Alienata

Chapter 1

The Aliena Hotel is a small chalet in the heart of the woods, surrounded by a maze of branches, roots and leaves. Sometimes birds of various species can be seen; the lucky guests may be able to spot a hare or even a deer among the green.

An isolated place, where very few people come to stay round for the weekend, mostly to admire the marvels of the nature or, more likely, to retreat to themselves. A place where, right now, four young girls and a guy, perhaps in his middle twenties, are staying.

One of them, Janey, a short, blonde-haired 21-year-old is pacing back and forth in the hotel's hall, looking restless and having no idea of what to do as a pastime. She has already been for a walk in the woods, taking pictures of every single tree and even spotting a small lake whose waters are shiny and bright, almost crystalline.

On the other hand, 19-year-old Charlotte, a brunette with light blue eyes, is holding a guitar on her lap, playing it softly. Delicate notes fill the room, accompanied by her sultry voice. Next to her, another girl her age with black hair and dark eyes, perhaps of Asian descent, is following through the lyrics, singing as well.

But the fourth girl, the youngest of all the girls at the prime age of twelve, stands staring out the window dreaming of the day the rest of them would let her explore. She's been locked in this tiny hotel room her entire life. Twelve years of waking up and looking out this window, begging the others to let her go out and play, but twelve years of them turning away, telling her no, and going outside anyways.

Lacey isn't fragile, she doesn't feel weak, but for some reason everyone else in the room seems to think that way of her. She's always been able to explore the hotel, her mind driven crazy by the carpet as the patterns never line up right. Yet she roams in hopes that one day those beautiful creatures the others always talked about will appear inside the hotel. Maybe the large brown one with the antlers hunters will decorate themselves with, or even the tiny soft furry ones. She can't ever remember all of their names, having never seen one up close. But one day, and soon. Lacey can feel it in her bones as she looks out the window this morning.

Today is going to be slightly different.

***

Janey stops pacing through the hall and stands next to Lacey, patting her shoulder. "Don't worry, Lace. One day, you'll be able to explore outside this hotel. But this is not the moment. You're too young." These last words don't sit well with Lacey. She's been told too many times that she's too young to do certain things, which disheartened her and made her lose hope in the future.

Meanwhile, Charlotte and the girl of Asian descent have just stopped singing and making music, noticing that Lacey is sad and Janey's attempts to comfort her are not so successful. "She must feel like a bee in a trap," states Charlotte, looking outside the window, where birds and butterflies are dancing in circles, creating an amazing show.

The other girl replies, "I know, Charlie. But she seems to want more than just freedom."

"Maybe you're right, Iona. Let's try and find out." Charlotte smiles, then she places her guitar back in her case and closes it. She sits by the window, listening to the birdsong and feeling almost hypnotized by it, or at least until she notices Janey and Lacey cuddled to each other. She puts a hand on Lacey's lap, eventually encouraging her to let herself be driven by the melody.

Meanwhile, Alex, the guy, a young man of Hispanic descent (at least on his mother's side), who's been staying on his own for the last couple of hours, stands up and reaches for the stairs. "I'm going to call Jenny. She's still upstairs and I need to know what she wants to do right now."