Lost and Found (A Novel) (6 page)

“Don’t worry about it Caelie, I’m sure you will do great. I can see the potential in you. We need more people like you to keep the consumers engaged.” Marine patted her shoulder gently.

“But I don’t have the knowledge in advertising. I can’t just come up with a proposal like that.” Caelie whined in defeat. Marine tsked and shook her head reproachably.

“You don’t come across as someone who will give up easily Caelie. Wynne didn’t say that you could not ask for help. We have a bunch of great people on this team. I don’t believe they would turn you down if you ask for some advice. For a start I can give you some tips.” Marine adjusted her glasses and gave Caelie a sly look. Caelie’s hopes soared and her spirits lifted considerably. She was more motivated and certain that she could come up with at the very least a decent proposal.

Caelie’s shoulders ached. She had been working non-stop since the meeting that morning. As if in protest, a low rumbling sound came from her stomach. She had skipped lunch and did not know how long her stomach can last before gastric pains set in. Caelie looked at her watch. She had been so engrossed on her proposal that she had lost track of the time. It was already almost eight p.m. The lights in the office were already dimmed as most of the staff had left for the day. Wynne was still around though. His room was brightly lit.

Caelie was almost done with her proposal. Marine had been right. The team had been a great help to her, teaching her the concepts she needed to know so that she could apply them to her proposal. She was hoping that she could complete it by the night so that she did not have to rush the next morning. She hated last minute work. She looked around at the remaining staff, wondering how much longer she could continue with her work before everyone left. There was no way she wanted to be the last person to leave.

“Has Wynne been making you work hard Caelie?” Caelie jumped, startled by Elise’s voice. She had not heard her walked by her cubicle. She put a hand to her chest to steady her heartbeats.

“He did not make me stay, Ms. Kerbs, if that is what you are wondering. I just wanted to do as much as I can today so I do not have to rush tomorrow.” Caelie replied politely. It would not do her much good to talk bad about her team leader. After all, he had not mandate that she stayed until she finished her work.

“Oh?” Elise raised her eyebrows and looked over her shoulder towards Wynne’s room for a second before turning to face Caelie again. “Well then, if there’s nothing urgent, I wouldn’t advise you to stay so late. It can get pretty quiet and deserted around this area at night. It wouldn’t be good for a young girl like you to be out walking the streets alone. Besides, we are accountable for your safety.”

“I understand Ms. Kerbs. I’ll be leaving soon once I’ve finished packing.”

“Good, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Caelie watched as Elise walked away before turning to pack her things.

Wynne watched from his room as Caelie started to clear her workstation. He wondered what Elise had said to her. He had caught Elise’s eyes when she looked back at him for an instance. There was a knowing look in her eyes which he could not discerned. He had not planned on working late that night. In fact, he had a dinner date with a woman he had met recently during a work function. But when he saw that Caelie had made no move to call it a day, her eyes fiercely focusing on her notebook, he had decided to stay just to see how long she would last. He had no qualms about standing up his date. After all, like all his other dates, they were just a part of his social lifestyle. Besides, he felt obligated to stay since she was attached to his team. No matter how bossy or tough Wynne was to his team, he looked after them and stuck by them through difficult times. That was something that had earned him the respect and loyalty from his team members.

As Wynne began to pack his things, he thought back to the meeting earlier in the day. Initially he had been angered by Caelie’s boldness. He had thought it preposterous that an intern would want to challenge his ideas. But he had to admit that he was rather impressed by her. He knew her comments were spot on. In fact, he had been trying to get his team to get out of their comfort zone but they were too afraid to voice out different ideas. For once, he couldn’t wait to hear Caelie’s presentation of her proposal the next day. As he watched Caelie’s retreating figure out of the office, he couldn’t shake a niggling feeling at the back of his mind that there was something about her that reminded him so much of the girl he once knew.

CHAPTER 5: 11 YEARS AGO

Judd looked around aimlessly at the few people who were jogging around the park. He leaned back against the bench, shading his eyes from the glaring afternoon sun. Reaching for his backpack, he took out his assignments and began on them. This had been a routine for him for a month now. He would go straight to the park from school and stayed there for as long as he could before he had to return home for dinner. It was his stepfather’s rule that they must eat dinner together every day.

Judd would spend his time at the park completing his assignments and people-watching. He had acquainted himself with some of the regulars and would occasionally chat with them. His mind wandered to the little girl he had seen the first time he was there. Since then, he had not seen the girl again. While a part of him was relieved that he had the bench to himself, another part of him wondered if something had happened to her.

At the sound of a twig breaking, Judd looked up. He was surprised to see the same girl standing at the other end of the bench. She looked as surprised as he was. The girl made no move to sit down. She appeared hesitant, her face seemed to be etched with worry. Judd furrowed his eyebrows, wondering if she was upset that he had taken her place. From what he had heard, the girl was the only one who used to sit at this bench. With a slight shake of her head, the girl began to walk away from Judd, out of the park.

Hayley took one last longing look at the park before turning her eyes resolutely to the front as she walked home. She had been looking forward to spend her time alone at the park. It had been a month since she was allowed out of the house. Catching up with schoolwork was not a problem for her. What Hayley missed most was the gentle breeze that caressed her face, the sound of birds chirping, the swaying of the green leaves and the laughter of small kids playing in the park. She wanted to immerse herself in the beauty of nature. She had not expected to see her favorite bench occupied, by that boy no less. He had seemed comfortably settled. She wondered if within the month that she was absent, the boy had claimed the bench as his own.

