May's Workshop Stories

Reality or Something Else

When I first arrived in Niaadia, I wasn't thrilled about my assignment. It seemed trivial enough from my point of view. Who could have guessed that it would forever change my life?

"I am looking for Joshua Bernard Smithson," I said the moment I reached the administration area of the university of Ledih.

Exchanging the heat and humidity for the refreshing coolness of air conditioning was the only thing that kept me sane enough to remember who I was supposed to be interviewing. If it weren't for that, I would have fainted rather than politely asked for the person I had an appointment with.

"You must be Yamra Nevdoow," the secretary said as if she had been expecting me.

"Yes, that is me," I said, trying to somewhat arrange my hair which was going haywire from all the heat and humidity.

What was worse, my formal attire clung to me so tightly I looked more like a drowned cat than a young professional woman that I was supposed to be. Someone should have warned me about the weather, but that's a story for another day.

"The professor will see you in the mess hall," she said without missing a beat or giving me a look that anyone less professional would have done.

"Wouldn't he rather we conducted the interview somewhere more private?" I asked, surprised by the statement.

Even people who had nothing to hide and were interviewed to be praised in the world's most famous newspapers preferred to maintain some semblance of privacy. No one wished to risk being ambushed by something the public didn't have to know about them.

"The professor prefers public areas to his chambers. If you follow the signs, you'll reach the mess hall without a problem," she said, dismissively pointing at the large sign that said mess hall.

She was clearly done with me, and I was left with no choice but to do as I was told. Something I was never overly fond of. Furthermore, I found it odd that the guy preferred to be in the public eye during the whole interview, unable to hide any perceived imperfection.

When I reached the mess hall, my interviewee was easy to spot. He was the only one sitting alone and looking regal in the whole place. A few other people were milling around, but none of them had the same air of authority that the guy my eyes fixated on exuded. He was undoubtedly my guy.

"Mr. Joshua Bernard Smithson?" I asked, approaching the guy confidently.

My posture and attitude were that of perfect composure, but I was anything but. There was something about this guy, something different. Intriguing.

"Please call me Josh," he said, rising to his full height and making me catch my breath in astonishment. "And you must be Mrs. Yamra Nevdoow?"

"Miss.," I said automatically, only to realize that it shouldn't matter as much as it did. "But everyone calls me Yam."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss. Yam," Josh said, kissing my hand.

The action stunned me in its unexpectedness, and for a few seconds, all I could do was stare at the handsome guy standing before me. His perfectly styled black hair and chocolate brown eyes were as beautiful as they were powerful, enticing me to explore them on a more than professional level.

"A pleasure is all mine, I assure you," I said, switching to professional mode quickly before I had the chance to embarrass myself. "It's not every day that one meets a philanthropist working as a professor in a developing country while simultaneously helping the country's economy recover from years of poverty."

"I can assure you that I only did what any man would do in my position," he said, shifting uncomfortably at the praise. "Besides, everything that we have accomplished is a team effort. I was just lucky enough to have the means to provide them with a startup budget."