Bayleaf is a farmers' and Lumber town. It's presently a mixture of old and new. I don't go out much. Even though I was born and bred 20 minutes away from this ancient town, I hardly went beyond my high school which is right beside my creche in the same compound located in the middle of town, some 20 minutes drive to our florist shop if traffic isn't bad. It is the only private school in town and the kids of the who's who of Bayleaf and other similar towns go there. Someone like Sylvester only got to attend through scholarships.
Back in high school, he was in the top five and a good footballer. Could have made it into another college scholarship if he passed his tryouts or had enough clout. But there is so much an orphan can do on their own.
Bayleaf over the years kept changing. There are lots of big villas that used to belong to some big families now converted into public housing units while still maintaining their ancient looks.
Then there are the newly developed, ultra modern town houses and corporate buildings built with glass, in weird shapes and forms.
As my taxi made it through downtown to uptown where Sylvester's address led to, I sort of updated my knowledge of my town. There are now estates, more shops and showrooms, more tall buildings like we see in Los Angeles movies, and lots of noise too.
I hate the noise though but I couldn't bring myself to tell the driver to wind up because I am guessing he had wind down so he wouldn't get suffocated in case I farted.
Well my quiet Bayleaf is no longer as quiet as I used to believe.
Getting to uptown, there is clear evidence of class segregation because this is where the rich and modern citizens live. No sign of industrialization. The air is cleaner and the neighbourhoods are fenced off the highways. The landscape layouts are ultra modern with gardens and flower beds demarcating the main roads from the bypass that takes one into the rich neighbourhoods. To enter this part of Bayleaf, you have to pass through a tollgate and it's like riding into another world entirely. Whenever I get to come to this side of town, I always roll my eyes at the unnecessary extravagance and show-off of the layouts.
Now right behind these choice neighbourhoods are the trenches or slums or whatever you call such places. Amongst these dirty, clumsy parts of the town with tightly packed housing lined up with unattended filled up and spilling over dustbins, there are also patches of decent compounds and neighbourhoods. These ones went the extra mile to make a statement for themselves. With the way they fence off their compounds and grow flowerbeds right outside the high fences, it's like they are saying "I may live in the trenches but I am not of the trenches."
It was in front of such houses the taxi stopped.
"We have arrived ma'am." The driver said to me, jerking me out of my amusement. I was really having a good time checking out this bizardly setup neighbourhood. I agree with myself, I need to get out more.
I quickly removed my hand from under my dress, grabbed my bag, slung it over my head and across my chest before opening the door.
We were parked in front of a high fence with a mailbox. I noticed that only fenced off compounds like this had mailboxes in this area. I read the address off a yellow plastic plate nailed to the iron gate pillar, saw the white bell by it and approached as the driver kickstarted his car.
As I was about to press the bell, he revved his engine and called out to me.
"Miss Woods, my fair?"
Bonkers! I should have used a nose mask or something. See the reason why I couldn't just enter a random hotel in the middle of town to ease myself? Even a cab driver knows my name.
"I am so sorry." I said as I went back to him and quickly brought some money out of my purse and paid him.
"Have a nice day Miss Woods." He smiled and drove off.
I waited until he was out of sight before I turned back to the gate but instead of ringing the bell, I decided to call Sylvester. He picked after two rings and sounded worse than before.
Turns out the big, black gate wasn't even locked. I opened it and went inside. Sylvester told me he had left it opened for me and instructed me on how to lock it on my way in.
I, Caitlin Woods, locking a gate. That was a whole new experience.
Entering the compound was like entering a pocket world of dandelions and citrus. That was how it looked and smelled. Right in front of me was an uncompleted duplex with the deckened top housing a greenhouse, located in the middle of a field of yellow dandelions. Wow! It was so pretty. But where was the citrus smell coming from? I was guessing it was coming from the backyard.
Also if there are this many dandelions, there must also be a beehive close by. I looked around but saw none. Okay. Maybe it is also in the backyard. Anyways, it wasn't summer and I couldn't hear any buzzing sound. I should be safe.
I listened again… Nothing.
I shrugged it off.
Approaching the house, I had to pass through a narrow pathway with dandelion flowers flaking both sides to get to the double doors of what could have been a luxurious duplex if the owner ever got to finish building it. But from the looks of things, they have no plans of doing so.
Before I could knock on the door, it opened and a gruff looking Sylvester in oversized overalls covering every inch of his body including his fingers and toes stared me down.
"What took you so long?" He asked before snatching his backpack that was hanging on my left arm all along.
He looked pale and weak. A drastic change from the agile, well stenciled and sexy 58kg guy who had me screaming for my boyfriend last night. He also didn't look drunk. He looked beat up. Thinking of where I had seen someone look this pale and covered up before, I grabbed his hand and dragged the sleeve up. It was black and blue as expected. I gasped at the ugly sight.
He was shocked but instantly snatched his hand from me as I went pale seeing the condition of his arm.
