Blessing.

Having someone take care of you is natural. It should feel normal and refreshing. But when its starts to feel like a curse more than a blessing then you notice there is a problem. Not with the caretaker but the one showered with the care.  At first it was tiresome for Olivia to get used to Willy's way of thinking and doing things around her. She was the exact opposite herself and of what she thought she would be like. She laughed contently, dressed appropriately and loved being around people just to make them belong to a family. Technically Willy was more experienced and passionately mature in all terms of women related skills. She did house chores without discomfort and groomed herself to love cooking (very impressively well I must add), plaiting hair, knitting and other private set of skills. Olivia felt little and useless around her for not being able to do these things as perfect as her sister. I guess she was slowly finding her way around being taken care of and taught a few things which Willy taught out of love and not obligation. Their mother had no part to play in all of this.

It was heavy to the knees and exhausting to change the arrangement of furniture around the whole apartment to a better scenery which Willy had in mind especially for both their rooms. Everything had been so formal and clean but not of Willy's liking and taste. It was not homely and welcoming and it looked classy and rude to visitors. In exchange for plaiting Olivia a new hairstyle, Willy managed to convince her baby sister to let her change the setup. Each room was white and modern and glowed up even better after the makeover. The sitting room was way smaller but now smoother and more comfortable than the one at the mansion. There was a note on the TV screen stuck on the wall. This one's manageable, it read criticizing Olivia's past embarrassing encounters back where she worked when she failed controlling their television.

Olivia spread a quick smirk increasing the sparks exploding in her mind and got caught in the act when Willy dashed in clumsily pulling their suitcases that Toby gave them before he left. ''Wipe that grin off your face sis and get your bicycle,'' said Willy teasingly. She ran outside to get her favorite thing in the word and bid the hired driver goodbye. All before her eyes reminded her of Toby's ownership over them and a lot of things and was unpleasantly certain that she did not feel comfortable about it. She was overly grateful for his kindness.

The groceries were already packed in the double-door refrigerator and likewise, the bathroom with washing and bathing supplies placed in order. The apartment was a two bed-roomed, one bathroom, a kitchen and a sitting room. There were a lot of plants in the balcony, giving the whole apartment a nice and refreshing look. It was small but manageable.

''Ouch Willy that hurts.'' Olivia had not done her hair in over three weeks and it was really kinky and tangled at the roots. It was really huge and hard to manage at times unless in the hands of the talented.

''You should really take care of your hair. We washed it five times already! I regret having dried it with that hairdryer.'' She wrestled with Olivia's long strands of hair sticking up her mouth and nose. It was all because she did not like the previous home design and had asked for a simple makeover.

''Do you know how much we should pay for this place?'' inquired Willy plaiting a jumbo braided shoulder length hairstyle using her sister's hair. For a minute she was disappointed for keeping her hair short.

''I might have an idea. Please pass me my bag,'' she received her small backpack and removed the envelope she left with from Toby's home. There was her final payment from her job and a long printed A4 paper presenting a list.

''How will you afford all that?'' The amounts of money stated on the paper left Olivia's mouth dry. How was she going to afford paying for all this?

''And on top of this I will have to pay your fees. Did your father have a bank account or something that we can steal from?'' Willy could not question why her long-lost and found sister had already disowned their so-called father and addressed him as hers alone. She quickly got on with it and answered the question.

"He did not have one and he hated the city and banks. Do we really have to worry about expenses when there is Toby to take care of us?'' Willy finally found her own rhythm around her sister's hair. She was slowly becoming proud of her work.

''Willy I know that all your life you have been dependent on your father but we will have to teach ourselves how to survive on our own now. What I have with Toby isn't strong enough to withstand the troubles that might come our way. We are both totally different and there is no chance of us making it through our arguments if they will be any so I cannot afford to be dependent on him.''

''What are you saying Olivia?''

''I'm implying that we will need to learn to do things ourselves because we are alone and we don't have a choice. Tomorrow I will be meeting up with the principal to talk about your enrollment in my school.''

''Aren't you going to call him and thank him for all this?''

''I emailed him as soon as we finished unpacking.''

Her new hairstyle made her eyes stand out from the rest of her odd facial features. With the new looks came the new outlook towards life. Today was the day she ought to change and make things better for her and her sister. But to her disappointment the principal did not agree with her plans. Willy had never attended high school before and it was not an easy process to let her be a senior just like Olivia. The meeting took two hours just to come up with a solution to the problem. They settled upon the idea that Olivia was going to be teaching her everything done from form one to three so that the following year she could sit with the other student for her IGSCE examination. Therefore he gave her the package containing all the question papers and textbooks that she was to use. After a week, when schools open, Willy was to have an entrance exam to determine whether she had the place or not.

