Love, Carmen

Chapter 2: Mother

The room was dark and cold. Only soft whimpers of children were heard in the quiet space. Light broke in the room when the door opened and a woman came in, out of breath and exhausted.

"Carmen? Jac? Where are you?" The woman asked in a whisper when the door closed. The silence was deafening that a whisper can easily be heard.

Two children came out of a closet, one at the age of 9, the other one at the age of 4. The red-headed girl held the boy's hand and guided him out of the dark, approaching the exhausted woman. The woman then kneeled to meet the kids' eyes. 

Reaching out to fix her mother's locks, the young Carmen asked. "Mama? Where did you go? Where's Papa?" With eyes so innocent, both kids stared at their mom who fell into silence, not knowing how to answer the question.

"Papa," she whispered, voice shaking, "he wouldn't be with us for a while." She added, smiling at the two to hide her teary eyes. "Papa was taken away by bad guys," she stopped midway, trying to stop the tears from falling. She had to be strong. "We have to be careful so the bad guys wouldn't take us, okay?" 

Confusion crossed the siblings' faces, not fully grasping what their mother said but they still nodded their heads. The mother embraced the two kids but a thud from the door suddenly happened. 

The mother then pushed the kids back to the closet, shushing them, while the two obliged with fear written on their faces. "We're gonna play hide and seek, okay? Stay here and be quiet until Mama and Papa find you, okay? I love you." The mother said in hurry before shutting the closet completely. After that, they hear a loud sound and their mother screaming, begging to be freed. The young Jac started crying, clinging to her older sister who was trying to suppress his noises in fear of being found. The last thing they heard was their mother shouting a word, unfamiliar and vague in their memory before everything became quiet again.

Carmen jolted from her slumber, haunted by her nightmare. A memory, to be exact. She proceeded to the bathroom inside her room to wash her face. As she finished, she looked up at the mirror and somehow saw a flash of memory. It was the face of her mother, eyes filled with horror and sadness before she left the two of them in the closet. She didn't understand things back then, she still doesn't understand what happened now but she knows that it was caused by someone.

She got out of the bathroom and checked her phone. "October 2," she muttered, eyes going straight to the drawer where she kept the diary. Yesterday, she found a new passage in it. Thinking about it now, there might be another one. 

She opened the drawer to get the diary and just as she guessed, there is something written down. She closed her eyes tightly, "this is crazy," she said, still not used to the fact that a strange passage appears in the blank pages of the diary overnight.

"Dearest," her eyes twitching with the endearment. 

"Tonight was terrifying. I looked once again into the woods to find anything that could lead me to you. And I did, just not what I expected." reading it, she felt so curious. What is in these woods? she thought. "At the heart of the forest, I saw someone. She had a long night blue dress covered with what seemed to be white sheer. As light illuminated her face, I saw her expressionless facade. She somehow reminded me of you."

"She looked up and I saw how her eyes glimmer. " finding herself mimicking the action, she continued. "She was as familiar as you, which was a sign. Something about her almost lured me to come closer but before I even made my move, I saw her eyes directing their way towards where I am. I hid in any way I can and waited for a few seconds before I look back. She wasn't there anymore and after that, I found myself running away. Something about her shook me in ways I couldn't understand. Just like when I first met you, but this one's different. She gave me—" she paused, "fear?" confusion dripped from the word. Why would she fear the woman? She just doesn't understand.

"Dearest, I think I saw your mother. Love, Carmen." As the passage ended, she was filled with both curiosity and confusion. She was more invested in it than she was yesterday. 

She kept the diary back in the drawer. She had this feeling that she needed to know what was happening so she made her way to the kitchen to get at least an apple before figuring out whatever the situation is. As soon as she finished eating, she hurriedly walked towards the door. She planned to go to the woods. 

Just as she was opening the door, a face as shocked as her greeted her. 

"Where are you going?"

"What are you doing here?"

The two blurted at the same time. The red-headed man then beamed a smile. "I thought you needed company, the call yesterday was very unusual." He then welcomed himself to the house after nudging Carmen to the side.

"Come on, Jac. What are you doing here?" She repeated her question the same time Jac made himself comfortable on the couch.

"Can't I visit my sister?" He teased and just like that, Carmen's plan for the day was ruined. 

Jac, conscious of the silence his sister gave him, said, "I was worried so I came. You were asking weird questions. Did someone break in here, or did—" 

"I'm fine, no one broke in. You always worry for me, stop it." 

"I think you've forgotten how you attract as many troubles as you could get." He said, shifting on his seat, "I have every reason to worry. You know that." he suddenly got serious, unlikely for his natural behavior.

Carmen stayed quiet making her way to the kitchen. She needed a drink. She was chugging a tall glass of water when Jac spoke from behind her. "You can tell me what happened." 

She faced him only to see him leaning on the door jamb "I'll tell you later," placing the glass down, she approached him. 

"You can tell me now, what's with the wait?" He protested, going back to his childish demeanor. 

Carmen smiled, "You'll have to come with me first." She thought that she could use company while searching the woods. 

Ruffling his own hair, he asked. "Where the heck are we going?"

Carmen looked sharply at him. "Language, kid." she then pointed at the door, "We're going to the woods."