Taking in a deep breath, Hayley’s footsteps quickened. Her mind wandered to the questions asked by classmates and teachers about her long absence from school. Her mother had written a letter of excuse informing them that she had to follow her parents overseas for work matters. They had bought the explanation wholly, with the nuts and bolts. Truth be told, Hayley had been kept locked in the house throughout.

Hayley’s mother had seen her talking to the older of the two boys she had watched playing with their father at the beach. She had bumped into him on her way home from school and he was just being friendly. Unfortunately, Mrs. Price had came back early and was furious when she saw them talking. She had grabbed Hayley by the wrist and dragged her home, slamming her small body against the door. Slaps and kicks rained down on her body while she screamed insults at her daughter.

All Hayley could do was curled up into a ball, covering as much of her body as possible against the beatings. She had heard her mother called her a slut and whore but her innocent young mind could not fathomed the insinuations thrown at her. She did not understand what she had done wrong to incur such wrath from her mother. Not so much as two sentences had passed between her and the boy before her mother came storming up to them.

By the time Mrs. Price’s anger had subsided, Hayley’s body was badly bruised and her ribs ached from the kicks that landed on them. She had been told to stay in her room and not to leave the house until her bruises were gone.

As Hayley neared her apartment, she caught sight of her mother’s car in the driveway. Looking up, she saw her mother watching her from the window with eagle eyes. She sighed with relief, silently thanking the boy for changing her mind about staying at the park. If she had been home late, her mother would definitely start on her tirade and once she knew about the park, there was no way Hayley could ever enjoy her afternoons there again.

For the rest of the week, Hayley decided that she should just head home straight after school to be on the safe side. Mrs. Price seemed to be monitoring her every movement. By the following week, Mrs. Price was satisfied that Hayley was behaving herself and had resumed her normal schedule. Hayley was glad for the return to normalcy and took her chances by going to the park.

Hayley began skipping happily when the empty bench came into view. Dropping her bag on the floor, she spread her arms out embracing the warm air and taking in the smell of grass.

“Ehem.” Hayley looked up when she heard the clearing of a throat.

“Mind if I sit down?” Judd asked.

Hayley shrugged her shoulders. “It’s a public bench.”

Hayley watched as Judd silently settled himself at the opposite side of the bench and began to do his work, ignoring her. His long black fringe covering his face from her prying eyes. He did not seemed as frustrated as he was the first time she had seen him. Hayley turned back and let her mind wander, oblivious to the stranger sharing her bench.

This soon became a regular scene as they both sat silently side by side at the bench, each minding his or her own business. Usually Hayley would be there first and she was always the one to leave first. After a while, Hayley could not contain her curiosity any longer and decided to break the silence.

“What is your name?” Judd’s hand hovered in the air as he stopped writing, surprised to hear Hayley’s voice. His head made the slightest tilt in her direction before he resumed his work, ignoring her question.

“I’m Hayley. Hayley Price.” Hayley tried again. A grey eye looked up at her for an instance before being shielded again by the fringe.

“You seemed to like hiding behind your hair.” Judd’s head snapped up as his fingers tightened around his pen. Anger flashed across his eyes as they stared at Hayley.

“And you seemed nicer with your mouth shut.” Judd said in a tight voice. He quickly gathered his things and stormed out of the park. Hayley’s comment had struck a chord in his heart. His choice of hairstyle had been a sensitive topic for him. He had always sported a short clean haircut when his father was around. Ever since his father’s death, he had chosen to dye his hair black and kept it long, precisely so that he could hide his face from people. He hated it when people could see his emotions and it angered him that even a stranger like Hayley could read him out. Yes, even though they had spent practically every day together, Hayley was still just a stranger to him.

The next day, Hayley was surprised to see Judd at the bench going about his usual motions as if nothing happened between them. She decided to let him be for the time being. Seeing that Hayley made no move to talk, Judd was relieved. He did not know if he could control his temper if she started on him again. It would not last long though as two days later Hayley decided to try talking to him again.

“Lovely weather isn’t it?” Silence.

“At this time of the year, most of the flowers are blooming and I love to see the variety of colors amongst the greenery of the trees.” Silence.

“Hey, look at that white dove. It’s cute isn’t it? Sometimes I wished I could be one. Soaring up high in the sky without a care in the world.” Hayley looked up to the sky wistfully. It did not bother her that Judd was not responding to her and she might seemed like a crazy girl rambling to herself. For the first time she felt as though she could talk to someone in a carefree manner. Without glancing to see Judd’s reaction, Hayley continued talking, from weather to school and even her feelings or observations about things in general.

Judd continued with his work, ignoring Hayley. He did not totally tune out though. He had been listening to what she had to say and some of her thoughts had left him amazed. Hayley was an intelligent girl with a maturity level that went beyond her age.

That day, just as Hayley was about to leave, she was surprised when she finally heard Judd speak.

“It’s Judd.” Just two words. Judd had not even looked up at her as he spoke but it was enough for her. She had managed to break the ice.

“Goodbye Judd.” Hayley smiled and skipped out of the park. If she had turned back, she would have seen Judd watching her with a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

CHAPTER 6: PRESENT YEAR

I could do this, Caelie repeated mentally to herself for the umpteenth time. Standing at the front of the room, Caelie fidgeted with her blouse and skirt, stalling for time. She was nervous and her hands were practically shaking. She hated talking in front of people as it would mean that all eyes would be on her every movements and words, making her self-conscious. Scanning the room, she met the sea of faces that stared expectantly back at her. Five of them were smiling encouragingly at her while one, the most important of them all, was just emotionless. Taking a deep breath, Caelie began to present her proposal.