Upon exiting the school premises, Olivia was struck by an epiphany that maybe this was all fate's doing. Her mother's elopement that led to the job. From the job to the hunt resulting in a lovely reunion with a sister. (Maybe if keen she would find her brother too.) She also wondered if she had made the best decision for herself to be involved with Toby. He was a nice and all but she was not sure she was ready to start anything with him as of yet. But she had already given him hope and was already in the game that she knew not of the rules in reality but was very knowledgeable in her fantasy world when writing about it.

On her way to Verron Publishing House (VPH) to somehow score an appointment to get novel published. She paced slowly for something was on her mind again. Toby, and what she had said to Willy. Maybe they were not exactly in a place where if they had been in a fight they would forgive each other and move on. Besides the fights, dating Toby itself meant being noticed by people who were going to judge her on her capabilities and failures to keep their beloved lollipop man happy. The streets were busy again as though it were the 4th of July and no appeared stressed and unsettled like the girl in her new long sleeved loose fit solid maxi army-green dress and Tommys.

In the waiting room, the glances suggested a new change in her style. Or maybe was it her hair or people knew already about Toby and her? She was over-thinking all of it.

''Hi, eh Louisa,'' she greeted after reading her name tag on her upper breast, on top of her navy blue shirt with a logo of the publishing company. Judging from the size of the people present for their meetings, she did fear that maybe she was not going to be given a slot today due to the many aspiring authors behind her.

''Welcome to VP House, how may I be of help?''

''I was hoping to get an appointment with the Director or the person in charge of this institute.''

''Name?''

''Olivia.'' The keyboard was translating faster onto the screen than the moving long fingers pressing its buttons. The short beats increased her nervousness as though she was attempting a terrible gesture for herself and Willy.

''Surname?''

''Khohliswa,'' I replied. There was another receptionist questioning a lady in a green dress accessorized with a golden necklace and a climatic diamond ring on her finger. Neither did she look concerned about her meeting nor the rudeness of the enquirer. These girls clearly hated their jobs.

''Your name is here. Please sit down and wait. Your meeting will be in exactly ten minutes. Today is quite a busy day.'' Oh yes, Toby's magic wand.

Ten was then renewed to twenty minutes. Then half and hour later I was invited into an office of an middle aged lady in a black-blue suit tired from her previous meeting. I knew I had to keep it short and sweet. I managed to introduce myself in a mature manner and to capture her interest but I lost her when she interrupted the short segment with a question.

''So let me get this clear, you're asking if I could read your book and then later work something out together?'' Her confidence and sense of style intrigued Olivia. She wanted to be the lady in the suit one day. Rocking her short dyed hair like a queen.

''Yes. I am in desperate need of money and advice whether I should really continue writing. See I'm going to university next year and I want to know my career path.''

''Okay, I will read this ('this' because it did not have a title yet) and will let my secretary call you if I want to discuss further with you. Have a good day Olivia.''

''Thank you so much.'' The handshake was firm and very professional. She really hoped she would get her book published by her. Their work was the best in town!

Olivia passed by a stationery store to get her sister a few stuff for her home-schooling project. They had exactly a week to prepare for her entrance exam. She was getting herself together for her sister who she immediately texted to check up on her. She had been doing so in intervals of exactly an hour. Overprotective? No really, just concerned. She checked her email to check whether Toby had replied yet and left the building heading two traffic lights away.

She was already rethinking and regret leaving her sweet ride at home. No one loved a bicycle as much as Olivia did. It was because it was her first achievement ever as a 10 year old bullied in their fourth apartment in the presence and knowledge of her mother. It was either her mother was extremely drunk to teach her how to ride one or the fact that she found them really intimidating but still wanted to learn. She first rode some other kid's bicycle when she was socializing with them. It was not really her forte to start new relations now that she had gotten used to moving houses a lot. With every turn she would fall but get back up again until she found pleasure in the pain and her persistence. That is when her love for this once deadly two-wheeled vehicle enlarged.

About two hours later she was back home to a sizzling traditional supper. Willy was really good at this. Tierra de Reyes. The show was perfect for both siblings mostly because the kisses made Willy and Olivia really uncomfortable. Talk about kisses,

''How was it sis?''

''How was what Willy?'' she kept her eyes glued to the screen avoiding as much eye contact as possible. She knew where the conversation was heading.

''Your first kiss with Toby.''

''How did you- oh Carrie. It was alright.''

''Alright,'' she muted the TV as though she had heard the worst news of her life.

''Okay fine. His lips were really, really soft and it felt weird at first how our lips immediately got in sync. I felt wanted and maybe empowered. His lips and tongue just open tunnels in me.'' Willy was squealing like a little girl.

''And are you in love?''

''Love is a strong word Willy.''

''What do you mean? Where love strikes flowers of passion bloom and seeds of kindness fall.'' Yeah we have a love seeker.

''He still hasn't responded to my email. Do you think he's alright?'' It was more of a rhetorical question said out loud. But seriously, she hoped his meeting with their parents went well.

''I think he's alright. The wedding and stuff must be keeping them both occupied.''

''Yeah the wedding.''