Enter
Basil
“Basil!”
“Huh?” asked a delirious twenty-five year old ginger-haired woman as
she
awoke from her nap. She looked up to see her boss. He looked concerned.
Basil was at her job, Catsmeow.com, a huge store and on-line company
that
sold feminine products. She was one of the people at the computers.
“Had a good nap, Joobarausagi-san?” her boss asked. “Gominnasi
Miura-san.
It won’t happen again!” Basil exclaimed. “Uh-huh. Did you organize the
orders?” Miura-san asked. “Hai san.” Basil answered. “Well let me see.”
said he. Basil opened the orders file on the desktop. Every file was
nice
and straight. “Excellent. I knew I could count on you!” said Miura-san.
Then he patted her on the shoulder and walked off. “Whew! I need to
keep from slipping up! I’m lucky to be one of the reliable ones!”
Basil
thought once he left. Then she got back to work.
Once the workday was over, Basil took the subway home. This was a
typical
day for her. Get up, get ready, go to work, go home, and wind down.
Simple
and normal. Basil never expected anything but soon, that was all about
to change.
It started with a trip to the mailbox. Basil went to get the mail. She
opened the box and got the mail. Basil bored looked through the bills
and
junk mail until….. she stopped in her tracks when she saw a royal
purple
envelope addressed to personally. “This looks like one of daddy’s
business
envelopes!” Basil thought. So she quickly ran back into her
apartment.
Once inside, Basil set down the other mail and sat down with the
envelope.
Her hand trembled as she opened it. A letter was inside. This is what
it
said:
Dear Joobarausagi:
We have looked through your father’s documents. Since your parents and
aunt died, the money now belongs to you.
Basil paused in shock. The money……now hers? And who were these people
to
look through her family’s records? Delirious with offense, Basil read
on.
You will also inherit the manor.
The manor. Sweet and bitter memories flooded her head. Basil vowed
never
to go back to the manor again. She read on.
Servants will take care of your apartment while you’re at work. Your
money
will be coming in tomorrow.
Sincerely,
T.H. co.
That was enough. “I need to lay down!” Basil thought. Then she
ran
to her bedroom.
Basil collapsed onto her bed. What to do? The money. The manor. The
servants.
It was all hers now. Now what? The money was coming tomorrow. The place
she never wanted to go back to was in her possession. Her family’s
workers
were coming to clean her place while she was gone. “How did this
happen?”
Basil thought. She drifted off to sleep as she got lost into her
thoughts.
The telephone awoke Basil the next morning. She reached for the phone.
“Moshi Moshi.” she said when she was on the line. “Joobarausagi-san.”
said
the voice on the other line.
“Hai? Whom may I ask is calling?”
“This is the bank, san.”
“Oh. Uh….”
“We received a check in your deposit this morning.”
“How much money was it?”
“11,813,012.72 yen.”
“That’s almost half of the money!” Basil thought. Then she asked:
“Who put it in the deposit?”
“Treasure Hunters Company.”
“Why?”
“They wouldn’t say.”
“Okay.”
When the conversation was over, Basil came to a clear decision. “I
need
to have a talk with the Treasure Hunters!” she thought.
At Catsmeow.com however, this talk came sooner. It started with an
e-mail.
Basil was looking through the orders when a message addressed to her
personally
came. Its address was treasurehunters@treasurehunt.com. “Just the
people
I wanted to talk to.” she thought. Then she clicked on the message.
A letter popped up. This is what it said:
Dear Joobarausagi:
Please be kind and let us explain our actions. We were looking at
mansions
in the Japanese countryside when we came across you family’s manor. It
was a beautiful house so we decided to look at it. The servants were
nice
enough to let us in. We were almost off of the house when we came
across
you father’s office. After looking around, we found an open book on his
desk. It was open to the will. My team read the contents in red. We
don’t
mean harm, we’re just giving what belongs to its rightful owner.
Forgive
us.
Sincerely,
Goto Hama President of Treasure Hunters
Basil felt at ease. These people explained their doings and apologized.
“Well, I guess that’s over!” she thought.
But this was far from over. By lunch break, more money came in her
account.
Basil thought she was going to choke when she found out. “It isn’t
over
yet?” she thought in shock. When she came home, Basil found Midori
preparing dinner for her. Basil was stunned. “Hi dear. I made your
favorite.”
the cook said. Basil didn’t know what to say. Her apartment was clean
and
a home cooked dinner was waiting for her. Tears filled her eyes.
“Basil-san.
What’s wrong?” asked Midori. “It’s just like home!” Basil wailed aloud.
Then she burst into tears as she hugged the cook.
After dinner in bed, Basil recalled the day. “I’ve had enough
surprises
for one day!” she thought. Then she drifted off to sleep.
Owari
Next
Chapter