There was a white wooden door. Beyond that was a room, with a round window directly on the opposite end. This window was bordered by vertical and horizontal lines splitting it into four equal panes. To the left end of the room were a series of sliding doors with grilles running across them from left to right - what would appear typically as the doors of a wardrobe. The far corner between the wardrobe and the window was a dresser with a small square stool underneath, and a mirror against the wall right in front. Colourful tubs, tubes and boxes of trinkets litter the table along with a couple of odd-shaped combs with handles shaped like butterflies. On the other end of the room was a double bed, flanked by two bedside tables. A thick layer of pink sheet lined the bed, and underneath it a little girl laid in deep slumber.
The golden ray of morning sun stroked the girl's face, stirring her a little. Her eyelids parted slightly, then squinted at the harsh morning light. The clock on one of the bedside tables read 7:15 AM. It was a Saturday, which meant she would still be able to sleep a little longer for there was no school that day. But she rolled out of bed anyway. Her feet struck warm carpeted floor beneath her, the same carpet that would run throughout the entire first floor of her house. Having found her fluffy slippers, the girl shuffled out of her room and down the stairs. There was complete silence in the house, save the occasional creaking of wood from beneath her feet. Her hair in a mess, her pyjamas riddled with an array of cartoon prints.
She remembered her mom promising her pancakes this morning, and she directed herself towards the kitchen at the back end of the house. Passing through the archway into the kitchen, the floor switched from the comfortably warm timber to cold tiles. Inside were rows of cabinets spanning three walls, both overhead and table-top. In the middle of the square room was an island counter with stoves and sinks. No sign of her mom.
"Mommy?"
She should still be making pancakes now. But the entire kitchen was empty. The girl walked halfway around the island counter, eyes scanning the table tops for any plate filled with pancakes left there by her mom. Nothing. If she would have paid attention to the ground she would have found her feet barely missing a few knives scattered on the ground, and that there were a thick puddle of dark liquid on the far corner of the kitchen floor. The sudden crashing sound caught her attention. She figured, judging by the direction of the sound, that it could've been the trash can at their front porch. Backtracking, she made her way out the front door. Opening the door sent a gust of sunlight pouring into the else dark living hall, blinding the girl for a while.
After regaining sight, she walked through the doorway into the porch. To her right was a grass lawn with a wooden patio. To her right was a garage. Her mom's car was parked right outside, it seemed to have been untouched since yesterday evening. Along the rocky path leading to the outer edges of the unfenced yard was the trash can, now toppled over and it's contents strewn across the ground. As she approached the toppled trash can she couldn't help but notice the neighbourhood rather quiet that morning. Uncle Bob from the opposite house wasn't blowing dried leaves. The next door dog would not bark at her like it would always do. She did not catch it, but birds were not chirping either that morning.
It could've been a stray cat rummaging the can for leftover food. Scanning around the vicinity, she found a figure a few houses down to the left of her's. From far she seemed to be hovering around one spot, with her head slightly stooped as if looking for something she'd dropped. Being the kind Samaritan everyone seemed to be in this neighbourhood, the girl hurried over to offer a hand.
"Good morning lady. Did you lose something?"
She approached the figure and saw it had long, slightly unkept hair.
"Maybe I can help you with it."
As she got closer she noticed the lady's skin along her arms and legs pale grey with dirt marks all over. It didn't bother her much until she came face to face with the lady and found her facial expression empty, her cheeks sunken and eyes hollow. For a split second, both of them stood motionless staring at each other. The girl had no idea what to make of what was standing before her. Then as the lady reached her arms out and opened her bloody mouth, letting out a growl. Panic set in. Sensing danger, the girl turned about and started for her house as fast as her little legs can take her. She let out a loud shriek. She could hear the growl of the lady growing louder and louder behind her, but she didn't have the courage nor the time to turn around and scan her position. In the midst of the panic her foot caught what could have been the curb and crashed face first to the ground. Her heart was already pounding as if it would tear off her chest right now.
She turned around to find the lady right over her, arms with bony long fingers reaching out. She closed her eyes and cried.
"MOMMY!!!!!!!!"
0 comments:
Post a Comment