“Darling, maybe you are just overthinking. Jean might be busy. He will call you back, don’t worry,” Cassie tried to convince Beth over the phone.
“Do you think that I should visit him and explain that I didn’t overreact, that I really felt the worst sting ever? Cassie, trust me it was something else, my entire body felt like it was on fire and at the same time on an ice slab. It was the strangest sting, most painful… ever! I am telling you, something doesn’t seem right. Maybe I am becoming a spider-woman or something!” Beth had not lost her sense of humour though she was extremely stressed and scared.
Days passed, Beth never saw or heard from Jean again but she did complete her solo Europe trip while ensuring that she didn’t develop a liking for anyone.
Did she enjoy her trip? She sure did as she soaked in the romantic aura of France, the beauty of the Swiss Alps and the scenic Eurail journeys to Milan and Venice.
During her stay in all those lovely cities, she never felt that weird pain again, until the very last day when she was at the security check of the airport.
“Damn, damn, damn… it’s killing me… help, help me” she screamed holding her right arm and cried in pain just as she collected her handbag after the security screening; poor choice of words at the airport.
Daphne, the security manager, rushed to Beth but something made her tell the staff that everything was fine.
“Dear, that was just a cramp, right? My cousin gets it all the time with the heavy luggage and all. Let me help you reach the boarding gate,” Daphne said holding Beth’s arm and whispered to her to agree and move ahead.
“Don’t worry, I have seen this happen before, with others as well. I saw you at Chef Jean’s restaurant the other day. It was you, wasn’t it?,” Daphne said as she got Beth seated at a cafe near the boarding gate.
Dealing with that torturous pain was one thing, it disappeared in a couple of minutes, but what this seemingly kind stranger told Beth scared her.
Discovering that someone acknowledged her weird pain, however, did put Beth at ease and she wondered if she could get some answers.
Dressed in the security uniform, brown-eyed Daphne did appear trustworthy and Beth decided to use the thirty minutes before boarding to understand what was happening to her.
Daphne laid a condition that she would share what she knew only if Beth agreed to give her hair sample for a DNA analysis; the clock was ticking and Beth had to decide immediately.
Discover the secret or live with the suspense? Beth chose the obvious.
———-
The story continues tomorrow in the next post. This is my fourth post for this year’s A to Z Challenge (#atozchallenge). Head to my previous posts that start with the letters A & B (B is when this story begins) and C.
I’ll be posting daily except Sundays all through the month. Stay tuned. Read all my posts for the challenge in the A to Z links below:
A ➡ B ➡ C ➡ D ➡ E ➡ F ➡ G ➡ H ➡ I ➡ J ➡ K ➡ L ➡ M ➡ N ➡ O ➡ P ➡ Q ➡ R ➡ S ➡ T ➡ U ➡ V ➡ W ➡ X ➡ Y ➡ Z

Wow, I´d love to know, too, but I´d be too scared to trust strangers about it.
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I want to know what it was, and I hope Beth does, too!
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Oh dear, is Jean a baddie? I will keep on reading to find out 🙂
Debs visiting this year from
Making Yourself Relationship Ready
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Ooo this is getting very very interesting!
Hopping in from the community,
Dream
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I love the suspense!! and how well you’ve built the story up. Its so well thought out!
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Thank you for the motivation 😊
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I m having my thoughts as to how the story would unfold 👌👍👍😇, where the sting would lead Beth. Hats off Anuradha 👍👌👌
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Oh that’s cool! Ping me separately if you like. Maybe it’s what I have in mind too or a different direction I can pick 🙂
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Hey lady! How long are you going to keep this suspense growing?
But good one 😀
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Just trying my best 🙂
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Beautiful description and yes, curious about that weird pain as well. Maybe because I too get it sometimes — a weird sort of pain that has no base… Dropping here through the list shared by Arlee.
By the way, I am a mom to a teen, so I know where you are coming from when you say managing a three-year-old. 🙂
Hope to see you on my blog as well. Deeptechwriter.wordpress.com
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Curious about this weird pain. Waiting to read more.
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Loved that each paragraph also started with D! Well done! And I dont know, I’d be weary giving my DNA to a stranger… 🤔
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Definitely I would want to know the secret 😉
Visiting from A to Z – thank you for visiting my blog
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Ah well done in additional suspense. Enjoy April
My title was Discovery today.
Discovery
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Whoooooaaa you’re keeping the suspense on!! I just want to get to the climax now! Can we Z and then reverse? 🤣🤣🤣
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Haha I would like that too… What if I break the trend… Do a z and then go backwards… Like the insane flashback scenes in the recent shows 🤣🤣
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I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s post. And kudos for continuing to manage to start each paragraph with the day’s letter.
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Now the suspense is killing us!
🙂
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I too want to know the secret… can’t wait for the E
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Good pace 👌
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Thank you Preeti♥️
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Even more suspense – what could it be?
Tasha
Tasha’s Thinkings: YouTube – What They Don’t Tell You (and free fiction)
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