“Sire,” sounded a deep voice, “sire.” I woke up to see a blurry figure of an old, wrinkly man with great white whiskers and a gentlemanly face. “Good morning, sire.” It was my servant, Benjamin. “What’s the time?” I asked, looking for my phone. “Half past four in the morning, sire. The cafe opens at 6AM.” He answered.
I groaned. I’m a very morning person, this is completely fine for me. I love mornings. I sat up in my bed. “Shall I bring the breakfast here, sire?” Benjamin asked, drawing the curtains. “Nah, I’ll come down.”I got off my bed and stretched. I went to the bathroom, washed up and peered into the mirror. A faded picture of me appeared, as it always did.
I put on my contact lenses carefully and looked into the mirror again, shallow green eyes looked back at me. ‘Look at me,’ I thought to myself, ‘I look so dull and dark and empty.’ I tried to cheer myself up. I smiled. The image smiled back at me. ‘Why do I look so evil?’ I questioned myself. I took the comb and straightened my hair, nicely parted them on one side. A lot of white hair was stuck on the comb. ‘I just brushed my hair once, what’s all this…?’ I took some from the comb.
“Ben!” I shouted. He immediately came to my presence. “Ben, why do I have so much hair fall?” “Probably because of stress, sire, stress can also cause whitening of hair.” He answered. “My hair is white, naturally.” I looked back into the mirror and sighed, “I thought being a waiter was the least stressful job there is. Now, look at me, hair fall.” Just because of that girl. My life is ruined because of her.
“I think you should stop envying the young lady.” Ben suggested. “How am I supposed to do that!? She’s literally ruining my peace of mind. She takes away my opportunities and gets the fruit out of it! How can I live like that?” I slumped over a chair. “Do you want to be something more than a waiter?” He asked.
“My plan was to win the manager’s trust, get promoted to head waiter and if I keep doing well , I might as well be able to be the manager at one of the branches! As a valued employee, I thought I would be able to do that. And if I were able to do that then, my parents will talk to me again. I will turn back to the successful son of the proud Mr.and Mrs. Holmes. But then that girl….ugh!”
I hit my head on a wall and clenched my fists. “It’s about time you get ready, sire. Your breakfast is ready downstairs.” He said, changing the topic. “May I leave now, sire?” He asked. “Yeah, you can go.” I replied, massaging my forehead. He left quietly.
After a few moments, I stood up and looked into the mirror again, there was a red mark on my forehead. ‘Oh my goodness.’ I tried to focus on my green eyes. It’s a dirty green, like that of mossy bread. It used to shine brightly, the green of my eye. It used to be my charm, my green eyes. But I look like a ghost nowadays. ‘All because of that one girl.’
I have to get ready, I have to reach the place before she comes. I dressed up and ate breakfast. Soon after, I was about to leave the house. I opened the door and got out.
A warm breeze greeted me. “Farewell, master.” Ben bowed a little. “G’bye”I replied smiling. I looked up towards the sky, I could now see the blue of the sky but the clouds hadn't left yet, some of them were still hovering about the vast sky. I got in my MINI Cooper and headed for work.
When I got inside the cafe, I realized I was late, very late. The cafe was bustling with customers, waiters and waitresses were walking around with empty and full trays.
I searched for ‘the head waitress’. I found her near the manager’s office covering her face with her hands. My spirits rose from the sight, ‘yes! Finally!’ I was curious, ‘what kind of stupidity did she showcase?’ Oh, I wanted to know every detail of what happened.
‘This is finally it. She’ll go away soon.’ I smiled brightly. I asked William what happened. He said he didn’t know. ‘Nobody knows about it yet? What did she do?’ I asked Rose hoping she would know, “I don’t really know, I haven’t seen her do anything wrong, I guess she fought with Melody, that singer. Melody is in the boss’s office now.”
“Oh, ok, thanks for telling me.” I replied. “What makes you so interested, Oscar?” Rose asked me. “Aren’t you curious why the head waitress looks like she’s about to cry?” I asked back. Rose remained quiet. She looked on at Susan. I smiled happily and went to Susan. As soon as she saw me, she held onto my arm, “help me! Both of them are fighting over me!”
