Kissing The Wind

Sydnee pushed the table to hinder the woman from approaching her. She turned around and ran her way out of the house. Frustrated screams could be heard from inside the hut but she did not mind it at all. The good thing was that she still have her backpack which contain all her important things.

Now, she needed to find shelter and to ask for help. But she did not know where to ask for help. She spent nearly an hour running away from home before she slowly stopped. She bend and put her hands on her knees, panting hard. Her back was drench in sweat and beads of sweat accumulate in her forehead.

A few minutes later, she stood straight and looked around. She was standing in sidewalk and occasional cars were seen passing by the highway. Her forehead creased. She was not familiar with the street. Where was she?

She looked sideways and the afternoon glow of the sun shone on her face. She squinted her eyes and turned back. A car was seen parking two meters away from her.

The backseat window of the car was down so she saw the man sitting inside. It was not unusual but what made Sydnee froze was that the man she saw was familiar and he was staring right at her!

She gulped when the man smiled and waved at her.

What? Would it result to kidnapping now that the driver’s door opened and the driver hopped out of the car?

Sydnee stepped back when she saw the driver walking towards her. But before she could run away again, the driver raised his hand and said, “Don’t be afraid. My boss wants to talk with you.”

She looked between the man inside the car and the driver standing in front of her. They looked decent and they seemed good guys. But kidnappers were seen everywhere nowadays, right?

Sydnee was ready to turn back and to run away when she saw the man in the backseat opened the back door and stepped out of the car.

He was really familiar to her but she could not remember where she had seen him.

The mysterious man walked towards where she and the driver was standing. Not long after, the man stopped right in front of her and looked deeply at her face.

She waited for him to talk but five minutes later, the man was still looking at her. Sydnee was confused so she cleared her throat and grabbed the opportunity to ask first.

“Who are you?”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

The driver who was standing aside cleared his throat. “My boss is Duke Theodore Mondragon. He is the current duke of Abatan. Show your respect to the ruler.”

Sydnee gasped when the driver said those words. She immediately lowered her head and saluted to the man. “My apologies. I pay respect to the ruler.”

The man waved his hand and smiled at her once again. Sydnee stood straight but her eyes did not meet his again. She asked once again, “The name is Sydnee. What could I do for the ruler?”

The driver asked, “You are Sydnee Lurica?”

She glanced sideways to the driver. She wondered why the man in front of her did not speak any words and why he let his driver speak for him. But it was not her business to know about it.

She nodded to the driver. He nodded too and then looked at Duke Theodore before he faced her again and asked, “We had visited the hut where you lived yesterday. But your mother did not know where you are. We are about to visit again this afternoon but we saw you running towards here.”

Her forehead creased to what he said. She looked at Duke Theodore and then hastily looked back at the driver. She could stare straight in the eye of the driver, but she could not do it to the duke. She put weight on her other foot.

“Why are you looking for m-me?” she asked with her dry voice.

She was thirsty but her water bottle was already empty. There was no store nearby so she planned to walk ahead.

“You might not believe it at first, but you are not that woman’s daughter.” The driver cleared his throat, glanced at Duke Theodore again before looking at her. “Duke Theodore is here to bring you back to where you supposed to be.”

Sydnee blinked, disbelief was written in her face. She just faced her mother’s craziness earlier, and now, someone claimed that her current identity is fake. She did not know whether to cry or laugh at her situation. Clearly, she just learned about her identity and have no plans what to do after running away from home.

If what that woman said is true, then her biological mother must be somewhere. Now that Duke Theodore is claiming something about her identity, he must know the truth.

Sydnee spent quite a few seconds looking at the duke who was silently watching here with a faint smile lingering on his lips. She cleared her throat. “M-May I ask if you know my t-true mother, Duke Theodore?”

His driver answered, “He knows your true identity, Miss Sydnee.”

She blinked and lowered her gaze. A scene suddenly popped in her mind and she gulped. Sydnee remembered that Duke Theodore was the one who helped them when she and her mother was homeless in Consolacion. He was also the husband of Lady Geneva whom she had met next town when Anthony treated her a dinner.

Her foot took a step back and she raised her head to look at the man. Her face wore a complicated expression. She did not know what to do. But believing on the duke who took care of her when she was young…

Sydnee blinked. “M-My father is dead.” She exhaled. “He was killed by my mother. A-And she tried to kill me.” Her head raised to looked at the duke again. “S-She’s dangerous.”

The wind blew after she said those words. The atmosphere was depressing that Sydnee found it hard to breathe. Duke Theodore was staring at her but she noticed a sharp glint in his eyes.

Not long after, he raised his hand to signal for his driver. The man standing on his side nodded and then he called someone over the phone. After the call, the man looked at Sydnee and said, “We will immediately send someone over the nipa hut. Where’s the body?”

“Still lying there,” she whispered. Sydnee closed her eyes as the image of her father’s mutilated body popped in her mind.