HER SHELTER

2

Was it the breeze or the droplets of water that fell on her face that awoke her? She could not fathom it or was it the dream of her falling into an endless pit and hearing her mom call her?

"Alma" was the name given to her by her mother. Her real name was Helena Ruiz Brown, whom her father had named her.

It was a lovely name for her as she could feel the love.

She awoke but still could not stand up from the ground, the bushes were damp and cold, and she could feel her body creak, but she couldn't move. That alone was not her problem, her lack of adequate clothing had made her catch a cold. In that place, the place she did not want to remember, she wasn't provided clothing, those she managed to get were worn out. Her throat burned from the lack of water intake and she reeked. She mustered the last of her strength to try and stand up, but her legs wobbled and gave in to the tiredness they so desperately felt. Out of desperation, she began to crawl, not caring about her bruised legs, she had to, if not, they would catch up to her. With the pain she felt and her hunger-stricken belly crying for attention, she managed to force herself up and walked to nowhere in particular.

After hours of slow pacing and no appreciation whatsoever for nature, she got to an isolated area of a small town where she had found an abandoned building. She tried to see if there was any other human, but she found no traces except a duffle bag abandoned in the corner of the building. All she could think of was that maybe the owner had forgotten about it and did not require it, but curiosity itself was at its peak. She wondered what could be in the bag if the owner had so kindly forgotten some money too, as she was so hungry, but she thought against it after all there was nothing free in this world.

She took a seat on the bare floor and, dragging the bag towards her, she decided it was time to know what was inside, even if her conscience spoke against it. Inside it, she found some warm clothes, boots, some old books, some chocolates and a few cents. The chocolates looked like they had expired, but she did not care, all she wanted was to satisfy the ache she felt in her belly. After chewing the bitter-turned chocolate that gave her a lucid feeling at the back of her throat, she decided it was best she slept to gather more strength for the journey ahead. She wore some warm clothes and adjusted the floor to get a comfortable spot to stay. It proved futile. Closing her eyes she felt all the tiredness that had built up, as her body gave in to the sleep it needed. those unsettling feelings that she had tried so hard to forget came rushing in trying to get her to remember, but it was best forgotten, and she was going to keep it that way.

“Alma, go and wash your hands”, her mother instructed.

They had just finished their meal, but she was still excited about the surprise her dad was going to give her. She dashed to the kitchen, almost tripping on the doorway, only to stop on hearing her mother’s voice.

“Calm down, you are going to hurt yourself”, her mother scolded. She knew her daughter was excited, but she couldn’t help but be afraid. Her husband had planned a surprise behind her back, not that they even spoke or saw eye to eye on things, but she shoved it at the back of her mind. After all, he was her father and her husband, and wouldn’t do anything to harm them.

Alexander brown, her father or, as most people called him, Mr. Brown had quickly sneaked into the room in the absence of his daughter to avoid the questioning look his wife gave him. He felt inhumane about what he was about to do, but it had to be done, all his years of suffering were about to come to an end and that alone was worth looking forward to.

“Hi, hope you are prepared”, he spoke lowly, looking around as if scared someone would listen in on his conversation.

“I was born ready, can’t wait to get the update from you”. The voice at the other end gave a nerve-racking laugh. Anyone would know that they weren’t up to no good. Legs crossed with the phone glued to the ear with a champagne flute on the right hand gave an invincible toast to its victory and grinned at the foolishness of the person at the other end of the receiver because things were about to go as planned and the sweet scent of the yet-to-be shed blood was enough to bring smiles.

“Can’t talk for much longer. I have to bring my family to the spa”

“Well then, you have a lovely and wonderful night” and with that, the call ended. He put his phone back in the jeans trousers he wore that looked so worn out, paired with the polo top that had a few holes in them, and putting his hand on his chest as if telling his racing heart to calm down, put a smile on his face and went to meet his family. He walked to the parlor and was met by both his wife and their daughter in their usually playful mode and that alone brought both smiles and tears to his eyes. Was he ready to give this up for his selfish interest?

As he entered, they both turned to him, giving him their undivided attention, with her mother wiggling her brows as if telling her that her long-awaited moment was finally there. She couldn’t help but tap her foot on the floor with excitement. Oh, maybe it was that doll I have always wanted that he was taking us to buy, or maybe it was her favorite outfit, she thought.

“Well, let’s go”. He quickly voiced out in a hoarse voice as if scared the walls were going to hear him.

Thanks for reading.