Erza and Ezra: On Coincidence and Good Fortune. | A Short Story | Prompt #65

_{Image by prettysleepy1 from Pixabay.}

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Erza was deep in thought while sitting at her table early in the morning. It had been three weeks already since they set up shop, but no one had come in through the door yet. At the very least, she thought that parents needing help for their child's education would start trickling in once they opened, let alone droves of street-kids asking for support.

This was not what I signed up for. Erza thought.

"Good morning, Er!" Ezra was beaming as he walked through the door.

"Good morning. Looks like you're merry-as-a-cricket. What's up big bro?" Er's voice perked up, hoping for some action.

"Well, if you have to know, I sold some of my Bitcoin before the market crashed and transferred it over to the foundation's account. We now have some funds to work with."

"That's good. Great job, Ez." Erza doesn't seem to be as excited as he was about it.

"Also, Sheryl is coming in this afternoon to interview for the project coordinator position we put out last week."

"Wait, what? Sheryl who?"

"Your Taekwondo team mate. Sheryl Salazar from our old high school. I bumped into her outside the coffee shop a few days ago. She just resigned from her job because of her creepy boss so I asked if she was interested in applying. I sent over her resume to your email."

"Uh-hmm. Okay. I will check it out, Ez." Was the best reply Erza could muster.

Great, now I have to talk to Sheryl. Of all people. Why did he have to bump into her. This was not what I signed up for, either. On the other hand, this might actually be better than another boring day at the office. Sigh. Erza's thoughts permeated throughout her entire body.

"I'm going out for a meeting. Do you need anything from the mall? I'll pass by on the way back?" Ezra knew about Er and Sheryl but did not want to bring it up out of respect.

"No." Erza's voice was now sombre and more serious.

"Okay. I'm going now. Bye."

Erza's gift of healing doesn't include healing a broken heart. This might yet be the best opportunity to move forward on this . Thinking about the welfare of his sister was always high on Ezra's priorities.

Ding, dong! The entrance buzzer sounded more like one you'd have at home rather than in an office. Erza buzzed Sheryl in and walked out to greet her at the hallway.

"Hi, Er. Nice to see you again." Sheryl's tentative demeanor made things more awkward than it really is.

"Hi, Sheryl. I'll show you to the huddle room. You can wait over there. Ezra will be here soon. The ladies room is at the end of the hallway, right side, if you need to use it."

"Uhm, Er... Can we talk?"

"Sure. Let's sit over there."

With two fingers tapping on her right knee and her eyes darting from left to right, looking for a spot to focus at on the wall, Sheryl let out a long sigh before she said her piece with one long breath.

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"First of all, Diego is a two-timing S.O.B., but that does not excuse my behavior. I did you wrong and for that I am really sorry. I was blinded by my desire and believed his every word back then." Sheryl's voice cracked and her long pause seemed like an hour.

Erza looked like a statue quietly staring at the table. Er had dreamed of having this conversation many times before, but this wasn't one of the scenarios that played out in her mind.

"I know what happened to you and Diego, Sheryl. Word traveled quickly around campus. He's a really sick and manipulative guy who cheats every chance he gets. If there was ever a silver lining to what happened back then, I would have to say that we were both lucky enough to get cheated on soon after we got together with him. I can't imagine what might have happened if we didn't find out earlier." This was the first time that Erza was able to articulate the worst moment in her bubbly high school life.

"Wow, Erza. I never looked at it that way before. Thank you. I would have carried this burden all of my life. So... we good?" Sheryl managed to pull herself together.

"Yes." Erza walked over to Sheryl and gave her high school friend a tight hug while secretly wiping away a tear.

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_{Image by Anemone123 from Pixabay.}

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"How are you doing, by the way? Ezra told me about a bad experience with your ex-boss." Erza inquired with concern.

"I'm actually okay. Councilor Franco creeps me out, but he hasn't done or said anything to me that crossed the line. I just really had a bad feeling about him. There were always shady looking characters going in and out of his office with street-kids who are part of a rescue program. I can't pinpoint anything but I felt alarmed enough to resign."

"You did the right thing, Sheryl. You don't have to do anything that doesn't feel right." Erza's words comforted her newfound friend.

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Ezra's knotted eyebrows were pushing against each other as he arrived. The ladies had just ended their heart to heart talk when he came in.

