||||||||

Hebe’s phone rang endlessly, however she didn’t even pick it up. Ella was beginning to get frustrated about why Hebe was avoiding her phonecalls. They haven’t had argument and there wasn’t any reason for Hebe to ignore her. Ella thought for a long time…the only possibility left was that maybe something had happened. Ella stopped at the red light and sped off quickly in order to arrive at her house faster. Ella grabbed the bag of cookies her grandmother had made and hurried up the stairs of Hebe’s house. She rang the doorbell continuously, Hebe didn’t answer. Ella ran back down the staircase and glanced at the driveway to see Hebe’s car still there. She hurried back up the stairs and knocked on the door this time.

“Hebe! Open the door! It’s Ella!” Ella bellowed. “I can’t come inside unless you open the door.”

Ella stood helplessly for 3 minutes waiting and finally she heard the door unlock. Hebe turned around to walk back into the kitchen. Ella followed her locking the door behind her. She watched as Hebe dumped her cup of tea into the sink then turn back to sit down at the table. Ella watched her every move and examined her expression. There were bags under her eyes and her every movement was as if she didn’t want Ella to notice something.

“I just got back from visiting my grandmother. Here are some cookies I saved for you,” Ella said setting the bag on the table.

Hebe took a seat and stared at the table.

“Something happened?” asked Ella.

“I was thinking of the day Aaron stood Selina up because of me,” Hebe told, “because I told him I was sick and wanted him to come to my dorm. How everything began that day.”

Ella felt a sadness overcome the room and her worry for Hebe’s feelings.

“My father…my mother…and their heplessness against me,” Hebe continued, “I’m finally beginning to understand all of their feelings. Aaron’s such a great person, don’t you think? For marrying me…taking care of the children…”

Tears streaked her face. What was she talking about? Had she been thinking too much?

“Hebe what’s wrong?” Ella asked.

Hebe had never talked like this before. She was changing in some way…Ella wasn’t sure whether she should feel worried or not.

“I never realized how much sadness I’ve given him. I feel so sorry…” Hebe began to cry uncontrollably. “I’m the worst person on earth.”

“That’s not true Hebe,” Ella tried to comfort her.

Hebe took a breath, “Do you think Selina would hate me?”

That question felt like thunder striking down on Ella. Why would Hebe ask her this? Hebe had never worried about it before…or at least she’d never thought it aloud. Ella was too surprised she’d turned speechless.

“She’s…” Ella began, but another thought occurred to her. She’d also been scared of Selina…that what if Selina hated her. “I guess we both wonder the same thing.” and that was all Ella was able to say.

“Aaron told me…he wants her back.”

For a moment Ella felt as if she were Hebe. Feeling all the worries in the world, being sorry toward Aaron, wondering about Selina…it was strange. Instead of going over to her friend to help comfort her Ella remained where she was…her feet glued to the ground.

||||||||

Jiro had rosen up early the next morning because of the phone call he’d received from Ivan Zhuo’s mother. He was speeding and rushing to their house because Mrs. Zhuo had explained that Ivan had only returned home at dawn to sleep and could be gone at any moment. Jiro needed to catch him before he left the house.

The sun was barely yet in the sky when Jiro shot out of his car and toward the door in jeans, a shirt, and a cardigan. He knocked on the door lightly and heard feet shuffling in the kitchen. The door opened a moment later and Ivan’s mother nodded at Jiro before opening the door to allow him in.

“He just finished taking a shower. I think he’s getting dressed in his room,” she explained.

“Thank you. I appreciate it very much,” Jiro thanked then followed Mrs. Zhuo to the hallway where she pointed to Ivan’s bedroom.

It was a small house. Smaller than how it looked from the outside. The small hallway was dark with two doors on each side. Jiro passed the bathroom and another door on before he stopped in front of Ivan’s. Jiro cleared his throat quietly and knocked on the door.

“I’ll be out for breakfast in a minute ma!” he shouted.

Jiro waited until Ivan opened the door and wasn’t surprised with his expression. He was about as tall as Jiro, a thin face, a goatee, and a pierced ear.

“Jiro Wang, I’m here for some questions,” Jiro explained holding out his badge.

“A cop?” Ivan asked. “I guess I expected it, but I haven’t done anything illegal.”

“Can I come in?” Jiro questioned.

“Suit yourself,” Ivan held out the door open for him.

His room was a small bedroom. A closet built in to the left and a bed against the left wall, the window to the right facing the backyard where a dead tree stood. The walls looked light blue to Jiro, but because of the dimness in the room it was hard to tell the color. He heard the door close and turned around to look at Ivan.

“So what is it you wanted to ask Mr. Wang?”

“Keven Tian…you know him?” asked Jiro. “I heard you two got along during your school days.”

Once Ivan heard his name he laughed, “Yes, I guess I did know him once. But after high school graduation I haven’t seen him since. Oh scratch that, I last saw him at his grandma’s funeral.”

“Do you know anything about that?”

Ivan shrugged his broad shoulders, “Not really. I heard from friends he was really pissed off about the will his grandma left and swore he’d get some of the money from his sister.”

Jiro felt his eyebrow go up.

“Other than that I swear I haven’t talked to him since,” Ivan said raising his right hand up.

“There was a wedding the other day. One of his relatives got married, do you know if he went?”

Ivan laughed, “I already told you I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him since high school graduation. You keep questioning me as if I’m lying to you.”

“I believe you and I don’t believe you.”

Ivan laughed again, “You make me feel helpless. Maybe he heard of the wedding from someone and went. I don’t know.”

“Your mom tells me you go out often and come back whenever you want. Sorry to intrude but can you tell me what you do?” asked Jiro.

