An Encounter With Bella.

"If I could turn back the hands of time, I would have treated Bella better". I took a deep breath as I began to reminisce about how I met Bella and our ordeal.

Bella became my assistant three years ago when I realized she was the best fit for the position.

She's 5'10, very industrious, cheerful, and honest, which is why I loved her the most. One of her major duties was to make my early morning coffee at exactly 8 a.m. because she knew that taking coffee was the only way to kick start my day, and then her other duties included scheduling my meeting appointments, ordering my goods online, picking my outfit, and styling. The least I could do was to reciprocate her good deeds by paying her dues when appropriate.

On a few occasions, I remember her facial expressions when I asked her to order items we both knew were extravagant and unnecessary.

"Ma'am, do you really need this?" She would ask, "Of course I do." I usually responded without giving it a second thought.

Deep down, I knew her reason for asking was because I hadn't paid her salary for the past six months. "Does that give her the right to detect what or what not to buy?" I soliloquized.

Despite my taking her for granted, Bella continuously remained diligent until two months ago, when she walked into my office to hand in her resignation letter.

That morning, Bella was dressed in her white shirt and black pant trousers, rocking blonde hair, and wearing very light makeup. She looked pretty good and smelled nice too, as usual.

"Good morning, ma'am. Here is my resignation letter." She handed me the white envelope.

"Excuse me? What do you mean by your resignation letter?" I asked immediately, trying to process the whole scenario.

"Don't take this the wrong way, ma'am. For the past six months, I haven't been paid my salary. I would understand it if the company was running at a loss, but the opposite is the case; you have been spending the equivalent of ordering unnecessary personal items."

Angrily, I interrupted her, "How dare you speak to me in that manner? Is it because I let you handle my issues? Before I call security on you, please walk out of the office."

Bella looked me in the eyes, murmured something under her breath, and walked out of my office.

As soon as she left, I went ahead to make myself some coffee to calm my nerves and get me back in the right mood.

The first time, my favourite mug detached, which sent the cup crashing to the floor and leaving spills of coffee on my favourite white shirt. The subsequent day, for every sip of coffee I had, I began coughing incessantly.

From that day forward, every sip of my beloved coffee brought forth a peculiar inconvenience.

At first, it seemed trivial, but collectively, it was frustrating. Then I realized I had been cursed after an encounter with Bella.

I was determined to break the curse after two months, so I went in search of Bella; thankfully, she hadn't relocated. I could tell from her facial expression that she was too surprised to see me.

She welcomed me warmly and offered me a cup of coffee. I couldn't turn down a cup of coffee made by Bella because she was very skilled when it came to coffee making. A few minutes into our conversation, I took a sip of the cup of coffee, and the familiar occurrence happened again.

I watched how Bella fidgeted upon seeing the effect of what a sip of coffee had on me: "Sorry, ma'am, has this been happening for the past two months?" She asked in a very soft tone, showing concern.

"Yes, Bella, ever since you walked out of my office, I have never enjoyed my coffee in peace," I replied immediately.

Bella gasped in surprise. "Could this be a result of the little statement I murmured before leaving your office two months ago?"

I overheard what she whispered and asked, Bella, please, what statement did you make?"

"For every time you take a sip of coffee that I know you love to kick-start your day, you'll face a mild but peculiar inconvenience," Bella replied, and then my eyes were teary as I realized there's true power in the tongue.

I seized the opportunity to apologize to Bella for my wrongdoing and asked her to send in her account details for compensation, which she did.

"Bella, please, bless me yet again from your lips that once cursed me," I pleaded with her, and then she held my hands, looked into my eyes, and said, "It shall be well with you, ma, and you will never experience any further inconvenience." We hugged each other and parted ways.

And from then on, I became more careful with the way I treated people, and I never experienced any more coffee inconveniences.