"Hi, Sheryl. Sorry, I'm late. Give me a minute and I'll be right there. Er, can we please have a second at my office? I need to discuss something with you first."

"Okay. I will just pass by the ladies room and be right there."

"Thanks." Ezra's voice was now softer.

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_{Image by 652234 from Pixabay.}

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"What's up, big bro?"

"Look out the window and tell me what you see?"

Erza got up enthusiastically and scanned the scene outside.

"There's Jun-jun the cigarette vendor, cars going to and fro, taxi cabs waiting for passengers, pedestrians walking, and some kids at the corner. There's also a man wearing a denim jacket. "

"Good. He's still there."

"What about him, Ez?"

"Something's off with that guy; it doesn't feel right."

"Let's find out then." Er's face brightened and was happily screaming inside her head. Finally, some action! he, he.

"Let's finish the interview first. Okay?"

"You're the boss."

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As the sun began to set, the twins prepared to leave. Sheryl's interview turned out well and she was even overqualified for the job. They hired her on the spot. The mood and demeanor had now changed.

"Shall we?" Ezra stood up and started walking towards the exit. Erza got her bag and followed.

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"Jun-jun." Ezra called the cigarette vendor to the side.

"Yes, boss Ezra. Do you need anything?"

"Did you notice a man wearing a denim jacket standing over there this afternoon? Do you know who he is?

"Yes boss. His name is Ace and he said that he's from the office of Councilor Franco."

"Really? Thanks for the information, Jun-jun. Be sure to tell me if you remember anything else about him."

"No problemo, boss." Jun-jun saw a customer waving for him to come over so he said good bye to Ezra.

This is becoming more interesting and intriguing at the same time. Councilor Franco seems to be in the middle of things around here. Ezra was trying to figure things out in his head when Erza arrived.

"Hey, Ez. Did you find out anything from Jun-jun?"

"Councilor Franco seemed like a nice guy when I met him a few weeks ago, but his name's been popping out of nowhere lately."

"I was thinking the same thing. The street kids I talked to knew him. They said he gives them food and some money for menial tasks he asks them to do for him. I wonder what he asks them to do?"

"I think we're about to find out, Er. There he is."

_{Image by shrikeshmaster from Pixabay.}

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The denim jacket dude began to walk faster. They followed him into an abandoned bus company garage.

"I think we can get a better look from the apartment building next door."

They casually strode by the guard and walked up the stairs to search for a good vantage point and see what's going on inside the big garage.

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"Hey, what are you guys up to?" Sheryl was just as startled as they were seeing them at her apartment building's hallway.

"Sheryl! What are you doing here?" Erza blurted out in excitement.

"I live here. Would you like to come in?" Sheryl was all smiles and happy to see her new co-workers/bosses.

"We.. are... lost... Lucky we bumped into you. Yes, we'd like to come in. Ah, shall we order some food for dinner? If it's okay with you?" Ezra's improvisation was getting better.

_{Image by selassie from Pixabay.}

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"Of course. It'll be fun to have somebody over for dinner once in a while. I live by myself, you know." Sheryl let them in and dialed the take out food number on her phone..

Erza and Ezra took turns observing the garage from Sheryl's bathroom window. They stayed until midnight and had some good laughs talking about the good old days while doing reconnaissance on their target.

"We had fun, Sheryl. Thanks for the wonderful dinner." Erza forgot about her boredom already.

"Sorry for barging in on your privacy unannounced, Sheryl. Now that we know where you live, maybe we can plan to have dinner together again." Ezra was grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, it was fun to reminisce about our youth. I'm really glad we bumped into each other - twice already, now." Sheryl seemed genuinely pleased to have them as dinner guests.

"See you at the office on Monday then. Bye."

"Bye."

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Luck played a big role in securing the initial funding for their non-profit focused on supporting the youth and getting a lead on their first mission. As they hired their first employee, the siblings headed home to plan their next move, confident that the gods were smiling on them from above.

THE END

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Erza and Ezra were characters I developed for Prompt #33. I thought it would be fun to find out how they moved forward with their plan to set up an NGO/Foundation as a way to help the community, but also as a front in their childhood dream of fighting crime. I'm sharing the link below if you are interested in the backstory. 😁

_{A Fork in the Road - Erza and Ezra.}