5: Feeling Good

*LAUREN*

"Child, the beast you see in the basement is just part of your imagination. Forget everything you see in the basement." Granny Ursula told me, disregarding what I saw with my own eyes, that it was not real.

My eyes widened in disbelief, and I shook my head while I was staring at Granny and listening to her explanation. I cut her short: "Gran, you lied to me. You told me that those entities there in the basement are harmless and won't hurt me if I just light the candle, stay quiet, and leave right away. But that scary beast ran after me! It's going to eat me!" I insisted.

Granny sighed and looked at me with irritation shimmering in her eyes. "Fine! Believe what you see. But the beast is harmless. It didn't want to eat you because if it did, Alex wouldn't be able to save you and get you out of the basement."

I took a deep breath, getting confused as the minutes passed by. The fear of being eaten alive by the beast in the basement still gripped my heart, giving me nightmares and sending chills through my entire body. The fact that I'm still alive is a miracle in itself.

"Alright, enough of this pointless conversation. Just go to the bathroom and wash your face with water because you've got dirt on your face," Granny told me.

I got up from the bed and went to the bathroom, and when I was about to splash water on my face, I got the biggest shocker of my life at that very moment because I saw my flawless face in the mirror. "Holy cow! Is this my face? What happen? Where did the scars go?"

I caressed my face a hundred times, and I couldn't stop doing it as tears of happiness streamed down my cheeks. I felt like my heart was about to explode as extreme elation gripped my entire being. I can't describe the happiness that I feel at that moment while I stare at my pretty face.

The scarred-faced girl is no longer present!

Wow! I'm looking pretty now!

It's like I'm seeing a different person, but it's still the same old me. Deep inside, nothing has changed except for my face.

The changes in my face feel amazing, satisfying, and life-changing! I'm floating on cloud nine right now. I don't want this happiness to end. I want this feeling to last as long as I live.

I want to stay beautiful forever!

Unable to contain my happiness, I exited the bathroom and came flying back to Granny's side. "Granny, look at my face! The scars on my face are gone! I don't know how it happened. I don't remember anything that caused the scars to go away on their own. This is a miracle!" I exclaimed hysterically as I was over the moon with my new self.

I jumped up and down due to extreme happiness while Granny continued to observe my jubilation with amusement glistening in her eyes; she was wearing a bright smile on her face too. She's never seen me so happy as I am now.

It's been my lifelong dream, and it finally happened today! The scars were gone! I hope they never come back. I love the way I look right now. I no longer look scary. I look presentable and normal. I look like a human and feel like a human for the first time in my life.

I finally stopped jumping and sat on the bed, facing my beloved grandmother, wanting to ask her several questions. "Gran, do you know when the scars left my face?" I asked, eager to know how and when the miracle happened.

"I think the entities who are residing in the basement are the ones who took your scars away and turned you into the beautiful lady that you are now." Granny responded to my queries.

A deep frown appeared in my face. "But I saw no one there—only the beast!"

"Alright, I think the beast did it," Granny replied. "That thing you see there didn't eat you. The beast healed your face instead."

Granny's response astounded me. "How did it happen? I don't remember anything after darkness took over my senses. I fainted, and I can't remember what the beast did to me after that incident. Did you see what happened after I lost consciousness?"

Granny sighed deeply. "I was also shocked by the whole thing. And then that repairman appeared out of nowhere. He rushed to my side to help us, went down the stairs, and took you in his arms. Then, after getting you out, we left the basements afterward."

I was studying Granny's face, wanting to know if she was telling me more lies or the truth. Then I remembered that I landed in the arms of that beast before darkness took over my body. The beast could have healed me. It's possible. "Should I go back to the basement and thank the beast, Granny?" I sought her opinion.

Granny shook her head and said, "No need." She stood up and looked at me. "Stay here in the room. I think the Alpha King and his family have already arrived. I'll come back later to bring you food."

"Yes, Granny." I nodded my head and watched her leave the room.

I stood in the middle of the room, thinking about what to do with my free time. I jumped in glee as I went to the dresser table and stared at my beautiful self in the mirror. I just can't believe that after just one trip to the forbidden basement, my whole life will be changed forever. If I had known that this would happen, I should have explored the basement a long time ago.

I can finally go to the market with Granny without wearing a wide hat covering my ugly face. It's a liberating feeling!

For the first time in my life, I feel truly alive and human!

I used to think that I was a monster with my hideous look, but that beast in the basement is the real monster, and now he is my hero! My saviour!

But since the monster healed my face, then he must be a good beast. One day, if I'm brave enough and Granny will allow me to go back in the basement, I will thank him myself.

That's exactly what I intend to do!

Feeling happy with my new look, I grabbed a book from the book shelf and went back to the bed, then started reading to pass my idle time.

While reading the book, I stopped for a moment because my mind suddenly wandered to Alex, the handsome repairman who got me out of the basement.

He was good-looking. I've never seen a handsome guy like him. He had a mysterious aura about him.

I giggled like a high school girl seeing her crush for the first time. I no longer read the book; instead, I daydream about Alex, the handsome repairman.