I pull out of the hospital driveway and stop at the gate to flash my ID card at the new security officer. I say he's new because he stops me. I don't usually get stopped when going through the gates because the officers very much know who I am.
Once he recognizes the face on the card, he nods abruptly and makes a short salute, opening the gates for me to drive through.

Most people wonder why I always take the stress of driving myself everywhere.

Why not just get a driver like everyone else and just focus on work?

Well, for one thing I found out a few years ago when I got my first car, that I really love driving. It's one of the very few things I like to do. I know that makes me sound like a boring person but it's true.
Secondly, I'm very high up in the hospital and only the very important surgeries get assigned to me.
The rest of my time (which is a lot), I spend behind my desk, running most of the affairs of the hospital.
This sees to it that I hardly have time for anything else except I deliberately arrange for it in my schedule. So, driving for me helps me to interact with my environment at least.
I can drive to the gas station and fill up my baby myself, I can roll down my glass and complain to the next driver who's  stalling unnecessarily and the list goes on.
You'd be surprised at what so many take for granted.
Also, it's one of the very few times that I'm alone and I get to think about a lot of things.
To summarize it, I really like driving. Really strange, but true.

The large black gates of my house come into view and I slow to a stop once I reach them.
Mr. Ranch spots me and hurries over to unlock the gates and let me in but I see that after he does that, he bows slightly instead of tipping his hat as usual before straightening himself and beckoning for me to roll down my glass.

"Good evening Miss."

"Good evening Mr. Ranch. How are you?"

"I'm very well Miss." He smiles. Despite his age, he still stands straight with a very healthy spring in his step, always looking neat with his grey hair neatly tucked under his cap.

"Did you want anything?"

"Ah, yes young Miss. The gardener told me to inform you that he couldn't make it today and that he'll be here early tomorrow. Is that okay by you miss?"

"Oh, perfectly fine, just make sure he doesn't make a noise with the machines and all." I nod.

"And again, Miss Tomi Claire just arrived about an hour ago." He states and from where I am, I can spot Tomi's Audi parked beside mom's Lexus in the garage.

"Did she tell you why she's here?" I frown slightly trying to remember if there is any reason she'd show up but nothing comes up.

"No she didn't. Is there a problem Miss?"

"No there isn't, I was just wondering but thank you." My thoughtful frown vanishes and I quickly replace it with a smile.

"Very well Miss but may I add, you look radiant today." He smiles nicely, making him look even younger. 

"Mr. Ranch, how can that be possible? It's 6:34 in the evening!" I laugh softly.

"Forgive me Miss, I just have noticed it since the day you came back from church with that young man on Sunday." He says and I just smile knowingly.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Miss and he is a fine man. He treats you well."
Whoa, I never for once thought that I would be hearing these words from Mr. Ranch. He is what I would call a very dedicated person. He never sees the need to spark up a conversation, except it's work related so this is new.

"I know that." I smile wryly, breaking eye contact with him and diverting it to the steering wheel.

"I'm glad you do. Have a nice evening Miss." I look back at him and he tips his cap. I nod and linger a little before driving in.

Mr. Ranch is one strange guy.

He goes way back though, even before our first and only butler, thanks to mom.
When I first got the house, I got Mr. Ranch to work for us. Afterwards, I employed a butler because I felt it was fashionable. That, as you can guess, was during my wild days and it was one of the many things mom was very uncomfortable about. Her reason wasn't just because it was unnecessary, but that it made her feel lazy and that she was capable of finding her way around the house without a butler meeting her every need.
I stubbornly insisted until much later when I had come back to my senses.
That was around the time I miraculously dropped my spending habits and turned sober.
So since then, it has been Mr. Ranch until now and I must say, he's been doing a very good job.
I don't see myself letting go of him till he resigns.

I push open the back door and step in with my back as I lock it behind me. My heels clink on the marble floor as I make my way through the kitchen to the parlor.

The television is on and, sitting on the sofa chatting away are Tomi and Stella. Their heads snap in my direction once they hear me come in.

"Tomi, to what do I owe the honor of this unexpected visit?" I pipe once their eyes lock on me.

"What do you mean? It's Wednesday and we are supposed to be deciding on a few things about the wedding right now. In fact we should have started a whole hour ago." She laughs.

