(Book 1) Hayden Mackay & The Forgotten Kingdom

3. The Burning Stone

I pulled my car over and parked it in the parking lot assigned to my town house. I took a deep breathe deciding to act as if nothing had happened. I didn't want to get busted before my Aunt, not in front of everyone-My uncle, grand parents, friends and other relatives, who were still mourning my parents' demise. They must have seen the local news by now. I wished they hadn't spotted me sitting in bar. Talking about my family, they would definitely find me drinking weirder than me killing a hound. So I made sure my breathe was smelling fine by blowing some air onto my palm.

I locked my car and walked casually inside my house. Luckily the door was open. So quietly tried to slip away into my room, before anyone notices me. I took the staircase and I was almost inside my room.

"Hold on, Hayden. I need to talk to you."

Damn! My aunt spotted me.

I hesitantly, turned around to look at her. She looked leaner than usual. Her brown eyes were still blotchy and her long curly hair frizzed out. She was in a blue cotton saree, slightly crinkled at the edges. Her face features matched my mom's, and now watching her was making it a little but troublesome.

Don't get me wrong-I loved my Aunt Tanya as much as I loved my mom. She actually never had kids and so she took care of just like her own. My mom and she sometimes had an argument about how she was pampering me too much, that one day I might turn into a spoilt brat. But of course, I did not grow up into a spoilt brat.

"If it is about my parents then please, I am in no mood," I said hoping she would let me go. I knew my words came out harsher than I wanted them to sound, but seriously if one more person talked how sorry they, I might lose my control.

"Don't be so rude," she said hastily, "Come here. Sit beside me. I really need to talk to you. It's important."

"What is it about?" I asked stepping down the stairs feeling irritated, "Couldn't it wait?

"It's about your will," she said in a raised voice, "And no, it cannot wait."

"Aunt I really don't care, please..."

"I said come and sit beside me. Your uncle has to settle things up," she continued.

I sighed and sat across my uncle who was a lawyer.

Uncle Ryan was a short, hefty and bald man. His nature was tough to describe. He wasn't definitely a rude man but I never really liked to have a friendly conversation with him as much as I loved to have with my aunt. They were complete opposites. Sometimes I wondered what had my aunt actually seen in him that she fell in love and married him. May be they were the best live example of opposite poles attract. He was not that caring. He never really cared about anything until and unless it was wildly necessary.

"Read them and sign them," he said handing me over a big pile of files with hundreds of papers.

"What are these?" I asked, startled, turning all the pages at ones.

"These are the documents about your parent's properties they left for you. The file on the top is the will your father made. It says in case of his absence, all the property will be transferred to your mother. But as your mother is also..." he paused without calling it and then said, "Everything is yours. I hope your father discussed about this, didn't he?

"Umm," said I, thinking very hard. I was sure my father wanted to talk to me about it sometime, but sometime never really came because I did not show any interest.

"Never mind," he said, "I couldn't care less anyway. Just read them and sign it. Once you sign these papers, everything is done."

Do I have to read all these? No way!