2 Chapter 2
Ashnah just finished the fifth chapter of the story that she's working with. It's Sunday--her day off from work. She spent the whole day in Amicafe, trying to enlighten her passion which she sincerely wished to pursue. She stretched her arms and legs, and cracked some bones. She breathe in and out, satisfied with her small accomplishments for the day. She packed her things up, preparing to end the day and leave.
"Are you going already?" the smiling staff asked.
"Yeah. I think the whole day is enough for me to occupy a seat of your cafe. I'll be back when I've got time."
"How did your novel go?"
"Still in chapter five. I did some research, too, and I think that's enough of work for today."
"I hope you'll consider our cafe again!" The staff smiled cheerfully.
"Thanks a lot! Will do," she waved her hand in goodbye and went her way back home.
Still feeling the butterflies in her stomach, she unzipped her backpack and picked up her notebook. Her excitement is atop that she needs to write down her ideas on some scenes, characters, and lines meant for the story. When finished, she put her notebook back to her bag and was about to continue walking when she noticed something. It was too quiet. She checked her wristwatch, it was still quarter to six. The streets should be bustling with vehicles and buildings should have their lights turned on. Yet the buildings around have their lights off.
"Is there a blackout in the city?" she glanced around. The lamp posts are on but they're a little too faded. "Did they change the lightbulbs? It looks creepier than usual. She held her bag tightly and was about to run her way back home when she noticed someone is on the swing of the playground. She leaned back. The figure was familiar to her. "Uncle Arnold?" She squinted her eyes to make a clearer vision. She's well aware that her right eye's vision is not good. But it was really getting worse since she seemed to view the place in black and white colors. 'My Gosh, am I turning color blind?' she thought to herself. She opened her eyes once more. It was still the same. She noted on her mind to visit an ophtalmologist one of these days.
Her focus once more went to the figure.
"Uncle Arnold?" she whispered.
"Why are you here?" He asked, exhasperated. "You shouldn't be here."
She saw something beside him moved. It was akin to black couds. She rubbed her eyes. When she blinked her eyes, the image got clearer. The dark smoke slowly form like big round of "O"s, rotating with each other. It was floating on the air. 'It's floating in the air?' Her brows raised in amusement.
"What a great mind I have!" She got her notebook again and began scribbling with her pen even though it's mostly dark.
"What are you doing?" again, Uncle Arnold asked." Can you see the demon?" his lips pursed in thin line.
"What do you mean?" Ashna froze from where she stood as the dark figure was getting bigger. It quickly tilted towards her.
"Run!" Arnold screamed.
"I-I can't!"
Fear crept through her body as she saw the figure getting nearer and seemed to blurred in the air. In a split second, it was then on her front. Her eyes grew bigger as she noticed that every inch of it was full of mouth studded with sharp long fangs for its teeth. Cold spread on her body. It's mouth opened wide and swallowed her whole. Her shriek echoed everywhere. Ashnah waited but she have not felt any pain. She opened her eyes. Everything around is black. She cannot see anything. 'Did I go blind?' Her breathing sped up as her anxiousness rose. 'Did I just got eaten?!' She heard someone mumbling from a distance.
"Uncle Arnold? Is that you? I'm scared," a sobbed warned to escape from her throat but she swallowed it down. She tried to calm herself. When she realized her shaking piped down a bit and she was able to gather enough strength to walk, she nervously strode forward. If Uncle Arnold is not able to get her out, she needs to do it on her own. She heard the mumbling again. It was...crying.
The pearl was snatched in trojan horse
And it was done without a force
Just a slick of tongue and pretense
Connect the dots now it make sense
'Did I hear it correctly?'
She took a step closer to the direction where the voice came from. She saw the figure of a teenage girl curled up in the corner. "A-Are you okay?" Scenes from the horror movies flashed on her mind.
'This is not the time to be imagining such things. I need to get out from here.' She inhaled slowly and released it slowly, calming her thoughts down. She reached her hand out. As soon as it touched the girl's hand, a memory not hers flashed on her very eyes. Along with it, engravings in poetic form manifested in the air.
Fresh flowers in ambitious bloom
Giggles unaware of worlds' gloom
Dream of first love's forevermore
Welcoming lies will soon to mourn
Naivete is a grave sin
In a sweet abandoned called love
A young maiden that's who I've been
Craving a man for me to have
Movies and shows scream such standard
Of beauty, built, fame but bastard
Not talking of parentless child
It's term for man belonged to wild
"Bad boy's love hard" is what they say.
Waited for love that's why I stay
But purity's lost in liars arms
Enchanting me in delusive charms
Is there joy in hoarding maidens?
Plucking buds like they're in gardens
Fleeting love sworn to be loyal
Expect not, the end's betrayal
Solemn prayers turned despair
Innocent world think its unfair
Soul unveiled a smirking devil
Love was paid with unsaid evil
How one's love is never returned
When anger rose and love is burned
Revenge though sweet, can't be achieved
Realized it can't be received
Despair has seeped through shaking bones
Shriek of loss echoing high tones
a wilting flower once young bud
A free dove in sky crashed in mud
Now I see how this world was run
A clamor of different fun
Bitter taste of lies and deceipt
Shocked of taint, I rampage in fit
The pearl was snatched in trojan horse
And it was done without a force
Just a slick of tongue and pretense
Connect the dots now it make sense
I lost the jewel I've treasured
My head's a mess, my brain pressured
Am I now considered a whore
I was enjoyed and then adjourned
Nausea rose in my turmoil
My stomach churned, blood rose to boil
How disgusting the called romance
What made me think to give it chance?
