Ron & the Writer — Chapter #2

 Ron & the Writer Chapter #2

"Does it ever drive you crazy,

Just how fast the night changes”

Yes, it really does. How rapidly my holidays passed and within a blink, it was time for me to switch back to daily life! I flew back to Texas from a relaxing period in Canada; but suddenly, things started getting out of the track. The sunrise, colourful flowers, butterflies, changing seasons, shrubs, parks and the sunset of Texas— all these beautiful things which had attracted my mind once upon a time, abruptly refrained from giving me new ideas to write on. Nothing seemed interesting in my life and I started feeling helpless. I scribbled down every random thought on my notebook and tried to design them into poems and stories. But my poems had lost their rhymes and stories remained incomplete.

“May be my life would change if I change the city”. 

And with this sudden influential thought in my mind, I packed my bags and decided to shift to the less famous city called Vanetta. I had already gathered some information about Vanetta and learnt that it holds a small population and obviously, it’s more beautiful than Texas. Though a small city, it has a good number of small forests for adventurers and some calm places to relax in. Old people often prefer staying in Vanetta after their retirement.

Vanetta, however, doesn’t have its own airport. But there is a provision to reach by helicopter. However, after reaching there, I literally felt like I landed on an imaginary place, same as one of those that I read in a fictional book. The butterflies in my stomach danced around with joy, while it took me a couple of minutes to believe that Vanetta is a real place— neither a part of my imagination nor any fictional place in a book.

While having lunch in a local restaurant, I ran into a tall, handsome gentleman named Andrew Smithson. Our conversation started just when he asked me,

"Excuse me. Hi, never saw you here before. Are you new to this place?”.

“Yes, yes. I came here today for the first time”.

“Oh! That’s great to hear. Welcome to Vanetta. May I know your name please?”

“Markus Wright”.

“Hello, Markus. Glad to meet you”.

Then, extending his right hand towards me for a good handshake, he introduced himself, “I’m Andrew Smithson, staying in the Green lane near the Bluestone Park”. He then handed over a card with his name, address and contact details written on it. I read the information in the card and said, “I’m glad too. Actually I’m searching for a house to stay for rent. Do you know if any— ”, I was immediately interrupted by Mr. Andrew. He shouted out excitedly, “Oh my good God! I’ve my own house for rent. If you want to have a look at the place, then please come with me”. I was too delighted to see the sign of a good start, soon after coming to Vanetta. Every end is the new beginning. I felt it true.

Mr. Andrew and I boarded a bus and we reached his place within a few minutes. After getting down from the bus on the main road, we started walking down a narrow lane. The two sides of the lane were beautifully decorated with trees of varying heights, herbs & shrubs. As far as my eyes could reach, it was totally green. “This is called Green lane, the place itself speaks out its own name”, Mr. Andrew confirmed. “And this is my house, you see”, he pointed at a duplex house and gestured me towards the main gate. I followed him into the house.

As soon as I entered, his pet dog Ludo came running towards me, showed all of his sharp canines and barked out loudly. Mrs. Smithson rushed out from the kitchen to calm down Ludo and then said to me, “Please don’t mind. Ludo acts like this whenever he sees someone for the first time”. However, the Smithsonian warmly welcomed me inside and I was led to their large living hall. I went and sat down on a violet-coloured velvety sofa, while Mr. Andrew seated himself on a chair beside me. Pouring water on a glass from the jug on the table, he asked, “Markus, would you like to have tea or coffee?”. “I prefer coffee to tea”, I replied with a smile. He then told his wife to prepare coffee.

He then started to ask about my native, family and my educational qualifications.

“So Mr. Markus, where do you come from?”

“I’m from Canada”.

“Oh, I see. Why did you migrate from Canada to Vanetta, all of a sudden?”

“No, Sir. After completing my postgraduate degrees in computer engineering from a well-known university in Canada, I secured a job in a software company and shifted to Texas. But later I quitted the job and switched to writing. I recently published my first book called ‘The First Fall’— a collection of poems & stories”.

To my utter amazement, suddenly he jumped to his feet and started clapping his hands. “Wow! That’s amazing! Seriously, I’ve no words to express. The next big author Markus Wright, sitting right in front of me! Wonderful! I’ll surely read your book”, he exclaimed out aloud. I giggled and thanked him for appreciating me.

A much-needed cup of hot coffee was then brought and served with some snacks. “So sir, may I know how much is the rent and where do I stay?”, I finally managed to ask him the most important question. “Yes, let’s come to the point. You can stay in the second floor and you’ve to pay $1100 per month. Are you okay with this?”, Mr. Smithson asked to see whether I was comfortable with his bid. I nodded my head and agreed to his terms and conditions. Undoubtedly, the average house rent in Vanetta is much cheaper than that of Texas. I had to pay $2550 per month in Texas, which was too much for me.

However, I climbed upstairs and landed on the second floor. Mr. Andrew unlocked the door and I placed my bags at a corner of the room. “Markus, I’ve cleaned this room yesterday. I shall try to prepare all the rent agreement papers within tomorrow. If you need any help, then feel free to reach out to me. I’m always there”, Mr. Andrew assured me. I shook hands with him and he left with a smile.

Wide opening the windows and breathing in the fresh air, I kept on staring at the beautiful scenery which was clearly visible from the room. Moreover, the balcony was too spacious to stand and gaze at the sky, sit and read whole day or place my favourite potted plants and take care of them regularly. Well, on the very first day, I had already decided the exact places to put my favourite peace lily and pink geranium.

To be continued in the next part...

Stay tuned! 

With l♡ve,

Darshayita 💕

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