Unforgotten Tale

CHAPTER 2

CHIMERA 

Unti-unti kong idinilat ang aking mga mata. I am in an unfamiliar room. The room is very large, so is the bed. It's a renaissance type of room. It's so beautiful, but a lot of questions flooded my mind? What happened earlier? Is it just a dream? Pinakiramdaman ko ang sarili ko at wala namang masakit. What am I doing here, rather where am I?

Biglang bumukas ang pinto at iniluwa nito ang isang matandang babae. She's old but she looks powerful. She screams authority, her black Victorian dress and hair in a tight bun adds more emphasis on her aura. She looks like Miss Minchin in the movie A Little Princess. She's just looking at me like I'm a weird species. Nais ko sana siyang tanungin ngunit naunahan na niya ako.

"Get the girl dressed and send her to her dorm." What? I am still puzzled and don't know what's happening. Biglang may pumasok na tatlong mukhang kasambahay at may dala dalang medieval gothic clothes, it's in the color midnight blue and in the center it's light blue.

"Wait, what is happening? Where am I? Who are you?" Tinitigan ulit ako ni Miss Minchin, nakatitig lamang siya at parang hinihigop ang aking kaluluwa.

"Get dressed and I'll tell you everything you need to know." She told me in a monotone voice. Naiwan akong nakatulala at hindi alam ang gagawin. 

Am I dreaming? If this is a dream I wanna wake up already. Wala na akong nagawa at nagbihis nalamang. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The dress is beautiful. It matches my fair complexion. I have  doey eyes, that I got from my mother. My nose is slightly upturned and I have a sumptuous lips.

Bumukas ang pintuan at pumasok and isang babae. 

"Follow me!" Iyan lamang ang sinabi niya at lumabas na. Wala naman na akong nagawa at napabuntong hininga nalamang. Paglabas ko sa silid tulugan ay tumambad sa akin ang napaka habang pasilyo, napakarami ring pintuan at nasisigurado kong mga silid tulugan rin ang mga ito.

Bumaba kami sa paikot na hagdanan. Napakataas ng kisame at mayroong nakasabit na napakalaking aranya.

 It's not like those modern chandeliers though, it's a gothic type of chandelier. It's made of gold and it has a lot of rubies. Hindi ko namalayan at tumigil kami sa harap ng isang malaking pintuan. It's a double door that is made of wood but the handle is made of gold. Are these even real? 

"Pasok ka." Binukasan ng babae ang pintuan at pumasok na ako.

It's an office, and in the center is the table where Miss Minchin is seated, sa harapan naman nito ay sala set. Inilibot ko ang aking paningin at puno ito ng libro, and of course there's the expensive chandelier dangling right in the middle of the room.

"Sit!" I jumped suddenly because of her authoritative voice. Am I a dog? I just followed what she told me. 

"Do you even know what trouble you've done?" I looked at her confusingly. What does she mean? 

"Of course you don't." She continued. How am I supposed to know if she won't tell me?

"What-?" I'm supposed to ask her but she cuts me off. I nearly rolled my eyes.

"You opened the portal, as you can see this is not the real world. You need to stay here and take actions on the things you've done."

 I am so confused right now. 

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Is this a prank? 

"Do I look like I'm joking, miss?" Tinitigan ko lang siya at mukha namang hindi siya nagbibiro. I burst out laughing. 

"You're a good actress." I blurted out. Ngunit hindi yata siya natuwa. She looks at me in a chilling way that gives me goosebumps. My laughter slowly fades and my expression became serious.

"Don't you remember anything?" She asked me. Napaisip naman ako, but nothing crosses my mind. I look at her questioningly. 

"The book?" She added. Like a waterfall, all the things that happened earlier gush through my mind. The library. The book. The earthquake. 

I don't wanna believe anything that she says. But, everything just falls into place. She already explained everything to me. As I read what's written in the book, it causes for the portal to open. I can't go back to the real world that easily.

Matagal na pala nilang isinara ang portal. I don't know the reason why. All the means to open it have been destroyed, but not the book and they didn't even know that it existed. There are still a lot of questions on my mind, pasasaan ba't masasagot din ang lahat. I heave a deep sigh. I can't do anything, might as well enjoy and make the most out of it.

One more thing, unfortunately she is not Miss Minchin, she's the headmistress of the school. That's all that I know, she didn't tell me her name.

I am at Chimera. The school has the symbolism of a lion together with a goat and a dragon's head. It also has the wings of a Pegasus. It is a school of witchcraft and wizardry. The place looks like an ancient castle taken out straight from a fantasy movie.

It looks very intricate. I am at the school grounds and as I walk, going to my dorm we pass by each building. I can't stop to admire the whole place. It may be old but it screams elegance. The one that fascinates me the most is that every corbel on the wall has the symbolism of the school.

We are already at the receiving hall and it is gigantic. As you look up the design is a vaulted arch ceiling and there are big chandeliers hanging. There are two hallways, on the left and the right. There are also lamps in every corner of the hallway.

"Your room number is A-402, west wing." The woman who accompanied me said and left.

I didn't even get the chance to say thank you and ask her name. I proceeded and walked my way through the left wing. As soon as I got into the west wing there was a large lounge area. The design is the same as the receiving area. On the far right corner is an old elevator. I can't believe they have it here. I got into the elevator and I didn't have the difficulty to look for my floor because every room number was indicated on what floor they are located.

Not bad, I told myself.