Sheena
Sitting on the upholstered chair beside the window of my bedroom, looking at the sky that was filled with low-flying snow clouds, though there was a break through which the sun shone. Some trick of prismlike crystal, some sun-and-moisture phenomenon, gave the falling snowflakes color, and as they materialized in the sunlight, twinkling downward, they seemed to vanish.
I seemed to have a very long dream about the old woman who gave me a pinkish cloud. I don't know what to believe. Maybe everything is just a dream, because when I woke up, I was still on my soft bed. Maybe everything is just a dream and I just fell asleep when I was having a conversation with Amara last night.
I was feeling bored of sitting on the chair beside the table and window. Just a while ago, when I woke up, I decided to open the windows inside my bedroom, so that the darkness in my room would disappear. I realized that everything around are not doing wrong to me and it will be better if my bedroom is not dark, because darkness seemed to swallow me.
Picture-perfect memories does not scattered around my bedroom. The spots where I have good memories with the two people that I love very much, were still capturing my attention. Now I also realized why some people don't want to be close with others, because if they passed away, they will be hard to forget.
I promised myself that I would never be close to anyone again, because they will only cause me pain. This time, they can witness the strong and brave Sheena, who will never let anyone break down her walls. I will never trust unworthy people and those criminals will pay for the sins that they had committed.
The arms of my watch is pointing at 8:00 am. I stood up from the upholstered chair and go towards the closet. I open it and choose a clothes to wear. I really need to take a bath, because I can smell my stinky self. After a few minutes, I take the winding, concrete stairs and listened to my own footsteps.
Some servants in our mansion already leave, I know that they are thinking that I can no longer manage everything. Before, our mansion was seemed a grand house, because there are too many people that are working for us. We have sixteen domestic servants, an army of thirty-cooks, parlour maids, footmen, hall boys, gardeners, butler and coachmen. Our workers won't leave us if we are not telling them to leave and that is what made me felt like a prisoner.
Now, I don't know if how many people left that are working for me. I open the door of the wide kitchen and get inside. I saw some cooks that are cooking foods for our breakfast. Good to see that not all of the cooks had leave the mansion, because I will definitely become a skeleton if there is no cook who can cook foods for me.
The cooks looked at me and simultaneously said, "Good morning miss Sheena." They lowered their heads and after that, they go back to what they are doing or to their works.
"What do you want to eat miss Sheena?" one of the cooks asked.
"You are working here for many years, you already knew the foods that I want to eat," I replied then go towards the refrigerator.
I am a girl who is a bit choosy when it come to foods that I want to eat. I don't want to eat foods that are lack of ingredients; I don't want to eat spicy foods, insipid foods, bitter foods, sour foods, sweet foods, etc. I only like to eat foods that has a moderate taste.
The cold water is flowing down through my esophagus. I put the glass on the table and went outside the kitchen. I got inside the wide bathroom and prepared the bathtub. I don't want to take either cold nor hot bath, so I take a warm bath. It is so cold outside, I will be frozen if I can't feel even a little warm.
After I took a bath I changed my clothes and go towards the living room. I realized that I can't revenge from those criminals who killed my parents if I will just sat down there and do nothing. I don't need to go to school anymore, because I am already rich and I need to manage many things in this mansion. I will just spend my time in searching for those wicked gangsters who killed my parents.
I remembered the old woman in my dream. She said that she knew if who are those people who killed my parents, but she did not told anything to me about them, Maybe, she was just a dream and everything was not real. So, I better forget that ugly woman because she cannot help me in my problems.
The tall and antiquated mirror attracts my attention. This mirror is older than me, than my parents and maybe older than my grandparents. My mother told me that she had inherited this mirror from her great grandparents. My mother was always telling everyone in this mansion to be careful in their every moves, especially when going inside the living room, so that the mirror won't be broken.
I get my hairbrush on the glossy table that was made of varnished wood. I starts combing my straight and long silver-pink hair. I don't know why I have different hair from my parents. My mother has a straight golden-brown hair, while my father on the other side, has a curly, gray hair. I don't know if I still have grandparents, because my parents did not tell me about them ever since my world began.
While looking at the mirror, I can see that Amara is going towards me. She is wearing a blue shirt, jeans and a pink slippers. Her both hands are inside the pocket of her jeans, to become looked like a rich woman and have much money to burn. In contrast, there is a deep holes in her pockets. I does not gave the salary of the servants yet, I know that if they cannot get their salary, they will definitely leave their works in the mansion.
"Let me comb your hair," Amara said then she got the hairbrush from my hand. She comb my hair softly, the same with the way how my mother comb my hair before.
"Sister Amara, can I asked you something?" I looked at the mirror.
"Of course yes, you don't need to ask permission before asking me a question, because you are my beautiful princess," Amara said. "Now tell me what is it?" she asked.
"Do you know if who brought me inside my bedroom last night?" I asked.
"Sorry Sheena, but I don't know, what I only remember is that I am waiting for you here on the couch and because I suddenly felt drowsy, I fell asleep," she replied. "Maybe, the parlour maids or the guards?"
"Maybe... but they won't touch me as long as I don't told them."
"Oh—that's mysterious!" Amara became confused. "But I assured you that I am not the one who brought you inside your bedroom."
"Let us not think too much about it, we better get inside the dining room, because I am hungry now." I stand up and go towards the door.
"You are right, the most important is that you are here and safe."
If nobody brought me inside my bedroom, maybe it is also possible that the old woman was also not a dream. She looked weird, and she maybe powerful that she brought me inside my room. What I only remember is that there is a pinkish cloud that came out from her mouth, it entered my nose and mouth, and I don't know what happened next.