She cried. ‘Fighting over you? Who would ever do that?’ I thought. I knocked on the door, I could hear loud voices of a woman and a man from there. “Come in!” The man shouted. I opened the door to see the famous singer, Melody Smith and the manager, standing with their arms raised. Both of them looked angry. ‘What did she do?’ I wondered again.
“What is it , Oscar?” The boss asked. “I just came to see what’s going on, you two are making a lot of noise. And the head waitress here looks pretty fed up. So, umm… I was just wondering if something’s wrong.” I didn’t have a good feeling about this, my chest tightened at the sight of my angry boss. I thought about excusing myself and going away, why should I interfere in other people’s problems?
But I was stuck, there wasn’t any turning back. “Yes, something is absolutely wrong!” Shouted Melody. My heart stopped for a moment. Then I felt my stomach twist. I did not feel good about this. ‘How am I supposed to do this?’ I asked myself. “Can’t Susan have a break for a day?” Melody asked me.
‘Susan have a break? No Susan for a day? Yes!’ “Well, he won’t allow it.” She continued. “Because there is a VIP day and she has to be there. But I also need her!”
“Why do you need her, may I ask?” I asked her. “Because it’s my niece’s birthday and she can sing wonderfully.” ‘Susan sings wonderfully? No.’ “Aren’t you the singer here?” The boss interrupted. “Yes, I am. She sings wonderfully, so I was thinking about joining her in my music company,” she sounded sarcastic, but she’s a celebrity, so anything can happen. “Where she WILL get holidays.”She continued, looking at Micheal. ‘No Susan? At all? Yes!!’
“Ms. Smith, I’m terribly sorry but I will not allow Susan to have a day off on VIP day. It’s important for her to be present on that day.”The boss said, as if it was the final word. But it wasn’t, of course, celebrities will never leave you alone.
Melody went on and on about how Susan needs a break and the boss went on and on about how Susan needs to be there on Saturday. Susan stood and watched the argument go to and fro helplessly.
And I stood irritated, thinking, ‘why did I have to be involved in this?’ “For how long does Susan work in the cafe on VIP days?” I asked, suddenly. Not even I knew what I was going to say. Not even I knew where I was gonna go.
“From 11 am to 10 pm. Why do you ask?” The boss answered. Ignoring his question, I continued, “when does the birthday party start?” “At 6pm.”Melody answered, looking as confused as the boss. They looked at one another, then looked back at me. I felt the pressure of this look. What should I say now? I blanked out. ‘Oh no.’
“Why, may I ask, do you want to know all that?” My boss asked, a tinge of anger was in his tone. “What about we divide?” I said suddenly. A light bulb seemed to flicker at the back of my head.
“Divide what?” Melody asked, still confused. My light bulb shined brightly, an idea has been formed! I felt at ease. “How about we divide Susan’s time?”I said, though still unclear whether they will accept this solution, I will try my best to get rid of Susan for at least half a day. ‘She is such a headache to me, I need to enjoy my work peacefully.’ I thought.
“Since her work starts at 11 in the morning and the party starts at 6 in the evening, why don’t we shorten her work time?” Without waiting for a response, fearing the boss will reject my idea, I continued, “her work time can be from 11 to 5 and then she can go back home, get some rest, get ready for the party within an hour and then go for the party.”
There was silence. Everyone was trying to process what I just said. “Won’t that be fine for you,…”my voice drowned as I turned my head to Susan, ‘I have to call her respectfully, especially in front of the boss, but no. I can’t. No. I don’t want to call her that. That is just another way of accepting her superiority. No way. There is no way I’m gonna call her ‘madam’. No, she doesn’t deserve this. But my boss is here. Ugh.’
“….madam?”I forced myself, my voice straining. Her mouth gaped a bit, probably out of shock. For a moment, she stood blinking at me.
