Yuan
“Stop your nonsense now, Rick. I’m here now. Let them go.” Uncle Ronan greeted his teeth. His hands are in his pockets but I know he’s clenching them.
Halliday’s laugh echoed in the room. The wine glass snapped when he gripped it too hard. He regarded Uncle Ronan with his hard face.
“How does it feel, Ronan? How does it feel to lose someone you love? How does it feel when you know you can’t do anything to save them?”
My brow creased. I watch as the two of them have their glaring competition, except only Halliday is the one who’s glaring because Uncle Ronan keeps his cool.
“Vicky married you, Rick. She chose you over me but all you did was hurt her.” Uncle Ronan's voice is full of emotion. When it comes to Mom, he suddenly changes into a different person—like he’s willing to unleash hell if it means protecting her.
“She did bu
“Touch my daughter and I’ll kill you.” We all turned to the voice and found Mom standing by the entrance of the warehouse. She’s wearing a peach sundress and her hair is done like she’s attending a party. Everything about her shouts class and sophistication sans her usual whiny act. Right now, she’s standing straight like she’s a boss, her face serious. “Shit, Mom! I told you to stay out of here!” Yuan growled but she just rolled her eyes at him. Mom is usually calm. Gets whiny if she didn’t get what she wanted because Dad spoiled her so much. I remember her almost getting a heart attack when she saw Yuan using his LV wallet as a placemat that she gave as his graduation gift. Right now, I can’t even recognize the woman I’m seeing. “Victoria.” Halliday regarded her like she’s the worst thing he has ever seen. “I’m glad you join our reunion. I see that Mayor Patterson topped his job for making you his trophy wife, huh?” “Watch it,
I hate blood. Every time I see blood, I am reminded of the things that happened to me. I hate hospitals. I hate the dull color of the walls and the antiseptic smell of the air. I look down at my trembling hands and find dried blood smeared on my body. Yuan touched my hand, stopping me from drifting back to my nightmares. He forced me to look at him, wiping the tears from my face. “We need to get your wounds treated.” He said softly. I don’t feel my wounds and the burns on my skin. I’m physically numb from everything that happened. I look around the waiting area outside the operating room. Mom is sitting next to Mrs. Sadoche while Dad’s sitting across from them, the nurse checking his wounds. Good thing that the bullet only grazed his skin. “You think they’ll be fine?” I asked him. Yu just smiled at me then squeezed my hands. It’s been almost an hour since they put Kirian and Lucas in the operating room. “They’re strong. Come on, we nee
I perfected the art of pretending I’m fine when in fact, I’m bleeding inside. I perfected the art of not showing that I’m greatly affected by all the things that happened to me. I perfected the art of not showing too much emotion but I still can’t keep the tears rolling down my face while staring at the black dress Yuan put on in my closet last night. Someone knocked on my door but I’m too tired to answer. I smell jasmine filling the air and I slowly look at my mom who’s already in her black dress. Her hair is slightly curled in the end, the small black hat covers half of her head. “Are you okay?” she asked, squeezing my hands lightly. How am I supposed to be fine when the only person I want is not here with me right now? “You think everyone’s going to move on, Mom?” I asked, hoping she has all the answers to my question. “Everything will soon be alright, honey. Time will heal all wounds.” She pulled me for a hug and I
Mommy used to tell me that Nightmare is an evil spirit formerly thought to oppress people while they were sleeping. It causes people to experience bad things in their dreams. Yuan used to get annoyed whenever I cry and wet the bed because I had a bad dream. Mom and Dad will come to me and let me sleep in their room. Yuan said that I should not be afraid of Nightmare because it visits the ones who are scared of it. He said that if I became brave to sleep alone, Nightmare won’t visit me. When I was eight, he gave me his favorite stuffed toy. He said it protects him from Nightmare and if I sleep with the teddy bear, Nightmare will not come to me. I don’t know what happened because his teddy bear suddenly lost its magic to protect me from Nightmare. It’s been years but Nightmare still visits me every night. It never missed an evening. It gets creepier every time. My whole body is trembling when I woke up. I’m drenching in sweat but I yank my comforter until i
I cried, silently praying to Heavens that God will bring someone here to save me.I tried pulling the rope that binds my hand but every time I do, the material bites into my skin, digging deeper, drawing blood behind it. I stared at the reflection of the little girl in the room. Her hair is still tied in a messy ponytail, the ribbon of her headband is missing. Her yellow dress looks like a rug now from the dirt. Her face is beaten up badly, she got bruises everywhere.That little girl is me.“Don’t bother.” A voice from somewhere startled me. “You’ll only hurt yourself more.”I tried to adjust in the dark and found a silhouette of a little boy, probably my age, sitting on the far edge of the room. His hands and feet are also tied.“W-who are you?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“Are you okay?” the boy has managed to get to me. He flinched when he moves so I carefully sat beside him. Traces of blood is evident on his face. His shirt is ripped from the back, exposing the bruises from the whip. I can feel the pain in my body, too. But this time, I’m more afraid for the boy beside me. “Is he gone?” I whispered; too afraid I will be heard. “Yes.” He answered, “Hey, don’t cry.” As if on cue, my tears well my face, making it sting. It’s raining again. I don’t know how long have I slept. I’m not hungry anymore. I silently prayed that Mom will come to pick me up. “Hey, you okay?” My hands caressed my arms. The smell of antiseptic filled my nose before I can even open my eyes and look at the one talking to me. The room is white and sterile. I’m in the hospital again. I inhaled air
“Are you done with your project?” Luna asked me as soon as our Literature Instructor exited the room. I shut down my laptop and gather my things into my bag before facing her. She’s sitting on the chair in front of me with the pen dancing on her fingers. I massaged my neck and my eyes landed on Akira who’s furiously typing on his laptop. Lucas is sitting beside him, dictating from the book. “Yes.” I stare at Luna to stop myself from staring at Akira. He’s like a magnet and my eyes are drawn to him every time. After he disappeared from the hospital, I didn’t hear anything from him—not that I want to hear something from him. “Wow. I’m not yet done.” She scratched her nose as her eyes landed on the boys across us in the room. Akira frantically rocks his leg while Lucas focused on the book. Whenever he reads fast, Akira will click his tongue and close his fist like he wants to punch Luc right in the face. “You need help?” I asked her while I duck
Sadoche It’s already raining when I reached Kori’s house. Since I’m already drenching, I throw my bag on the porch and stayed under the rain. It’s already dark, the only light outside is the flash of lightning in the sky. The rain will not stop anytime soon so I lie on my back, feeling the cold concrete. I stare blankly at the roaring sky, not minding the painful drops of rain. I heard the front door opened but I’m too tired to care. I closed my eyes, feeling the cold, hard ground. The rain is still pouring but I’m suddenly not feeling the raindrops. When I opened my eyes, Kori’s face comes into view. “What on earth are you doing there, boy?” he asked, he looks like a grim reaper on his black coat. “Get up, dummy. You’re going to catch a cold.” He pulled me up and basically dragged me inside the house. He threw a towel on my face and went into the kitchen. I was able to strip on my clothes and cover my waist wit