Adala

I Am Alone Now

My sister was everything to me. She took care of me and there were just the two of us. Our parents were often busy and did not pay us any attention. Our dad rarely comes home and mom works in the day and is drunk at night. I miss my sister...

Today is her funeral.

I am angry and I want to break things. They opened the casket for the final viewing. My mother started sobbing loudly. Funny how she started caring when her daughter's already gone. Her husband, my often absent father is crying as well. I know for a fact that he'll be driving back to his first family's house after the funeral. My sister's bestfriend Aki is sitting behind us. Her face red as she tried to wipe the snot off her nose. From what I know of the rumors circulating campus, she is sleeping with my sister's ex, Jessie. Other attendees were relatives who often criticized and belittled Ave (my sister) for almost anything. Our neighbors were here too. They were here for the stories. As they did, a few days ago before my sister died. Remembering, I stormed off from the crowd. These stories were what killed my sister.

I don't know where to go. I walked and walked. I contemplated going back home but I know that after the funeral, my parents and the guests will be there too. I decided to walk in the direction that leads to campus. It's a Saturday and there were no people there except for the janitor, the security guard, and the one's working in the cafeteria.

I checked my surroundings as I approached the school walls. I walked 50 meters towards the back walls and there are bushes that serves as hedges next to the concrete walls. If you squeeze your body to the thick bushes, you'll discover a hole on the concrete wall, big enough for a teenage kid to crawl onto.

I crawled to the other side of the wall and I was greeted by a giant weeping fig. As I stood, I cleaned myself and patted the dirt and leaves caught on my clothes.

"What now?" I asked myself as I obviously don't have any plans. Maybe, I'll stay here until night time. By then, the guests would have been gone and my mom's already passed out drunk.

I walked and looked around and tried to find a place to sit on. On the other side of the tree is a wooden bench big enough for three people to sit on. It was also, surprisingly wide enough to lie on. And so, I lied down there and closed my eyes. I was exhausted and my eyes hurt.

"Ave...I'm sorry." I whispered in the air hoping that my late sister would hear.

I awoke as cold air hit my face. I opened my eyes and my throat started to hurt. My hands were cold. It was already dark. I pulled out my phone in my pocket and checked for the time. It was 6:30 pm. I was about to stand up when I noticed to the weeping fig's branches started to move. I blinked my eyes to make sure I wasn't just seeing things. I pinched my hand to check if I'm actually awake and not dreaming.

"Help me!" it was a feminine voice.

"What the fuck!" I exclaimed.

I was about to run away when suddenly, one of the branches wrapped around my waist like a snake. Then, the other branches followed and wrapped my legs and finally, my head.

"I need you, Masa. Help me!" the voice said.