Chapter 10 Transit
\[Lilia\]
In the wide expanse of the estate, I got lost for a couple of turns. Fortunately, I saw a woman dressed just like Aya dragging a vacuum cleaner and one large box of empty garbage bins. She was cleaning a portrait with a feather duster, wiping it with a clean rag.
I gingerly looked around to see if there was anyone aside from her cleaning in this part of the hallway. Only to find out that she was alone. I kept my gaze fixed on the woman, hoping for a moment when she would leave the bin unattended, and I prayed to God that the bin was completely empty.
She then took the vacuum cleaner, turning it on. A loud noise suddenly reverberated on the hallway walls. I patiently waited. She dragged the nozzle towards a nook in the wall, squeezing it to remove the almost nonexistent dust that had accumulated. Just in time, she turned around, away from the bin.
I didn’t waste any seconds and sneaked behind her, thanking the loud noise coming from the vacuum for masking my movement as I lifted the lid open and hoisted myself, slipping into the garbage bin, then immediately closed it. Silently sending a quick prayer of thanks that it was half empty and suitable for my size. For the first time in my life, I was kind of glad for my petite frame that I could fit into this space.
The smell of dust wafted into my nostrils, trickling into my nasal passageway and threatening to cause me to sneeze. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose tightly. I kept on repeating a silent mantra in my head—please don’t sneeze, please don’t sneeze, please don’t sneeze—until the trickling sensation in my nose had subsided, letting me sigh in relief.
Over the loud noise, I could hear the woman humming as she cleaned the hallway. After a long agonizing moment, she turned off the cleaner. I felt the bin shake and tip to the side. Holding my yelp from slipping past my lips, I instantly clapped my palm over my mouth. As my heart beat against my chest, dread crept up the back of my neck as I feared she would open the bin and investigate what had caused it to become suddenly heavy.
“Dang! I never thought I’d cleaned up this much,” I heard her mutter to herself, complaining about the extra weight of the bin.
The side of the lid suddenly cracked open. My heart plummeted to my stomach as I thought that she was going to check why the bin had become heavy. I stilled. I even stopped breathing, my eyes never leaving the partially open lid.
“Huh. Must be all the fuzz from those old carpets,” she mumbled, then yawned.
But then, it closed, and the bin began to move. The wheels underneath started to vibrate as they rolled.
I blinked as relief flooded over me.
Am I finally safe? I pondered on my thoughts and refrained from making any movement that would give away my presence.
No, I am not safe, not until I’m outside.
I breathed deeply, straining my ears as to where she was taking me. Moments have passed, and I felt her halt, followed by a beeping sound that seemed like an elevator. My brows instantly quirked with interest upon knowing that the handmaids in this place are actually using an elevator, while Val deliberately punished me for walking up the grand staircase when I first got here with an injured knee when there was an actual elevator we could use that time to save me from the agonizing pain.
That mutton! I only rage in silence as I had no idea in which part of the mansion this woman was going, but I felt the elevator door slide open and could make out a few distant bustling voices.
The woman pushes the bin again, shaking me violently inside as it bounces on the humps, almost hitting the top of my head on the lid, and held back a surprised yelp.
“Hey Nalia, are you done cleaning the second floor?” Another woman’s voice called out, addressing the one pushing the bin I was hidden in.
“Yeah, just swabbed them shiny and sparkling.”
They were having a bit of conversation, and I kind of lost track of keeping up as to what they were talking about, but I kept my ears up in case they would suddenly open the garbage bin. Hoping and praying they will not.
“That bin seems heavy. Do you want me to carry it for you?”
Nalia chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Clara. I think I gathered all the dust in the whole wing! Besides, the gardener will throw this garbage for me.”
“Alright, just see me in the quarters when you’re done with this.”
“Sure, I will.”
I don’t know if this day is my lucky day, but for some reason, the woman began rolling the bin again. And this time I am sure that we are finally outside the house. Aside from the bumpy ground on which we were trailing, I could hear birds singing, sprinklers swishing, and water being sprayed on what I suspected was the lawn as we slowly came into a slow stop.
“Hey! Jon!” The woman shouted again, calling this ‘Jon’ guy. I heard a distant yell, which I assumed was Jon, responding to her call.
“Can you take this on the dumping hole?” She asked, her voice lowering in pitch as a pounding of heavy boots came near us.
“This thing is huge, Nalia! Yeah, but I’m still busy. I can do it for you later. Just put it on the back,” the guy replied.
“Okay, thanks!”
The bin rolled again into a never-ending bumpy ride. I hissed, my mouth gaped in silent protest as my body tipped from side to side, my knees hitting on my chin and my head becoming more lightheaded from the vigorous shaking of the bin.
It feels like it took an eternity before we fell into a complete stop. I heard the woman shuffling into something, then followed by descending footsteps walking away from me. I waited for a moment, making sure that there was no one left and that woman was finally gone.
I raised my hand, cautiously pushed the lid open, and peeked outside. Bright light momentarily blinded me, but then my sight adjusted, and I found out that I was on the far side of the mansion, near the woodland in the backyard.
Knowing that there’s no one around, I push the lid completely open. I jumped out of the trash can and dusted myself with all of the dirt that had clung to my body while I was inside. Taking a gander at the dense wood stretching before me.
Smiling at my impending freedom, I didn’t hesitate to take a step towards the narrow untouched path leading deep into the woods without looking back on the mansion.
This is it!
I’m leaving this place.
As I took a step on the dampened earth beneath the canopy of towering large trees, my heart leaped out of my chest with too much excitement. I couldn't care less about whether or not I was barefooted or about the dangers that lay ahead in this wilderness, but I took off and ran.
Run towards my freedom.
Oh, so help me, God.