Chapter 4
Mr. Brookes’ photo shows his perfect, straight row of
white front teeth. However, what is different about the photo in comparison to
the person in real life is the fact that the photo shows a much younger, quite
handsome young man. It must be Mr. Brookes himself, no doubt. He does not have
any other siblings nor cousins, the only younger sister he had had died when he
was young. I had felt sympathetic for him when he talked about her death at the
age of 4 as I had experienced the loss of family members myself. Although he
had claimed that he did not have many memories of his sister so he does not
feel sad or anything, the expression on his face had betrayed him.
The steps leading up to the church entrance seem
harder to climb with the high heels that keep making me feel as if I will
sprain the ankles any second. With so many questions flooding my mind, it is
hard to even concentrate on the ground I am walking on.
I spot some kids running around the flower gardens at the
top of the steps and wonder how much energy they have in them that are keeping
them going. I am sure feeling tired out. I suddenly wish I can be back in my
own body, doing the things I am supposed to be doing. This thought leads to a
more terrifying one: what is this lady supposed to be talking about with Mr.
Brookes? The thought gets pushed to the back of my mind as quickly as it came
out, when I am greeted by the man himself.
“Long time no see, Tori Henderson Leo,” he says formally,
walking out from the entrance and stops when he is about 10 feet away from
where I am standing above the steps. He had been waiting for me. No, not me. It’s
Tori Henderson Leo is who he had been waiting for.
I nod, trying not to look stunned, “Yes, it’s uh… been
a while.” As soon as those words are out of the mouth, I know that I am messing
up.
I catch a frown on Mr. Brookes’ face, before he smiles
immediately to cover it, “You have changed.”
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