Chapter 000

Chapter 000

The angel-looking face of Xiao made her mother laugh at her pouty lips. She was actually asking where they were going but her mother was only giving her some smiles that somehow didn’t make her to be fine. She wanted answers and not those playful smiles. Indignantly, looking at her mother’s side profile, Xiao pursed her lips into thin lines as if she was about to make a bad thing towards her mother. But when the latter turned to face the younger, Xiao was immediate in changing dishevelled appearance and made her face contort.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” asked Xiao’s mother.

“Nothing,” Xiao replied nonchalantly. She veered her eyes towards the bus window and looked at the things they happened to pass by.

“It’s a surprise, honey. Don’t be mad about it, you’ll eventually know, okay?”

“I just want to know,” she softly whispered while hugging her teddy bear in a taut. She’s already eighteen, but she’s still bringing Amber with her because it’s a sentimental thing for her.

When she faced her mother once again, the latter gave her another smile which made the former’s blood to boil once again.

I know it’s a surprise but can’t she just tell me? Xiao rolled her eyes haphazardly. But she kept it inside.

She didn’t want to be rude even though it was already evident in her own reactions. She wanted to keep the good character she has been showing ever since the world began.

As if an answer to her prayers, in due time, they already arrived at the said place. Her mother told her once; it would be the place they’d be staying at for the rest of their lives– meaning, they would no longer go back to their old place.

Looking at the gigantic gates in front of her, Xiao couldn’t say nothing but remain speechless. The teddy bear she was hugging almost fell down and when those gothic gates had suddenly opened. It startled her a little in which she immediately went at the back of her mother’s skirt; hearing those crooking sounds coming from the foreign voices of the strangers, made her love the thought of disappearing. She had always hated the fact that she couldn’t able to stand talking to anyone but her mother; it was also one of the reasons why she hated herself.

“Lee, my angel, don’t be afraid of them,” her mother said while using her skills of showing an oh-so-sweet voice, “They’re good people because they’re the people who were made for you.”

Xiao didn’t actually understand what her mother said, still, slowly but surely, she had decided to show herself as she went out to show herself. Staring at the peculiar mono lidded eyes of the two figures in her front, she remained immobile. Her left hand was still hugging her most favourite black-coloured teddy bear—Amber—that was given by someone who was so special to her.

Xiao pursed her lips as she remained her eye contact with the two, almost gazing up with them because of the fact that she’s quite petite. The one with a golden metallic-like armour asked if she was indeed Xiao; and her mother, Shuan, just uttered a simple affirmative as they strode their way towards the enormous gates. Even in Xiao’s thoughts, she wouldn’t want to enter the secrets those heavy-tinted bars were hiding. It was as if the inner self of her was telling that if she would, something spontaneous might happen. Something dark could prevail. And, Xiao herself, definitely did not like the ideas that emerged inside her little head.

With a very soft-spoken voice, Xiao called her mother as she tried to pull her skirt a tad, as if indirectly saying that she didn’t want to enter the mysterious place. She called her mother once more, making her voice much clearer than the first time.

But something felt off. As if something was watching their every move when a sudden excessive uneasiness wrapped around them.

More like a matter of time when Xiao found herself being stuck on her stance. Her eyes were enlarged and she couldn’t find the right words she was looking for; even so she wanted so much to utter a word. Simply because the ambience of the place was more than familiar to her. The agonizing hatred she once tried to get away from and the feeling of being alone—everything resurfaced as a glint of tear came running down to her left cheek.

She was running all throughout the years just to get the life she has been wanting; a life that’s away from everything but it was as if something like a dog chasing after her; something like she didn’t want to inherit; something like a curse within herself—and so, her escapes remained futile.

With her body that was shaking a little, Xiao tried to regain her composure; she almost had the grip of it when the next thing she wasn’t expecting to see, appeared right in front of her. Once again, her dark orbs were about to fall out from its place. Once again, the tingling sensation she used to feel and didn’t want to feel at the same time was already there. Once again—she was afraid.

“Lee,” her mother called, “your Aunt Scarlet missed you, why don’t you greet her back?” a question that made her snap back to reality.

She wished she could just tell her mother how she hated the fact on why of all places, her mother chose to be in here. She wished a million times and she could do nothing but to just wish. She wished she could just run away—again.

“Mom, can I go to the bathroom first?” was Xiao’s initial response the moment she finally internalized everything.

“Oh,” was her Aunt Scarlet’s reaction.

“Yes, sure,” her mother replied.

Very immediate to get away from her aunt’s presence, while Amber was still on her hold, she quickly ran towards the direction where the bathroom was. It was already an evanescent memory but fortunately, she still remembered where the bathroom was. She was running abruptly and wasn’t looking at her steps. Just with an amount of time when she happened to get a thud of sound; in an instant, Amber was no longer in her hold as it quickly rolled onto the ground. Xiao was left with nothing but a gasp as she tried capturing her favourite teddy bear when a wonted scent of mint hit her nostrils.

“Xiao?” someone asked incredulously.

Xiao felt an electrifying sensation when she heard her first name after so while.

“It’s nice to meet you once again, Xiao,” coming from a familiar voice that made her world literally come into a halt.

That voice. I know that voice!

She really knew that voice because it’s from someone so special to her.

“I thought you aren’t coming back anymore,” Xiao remained standing; her mouth was partly-opened as she stared at his eyes, “I’m glad you did,” he said with an inclined smile before he took a step forward, grabbing Xiao’s arm as he pulled her into a tight embrace. Embarking an initial reaction from the lady, “I’ve missed you,” he softly whispered to her ears.

And with that, Xiao did not expect for her once a dream in life to become her greatest downfall.