up, but there were obvious traces on her face to indicate her worries.
Gallen forces a smile doubtfully. “Why would you say so?”
“I’ve checked Bowie’s mobile without his knowledge, and I found that they do still keep in contact in dark.”
“What’s so weird about that?” Gallen didn’t fathom her sentence.
“The weird thing is,” Her tone was dead serious, to a certain extent that waver Gallen’s fragile heart. “They seem to be using codes I don’t understand.”
“Codes?” Gallen kept quiet and let his mind took over for 3 seconds. “What for?”
“I don't know… I wish to know too. So can you do me a favor?” She asked gravely.
“You want me to keep an eye on Flora?” Gallen thought he could guess what’s next.
“Can you?” She cast a hopeful and mandatory look before him. “It’s best for you and me! I just don’t feel easy about this.”
The sentence appeared to be describing Gallen instead. “I just don’t feel easy about this!” That was exactly the feeling he had recently. “Ok, we’ll keep in contact then.”
“Another thing.” She faces him squarely. “Do you know about Bowie’s past relationship with his eldest uncle?”
Gallen finds himself landing in confusion. “Why do you suddenly raised this up?
“I’ve heard rumors that HT used to belong to his eldest uncle, do you know that?”
Gallen took a long and deep sigh. “I only know a little…”
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“Gallen! Here!” Moses waved his hand in the air and called forward Gallen. He raised his head and looked towards the auspicious spot where Moses and the others were sitting at. Then he proceeded.
He forces a smile and sat down besides them. “What a crowd! Louis, Jess, you are here too?”
“Yeah! Just being some busybody here!” Louis cast a wink.
“Nope! We are concerned about you!” Jessica retaliated.
“What is there about me for you to be concern about?” Gallen sounded a bit nonchalant.
“I saw Flora with Bowie just now!” Ada spoke up.
“Yes, they were with hats and shades!” Moses added.
Gallen looked at him. “And how did you know it was them? If they were in disguise?”
“Well, I didn’t, but Ada did!” Moses replied.
“I swear I saw her!” Ada proclaimed.
“But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them seeing each other, now I am seeing you too, but it doesn’t indicate anything.” Gallen felt ironically defeated by his own words.
“You’re right, they weren’t doing anything… perhaps they just happened to run into each other?” Ada lost some of her determination. “But I just feel something is not correct… Like why do they need to be secretive…”
“I don't know how to respond to this, you are asking me out just for such matters?” Gallen asked.
“We are good friends, we really don’t want to see you in any trouble.” Jessica places her hand on his, and spoke in a seeming overly concerned tone.
Louis took it under his eyes, and soon detaches himself from the conversation.
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Flora opened the house door with her keys and called out. “Gallen! Gallen!” She proceeded around the house and looked for him. “He hasn’t returned.” She assumed.
She places her handbag on the sofa and went into the study immediately, raking around the area. Gallen’s desk was extremely tidy. She pulled out the drawers, one by one, using a top-down processing order.
The first one was locked. She couldn’t open it. The second one contains just boxes of new stationery. And the third one looks bloated. A pile of paper was on top of something. She removed them and found a weird shape object wrapped deliberately in a piece of flowery cloth. She took it out and unwrap the item. To her surprise, it was the Snoopy toy she had been looking for, but this one had obviously been tampered with to be deformed. Her memory jerked…
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“Flora, good news!” Gallen said excitedly as he places the phone down.
“What’s it?” Flora asked and places her attention on him.
“I’ve found your Snoopy! It’s the one you’ve been looking for years! Yay!” He jumped up like a child. “I’ve found it from a collector. I’m going to collect it from him now!”
“Really? Ok, you go ahead. I have to finish this load of documents before Gor nags at me again.” She stands up and pushes him to the door. “Quick, go!”
“Ok, I know you’re excited. See you later!” He trotted out of the office happily.
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Upon hearing the tingling of the keys, Flora rushed to the door. “Where’s my Snoopy? Show me!”
“I’m sorry, Flora. It wasn’t the one in the picture you showed me. Sorry to have made you disappointed.” He closes the door and spoke.
She looked really disappointed. “But what is that bag in your hand?” She spotted something.
“Eh… nothing. Just some samples from the company.” He spoke with a slight stammer. “Don’t worry, I’ll continue looking for it, I believe one day I will find it!”
She nods her head and crossed her fingers for him.
