1 Mother

This was it. For the first time in three months or so, Mina was finally able to go out of her house and live her life again. Live life again. Her chest welled up in excitement, akin to a child thinking about getting their new toy. How long has it been since she's been outside? Either way, the tight leash her mother had put her on has been freed.

As she crept outside her living room, she thought about how eerily quiet the house was. The television has been switched off for a while and the only real sound Mina heard was the buzzing sound of flies. Not daring to stare at the state of their dinner table, she looked ahead to the door.

Where was her mother? These past months, her mother made a ruckus all around the house, acting hysterical and peculiar. Hysterical as in growling savagely and banging her head against Mina's bedroom door. Peculiar as in not being able to open the door herself.

Yet the girl knew better than to open her bedroom door in the light of recent events.

The wooden floor creaked as she tiptoed slowly to exit her house. She clutched the straps of her backpack tightly, her knuckles turning white. It was indeed peculiar that her mother stopped screeching for the past three days. Mina thought this was an opportunity to cease and escape the house. Yet somehow, she felt a foreboding feeling nagging at the pit of her stomach. Beads of sweat trickled from her chin to her neck. Her hands were clammy and wet from the heat of her house and from her tight clutching on the straps.

When she reached the door, she let out a breath of relief. The distance from the stairs to the door was small, yet somehow, the tiptoeing made it seem like it was the longest walk she's ever had in her life.

Perhaps the longest walk in her life was on their vacation in Japan. Her mother had urged her sister, father, and Mina to hike all of Kyoto. Get a sense of their home country and culture before going back to the States. Back then, Mina rolled her eyes throughout the hike. And now Mina wished to go back there with them.

She paused as she grabbed the doorknob.

Turning around, Mina took a long glance at her home. Her eyes seem to sting a little bit.

Then, she heard a familiar noise that haunted her at night and even the day. But why could she not bring her body to move?

Come on Minami Hiroi, move your ass! She commanded herself. Her heart was racing but her body remained frozen -- paralyzed. The familiar sound became far closer and closer, coming from the patio that leads to the pool.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she cussed incessantly.

Her fingers finally twitched, sensing the panic that her nerves have been trying to send her body.

The source of the sound finally made its appearance. Against the darkness, Mina could see the outline of a figure that she knew quite well. She had hugged and tugged on the figure's legs as a young child, begging to be bombarded with attention.

"Mother," she croaked out in her mother's native tongue. The growls became fiercer as she said this and sent chills to Mina's spine.

Suddenly, her mother dashed towards her. And all Mina could do was open the door then slammed it. She leaned her back against the door. Bile was stuck in her throat, daring her to throw up. Her mother beat the door in a rage and Mina's back bounced with each punch she rolled. The tears she held so long in her heart finally trickled down and she cried silently -- waiting for her mother to stop banging the door.

Few minutes passed and the banging stopped. It became quiet again.

Mina reluctantly turned around and backed away. Wiping her tears with the sleeves of her flannel, she reached for her pocket to find her phone. She had fully charged it prior to her escape and brought her charger and extra batteries. Although there might not be a connection, you never know what a phone could do at this time. She pressed on her camera roll, searching for a screenshot.

Ignoring pictures of her friends and family, she scrolled slightly and found the screenshot. The photo was the last alarm she received from the government. Actually, the last alarm everyone was supposed to have. It was one of those alarms that were like Amber alerts.

She examined the address and the details below it. There was a shelter near her city, about a couple of miles. Maybe a four-hour trek. Supposedly, there was armed security and everyone was screened thoroughly.

Satisfied with this, she turned off her phone and silenced it. Now in her hands, she has the city map and marked her path. She crossed areas that were often frequented by people and circled less dangerous areas. However, such 'less' dangerous areas seem to make the path to the shelter much longer. The problem is that she was alone. Had she had her older sister, at the very least, she would have felt safer. But, was her Momoko-nee even alive?

That was a question she did not try to dwell on.

She forced her feet to move and peeled her eyes away from the door.