The Queen's Return

Nine Years Silence

Drawing Laura away from bedlam, Serena sat on a corner and quietly let tears on her cheeks.

Laura was not so lonely, but standing beside Serena with high heels on, she looked as frail as a snowflake

"Stop crying, Laura," Serena said calmly."Tell me what really transpired. Tell me what happened."Laura's eyes shook with silent gestures. She didn't want to speak, but the injustice done to her was so overwhelming.

Everyone had informed her that Laura was lifeless -away for nine years, almost a decade of quiet life. But she saw it as a lie. She had many unanswered questions she wanted to ask.

Seeing Laura so upset, Serena made up her mind to take her to a quiet place to eat and drink. She took her to a wonderful lunch and ordered rice steak for both of them. As the spicy food arrived, Laura's unprecedented emotions hooked her.

"Serena.....where have you been these years?" She wiped off and finally gave in to ask her burning question," They told me you are dead..."

Laura had never believed, nor had her other siblings. Not the untold story about the aircraft crash. But after nine years without anitchh of a single word, even the brightest flame can flicker and die. A wave of uncensored guilt flooded Serena's thoughts." I also thought so, too," she admitted. "By this miracle,I survive. ,A caring couple took me in and adopted me."

Seeing Laura's gesture keenly, she calmly continued.

"But I was diagnosed with oblivion. Almost a decade now, I didn't even recognize my name. Then, four days ago, everything came running back. Immediately, it reflected, I booked a flight back home to find my lost family."

Amnesia. A lethal word wiped off my memory for a decade of bitterness. All the cold anger Laura had held onto-for being alone, for being forgotten-seemed to disappear into thin air.

"It's our mistake. We should've searched and found you sooner..."Laura's soft voice broke as she gazed across the food at Serena, trembling, she might vanish again like a ghost.

"Enough about everything."Serena said calmly but gently."Now, speak out everything about that Albert."

"He's my forgotten ex, but we are done now," Laura replied with undue speed.

She didn't bear for Serena to know the humiliating, heartbreaking story.

"Speaking about it, how about you spend a night with me?" Serena didn't try to push.If Laura didn't want to tell her, she would find another way on her own. And every single person who hurt her family would learn the other side of her.

After they had finished eating and drinking, they left the dining table. When they departed and arrived as the distinct address Laura had given, Serena stopped. The apartment was in a rough part of town, a rundown walk-up.

"Laura, this is your rented apartment?" she asked, disbelief clear in her eyes.

Their family's inherited villa was at No.2 North View. Why was Laura staying there? Was this some

misjudged desire for independence? Laura felt a knot of tight confusion in her chest.

Laura couldn't look into her eyes. She had been forced out of her home eight years ago. How could she explain that?

"It's not that bad. Come in, let's go up!" She calmly said, leading the way.

Serena followed quietly, diffusing her questions. Just as Laura reached door doorknob, a thin, portly man walked forward, blocking their way.

"Laura! Late on time with rent again, I see," he angrily boomed."You're five months behind! With the assets you have, you owe me three thousand bucks! And now you're bringing strangers? Pay up!"

Laura chilled, her brown face a mixture of shame and low self-esteem as she smiled between the landlord and Serena. She prayed the earth would open up and swallow her.

"I've kept quiet for so long, you know, cause you are a weak little thing," the landlord ridiculed. "But you're pushing me against the wall! A girl who's forward and behind, which is which!What a waste."

His fierce eyes gazed over Laura with an unsettling ogle that sent a freeze down Serena's spine. It was clear he wanted payment of a different kind, not money.

Just as Laura opened her big mouth to protest, Serena walked forward. She pulled out a thick purse with cash and threw it in the man's face

"Here's your remainder," she said, her chilly voice dripping." "Now get out of my way before I do something you'll regret."

"Hey! Who does she think she is?"The landlord murmured. Surprised by the money. But before he could utter more, Serena had pushed Laura inside and banged the door.

"Serena, I..."Laura stared at the wall, unable to gaze at her sister she'd always looked up to.

Serena said nothing. She quietly arranged her luggage, bolted open a window to let in the fresh night air, and switched on the light. The room was so tiny, the furniture around old, and the walls were perforated. But it was well kept and had a distinct warmth. It was a shelter, one Laura had called home for a long, long time.

She then gazed back at Laura, studying her thoughts carefully for a few minutes. Her face was still bright and vast, her round, big eyes just as twinkling as the Stars depicted when she was little. Her long, curred brown hair hung her head in shame.

At the end, Serena opened her black suitcase and asked, "Should I shower first, or should you?"

"Huh!" Laura's mind went back. She'd been desperately forging up lies, a story to explain everything. But that simple question caught her off guard. She was expecting accusations.Demands.Not this.

She blinked twice, watching as Serena picked up a woven pagama set and stepped forward towards her. Then, without reasoning, she squeezed her big eyes shut. She might be mad. "She might be mad. She's getting ready to hit me," Laura thought.

"And honestly...I deserve any predicament. I'm so pathetic."

She began to downplay everything in her mind. After Serena left, everything collapsed. She couldn't even visit home. Their father's assets had all been auctioned by banks, and their mothers had completely turned into someone unrecognizable.

It seemed like she had no power to protect anything. Not even the Stuffed Bear Serena had loved so much. She couldn't have managed to save that either. Her younger brother had completely scattered, pulled in opposite directions, and she ...she had ruined everything.

But the awaited slap never came. Instead, a smooth hand began to cuddle her hair. Laura's eyes shot open. Serena believed in her, a gentle smile on her face that warmed the room, chasing out Laura's heart shadows.

"You need some time? I'll be out then," Serena said calmly, and visited the bathroom. Laura stood, unplugged, slow, blooming smile appeared across her face. She gazed at the closed bathroom door, her heart dazzled with feelings she hadn't felt nine years-hope.

A minute later, Serena steeped out, wrapped in a silk towel and the soft scent of bathing soap. Her soft skin glowed and the black night gown slipped easily over her graceful frame, flowing over her shoulders, damp and tousled. She seemed like she had walked out of her dream.

Drying her long hair with the silk towel, she accidentally caught Laura peeping, wide-eyed. Serena let out a sigh and proceeded over to hit her cheek with a teasing pinch."It's your turn, Laura."

Laura flushed bright red, wishing the earth could sink through the ground. She stared as Serena sat down quietly on the bed, and somehow, the dwarf little apartment seems to change. The perforated walls, the little light....it all faded.

In that instant, the whole environment seemed to have framed her. Serena didn't like the shady place. She made it look cozy. Laura's heart spiked in her chest. Serena was prettier than she recalled. She admired her curves, figure, and the way she treated herself. She was jealous of her. She wondered if any skinny man had tried to court her. Just thinking about it made her body boil, and her cheeks puff up in anger-like now, cool out of the shower, looking like a dolphin.