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She pressed her forehead firmly with her right hand, and opened her eyes in a gasp. Placing the Snoopy gingerly back to its position, she halted what she’s doing for a moment, and resumed after a minute. She searched the shelves but there was nothing she wanted. In an inauspicious spot she found a safe. It required a password to open it. She wondered if it was part of her lost memory. But she couldn’t recall anything…
She suddenly noticed a dark shadow approaching her from the corner of her eye. She turned her head around in a delayed motion.
“Gallen? You are in?” She calmed down and walked towards him. “Why didn’t you answer me when I called out for you just now?” She places her hands on his shoulder and looked at him.
“Did you call for me? I didn’t hear it. By the way, what are you doing here without switching the lights on?” He took a peek behind her.
“Eh… nothing. Have you taken your bath? Why not I run the water for you?” She tries to divert his attention.
“I had. Where did you go after work? I couldn’t find you in the company.” He probed another question.
“Oh… Ada called me and asked me out to find something for her.” She tried to lie blatantly, but her lying skills were not up to par.
“So did you find it?” He eyed her carefully.
“Eh… nope. Ada was so disappointed. Someone got it before we did, and we could do nothing about it.”
“Silly girl, you must be tired after running around with her for a long day, go and take a shower first.” He leads her out of the room and up the stairs. She took her handbag along.
His heart was spiraling with his feet up the stairs. He felt his greatest fears had approached. The reason behind her lies and rummaging of the study was laid out clear to him. He felt a great deal of disappointment.
He watched her entering the bathroom and shutting the door, somehow he feels it was a replica of her own heart. She had shut her heart to him. She didn’t return to him on her own accord, she didn’t!
Something alerted him. It was a slight tone of her mobile within her handbag. He took it out, there was a message from Bowie. “BC, 5201314, 99.” He deleted the message angrily and placed her phone back into its original position.
He vacillated between anger, disappointment and fear. Should he expose her? But by doing so that means he would lose her. But so what if he doesn’t? Her heart is no longer with him. He sat confusedly on his bed, trying to find a perfect solution to the problem.
She emerged from the bathroom a quarter past ten. She observed his weird expression on her. “What’s the matter? Why are you in a daze?”
“Waiting for you, I’m bored.” He pulls her besides him and hugs her tightly, closing his eyes and refusing to think of anything else.
“What happened? You look wearier than I do!” She commented.
He releases her. “Nothing, let’s turn in, we’re both tired.” He switched off the lights and land heavily on his pillow.
“I’ve got something to tell you.” She tilted her head and looked at him.
“What is it?”
“I recalled something from the past.”
“Really? What is it?” He shifted his attention to her words.
“Just now when I was staring at the safe box, I recalled something about it… the password. Does it have something to do with us? Did I know the password before?” She prompted him.
He knew she was up to something. “Yes, you did. But I don’t think you do now.”
“Yes, I don’t now. But I have an intuition it has something to do with us,” She continued and spoke precisely. “What is the password? Tell me and I may be able to recall more from the past. Just now I only saw some vague images of us…”
He hesitated for a moment.
“You don’t trust me?” She tried to sound him out.
“Nope.” He paused and continued. “The password is 030599, can you recall anything?”
“030599? 3 May 1999? It’s our wedding day!” She exclaimed.
“I had changed the old password to this so you could remember it better. There are all those confidential documents inside. And knowing how much a scatterbrain you are, we certainly need an easier password so that you could have access to them and do your reports.” He purposely revealed and scrutinized her response.
“I see…” Her tone contained tinges of culpability.
He hugs her tightly again.
“Why are you so weird tonight? I’m suffocating!” She grinned.
“I’m just afraid of losing you. Can you promise me something?” He spoke almost pleadingly.
“What?”
“I can give you anything you want; I can give up everything for you. But please promise you won’t leave me again. I really can’t do without you!” He held her tightly against his chest.
Emotions stirred up within her. She was confused. Completely confused. But her instinct had given her an answer. “Why would I leave you, silly!”
“Really?”
She nodded.
“I’ll hold you to that. Let’s hook our little pinkies.” He hooked hers with his and hugs her even tighter. “If you ever break your promise one day… I will leave this world with this regret with me.”
Her emotions had reached its boiling point. She could no longer contain the heavy tears within her eyes, as they spilled out like overturned liquid. “Don’t talk nonsense, Gallen…”
She wasn’t sure what he had found out, but she was indeed doubtful whether to continue her mission. Her conscience pricks her every now and then. She felt terrible.
Gallen told himself he wouldn’t mind losing anything. Anything in the world, but her! He made a pact with god that night, an irreversible one…
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PS: Will Flora betray Gallen?