When Cecilia opened her eyes after the light vanished, she was surprised to see that they materialized near her home. She turned to Chris and asked, "Captain? Why here? Shouldn't we be on the ship?"
"After all the busy cases that we handled, I am granting you a day off tomorrow," he smiled at her, "You deserve it." He then pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Cecilia.
"Two? Why two bars?" she wondered why there were two gold bars in her hands.
"Think of it as a bonus." He said, a small smile appeared on Cecilia's face, and she then skipped towards the house. Chris watched her, then the image of her skipping home morphed into something unexpected.
He suddenly saw Cecilia and himself happily sitting on the porch of the house, playing with an infant. They looked so happy as they made faces to make the child laugh. He could hear their laughter, including the infant's. Chris watched as the soft glow of the porch light bathed Cecilia and the infant in a warm, golden hue, casting gentle shadows that danced like whispered promises.
The air was filled with the tender sound of laughter—Cecilia's clear, joyful chuckles blending with the delighted coos of the child, a melody that stirred something long buried within him. The faint scent of blooming jasmine drifted on the evening breeze, mingling with the comforting crackle of a nearby hearth, wrapping the scene in a cocoon of peace and belonging. Then he saw himself take the child and went inside the house. Cecilia was about to go inside, but before she did, she turned, smiled, and waved at him.
"Captain! Thanks again for bringing me home," Cecilia's voice broke the spell he was in. He shook the cobwebs in his mind and saw her wave at him before going inside her home.
Without even thinking about it, Chris raised his right hand and waved back at her. He pulled down his waving right hand. He took a glance around to see if anyone was there and vanished into black mists.
The next day, like usual, she finished selling early. Cecilia went straight to the local pawnshop to sell three-ounce gold bars. "Three?" the owner said in surprise, his eyes reflecting the glimmer of the golden bars. "Where did you get these?"
"Family…something, something," she dismissively answered. "So how much for all three?" he hurriedly asked, excited about how much she could get.
"Well, I still have to weigh and test them if they are real," the owner explained.
"Can you do it here? I want to see the procedure?" Cecilia requested, which caused the owner to frown.
"But my instruments and chemicals are in the room," he protested, wanting to do the tests in the backroom.
"Uhm…no," Cecilia said courteously, shook her head, and extended her hand to ask for her gold bars back. "I would like to have the bars back now." Once she got the bars, she turned around to exit the pawnshop.
"Wait!" the owner called, "I'll do the tests right in front of you!" he quickly went to the back room, and when he came back, he had a contraption or two and several small bottles. Cecilia handed one of the bars and watched as the owner weighed, dropped it in water, placed the bar near a magnet, and subjected it to other tests and machines. He even examined the stamps and markings closely. The owner returned the gold to Cecilia and did some computations on a calculator, and then showed the amount to her.
Like a cartoon character, peso signs popped out of Cecilia's eyes, which startled the pawnshop owner. "Oh my god, where did that come from?" he uttered beneath his breath.
Cecilia took a deep breath to compose herself, "I'll sell just one, that one," she declared. The pawn owner nodded and gave Cecilia a form to fill up. After which, the gold bar was placed in a repository. He counted a certain amount of money, wrapped it all in a large brown envelope handed it to Cecilia along with a copy of the form. She quickly placed everything inside her messenger bag, slinging the bag around her neck and hiding it behind her seller's apron.
After Cecilia left, the pawn owner called a person from behind the room, "Yes, boss?" the young boy asked, peeking from behind a door.
"I want you to follow that lady, I want to know where she lives, where she works, and if possible, where she got those gold bars, understood?" he instructed the boy
"Yes, sir, you can count on me," the boy assured the pawn owner before running after Cecilia. The boy discreetly trailed Cecilia, observing the path she took, taking note even of the places where she stopped to look at things. When Cecilia got inside their house, the boy remembered the house, and he ran back to the pawnshop to report to his boss.