Chapter Three

Arian

I step out of the airport building into the blinding sun and quickly retrieve my sunshades from my bag and put it on. I have finally arrived at my destination without looking over my shoulder. 

Maybe I did look over my shoulder once or twice on the plane to be sure that Rafael had not sent his men after me or my parents didn't have someone tailing me but I was in the clear and only then did I heave a sigh of relief.

A cab pulls up in front of me and the driver gets out, rounds the hood and comes to stand in front of me with a smile on his face which makes me wary.

"Where are you going, Miss? I can take you there." He offers.

"Uh..." I pause and quickly check my bag for the address of the place I'm going to. It's been twenty years since I moved away and I can see that everything has changed. Hopefully, my resting place will not have changed location or else I'm toast.

"Miss?" He calls.

"Do you know this address?" I thrust my little notebook in front of his face. I'd G****e searched the orphanage to see if it was still in existence and I was surprised by everything I'd read.

It is now the best non governmental organization in the country due to donations received from Emerson Cruz Group. It caters to the needs of the homeless, orphans and single pregnant women who don't have money to take care of themselves. 

"I do know this place." The man grins at me. "I grew up there."

"Really?" I stare at him in surprise. I try to recollect if I'd ever seen his face at the orphanage but I come up short. "That's um... nice."

"Let's go." He grabs my bag before I can say anything and goes to drop it in the trunk of his car.

I get into the car with him riding shotgun because for some reason I hate sitting in the back seat. I visibly shudder when the reason for it flashes through my mind.

"Are you okay Miss?" He looks concerned.

"I'm fine." My lips curl up in a half smile. It isn't genuine - far from it - but I don't want him to think otherwise. I don't like the silence in the car but I don't know how to tell him to turn on the radio so I can listen to other peoples voices except the one floating around in my head. 

That voice is a sarcastic, insensitive bitch - one I can't wait to tell to get the hell out of my head for good.

"Everything has changed." I say, more to myself than to the driver.

"Yes Miss. It's a good country now." He smiles. "Is this your first time here?"

"Um... No. I was born here." I reply. "I moved away some years ago."

"And you're back for good or just visiting?" He inquires.

"Back for good." I breathe. Hopefully, Rafael will really stay locked up in prison for years and by the time he'd be released... I shiver just thinking about it.

"Are you cold? I can turn on the heater if you want." He says.

"I'm fine." I say. 

He must think I'm very weird. I'm dressed in a green sweatshirt paired with black jeans, black baseball cap and black sneakers. He probably also thinks that I have a lot of money from the way I'm dressed but I don't. I only have the money to pay him and that's it.

I don't even know if Mrs Collins would take me in once she sees me. My face is different and I have a different name - of course, she'd probably think that I'm an imposter if I tell her that I'm Kareena Macavinta. I didn't think this through at all.

One hour, Forty five minutes later, we arrive at my destination but I'm awed when I see just how different St Louis Orphanage home is now. It's like a sprawling estate/ amusement park/ Disneyland - slash everything amazing and wonderful. 

If we'd had this when I was younger, maybe I'd never have left with those monsters I used to call my parents.

"This is the place?" I turn to look at the driver.

"Yes. Beautiful, isn't it?" He grins.

"The word paradise comes to mind." I say.

He laughs and pulls up in front of the gate. "Here you are, Miss. Let me get your bag." He alights from the car and shuts the door.

I do the same, still staring at the magnificent building in front of me and not quite believing what I'm seeing even though the sign at the gate read 'Welcome to St Louis Orphanage Home'.

"Here's your bag Miss." He rolls my luggage up to me. 

"Thank you." I take it from him. "Um... How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it. You're my last customer today so it's free." He smiles.

"I can't let you..." I take out my purse.

"It's okay." He says. "This place must be special to you."

"Yes it is." I nod.

"I come here sometimes to volunteer. Maybe I'll see you." He tells me.

"Um... Okay." My voice comes out squeaky.

He waves, gets into his car and drives off leaving me standing there without any idea how I'm going to go about anything. I walk up to the gate and press a button that I see mounted on the wall and not even five minutes later, I see a woman walking briskly towards the gate and to me.

"G... Good evening." I say when she gets to me finally.

"Good evening my dear, how may I help you?" She smiles at me.

"Um.... I'm looking for Mrs Collins. She owns this place." I tell her.

"Who is asking?"

"Uh... My name is... My name is Arian Macavinta. I just arrived from Mexico and er..." My hands can't stop shaking as I wonder how I'm going to tell this woman I want to see Mrs Collins.

"Calm down dear." The woman reaches out her hand to pat my hand which I have curled into a fist unknowingly. "Why don't you come in?" She unlocks the gate and opens it.

"Thank you ma'am." I step into the premises rolling my luggage behind me and she shuts the gate then locks it.

"My name is Alberta James. I'm Mrs Collins' assistant." She says. "Are you here to apply for a job?"

"Actually... No." I shake my head. "I need her help."

"Friend of the family?" Alberta arches a brow.

"I used to be an orphan here until I was adopted twenty years ago." I bite my lip. "I... I really don't have anyone else to turn to except Mrs Collins."

"Are you in trouble dear? Do you need to call the police?"

"Oh no! Not that kind of trouble." I quickly explain. "I just... I was forced to marry a dangerous man by my parents and um... he made life hell for me." I don't like talking about the emotional trauma I suffered at Rafael's hands but I don't know how else to explain to this woman why I need to see Mrs Collins. "After his arrest, I decided to come back to Nigeria to start afresh."

"What's your name again?" Alberta's brows furrow.

"Arian. Arian Macavinta."

"Your namesake Arian Navarro has been the headline news for months now." She tells me. "She was married to Rafael Navarro who was arrested a few months back. He was part of the most dangerous crime family in Mexico."

"Rafael was my husband." I tell her, swallowing the lump that suddenly forms in my throat. "I changed my surname."

"Oh you poor dear." Alberta pulls me in for a hug which surprises me. "How could your parents have let you marry such a mad man? They should be shot by a firing squad." She releases me. "You're safe now."

"Thank you."

"Come with me to my office. Mrs Collins called earlier to say that she's on her way." She informs me. "You'll see her then."

I mentally send my thanks to God as I follow the woman to her office but I suddenly notice the deafening silence in the Home as if there's not one soul apart from the two of us there.

"Where are the children?"

"It's May 27. National Children's Day in Nigeria." Alberta beams at me. "They all went on a brief excursion. They'll be back soon."

"That's nice." I say. We never did that when I was here but then they weren't so financially buoyant as they are now.

"You said you were an orphan here? What was your name? I assume it wasn't Arian."

"No. It was Kareena Macavinta. I took back my biological father's name after my marriage was annulled."

"Good for you." 

We pass by a three storey building which houses the children then another building for the staff and then a third one that looks like a school and I frown at this.

"St Louis Montessori school?"

"Ah yes." Alberta grins, stopping in front of the building. "Mr Cruz thought it'd be nice for the children to also go to school like other kids with actual parents so he bought the land next to us and built this."

"Really?" This person must be an angel sent to earth by God. No human is this generous.

"It's all thanks to the Cruz family that St Louis is now what it is." Alberta sighs. "It's been like that for twenty years now."

"Wow. Any reason why this place is so special to them?" I ask. "No offense intended."

"None taken." Berta replies. "Mrs Collins thought so too and asked Mr Cruz. I think the reason he gave was because of his son who'd found someone special here."

"Are they married now?" Even though I no longer believe in love or fairy tales - I wouldn't mind hearing that a boy had found his forever here and married her.

Berta sighs sadly. "No. The girl moved away and he never saw her again."