Until now, I have not gotten any information about the merciless gangsters that have been killing my parents. I have already sent some men to find those merciless people. Until now, the police don't have any information about this thing. I'd better make posters telling people that they will receive a big reward if they tell me anything about the death of my parents.
It is already night. I am inside my bedroom. Lying alone on my bed with my head on the phone. Listening to music and thinking of my parents until it hurts. I know that they hurt too, but what else can we do? Tormented and torn apart. If my parents had died, I know that I would not be lying on this bed now. Maybe I am playing outside the mansion, traveling to other places, sightseeing, and learning about how immense the world is. But everything that is happening to me is the opposite of what I want.
The light inside my room suddenly disappeared. I could see nothing but darkness. I can feel the cool air that is coming from the crack of the window. The hairs on my arms and legs started to stand. The diaphanous curtains are moving in the cool air. I sprang from my bed and looked for the lighter that I had put somewhere, but I could not find it. I go towards the window and raise the curtains. I'd rather feel the cool air than be in a room where I can see nothing but darkness.
Using the lighter, I tried to light a candle, but it won't light because of the cool air that's blowing towards the candle that I dislike—a selfish one. It won't give light. It will be better if I just lie on my bed and sleep. I don't need a light if I am just sleeping, because I will still close my eyes when sleeping.
Going towards my soft, upholstered bed and I laid down there. I closed my eyes. Well, I am quite capable of sleeping with the cool air. I saw something, though my eyes are both closed. It is the thick, pinkish cloud that is showing me something, something odious, a boy who is hurting a pitiable girl. I go towards the pinkish cloud that is visible in my bedroom as it is awash in the cold, silver moonlight. I touch the pinkish cloud to know if it is true or I am just dreaming. There is something, such as a strong force that came from the cloud that pulled me inside.
"Ahhh... Ahhh... Ahhh... Ahhhh!" I shouted while the strong force was absorbing me. I felt like there was a strong force that was grinding my whole body. After a few seconds, I fell down on the pile of withered leaves.
"Where am I?" was the question that crossed my brain. "Where is my bedroom? Where is my mansion? Where am I...?"
I looked around and noticed that I was in a place that was covered with withered leaves from a tree. I also noticed that the sun was near to the horizon. The leaves of trees are falling to the ground, while the breeze is whispering, making the leaves dance. I tried to calm myself. Maybe it was just a dream or hallucination.
Near to the hard wall that surrounds the place, I saw the boy kicking the pitiable girl. I noticed that he was the boy whom I saw on the pinkish cloud. I am just confused about why it is afternoon in this place and not the evening, and I don't know where I am. I don't even know how to go back to my mansion. I was slightly uncomfortable here, because it is not the place that I most wanted. But I can do nothing about it. I looked at the boy who was kicking the poor girl.
The boy is wearing a baggy black shirt, black slacks, and white long sleeves. He has curly, short, black hair. While the poor girl is wearing a purplish-blue skirt and a white shirt striped with purple fabric, and she has long, banded, curly and black hair too.
"Hey!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing to that poor girl?" I asked.
The boy looked at me with red, fire-eyes. He seemed to be an addict taking illegal drugs. Maybe that is the reason why he is hurting innocent people like what he is doing to the girl right now. He ran towards me and tried to bite me. He was not just an ordinary boy, because he was strong and fast, and seemed like a zombie in the movie [Train to Busan]. Because of fear to be bitten by his sharp teeth, I kicked him with all forced that made him tumbled away. Maybe he was out of consciousness because he did not move there for a while.
I go towards the girl and help her to stand up. I noticed that the girl was beautiful: she has a high nose, pink lips, white skin, and brown eyes. Maybe she is just younger than me.
"Are you just okay?" I asked, compassionately.
"Thank you for saving me from that zombie!" she replied.
I looked at the boy. Maybe the people are calling him 'zombie' because of what he was doing. Suddenly and startlingly, the boy stood up firmly and ran towards us. He tried to bite the girl who was leaning against the hard wall. The boy has sharp teeth that glisten when stroked by the sunlight. He appeared to be a bloodthirsty vampire looking to suck the girl's blood.
I don't have choices anymore, but to get the big stone on the ground and stroke the boy on his head. His head cracked and a dull, whitish, soft, watery, unexplainable thing exploded from his skull. I was thinking that the beautiful girl would be happy because no one would try to hurt her again, but I was wrong.
"You are a killer! You are a killer!" the girl shouted with mixed emotions. "You killed my brother! You killed him..." she cried.
The girl quickly runs towards the exit of the place. It seemed like there were many very bad people following her, and she did not want to be captured. That's why she ran quickly. That made her stumble over the wood that was blocked in her way. She stands up and continues to run towards the exit of the walled place.
Looking at my hands and thinking about how I did these kinds of things. I am not a killer! What I did was simply self-defense, because If I did not kill that boy; instead, I will be killed by him. I did not mean anything. I did not mean to kill anyone. I don't want to be imprisoned. What should I do now? I am in a place that I don't know. I don't have anything here. How can I survive in this place? Maybe I will just die. The clear liquid from my eyes starts to drip down on the withered, dry leaves.
Minutes elapsed, and I heard and saw the police cars that had stopped at the entrance of the walled place. But before they entered there, the pinkish cloud abruptly appeared several feet away from the spot where I was standing. The strong force from the pinkish cloud absorbed me. It spun and grinded my body, making me lose consciousness.