"Oh my, it is Wednesday. It's all coming back to me now." I admit kneading my forehead. She did say it on the phone.

"You didn't forget did you?"

"Actually, I did. I'm sorry. It's just work."

"It's okay, I can come back some other time if now isn't convenient."

"No, no, I just didn't remember. We can start right away." I assure her.

"Do you want to settle down first?"

"I'll settle down while we plan." I shrugged and she got up, preparing to follow me upstairs.

"Stella, how is mom doing."

"She's asleep."

"Okay, thanks. You can go home now if you want. Lock the door when you leave." I say climbing up the winding stairs with Tomi behind me.

"Okay, I will."

"Bye!" I call over my shoulder.

                          ※※

I scan my wardrobe for something casual because that's what Brian said to wear.
I called him yesterday to ask where we were going but he refused to tell me; instead he said to dress casually so here I am.
I run my hands through my casual section and stop at a flowerly shirt. I pull it out and can see it's off the shoulders.
It's white and has cute little pink, yellow, blue, grey, green, red and purple flowers all around it.
Even though I'm not a big fan of white and bright colored clothes, this one's cute and so I decide to wear it.
I check my jeans section and settle on a pair of blue wash ones that don't go all the way down to my ankles but stop midway and are folded at the edges.
This is one of my very few jeans that aren't ripped and I choose it because I don't think ripped jeans would go so well with a flowery blouse.

I step out of my closet and get into the clothes.
The blouse hangs a few inches below my shoulders by the elastic band and it's very comfortable and the color compliments my skin very nicely.
For my hair, I straighten it and leave it down. I apply some light brown eye-shadow to my eyelids for a change because I usually go with black. The eye-shadow gives my eyes a lighter and bubblier feel and it does look  good. I finish the eye makeup with eyeliner and some mascara, coating my lips with some rose gold lip gloss.
I got it when I was coming back from work a few weeks ago. I stopped at a supermarket to pick up some things and my eyes caught this tube of lip gloss in the beauty section.
I instantly took a liking to it and decided to get it.

Trying it on now, I love it even more.

Next, I pull out a pair of nice brown slip on heels. On the front, there's a neat bow made from suede material as is the rest of the shoe's cloth and I just love it.
It's kind of the first time I'm not going all black and it isn't that bad.
I grab my purse and phone to text Brian.

Maya- where are you

Brian- a few minutes away from your house. Are you ready

Maya- yeah, just finished up

Brian- that's fast

I chuckled and was about to type my reply when he sent another message.

Brian- for a lady

Maya- well, I'm not just any lady

Brian- that I knew a long time ago

I smiled warmly when I read that text.

Maya- are you texting while driving

Brian- yup, I should stop

Maya- yeah I like you better alive and not in jail

I smile mischievously knowing he most probably would send some snarky text after that.

Brian-  and I won't get killed or in jail for you

Along with that, he sends a smirking emoji and I laugh guessing right. He did send something snarky and cheesy.

Since he says he'll be here in a few minutes, I decide to read my Bible in the meantime.

On Wednesday, when Tomi came over to plan the wedding, I asked her and she told me to start with the book of John. I called Brian later on to ask him too and he said the same thing.
Their reasons are because it tells the story of Jesus as the word of God, who he really is.
I remember that that was actually the pastor's sermon on Sunday, 17th of October the day I became a Christian.

Jesus, the word.

I then flipp the pages of my Bible to the third chapter of the book of John.

Jesus was talking to a man called Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees. He met Jesus by night and acknowledged that Jesus was the son of God.
The bible now says that Jesus answered Nicodemus and said that no man could enter the kingdom of God except he be born again.
But Nicodemus didn't ask about being born again, how come the bible says that Jesus answered him?
How did Jesus know he wanted to ask that? What if Nicodemus didn't have that in mind?
As I'm about to resume reading, my phone vibrates and I see it's a text from Brian.

Brian- I'm at your door.

Maya- oh, I'll be there in a minute.

He's already here and I didn't even hear Mr. Ranch open the gates.
I put my phone into my bag and head for the stairs.
From where I am, I can hear Stella opening the door for him and I relax, knowing I didn't keep him standing outside for too long.

"Hey!" I say once I'm downstairs and I spot him beside the door as Stella let's him in.