“I definitely don’t meet up with Keven.” Ivan stated. “I hang out with my friends. We drink, gamble, and go to bars. Not much. Just some things friends do because they don’t have jobs.”

Jiro nodded, “Well then I advise you to start looking into your life. Thanks for answering my questions.”

||||||||

When Aaron arrived at work he received a lot of greetings from everyone else as well as questions. He slightly ignored some questions and answered some others. He was feeling a bit better now after talking to Hebe and felt ready for the next obstacle he would have to face. He took off his jacket and took a seat behind his desk looking over some papers when Ah Ken walked over.

“Hey,” he began.

Aaron looked up startled, “What’s up?”.

“Um…so did Selina see you yesterday?” Ah Ken questioned.

“No, why?” Aaron asked.

“She didn’t?” Ah Ken sounded more louder and surprised as if something should have happened.

“What’s wrong?” Aaron became more curious.

“Can I ask a question?” asked Ah Ken.

Aaron nodded and waited for him to go on.

“You and Selina knew each other from before right?”

“Why?” Aaron asked.

“That’s a yes?” Ah Ken questioned then took a sigh of relief. “So I didn’t make the wrong assumption.”

“What?”

“Nevermind,” Ah Ken said and walked back to his desk.

Aaron returned to his papers then looked back up. Something was missing…Selina wasn’t there. Was she sick? Questions appeared in his mind one after another. He got up and walked down the hallway to the main office.

“Did a Selina Ren call in?” he asked.

The middle aged woman behind the desk skimmed through some papers, “She said she wasn’t feeling well today.”

After Aaron had walked out he thought for a long time.

||||||||

Selina sat on her balcony staring out at the traffic below. Of course it’d been the truth that she wasn’t feeling well…it was part of the truth. Recalling everything Ah Ken had told her yesterday Selina still felt like a bomb had went off inside her. Had she felt relieved that she hadn’t spent a night with a married man? Or was she upset that after 3 years of being tortured by her feelings she only came back to find out that Aaron and Hebe had separated after hurting her? Yet it was something she wanted to deny as much as she could, the truth that Aaron was hurt himself. His children had disappeared and he and Hebe had divorced. How much more things were there that she didn’t know?

Selina leaned against the railing not afraid of falling.

||||||||

The will…there was always something about the will that their grandma had left behind. Something about it began to itch at Jiro after what Ivan had told him.

“I heard from friends he was really pissed off about the will his grandma left and swore he’d get some of the money from his sister.”

Jiro parked his car in front of the Tian household and just stared at the house for a few minutes thinking. He believed there was something about the will that angered Keven. The money…he was after the money…but Jiro couldn’t be sure himself that Keven was actually after the money and not just saying it. He needed to find Keven quickly to be sure his assumptions were correct.

He finally got out of his car and walked up the staircase to the house ringing the doorbell.

Mrs. Tian came to the door this time in a white sweater. She didn’t seem surprised at all to see him.

“Good morning,” Jiro greeted, “I’m sorry for bothering you, but I have a few questions.”

“Sure, come in.” Mrs. Tian led him in. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Jiro replied.

Mrs. Tian gave off a friendly-easy to get along with vibe that made Jiro feel comfortable. He was led into a different room this time, the living room. An HD TV sat against the wall to the right with the news going on about the weather and some couches to the left.

Jiro sat down with Mrs. Tian on the other couch.

“I heard from my husband you came over the last time. If there’s anything you need you can just say it,” she explained.

Jiro nodded, “Thank you. I really won’t take long this time so I’ll get to the point. I met with your friend’s son, Ivan, this morning. He told me some things about Keven which made me more curious about your mother’s will.”

Mrs. Tian nodded, “He did throw a fit about it.”

“Were there any specific things he’d said about it?” asked Jiro. “Anything you can remember?”

“He wanted money, he said he deserved more than that because he’s a man. Actually other than being mad at us he was rather mad at Hebe for receiving such large amounts she didn’t really care for,” Mrs. Tian explained, “but as you know it’s a will and will be used as the deceased one wishes.”

Jiro nodded, “That’s all I needed. Thank you very much for your time.”

“That’s all? Do you want to have some breakfast?” asked Mrs. Tian.

“No, I’ve already eaten,” Jiro replied.

Mrs. Tian pressed her lips together then smiled, “Do you know how Hebe’s doing?”

“I haven’t seen her for a few days,” Jiro said.

“Is that so?” Mrs. Tian said. “I think you really cheer her up, but thank you for letting us reunite that night. I really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem. She often talks to me about family.”

“Are you two seeing each other?” Mrs. Tian suddenly asked.

Jiro was taken off guard for a moment, “We aren’t.”

“That’s a bit disappointing. You seem like the perfect candidate,” Mrs. Tian told. “It’d be really nice if you come for dinner sometime other than to ask questions.”

“Oh…thanks.” Jiro felt unsure of how to reply. “Then I’ll take my leave, have a good day.”

When Jiro got into his car he the radio and just sat there. He’d forgotten about her since that night and it still came to him so clearly. The kiss in the park and when their hands intertwined at the wedding. Maybe he should have gone to seen her, but it was just as he’d told her mother, they weren’t seeing each other. There was really no reason to see her unless he really had questions. Besides his only job related to her was to find her missing children and get them back and who knows what would happen afterward. Maybe she’d get back with Aaron and continue their married life together. But he felt curious, how was she doing?

If he recalled from somewhere or someone Hebe worked in a grocery store during the day. Maybe he could buy something there for lunch and also check up on her. Agreeing to that Jiro drove to the store and stopped his car in the parking lot feeling more questions and doubts go through his head. What was he doing? Why was he going there? Why was he even worrying?