Dear Tressi [✓]

23

"We are not having a good day, are we?" Des asked, smiling sardonically at his wife. The rented Hyundai had abruptly stopped in the middle of the road. Des sighed and got out of the car.

"The engine's overheated," he hollered at his wife as he bent over the hood.

Tressi too, then got out with a water bottle in hand. "How's that possible? We've barely started. We would've been better off with a cab, Des. You should've listened to me. This thing's gonna cost more than its worth."

"It's gonna be fine, Tress. Give me the water and go switch on the heater. It'll help blow some excess heat from the engine into the car."

"Great. Excess heat is just what we need in this humidity," Tressi said, rolling her eyes.

Des clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Will you quit complaining for a sec? Just let me deal with this."

"Sorry. It's just... the prospect of what we are about to do. I really don't wanna see her, Des," she murmured, looking away.

Des straightened up to look at his wife. He turned her by the shoulders to make her face him. "I'm here, Tress. It's gonna be okay."

Tressi managed a small smile. "It'll only be a problem if we manage to get there."

Des laughed. "Hey, don't knock my skills. I'll get this up and running in no time."

He wasn't lying when he said that though. Within moments it was fixed and he got back in. He smiled triumphantly at his wife, who rolled her eyes at him.

*

Tressi's hands nervously twisted and untwisted themselves, as she waited for Des on the stone steps that led up to the building. She leaned against the wooden railing but straightened up immediately when she noticed the moss growing on it.

She could feel the disgusting wetness on the back of her forearm and wiped it on the underside of her T-shirt, while surreptitiously looking around to see if anyone was in vicinity. There was no one. She had half expected to see the assistant that'd been there the last time, sitting outside the door, but the corridor appeared deserted.

Pulling her T-shirt back in place, she looked up to see Des walking towards her. She could see him take in the place. His eyes went wide, and he seemed impressed. It was gigantic after all.

Funny, maybe it only seemed like a monstrosity to her because her mother lived here.

"That Rothan guy must've been something, uh? This could easily be the biggest building in this place," said Des, his eyes raking across the brick walls.

"You haven't really seen the town, Des. But yeah, you're right. This is pretty huge."

"Shall we go in then? Can we just walk in?" Des asked.

"Uh... last time there was this assistant sitting outside. But, I think we might as well just walk in. Let's go to the warden's office. Hopefully, she'll remember me."

"You are pretty unforgettable," Des said, solemnly nodding his head.

Tressi swatted his arm. "Stop it. I'm already on edge. Quit joking around."

Des smiled. "I'm trying to keep this light. Don't stress out," he said, linking their arms together.

Tressi took a moment to gather herself and nodded.

Just like the last time she'd been there, they walked through the dark corridor to the warden's office. The wooden door—with frosted glass mounted on the top half—was closed. Tressi tapped on the glass with her knuckles as her diamond ring made a tap tap tap against the glass. There was no response.
So she knocked again and they waited for a few seconds.

"Maybe she isn't in yet," suggested Des.

"It's eleven in the morning! That must be well within the office hours."

Des shrugged. "What do we do now? Wait inside?"

Tressi's brows pulled together in uncertainty. "I dunno... last time I was asked to wait in here. But now we've just walked in..."

"Do you wanna sit outside then? On the steps?"

"God, no! It's covered with moss and it's pretty drafty outside."

"Well, what do you wanna do?"

Tressi bit her lip, indecision apparent on her face.

Des stepped past her and opened the door. "Let's just wait here, Tress. I'm sure she won't mind. We'll explain."

They walked in and sat on the two chairs that were pushed up against the wall beside the door. Opposite them, across the room, stood the desk.

As they waited, Tressi drummed her fingers on the armrest. Noticing this, Des put his hand over hers. "Stop. Don't be too much in your head. If you wanna distract yourself, think about what Coram's gonna say when we go back, about you ditching him during midterms."

At that, Tressi's eyes went wide and she now had something new to obsess over. But she didn't have to suffer long. A few minutes later, the door burst open and Igna Peren rushed into the room, her face flushed red, and strode straight over to her desk without noticing the couple in her office. She bent down and pulled open a drawer and they could hear her ruffle through some papers. Tressi and Des looked at each other, confused.

"Um... Mrs. Peren?" Tressi called out hesitantly.

There was a pause, and the shuffling of the papers stopped. Then, they heard a dull thud as Igna hit her head on the edge of the desk.

"Ow!" She straightened up rubbing the top of her head. She looked clearly startled.

"Miss Sakit?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"Please, call me Tressi. We're sorry to barge in like this. But there was no one at the front door so we thought we'd just wait here for you. I'm sorry for startling you," said Tressi hurriedly, trying to explain.

"Oh," was all Mrs. Peren said, still disconcerted. She then seemed to realise that Tressi wasn't alone. She looked questioningly at Des.

"This is my husband, Des Gemira," Tressi introduced, as Des extended his arm. "I hope we haven't come at a bad time. I just thought-"

Before she could complete her sentence however, the door burst open for the second time and Mrs. Waldam stepped into the room.