He's dressed in a crisp white office shirt played down by the way he folded the sleeves a little way up and the undone button at the top. His jeans are a darker shade of mine and he's on a nice pair of brown leather low top shoes.
His hair is ruffled at the front and a few strands fall above his green eyes.
I suck in a deep breath and advance towards him with the sweetest smile I could muster.

Stella immediately excuses herself saying she has to attend to something in the kitchen.

"These are for you." He hands me a bouquet of daisies, my favorite flowers and I smell them.

"Thank you." I smile as he reopens the door for us to leave. Stella obviously deliberately left the door open because she knew we would be leaving almost immediately.

We both enter the car and I place the bouquet on my lap.

"How is it that you always bring daisies instead of roses like everyone else?"

"Well, I've never been one to go with the status quo and also, I've always thought you were more like a Daisy than a rose or any other flower. Unique, simple, and special." His eyes twinkle as he speaks and heat creeps up my cheeks.

"Thank you." I say a bit too fast but I'm glad he doesn't notice because he just nods and starts up the car.

"How's my favorite dog?" I ask suddenly remembering Lily, his cute dog.

"She's ever troublesome." He laughs. 

"Nah, you're just bluffing. I don't believe you." I shake my head. "She's too adorable." I coo and he rolls his eyes.

"Why does Lily have this effect on everyone? You all just think she's a bundle of harmless sunshine meanwhile she's the exact opposite." He shakes his head and laughs softly.

"It's because you're no fun." I insist.

"Oh no, here we go again. I'm the troublemaker." He groans and I chortle.

"I miss her. I really want to see her again though. It's been a while."

"Yeah. You could sometime, maybe on your way back from work you drop by and say hello to her. I know she would love that. She's very fond of you."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." I agree smiling as I remember how she'd always thump her feet on the ground and wag her tail at the same time when she got excited.

                         ※※

Since I don't go out much, I have no clue where he's taking us but so far, we haven't left Brooklyn.
I wonder what he is planning because all the while, there's this smirk on his face.
After a few more minutes, he arrives at a general parking lot and stops the car.

"We're here."

"We're where?" I echo feeling really confused.

"Do you mean you've never been here?" He cocks his eyebrow at me in surprise.

"Well, yeah, I don't go out much. It's either work or rest from work." I shrug with a knowing laugh and he chuckles.

I literally have no social life.

"Okay, that explains it. Well this is the Brooklyn botanical garden, a very famous place to spend some time with someone special." His eyes lock with mine communicating better than he would have if he said anything at all and I smile, breaking the eye contact.

I had a wonderful time.

We took the cherry walk among the numerous cherry trees and it was a marvelous sight. Never in my life had I seen so many cherry trees in one place before and made sure to pluck a cherry or two.

Next we visited the rock garden and took a walk on one of it's beautiful walking paths. I was most fascinated by the way the vegetation grew from the stone walls in the Dalglish Family Courtyard according to our guide.
Another beautiful sight at the garden was the waterfall hidden at the south-east corner of the garden with an upper and lower bowl. We also admired the water features and I took a picture of one of the lotus flowers growing on the waters.
To make it all better, we had dinner at one of the rock garden restaurants with the menu consisting of dishes with locally sourced ingredients, many picked straight from the gardens.
We saw a few more places and took pictures together until it was nearing evening.

"There's somewhere else I want to take you." He suddenly says as we are in the car leaving the garden.

"Where?"

"You'll see when we get there." He laughs and I pout, faking annoyance.

"You look cute when you do that." He chuckles and I pout even harder.

"I was really surprised you didn't push it when I told you it was a surprise." He glances at me briefly in a more serious tone.

"I'm not a very curious person. I can be curious for some things but on other occasions, I just let things be. I really have too much on my plate to be over curious." I laugh and he nods.

"Well, that's a first."

"Yup, I get that a lot." I take a few seconds to look through the glass and my eyes widen in surprise.

We had gradually left the buzz and were now driving down a quiet road adorned by trees on each side.
Since it's autumn the leaves are a beautiful mixture of brown, orange, yellow and red.

The lights from the street lights, cast a very heavenly glow on the trees making them appear alive.
I look at him and he has a wry smile plastered on his face. He doesn't turn but keeps his gaze trained on the road and I return to admiring the trees.
In the distance, in between a few trees, I can see water sparkling as the rays of the moonlight dance on the surface. I think it's a river. 
It's just like a scene from a fairy tale. I must be dreaming! Do such places still exist?