A chance to loose nothing but all
A chance to let in despair i fall
Realizing what I have done
My insides trembled, spirit's gone
Tears fell down on Ashnah's cheek. How could this little one suffer like this? Her heart went out to the child. It seemed to last quite a while, then she was back in front of the teenage girl.
"It's okay," she reached out to her, hushing her in her embrace. She stopped wailing for a while, seemed to listen to Ashna's voice. "It's okay. You can always start over."
Starting over is not easy
Even if life was nasty
forgive yourself, let it heal
It is okay for you to feel.
Regrets are to know what's better
Though this comes sooner than later
Acceptance is for you to love
Self more than any man above
It was a mystery why she's not that surprised as those poems constructed from her core. Her words slowly manifested from her palms. They slowly formed a sphere of golden light. It was warm. She did not know why but tears dropped from her eyes as she passed the sphere of light from her palms towards the back of the girl. She felt the girl slowly stopped crying and calm down. The dark smoke slowly dissipated as the golden light consumed it.
"Ashnah!" Uncle Arnold called out. His worried face seemed to catch up with his age. He reached out towards me through the cracks. The dimension fully broke down and they were back in the play ground once more. But this time, the lights are back in the city. So as the sounds of the vehicles in the busy streets. The vibrant colors of the world is also back.
'What just happened?' Ashnah wondered silently. Her eyes turned to Uncle Arnold, asking the questions in her head.
She was about to reach Uncle Arnold's hand when she noticed someone was clinging to her--the girl before. She looks more human now. And the dark smoke around her is nowhere to be found. Her shoulders shook as she cried. But this time, she can feel her crying more of relief and not grief. Ashnah dared not move an inch. She just tapped the girl's back, letting her pour out her emotions.
"I'm so sorry, Miss," the girl sniffed when she finished pouring out her emotions. "I got your clothes wet," she pulled out her handkerchief from her pocket.
"No, it's okay," she smiled to the girl to assure her everything is fine.
"Thank you so much for comforting me. I didn't know what to do before," she sniffed and wiped away the tears slowly forming in her eyes.
"Uncle Arnold. Can you please buy us some snacks?" she shot him a knowing look.
Uncle Arnold was cautious but he agreed and went his way to the convenient store nearby.
Wishing to give hope to the girl, Ashnah began telling her own story which is quite similar to the girl's experience. "I was twenty when I lost my viriginty to my boyfriend. What was the most painful part was that man believed that virgins should bleed on their first time. But I did not bleed on our first time."
She heard her gasped.
"He was an egotistic man. And that hurt his pride. He kept denying the truth and kept treating me like a slut, only visiting me when he needed my body."
Ashnah noticed the girl froze up. The girl didn't know how to comfort her. Ashnah slowly sighed and smiled towards her. "There is no need to feel pity towards me. I only sympathized on your situation. I have already overcame those memories. And I hope you can overcome your circumstances also. "
"I-I did blurt out my situation?" she panicked, trying to recall a conversation between them that never happened. But Ashnah would like to take a gamble. If she clinged to her before like she is her comfort pillow, she may or may not recall what happened. But one thing Ashnah surely knows is that she remembered or at least feel the wordings of the strange golden sphere before. That could be the only explanation why she's still here along with Ashnah at the park-- why she's still crying her heart out to Ashnah, who is a complete stranger.
She smiled at her with understanding. "It's okay. Yes, you made your choice to trust him. But he also made a choice--a choice to get himself punished with the so called karma. We may not see it, but revenge is bound to take its time and in an unmeasureable folds. Our life is too short, we must do our best to love ourselves so that if someone leaves, we won't be too affected and we will always have at least one person whom we can trust to love ourselves."
"And who could love my self? I lost everything."
"Silly," Ashna opened the camera from her phone. "Look at here," she captured her image. Ashna showed it to her. "Can you recognize this girl?"
"Yeah, me," she said looking confused.
"That's right. This girl is beautiful, strong, but I think she will be most gorgeous if she'll take the time to get to know herself and see what's in her that can't be found in anyone else. Only when you love yourself to the fullest, then you'll be able to determine who treasures you the most and whom you needed most," she beamed at her.
She finally smiled back genuinely. .
She's just too cute that Ashnah couldn't stopped herself from pinching her cheeks. "You're too cute!"
The girl's smile grew wider.
"That's it. You should smile like that often. You looke more gorgeous," she tapped her cheek.
"I hate to break your conversation, ladies, but it's getting late for students. Her family might be trying to find her." Uncle Arnold interrupted.
"Yeah, I think we should at least accompany her home," she looked at Uncle Arnold for confirmation.
"I'll just go get my car. Wait here."
The girl finally grew cheerful as they chatted on their way home. She said her name is Summer. A cute name just suited for her.
