Today, Ai was late for work. It was meant to be business as usual – deadlines, spreadsheets and a few simple telephone conversations. And it would be so… if the wind didn’t frustrate her clients by delaying deliveries from France. One of them kept yelling at Ai for half an hour.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Smith. I know it’s your sofa, but our vendors cannot deliver today because of the storm, in France.” Ai kept apologising for the delay whenever her client paused to catch a breath.
“I paid fifty thousand pounds!” Mrs. Smith insisted. “That’s a five with four zeros, Ai!”
“Yes, I know. And, I’m sorry,” she answered while thinking – ‘I will let the wind know how much you paid!’
After work, Ai mounted her bike with great effort and began cycling down Brompton Road – slowly. Again, she thought about mother’s bulletproof plan for her life. University. Good job. Happiness. Done! She had followed that path to a T but now she was certain that the plan wasn’t that bulletproof, after all.
Suddenly, a paper bag flew across the road and landed on Ai’s face, blinding her. She snatched it and sent it flying in the air. Once again, the wind brought her back to reality. Too forcefully. Ai felt angry at the invisible bully, especially that she could not just report its abuse! But she kept on cycling – vigilantly.
Monika Ribeiro © 2020
So, that was yet another short excerpt from my novel in the making. Its title? Hmmm… I’ve been thinking about changing it – from “Everywhere & Always” to “Come Wind or Come Sun”. What do you think?
The title is not set in stone just yet, but chapter one is… And, I have shared it with my email subscribers. Yuppie! Please click here to READ IT RIGHT NOW.
Alternatively, I started posting short reading sessions on my socials like so…