All these questions swirl around in my head but I'm too speechless to even voice them.

"What is this place?" I ask and laugh softly.

"I don't know. It's just somewhere I stumbled on a few months ago. Ever since I've come here all the time to get away from the crowd. You like it?"

"What do you mean, I love it. It's so beautiful!" I screeched barely able to contain my excitement. "How is it that it's so quiet? Places like this should be bursting with people." I turn to him, a questioning look on my face.

"I'm glad it isn't but I think it's just not been found out because yeah people would flood this place if they knew about it." He shrugs.

As we go further and further down the road,  I see it's like a dead end and so Brian turns left and stops the car in between a few trees.

"Do you want to go see what it looks like?" He smirks at me.

"Are you telling me there's more?"

"Of course." He says and hops out, striding over to my side to open my door for me.
He holds out his hand and I take it.

"I am well capable of coming out of the car myself you know." I remind him yet another of so many times.

"I know that." He simpers.

We take the left turn by which Brian parked and go further down. Unlike the road we just came out of, it's a narrow walk path with trees clustered so close together on both sides, they look like bushes.
From where we are, I can still see the array of street lights on the road from in between the trees.
The street lights are so bright that they even shine through the little spaces between the trees such that the walk path is illuminated.

"This place is beautiful Brian." I say in barely a whisper taking in the crisp smell of the leaves.

"Close your eyes, this is my surprise." I turn and meet his green orbs staring at me with a smile plastered on his face.

"Okay." I laugh and lift my hands to my eyes.

"No peeking." He says and I laugh.

I feel his hands gently rest on my shoulders as he leads me foward. I hear the rustle of leaves in front of me and it seems like we turn to the right.

"Okay, you can open now." I gently uncover my eyes and let them drop to my sides.

My mouth hangs open in surprise.

Right before us is a small garden bridge, about a few meters long. It goes over a stream and as I do the geography in my head, I assume it flows into the river I saw in the distance behind the trees.
At both ends of the bridge are a cluster of white limestone rocks sparkling in the moonlight.
I push aside a few branches that are in the way and walk towards the bridge, Brian steadily behind me.

I run my hands along the wooden supporter and watch the water tip and fall over the small rocks.

"I usually come here whenever I need to be alone." His voice snaps me out of my reverie.

"It's beautiful."

"I have always wanted to bring someone special here and then I met you." He smiles and throws a pebble at the water.

We stand there in silence as he continues throwing pebbles at the water and I take in the place, loving every bit of it.

A few moments later, I glance over at him and he's looking straight ahead when I smile, thanking God for the day he entered my life.

"Thank you." I whisper and he turns to look at me. His eyes soften and he drops his head with a one sided knowing smile on his face.

"You don't have to, it's okay."

"No, I do and not just for this…" I gesture around before returning my gaze to him. "… but…for everything." I sigh and look away to the rippling water.

" I wouldn't be this free and happy if it weren't for you. I would still be suffering in the world if you didn't come around." I pause and push my hair behind my ear and continue.
"I had grown to hate myself and everything too but you showed me how to love again. Now I see the light and it's all so beautiful. Thank you Brian." I turn and smile at him.

In a beat, we are locked in a warm embrace and he strokes my hair as I bury my face in his shirt.

"Thank you." I say again into his shirt.

"I would do it over again if I need to." He whispers into my hair and I hug him tighter.

"I don't deserve you." I mumble.

"You do and so much more." He replys and I smile wishing for us to stay like this forever.

Then, I don't know if I do or it's just my mind but I hear faintly three words I never thought I'd hear so soon.

"I love you."

Happy new year everyone. This is the first chapter in the new year of perfection 2020.
I thank God for bringing us all into 2020 in rejoicing and celebration.
I know many of you have been waiting for this chapter for a long time. Brian eventually confess his love to Maya and so on. Yeah, I've been waiting for it too and I hope it meets your expectations 😁

Sadly, we are in the end chapters of the book 😫 and I'll soon be concluding The Illuminant. There is a time and a season for everything under the sun and so it has to be, but I still love you all. Never forget that.

Above is the picture of the garden bridge so yeah, there you have it.

Vote, comment, and share my readers 🤗.
Until next time, bye.

Chinwe_epistle ❤