Under Her Beauty

Chapter 1

Akilina lay in her bed with her eyes still puffy from crying so much during the funeral she had just returned from. Her nose was runny and her eyes red, but she still managed to look beautiful. She was overwhelmed by the deafening silence of the lonely house and began to cry once more with no shoulder to lean on. Only a damp pillow and a pink plushie, which she cuddled like it were her baby.

Funerals aren't meant to be fun, but it was sad that she was the only family member who turned up for it, along with very few people who were connected to the departed. Justified, none of the family members of the deceased lived in Moscow, but they could have attended it.

For two days, Akilina didn't leave her house. It was war for her to even get up and have a shower. she didn't have the energy to eat and only drank water when necessary - a coping mechanism to deal with the grief- really unhealthy. as usual, Akilina lay in her bed cuddling her plushie and letting loose tears fall, until a bang at the door got her shooting out of the bed.

"One sec" she mumbled, barely audible.

She opened the door to find the landlord looking bored as ever.

"This is an eviction letter," he threw it at her face "If you do not pay your rent within the next two weeks, you would be thrown out."

"Like seriously, i buried my parents a few days ago, you didn't attend the burial and you bring me an eviction letter," she screamed "Don't you have any sympathy." tears already streaming down her face.

"Indeed, I am sorry for your loss" the landlord says with fake sad eyes "You have two weeks" he deadpanned before walking away.

Akilina banged the door as she saw him leave. Placing her back on the door, she slowly slid to the floor and cradled herself while she wept bitterly; wishing, praying her parent come back and make all the pain go away, tell her everything was going to be okay.

---------how it happened --------

Akilina was going through some papers that belonged to her patients, when she got a call from an unknown number.

"Hello please am I speaking to Akilina?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Yes, and who am I talking to?" she inquired.

"I am calling from Lotus hospital in Moscow. Your parents were involved in a plane crash. they were among the many few who survived with injuries, but they passed away at the hospital."

"......tell me this is some kind of prank call" she said in utter disbelief.

"I am sorry for your loss" the line disconnected.

Akilina placed a hand over her mouth and gave a muffled cry. Her mind refused to accept this news, tears ran down her face like a waterfall, her breathing was shaky. She had no choice to submit her resignation later and return to Moscow to bury her parents.

-------present-------

Akilina didn't have enough for the rent; she had used most of it for the ticket to Moscow and the remaining for the funeral. Thankfully there was enough food in the house to last her two weeks. She came to the decision that she would find another job in her field of study, and ask for an extension on the rent, but that wasn't working. Every interview she went for, always seemed to be a dead end. Apparently, she didn't have enough experience. How on earth was she supposed to have experience if she wasn't given a chance. She was already getting frustrated, and time was not on her side. she was already entering the second week.

She remembered her long-distance boyfriend, Ivan. She had informed him about the death of her parents, and he promised he would be there for her, but he was nowhere to be seen. He didn't pick her from the airport, wasn't at the funeral, so where was he. She decided to pay him a visit and ask for help.

On getting to his house, she heard laughter coming from inside and proceeded to knock and what she saw next, shocked her to the bone.