The Bitter Truth

Chapter 23 ~ Rough start

Happy Halloween 🎃👻

Saija stirred awake before the sun bathed the room in light, an unusual occurrence for a little girl typically opposed to the early hours. Groggily but with a contented sigh, she raised her arms high above her head, her delicate fingers reaching toward the ceiling. As she stretched, she could feel the gentle pull along her spine, a blissful sensation that made her petite frame seem to elongate.

With a quick glance toward Ronny and Arliss, she noticed their sleeping faces, lips parted slightly, emitting deep, rhythmic snores that mingled with the others in the dormitory.

Her gaze drifted across the room, where the dull glow of dawn began to creep inside, illuminating the sleeping figures of the miners. Each man was tucked deeply into his patchwork quilt, their bodies sprawled in various positions, some arms thrown over their heads, others curled tightly in a ball.

With a resolve that made her feel brave, Saija slipped out of her cot. Her feet barely made a sound against the floor as she tiptoed, careful to navigate the maze of cots without disturbing anyone. Each tiny step brought her closer to the bathroom. Her heart was pounding as she ran to the toilet and did her business.

She had just hopped off the toilet and had her pants to her waist, securing her button, when the door slammed open and struck the back of the wall, creating a boom.

"Fuck!" slipped past her lips in fright before her eyes registered it was Ronny standing there wide-eyed and panicked, searching for her.

His look of concern melted away to an expression of anger, and his head tilted and his eyes hardened.

"Fuck?" he repeatedly lowly, locking his eyes on her.

Saija quickly secured her button and rushed to the sink to wash her hands, hoping he'd let it go.

"Don't dodge me, little miss!" he admonished, stepping to the sink with his hands firmly on his hips.

Saija looked up at him with pitiful eyes until they widened as she took in the sight of his mangled bedhead perched atop his head and the goobers in his sleep-deprived eyes.

"Ya not permitted to be speakin' like that!" he continued his lecture, ignoring her knitted brows at him. His hands left his hips and smacked against his thighs in frustration. "I can't get ya to say one darn word, and when I do, it's that?! Are ya serious? Little girls do not talk like that! Mama's probably rollin' in her grave right now. She was not a fan of dem words! Also, second of all, why didn't ya wake me up?! Why ya here all alone?! I thought I done told ya not to be wonderin' the hell around!"

At his use of 'hell,' her eyes squinted, and her head tilted at him as if questioning why he could say those bad words.

Understanding instantly her unspoken question, he scolded while leaning forward to her level, "Don't give me that look! I'm a man, not a little girl! I know what those words mean. Ya don't! So I don't want ya saying words ya don't understand! It ain't proper, and it ain't ladylike either!"

When her eyes darted around, and her lip twisted up, he became even more aggravated.

"What ya tryna say now?! That ya know what that F word means?!"

She nodded her head with a firm, determined bob, her eyes narrowing in irritation as they remained locked onto him.

"All right, ya smarty pants," he challenged, his voice laced with impatience. "Why don't ya enlighten me? What does it mean?!"

She took one hand and made a circle with her pointer and thumb, then positioned another pointer on the opposite hand straight out. She rapidly thrust the finger inside the hole, scrunching her cheeks and making an 'I told you so' face.