Light

Chapter 15: Lightning

After sleeping for what felt like hours, I groggily sat up and reached for my phone. A pinprick of panic bloomed through my chest as I couldn't feel it anywhere on the bed. Where did I lose it? Mum had saved up for months to get the latest iPhone for me, how could I have been so careless?! I sat up in panic and froze for a moment, taking in my surroundings. As realisation washed over me, my mind caught up with the events of the day. Dad had broken my phone intentionally, and said he'd get me another one. I dropped back on the bed and stared up at the night sky. The stars were few but they looked beautiful, and the haunting sound of the wind only made their light seem brighter. 

What exactly was Dad involved in, that he took such drastic measures to avoid any chance of us getting tracked from the hospital? The sloping ceiling of the attic was painted white, and I found myself strangely missing the yawning lion back in my room at Purslane. I searched the ceiling for shapes, and could make out a bulbous eye by the side of the window. It looked like it belonged to a lizard, or a monster of some sort. Kai must've been working with Dad, but since when? I sat up with a sigh and walked over to the larger window further down the room, so I could see the stars better. 

The tops of the trees swayed in the wind, being pulled side to side by the strong, invisible force. I stretched my stiff muscles, and decided to get changed into something warmer. The sound of the wind was louder now that I was closer to the window. I closed my eyes and it almost sounded like the rolling waves of the sea. My mind was still trying to process everything, and it was tiring. My chest felt tight every time I thought of Mum, so I tried to stay calm. Regurgitating what I knew wouldn't help.

I spotted the suitcase by the door and hoped that there would be something suitable in there. Rubbing the sleeve of my hoodie, I almost didn't want to take it off. It had served me well for years, and been through it all with me. I laughed out loud at my deep sentiments for a piece of clothing. I didn't ever do clothes shopping so I guess it made sense. Mum would always tell me off about it, saying that I should take more of an interest in my appearance. My stomach sank as horrible images of Mum in the hospital came to mind. I really hoped she was okay, there was so much I had left to say.

I focused on opening the suitcase, the small task proving to be difficult as I fought back tears. There were three clasps, one on each side of the rectangle suitcase, and the clear plastic was still stuck on the clasp at the top. I wasn't expecting there to be much inside, but I was surprised at the weight as I laid it on the ground. The contents were neatly arranged, and I pulled out a folded purple pyjama set, and marveled at the softness of the fuzzy material. The label spelt out a brand name in the Greek alphabet, and I couldn't decipher the letters. Dad must've brought the suitcase with him from Greece, he probably wouldn't have had enough time to shop around once he landed here.

With my interest piqued, I sat cross-legged on the wooden floor, and rummaged through the remaining items. A chic-looking bottle of shampoo caught my gaze, and I tried to read the words. 'ορχιδέα/orchidéa', I whispered the word, unsure of the pronunciation. I guessed it was the Greek word for orchid, which happened to be my favourite flower. Thankfully, there was an identically labelled bottle of conditioner too, so at least my hair wouldn't be out of control. I dug deeper into the suitcase and found another bottle, which seemed like a face wash, but I couldn't even try and guess what the words meant. There were a few more cosmetics and I ran my fingers over the letters, marvelling at the Greek letters. I felt weirdly excited to find out what it said on all of them, as if it were a secret message. I'd need to ask Dad to teach me Greek.

Even though I hoped there wouldn't be underwear in there, I really did need some. The thought of Adrian shopping around, and picking up all these personal things for me made me  uncomfortable. I wondered what he had thought when buying all this. There was even a headband in there so I could push my hair back when washing my face. Adrian just creeped me out too much for me to appreciate his thoughtfulness.