Then she answered, “yeah, that’s completely fine for me.” She said, shrugging her shoulders. “What about you, boss?” I turned back to my boss. “Ok…that’s ok for me…” he said, looking at a strangely happy Susan, a bit sad. Before I could ask Melody if she was fine with it, she snapped, “as long as she’s there for the party, I’m happy.” “Ok, then, I guess that problem is solved. May I leave, sir?”
“Yeah, leave.”The boss pressed his hands on his desk, looking down at it. ‘If he doesn’t like it, then why isn’t he saying anything?’ I wondered. ‘Well, it’s not my business, why should I care?’ I left the room along with Susan. As soon as me and Susan came a bit far from the office,
Susan thanked me quietly and went on her own way. ‘And thank you,’ I said in my mind, ‘l’ll only have to see your ugly face for six hours this Saturday. How lucky I am!’ I grinned. I felt so happy. Now I only have to wait for Saturday to come. I went back to work and enjoyed myself in the service for others.
The cafe emptied as the night got darker and as the moon stood high in the sky. At last, it was only me who was left in the cafe. After having done my work, I sat and watched the clean and neatly kept place, the tables and chairs sitting where they are assigned, orange ambient lights hanging above each of them. The counter top is clean and the cutlery organized.
I took off my apron and hung it on a hook along with the others. I checked my phone. No calls, no notifications, I realized how lonely I am. Just then someone texted. It was Ben, saying he has kept the leftover shawarma in the fridge and that I can microwave it if I’m hungry. ‘Well, I’m not all that lonely.’ I thought.
I looked through other chats, the last person who has texted me other than Ben is my younger brother, two years ago,telling me he scored a 90% in his exams. And I congratulated him rather blandly. I don’t really regret that, he is now considered Mr.and Mrs. Holmes’s first born.
Then who am I? No one. He’s in high school now, on his way to becoming a neurosurgeon. He’s going to be something bigger than me, better than me. So he takes the attention and affection of my parents. He is better than me even in looks, he has dark glittering blue eyes and thick black hair. Compared to him, I look sick.
My thin white hair, lashes and brows with my white face. The only thing of color is my eyes, which are pale green. But back in my school days, I was still popular for my unique handsomeness. I laughed to myself thinking about this. ‘Unique handsomeness? Who am I trying to fool? I look terrible. Like a ghost.’
I switched off my phone. And then turned off all the lights, closed all the doors and finally locked the main door. ‘I should wake up early tomorrow.’ I reminded myself. ‘And I shall open these doors myself.’
I got inside my car. Just as I started it, orchestral music started playing. As I waited for the car to heat up, I drowned myself in the music, the high waves crashing on the shore like the banging of the drums, the breeze blowing through cracked windows like the whistle of the flutes.
The xylophone tinkling like the raindrops which come at last to comfort the seashore of the disastrous waves. The raindrops intensify as the waves calm. It intensifies and then drizzles out. The trumpets blow like the wind onto broken houses, taking away from it the burden of holding the roofs. I woke up suddenly. Brought back to my senses, I started driving.
‘What was that dream?’ I drove to a supermarket to buy some groceries for tomorrow. Onions, tomatoes, potatoes, everything Ben needs for his day. I put the groceries in the boot and drove on. I reached a 2 minute stoplight, exhaustedly sighing. I took out my phone and looked through the gallery. Not many photos. I scroll down to the oldest photo.
A picture of me and my brother at the beach in swimsuits. Both of us were smiling happily. Then came a few photos of my trip to Venezuela as a student. Me and my friends were smiling near waterfalls, with our arms around each other’s shoulders. I got pretty tanned back then.
Then a few photos later, me in a tuxedo and a girl in a gown was standing. I figured this would be the prom photo back in high school. I looked very happy, and I was.
She was the most beautiful person I had ever met. She was plain by looks, dark brown eyes and long black hair. But it was her heart that touched me most. She looked happy too. She’s probably in Hungary now, working as an engineer. She is a happily married wife now, with four kids. Apparently her fourth kid’s name is Oscar, and she named him after her favorite author Oscar Wilde.
