Spirited Away To You

Chapter-1: Life of a Bubblegum

LAST NIGHT I HAD another nightmare. It was of this lady labeled "Fate" writing my life diary. When I neared the scene, the lady bore a questionable yet disturbed expression as the words came to life: "You're screwed."

"That's the last one, ma'am."

"Oh, thank you so much. What's your name again, dear?"

"Troy," our new neighbor introduced himself to Aunt Kelly as I broke out of my hazed daydreaming.

The July sun rose, high above our heads, sparing us no mercy from its unwieldy heat as we strutted across the lawn to get all our belongings from the small pickup van. It seemed as if it was going to be one of the hottest summers of all year.

Sweat beads pooled under my eyes, making it difficult for me to continue carrying the boxes on the small, paved porch. I huffed out in exasperation after dropping the last box, perhaps not so elegantly. My face squinted in defeat. I just hoped the contents inside still had life.

"Abby, dear, please get Trixie," Aunt Kelly spoke out amidst checking the list of all the belongings.

I sighed in frustration, smoothing out the impudent strands, but trudged to the car to get the basket from the backseat. Little meows erupted, showing Trixie was intrigued by the new surroundings. She didn't seem so happy the whole car ride.

"Now, now, curious aren't we? Well, don't let the curiosity kill you," I joked ever so subtly, sneaking my fingers into the cage to pet the anxious cat.

As I walked over the dead lawn, I took in the Victorian-styled cottage with wooden bricks as its lower self and ivies wrapped around the musky pillars.

The two-storied height gave the backyard a much-needed shade from the scorching heat. The narrow driveway was quite bare, with only a single bulb hanging low from its ceiling, and the front door, which was heavily embroidered with wooden handiwork, seemed to have a few loose hinges.

In other words, the house needed quite a bit of repairing. It was good that Uncle Jeff was into building and renewing things. But any outsider would redeem it as a quality of defined sophistication. Uncle had quite the luck to get this house on sale.

I took Trixie and placed her on the kitchen counter, ready to see my new room. Taking my duffel bag, I jogged up the carpeted stairs and sauntered into the warm room, that held nothing except a spring bed pushed at one corner. The walls bored the shade of blue, one such to make you feel as if you were looking up at the summer sky, the color I always wanted as a child, but Dad thought a girl, his dear princess, ought to love pink and purple.

Changing into comfortable clothes, I fell on the bed flat, loving the manner my body immediately sank into the depths of the spring bed. A smile found its way as I relaxed more, and the thought of a shower now felt foreign.

So this is it, I thought to myself. A new place for a fresh start. My fingers instinctively brushed over the locket that held my favorite photo. It was the last gift from Mom before the accident. I put the locket in my two index fingers, urging it to open. A familiar soft click resounded before revealing the picture of my parents and me at the beach, our smiles having difficulty fitting in the tiny frame. I could still feel their warmth, and hear their laughter as we ran along the shore playing tag. The ocean waves hitting my feet, the tingling sensation that caused more giggles to erupt. Why did it feel like yesterday?

Blinking back the angry tears, I rose to my feet, feeling the need for a walk. Also, I could use this opportunity to know the neighborhood. Tightening the frail ponytail, I took my worn-out sneakers and rushed downstairs.

"Hey, Aunt, I am just going around for a small walk."

Aunt Kelly gave me a knowing smile. She always knew when to give me space, and I loved her for that.

"Be home before it gets dark, sweetie."

☆☆☆

I walked past our house and along the sidewalk, careful not to step over any dog poop, just in case there was any. There happened to be more than one occasion where my clumsy self took little notice of her surroundings. Also, there were rumors of the neighbors' dogs who liked to play around in front of people's lawns. 

The sun's glimmer had gotten down quite a bit, allowing me to bask in the warm yet peaceful weather. From Monday, I had to start at Beverly Hills High School, which was stationed a couple of streets down from my house. My last year of high school.

Thinking about being the new kid was sickening, not to mention having no friends. How bad could it be? It wasn't like I had a lot of friends before. Many were freaked out after they saw me experience an anxiety attack at a school program. My closest friends, Haley and Oliver, were crushed when I broke the news to them, but they knew I had to. Everywhere I went, my teachers, neighbors, and even people at the supermarket saw me as the broken doll found lying in the park. Sympathy, pity, and disbelief shot right at me. I heaved out a shaky breath. The thought of moving here, and no one knowing my story, gave me hope. A blank canvas that I could paint however I wanted. The past will have difficulty catching up with me.

One can only hope.

Going around, I treated myself to a soda from the nearest department store. As I pondered over the past, I didn't realize it was already getting dark. The sun had sneakily waved its goodbye.

Cursing myself, I turned to go back but halted in my tracks when I saw a guy standing with his head hung low under the streetlight. He seemed sad...and lost. I debated over choosing to walk away or help the poor guy. The latter won as I started crossing the road.

When he looked up and saw me walking towards him, he raised his eyebrows and looked behind him. I waved a bit, and maybe it looked absurd because the next moment, I saw him creasing his brows and seemed to be weirded out, to say the least. I wonder if I stank from there.

I would have called out if only I didn't find myself falling face first. Crouching up with cheeks burning hot, I looked behind to find the source. At the heel of my sneaker, the victim was glued, a strawberry bubblegum. Biting my lips, I squinted to look at the guy, hoping the ground would swallow me from this embarrassment. But, to my utter shock, or maybe the ground swallowed him instead of me, the guy was nowhere to be seen. My mouth involuntarily flattened from confusion.

Maybe he wasn't lost after all.