She gulped down hard and looked back up to access the messenger, taking into account his somewhat spiky hair and lengthy eyebrow. Everything about him sent chills down every nerve ending in her body, but something else managed to counter her worries and help her focus her gaze away from him. The feeling he was Goth came to mind and his eyeliner did just about enough to validate the feeling she had.
“Good morning”, he sneered and held out a box with brown paper wrapping towards her.
Nora looked at the package and then at the man but hurriedly looked back down at the package in his hand. The wrapping looked pretty ordinary for something of such nature and she had expected something with more gravitas to say the least. Regardless, her heart leapt with joy, and her arms stretched right out to receive the package immediately.
“My deed here is done”, the man said, before turning back around and walking away.
She looked at the parcel in her hand, and peered her head outwards to have a look at what direction the man had taken, but he was no longer in sight. Odd in occurrence and definitely baffling, considering the single road leading away from her apartment went north and couldn’t be circumvented unless one wished to walk through the thick and unnerving forest situated not far behind her building.
“What a weird fellow”, she thought to herself before slamming her door shut and locking it from behind.
Giggling excitedly, and unable to hide her emotions, she hurried back to her and crawled into it with the unopened parcel in her had. Nora took some deep breaths, held her hands over the parcel and grinned wildly, before taking a lunge at the brown covering to begin ripping it apart from the side. She had barely caught a glimpse of the edge when another loud knock came on her door.
“What fresh hell is this?” the lady thought to herself in a baffled manner.
She looked towards the door, hoping to ignore it and praying it would simply go away, prompting her to continue unwrapping her parcel. Silence aired through the room and from outside, bringing the feeling that she was all alone and by herself, until the more subtle knocks rammed against her door.
She looked up angrily, and yelled. “Whatever you’re selling, I’m not buying! Go away!”
She paused to hear the footsteps slowly retreat from her door but nothing of such sort seemed to be happening.
“Jeez!’ she fumed, sliding the partly opened box underneath her sheets.
She slid out of bed, ready to tell the intruder off, and with clenched fists as she stood before the door and took a peep through the peep hole. Her eyes widened and her mouth let out a rather loud gasp at the sight of the figure standing before her door.
“This isn’t happening!” she turned around, looked at her room and hoped things were in proper set.
Thoughts of Daren possibly letting some of his weed or wrappers misplaced around her apartment haunted her mind as she struggled to comport herself.
She reached for the door handle and closed her eyes briefly. “This is unexpected but you will be fine… just play cool and things will run smoothly”.
Taking her own advice with little zeal, she slowly turned the doorknob without as much anticipation and excitement as she had done earlier with the delivery guy. Wishing the figure on the other side of her door would someway disappear before she fully opened the door, Nora couldn’t be more disappointed when she watched a tight lipped grin slowly emerge from the corner of the figure’s lips.
“Hello darling”, he said, holding his hands out and waiting for her to come towards him.
The turbaned man in totally white attire was the least person Nora Kareem had expected would be visiting her house on such Monday morning. In fact, she could very well count the number of times she saw him in the whole year, which was majorly on Sundays because he didn’t have to work on those days all the time.
Muzin Kareem smiled wildly while he hugged his daughter warmly. “I thought to surprise you”.
It was a surprise without doubt; one Nora would have loved not to have.
CHAPTER THREE
The oddity in having her father I the same room with her though the years had not grown thinner or even dared to wear off. Having the man around constituted a whole lot of thoughts she never really wanted to have at the back of her mind. Asides the major challenges he brought with him, Nora was never ready for the criticisms her father always seemed to have in his pocket of words.
Fifteen minutes had passed since he arrived, and aside having a glass of water to drink, he remained silent and continued to look around the room, picking things for which he would make radical points of, or simply be able to use in scolding his daughter. The latter had come to mind for Nora upon seeing her father through the peep hole and while she sat at the edge of her bed looking jittery, whilst trying not to show it, she wondered what mishap awaited her after hosting some like Daren in her room just a day or so before.
Muzin finally made a sound; one that made Nora startle, even while the man was simply clearing his throat.
“You need to vacuum this place more often”, he mumbled. “You’re an academic and not a hippie”.
Nora nodded her head gently and gave no response. It wasn’t her first rodeo with the man and it definitely wasn’t going to be her last. She looked around the somewhat neat apartment and wondered what more would classify it as clean, even while the place was seemingly spotless.
“It is strange to see you here
