Signs Of The Past

CHAPTER::2

          Looking out while sitting, gazing in clouds gave me a sense of serenity, my gaze flickered down to the piece of jewelry that sat on my wrist , tears blurred my vision when the realisation hit me , crushed me like a piece of glass who got shattered by a truck.

         I may never get to see my baby brother , the thought alone gave me physical pain , the pain of separation but it was necessary to keep both me safe , him from the wrath of his father for standing up against him for his sister Willy , and me from the abuse.

         Bringing my wrist close to my heart I closed my eyes the happy face of my little monkey dancing infront of my eyes, i felt alone soo alone and lonely , back at the mansion I was always too busy to realise how lonely I was after Blake left.

         I shook my head and chanted the only mantra that kept me going despite the dangers and obstacles that lurked in my way , 'after every dark tunnel there is light'.

         I glanced at the window of the plane there was faint reflection of a girl , a girl with short hairs , it bought back horrid memories of the past , the punishment i received for making a small mistake despite knowing what the consequences would be , despite knowing that they won't hesitate before snatching what was dear to me.

         My long hairs , they were my pride , i always took care of them,  they made feel like a warrior who glowed and fought whatever came in his way , like a flower who bloomed despite the harsh conditions it went through but when my hair were shingled I felt like a coward , a coward who can not protect her pride.

         The announcement of the pilot that we were about to land jolted me out of the train of thoughts that suffocated me , sighing I took deep breaths , it was a fresh start , a new life with no demons from my past and I was adamant on enjoying every moment of it or atleast prayed to.

         I wasn't a atheist nor a strong devotee of lord above but in difficult time , he was the only one who I thought of , to prayed to give me strength to fight through all the misery.

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         All thoughts fled my mind , I was soo busy dwelling over all the past events and the fact that I escaped that i forgot that I only had hardly seventy dollars on me and no place to stay in a foreign country.

         I realised how fucked up the situation was , then something clicked , maybe I can stay in the shelter for homeless people till i figure out what to do , i clutched the strap of my bag tightly and braced myself to ask someone for directions but the thought of talking to a stranger made me want to vanish in thin air.

         Never in my life I wanted to talk to anyone beside Blake not cause I was had social anxiety or anything, I just did not trust anyone enough but for now i have to suck my discomfort up and ask if i did not want to starve on the roadside.

         As i approached a cafe i hesitantly opened the glass door , the inside had a homey feeling to it , the aroma of coffee made me realise how hungry I was , i contemplated on wether I should just ask for directions or order something too because my stomach was begging for me to forgive food.

         Not having eaten anything since a whole day , not like i was used to three meals but every night I was allowed scraps and in breakfast If I was lucky they would throw some scraps of bread down for me.

         But that was not enough for my body , as a growing teen since the lack of proper nutrition made me malnourished, i hardly reached 5'4 , thin as a stick and pale as a dead body , all in all I looked like a corpse.

         The cafe was silent with few students sitting and doing their work i suppose? I didn't know but they looked like teen , the silence provided me a sense of security unlike the bustling noises from road the atmosphere inside was calm.

         Making my way towards the counter , i half slid my back pack down and searched around for money but just then it hit me i had dollars on me while in Italy , Euro were the currency used , slumping my shoulder I decided to just ask for directions.

         On the reception was a aged lady who had wrinkles around her mouth , smile line were visible, a sign how happy and humble she was .

         "Hello , can you give me directions for shelter house?" I enquired, my voice was a little hoarse probably from the lack of water , the lady looked at me with surprise and swept her eyes over me , taking my presence in.

         Finally after a min or two of awkward silence she finally replied, her Italian accent evident in her voice as she spoke " on the third lane down the left corner, Mio caro . Are you new here?" She asked her tone was soft and held a little concern in it , I nodded my head and turned around just as I was about to leave my my stomach rumbled.

         Blush coated my cheeks in embarassment just as I was about to move forward a hand clamped down on my wrist restricting me from going any further. Terror filled my body as i snatched my wrist back while turning around wide eyed towards the lady.

         She apologized for her actions and gestured me to follow her , i hesitated but nevertheless did , she seemed sweet and if I ended up dieing in the kitchen of the cafe it won't make a difference, no one would care beside one.

         The harsh reality check made my eyes moist once again but I refused to cry , no more , she made me sit on the chair inside and left for outside I wondered what she was up to , meanwhile I looked around, it was a simple kitchen with ovens and black countertop that contrasted with ivory white walls.

         The floor had cream tiles adding a warm touch to it , as i heard the footsteps I came out of the trance I was in and realised the same lady placed two strawberry pastries in front of me with a milkshake, I looked up at her , confused , she sat infront of me while gesturing towards the food to eat.

         I shook my head in denial and said " I cannot , I don't have money to pay you back" , she nodded and spoke softly almost as if she was speaking to a child afraid that if she spoke any louder the child will start crying "it's on the house , eat up , it's getting late and you have a destination to reach no?".

         I nodded and thanked her before devouring the sweet delicious baked goods , i almost moaned in delight but refrained from doing so as it was a inappropriate thing to do.

         As I finished i thanked her again and rushed out , it was evening now , the sun was almost about to set which made my nerves pulse with nervousness at the thought of wandering around the streets in darkness of night alone unaware of the predators who were ready to pounce on the prey such as me as soon as they captured their sight.

         I sprinted down the street remembering the directions given by lady , despite the sharp pain that i felt in my ribs , I ran to avoid any problem, I ran for the new start that i desperately wanted , I ran to leave every demon of my past behind.

         As soon as the sign of shelter appeared, I rushed in through the glass door , my vision blurred black spots appeared all i could hear was people talking in a foreign language, Italian , then everything went blank.

         Embracing the dark oblivion, I feel into the abyss of darkness who accepted me with his arms open lulling me to sleep.