At first, I thought she named him after me, just like you did, but then, there, the truth was said. It was nothing related to me. But still, she has always been in my mind ever since I met her. Her adventurous spirit and funny nature has always made my days much better. I smiled at her photo, just as I had smiled back then. There’s no one in this world who can make me smile like that.
I switched off my phone and looked at the countdown. 5,4,3,2,1, the green light shined. I went on my way home.
My father, Mr. Nicholas Holmes is a reputed police officer and my mother, Mrs. Lorraine Holmes is a lawyer. So definitely, I had to be something big too. I got my mothers green eyes and my fathers white hair while my brother got my mother’s black hair and my father’s blue eyes.
My father used to tell me not to worry about my white hair when I was young, he told me my hair will grow black when I get older. But he still hasn’t. He uses that as proof that he is still young. He is a very funny person when you get to know him, but once you disappoint him, you disappoint him forever.
As for my mother, she never had a heart. She has always been strict and snappy with me, since I was born. She’s like that even with my brother, Oliver. I guess that’s what being a lawyer does to a person. My family descends from British ancestry who settled in America later when America was a free country. We were rich by inheritance, my family lives in a mansion, has two or three farms across the country and is very well-mannered and British like, holding balls every year and stuff like that.
I was never interested in any of these. I spent my childhood in the garden, where I used to play and play and play till I grew tired of my toys. School was best, I used to study and get good scores and was pretty popular among my schoolmates. Because I looked different from everybody, I did have some bullies but my looks were better than theirs so I didn’t mind them.
I was an attractive guy in my school years, even in college. I used to have a good number of friends and stuff. But none of them were real friends. In college, I took a bachelor's degree in architectural design. But it really wasn’t my thing. I graduated from college with a good score and my parents wanted me to take masters but I dropped the idea and became a waiter. I told my parents this is what I wanted to be, but they told me that I was supposed to have servants, not be a servant. They asked me to dream big and achieve success, but I didn't want to, which angered them.
They told me they didn’t want a son who works as a waiter and makes the family look poor. I said I didn’t care and that was it. They never talked to me after that. I became a source of shame to the family. I have hurt the family’s pride and honor.
I finally parked my car in the garage and got into my dimly lit house. Ben has already gone to bed. I washed up, ate dinner and sat at my desk on which my sketchbook, a pencil and a few color pencils were kept.
Every night, before going to bed, I sit and draw whatever I feel inside me. It is a habit I have had since I was young. I was a bit of an artist. One of my first drawings was of a purple dinosaur with a green belly, Barney by name, was a character of my favorite television show.
The other drawings consisted of my mansion, which I could not fit in one paper, my Uncle Leslie, and my toys.
Once Uncle Nigel challenged me to draw a rose. He plucked a rose from our garden and gave it to me to draw. I tried drawing but it looked bad. So I crumpled a red piece of paper and stuck it in my sketchbook and drew the stem for it. I showed it to my uncle and he gave me a hearty laugh. I have been drawing everyday in my life since then.
I opened a fresh page, took a few deep breaths, put in some music and started drawing. In the middle of the page I drew an autumn leaf, withered and old. And around the leaf I shaded a mixture of colors pink, purple and dark blue. Then around the colors I drew a thick ring of green and around the ring, I shaded yellow and light blue. I had no idea what I was drawing. A feeling jerked into me.
My gut told me to draw a crown in one corner, a broken teacup in another corner, a cake in another corner, and at last a golden badge with my name ‘Oscar’. Now whoever sees this page, they’ll know I drew it. The drawing seemed weird, like a lot of my drawings. It’s just some feeling that kicks in and makes me draw all this stuff.
None of it makes sense to me, but I let it be. I held it up and looked at it, ‘a masterpiece’, I thought. I felt tired, my eyes felt heavy. I switched off the lights and laid in bed. I looked into the darkness, closed my eyes and sighed.
I listened to my heart beating calmly and myself breathing slowly. I then listened to the quietness around me. At last I fell into a deep slumber, in between the heavens and the earth my troubled soul danced.
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