Hidden: Strings of Fate

CHAPTER 3

"You can stay in my apartment with me. You'd save money on rent AND I bet it's closer than any other apartments you'll find."

"Oh! Jinjja!! My Minie-ah is so clever!!" I said while ruffling her hair.

"Yah! Mi chyeo sseo?! I'm not a little kid!" Min pouted.

I laughed. "You are to me. I'm 8 minutes older than you remember." Min rolled her eyes. "Would you mind though? Me staying with you that is." I asked unsure.

"Why would I mind? You're like a sister to me. You practically live there already anyway. All you'll have to do is formally move your stuff in," said Min. I cheered in happiness.

While hugging my dear friend, my eyes fell on the gentleman who was sat behind us in the café. There were 5 other people sat with him now, but he wasn't concentrating on them. He looked as though he was lost in thought. I had seen him on several occasions at this café and he always ordered his usual. Not once had I seen his face, which made me puzzled and curious.

...........................

I hadn't realised how much junk I had. Most of the stuff had sentimental value to me, even though I refer to it as junk. I still wouldn't get rid of it though. They're my treasures.

"You got it...?" Min asked, carrying the last load of my 'junk'.

"Yep, I got it. Don't worry."

We got in the lift and went up to the 20th floor. When we got to Min's apartment, I put the box on the floor and collapsed next to it.

"Who knew moving could be so exhausting...?"

Min chuckled. "You can't rest now. You've got to go return the moving van," she reminded me.

"Aish! Why'd you have to remind me? I was enjoying my little break," I said in annoyance, getting back up and heading towards the door. I opened the door and walked like a zombie towards the lift. I stretched my back and headed for the stairs.

'I need the exercise,' I thought. Going down the stairs was easy, getting up them however was a totally different story.

HALF AN HOUR LATER

I dropped the van off and started to return home. The word 'home' reminded me of my family back in England. I hadn't seen my family in over a year... ever since... never mind. I don't want to remember that terrible time. There was just 4 of us at home - my mum, me, a brother and a sister (both were younger than me). My parents were separated a few years ago.

There wasn't a moment that I didn't think of them. I missed my mother. I missed the way that she used to act as a friend rather than a mother. Anyone who would see us together would have thought that we were sisters rather than mother and daughter. She was a guide to me, always telling me to believe in myself and never doubt myself for a moment, because that single moment of doubt could cause your whole world to come crumbling down.

In the last years of her marriage, my ex-father put her and us through hell. We had found out that he was a gambler, cheater and womaniser. He was a selfish man who used to hurl verbal abuse at my mum on a regular basis. All we could think about was how we could survive this and put it behind us... My mother thought it was best if she left him for the sake of her children so that she could stop him from being a bad influence on us. We were all she had left. I knew how much she had sacrificed for us. I just wish I could have stopped my father from hurting her. I wish I could have protected her during those painful 3 years. I saw my mother cry herself to sleep every night for 3 years. I couldn't bear it anymore so I advised her to leave my father for the sake of her own wellbeing. She was becoming depressed by the second and if it continued then something worse may have happened. So now that she has left him, she and my siblings and I are in a much better state of mind and are happy. Unfortunately, we're all broken and left with scars now from what was our past. This causes us sometimes to suffer from nightmares from that time in history.

Don't get me wrong, I do miss my brother and sister as well, but I tend to miss my mother the most. After all, if she hadn't given me the correct upbringing, teaching me right from wrong, then who knows how I would have turned under the influence of my father.

Realising that I had arrived back at the apartment block, I called for the lift. I went in and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like a mess. My eyeliner had started to run, and my eyes were blood shot, my hair was everywhere because of the wind, and to top it off I had a runny nose. I had started to clean myself up with the packet of tissues I had handy for such emergencies. I combed my hair down with my hands. I didn't want anyone to think I was crazy.

"Wait!!!! Hold the elevator!!!!"