"Sylvester! Who did this? What happened?!" I whispered in shock.
The last person I saw looking like this was Sophia after Daniel beat her up during one of his druggie moments. Anytime I see her dressed like that, I always knew she was beaten up. We all knew but we did nothing about it. Not that I could have helped if I wanted. And even if I could, Sophia didn't want any help. She was ready to die as long as she could have Daniel. It took Mum's intervention to get her off Daniel's back.
With Sophia, I never cared but seeing Sylvester like that made my heart drop on my feet. I had mixed emotions. From anger to fear and worry. Who could have done this to him and why?
"Daniel?" I repeated. "...what happened last night?"
He ignored me and started walking back into the house.
I followed him engulfed with worry. For the first time, I wanted to protect someone but had no idea what to do.
We entered a room that is probably half my room size. Just like Sylvester, it was simple and unassuming but I was too agitated to really absorb the layout.
Sylvester dropped the backpack on his work table and went back to his bed, still ignoring me.
"Where are your grannies?" I asked.
Since he clearly didn't want to talk about his situation, I decided to talk about something easy like the fact that I didn't see his grannies.
"They are out of town." He replied with a wince as he tried to get under his duvet. I hurried over to help him and that seemed to surprise him. Our eyes met and he frowned at me, making me feel awkward.
"What?!" I asked.
"Nothing." He cleared his throat and sank into his well padded beddings. He looked like he was cushioned by snow on all sides.
"When are they coming back?" I asked to keep him talking.
"A week's time I guess. They went to deliver this year's order of dandelion wine at Agritopia."
Okay. That explained the yellow field outside.
"So they brew wine at home?"
"Yes. Dandelion fermented wine and syrups."
"What's the name of the wine? I don't think I have seen it before."
"Honey. It's called honey and can only be found in Agritopia."
"That is made here?! Wow! It's a really good wine, Sylvester!"
"Thank you. "
"No. I am serious. It's one of my best wines. No matter how our chef tried, he still can't replicate Honey. I always order them from Grand Orchard but hardly get one. It's always out of stock!"
"Really. I guess I will just add you to the client list. We only deliver a specific number of bottles once a year."
"Why such a small production of such a good product? Is it an investment issue? I can join in if you need money. I love this wine!" I ranted excitedly, already thinking about how to convince dad and mum to invest and if they say no, I would just do it myself. I am a millionaire in my own right. All those modeling and commercials were not for nothing. Plus I have been running a florist store for almost a year. I am earning.
"It's not an investment issue, Cat. It's the wine itself. It takes two years to properly ferment a good one and it has less than 6 months shelf life. It doesn't last long."
"Oh! I see." I muttered as my mood deflected. " Can I at least get some bottles when I am leaving?" I asked, pulling my face.
"The last two bottles should be in the kitchen. You can take one." He offered.
"Thank you so much." I smiled toothedly at him then sat down on the bed in such a way that I could look down on him.
" Should I order a taxi?" I asked.
"What for?" He was puzzled.
"You look really bad. If you are not going to tell me what happened, at least let me take you to the hospital. I will cover all expenses. You don't have to worry about anything."
"It's not that I don't want to talk about it. My client was just extra." He said nonchalantly.
"What does that mean? Can't you just cancel the hookup? This is not worth it, Sylverster."
"It sure is Cat. He pays five times more than normal clients and covers extra expenses if things get out of hand. I just came back from the hospital when you called this morning. So I am fine. You have nothing to worry about."
Shocking me more was all he did with that statement. Why would anybody allow themselves to be treated like this? I really wanted to understand but I don't.
"Do you really have to do this? Since your grannies deliver wine to the grand orchard, shouldn't they have enough to send you to college?" I asked, I was really worried for him.
"If I allow them to do that, then when do they retire? They are already old, Cat. I was able to get them that gig after becoming a dancer at the strip club. Whatever they get from it is for their retirement. I will sort my own way out. It's the least I can do."
I guess I looked more lost at the nonsense he was spurting because he shook his head and turned away from me.
"You can never understand." He muttered with a hint of envy in his voice.
He got on my nerves.
"What do you mean by that?" I demanded, raising my voice at him.
"Exactly what you think I meant. You are rich, and will never have to worry about anybody or anything. Everything is already at your fingertips. How will you understand why it is important for me to make sure my grannies get to retire soon enough."
"I am not that dumb you know. I am not blond. I have red hair. I am smart enough to know that what you are doing can kill you. What happens if you have an accidental death?"
"That can never happen. We have rules and those rules make sure accidents don't happen."
Really! You have rules that makes sure accidents don't happen but you end up in the hospital after the whole ordeal? How was that even sensible? I thought Sylvester was the smart one. I rolled my eyes and just gave up.
"I guess you have it all figured out then. I just hope it is worth it."
"Yes it is." … Now what do you want?!" He asked, changing the subject and reminding me of the reason why I was there.