The Six Souls of Solum Island

Chapter One

Packing under the dim light was a new found struggle. Due to Adelaide's haste, she had almost mistaken a box of cigarette for her packaged bar of soap. Honestly, why did they feel so alike? It was times like these she wished desperately she had night vision. The setting sun proved to be no help either. If only their electricity hadn't been cut off, everything would have been packed by then.

For someone who barely owned any personal belongings, it took nearly an hour to get all of her necessities tucked into her luggage. With a victorious grin, she plopped onto the worn-out sofa. Even its stench of sweaty armpits didn't bother her. In fact, she was positive that nothing could ruin her delighted mood.

It was then that she finally let the reality of it all sink in. Sure, it had been playing in her mind for weeks now, but it had always been a distant excited buzz. But today, she was meeting with it face to face. All her hard work, her dedication had finally paid off. It felt surreal to even think about it.

She, Adelaide Miller, an average girl who nobody spared a second glance at, was going to attend one of the most prestigious schools in the world – Remlyn Academy.

Within a few hours, she would be on a ship, sailing to an Island far from this heartless city. A squeal left her lips as she tried to comprehend it. She felt like a bomb that was about burst in joy. She opened her file again, holding the acceptance letter in her hand as if it were made out of gold. This was probably her hundredth time looking at it, but she didn't care, she had to be sure that it wasn't all a cruel joke.

Although it was too dark for her to read it, the academy's gracious seal was confirmation enough. Her hand trailed down to the bottom of the paper, where a guardian was required to sign it. Adelaide could vaguely remember the time when she begged her aunt Gemma to sign it. Aunt Gemma had been reluctant at first, but after a lot of convincing, she finally did. Besides, it was the only possible way for the form to be signed since her mother wouldn’t even want to look at it.

With her mother in mind, she felt her grin falter. Her mother was oblivious about the whole thing. Frankly, it was because her mother hadn't set foot into their cramped apartment for almost two weeks now. If Adelaide had to guess, she would assume that her mother was probably in some married millionaire's house. Perhaps, she wasn't even in New York.

Adelaide decided it would be wise to leave a note

Dear Mother, she began to write but quickly scratched it off. Her mother never liked it when Adelaide referred to her as a mom. It was probably because the lady denied being a single parent or a parent in general.

Dear Sarah, she tried again. She couldn't see what she wrote, her words could be overlapping and unreadable for all she knew. But she could care less. Her mother – Sarah, had never bothered to leave a note before disappearing for weeks at a time so why should she?

Just as she was about to finish the note, the wooden doors swung open. Sarah stumbled into the apartment, her arms reaching for the switch. It took a couple of flicking before she remembered about their lack of electricity.

“Adelaide!” her mother called, squinting her eyes to look for her daughter.

Adelaide felt her heart stop beating momentarily. Out of all the days her mother could have returned home, it had to be today?

“Yes?”

“Light up some candles, will you?”

Scrambling, she hid the documents away. It was easy for her to make her way to the kitchen due to the apartment's small size. Plus, navigating in the dark had become second nature to her since Sarah rarely paid the electricity bill.

After a few moments of feeling up the cabinets, she finally found a box of what felt like candles. Using the fire from the stove, she lit up the candle before putting it on the candle holder.

She set the candle on a coffee table and took a seat on her previous spot.

“Where did you go?” Adelaide asked.

Instead of replying, Sarah lit up a cigarette using the candle fire. She took a long drag of it before answering, “Chicago. Oh darling, the city is gorgeous! Remember the man I was with at the bar?”

“The old one that smelt like detergent?”

Sarah gave her daughter a sharp look, “Yes, yes that man. Anyway, we talked for a bit and he brought me to his penthouse. Oh, if only you could see the view, darling!”

Annoyance crept in Adelaide's heart as she stared at her mother. Sarah Miller was the type of woman who could say she's in her mid twenties and get away with it. With her hourglass figure, tight dresses and bleach blonde hair, no one would have thought she passed the age of thirty. Hell, with a body like that no one would even suspect she gave birth 15 years ago.

“Oh? And how was the food?”

“Wonderful!”

“That’s great, mother,” she spat out, “Must be nice to disappear with some random old man while your daughter starves.”

Sarah took the cigarette off her mouth, “Please, you're a big girl. Find food for yourself.”

Knowing where arguing was going to take them, Adelaide fought to remain quiet.

“So have you gotten your salary yet? I need a new dress, Robert ruined this one,” Sarah giggled, taking a seat beside her daughter.

At that, Adelaide felt her blood pressure rise. It was always like this. Her mother would return after disappearing for a week or two, asking Adelaide for money. Money, she worked so hard to earn.

She was about to reply when a creaking sound filled her ears. Her eyes widen in horror as her mother took out the hidden document from behind a pillow.

“What is this?”

“Nothing.” Adelaide replied quickly, reaching out to pry the document away.

However, Sarah was already on her feet, reading the acceptance letter under the dim light.

“What is this?!” she asked screeching.

The air stilled and panic rose up her chest. She felt like a deer meeting a lion's gaze.

“My acceptance letter, I applied for a scholarship to Remlyn Academy,” Adelaide confessed. She knew she should have asked permission before she submitted her entrance essay, but in her defence she didn't expect to get accepted in. Besides, knowing her mother’s pessimistic mind, she would never approve of it.

“You're joking right?”

“No.”

“How dare you go behind my back!” her mother yelled.

“I'm sorry. B-But aren't you glad I got in?” She cowered behind a pillow. Whenever she and Sarah get into a fight, it never ended well. Although Sarah had never inflicted any permanent injuries, the red mark on her cheek and the bruise around her wrist were always hard to hide.

“Glad? Glad?! You ungrateful child! I did not raise you up for fifteen years for you to abandon me like this! HOW DARE YOU!” the candle flickered, illuminating the crazed look in the woman's eye.

There was a sting at the back of her eyes as she felt her body tremble. She tried to shut her mother's voices out of her head, but no matter how she tried, she could still hear every word like a slap in the face.

“You're disgusting, you know that? I wasted so much time taking care of you and this is how you repay me?! Do you hate me, Adelaide? You want to leave me too, like your pig of a father?!” Sarah was standing close to her now, her breath brushing against Adelaide's skin, “ANSWER ME!”

“I-I-I'm sorry,” she choked out. She quickly curled into a ball out of instinct. It hurts less this way.

The room was eerily silent, quiet enough that she could hear her heart thumping in fear. Angry pants escaped her mother's lips, as though she was trying to calm herself. Finally, her mother said, “No. I'm sorry.”

Out of surprise, Adelaide snapped her eyes open. The sight before her caused her to heart to scream. Her acceptance letter, her only way of escape, her key to be a somebody in this unfair world - was an inch away from the fire.

Her mind went blank and without thinking, she leapt forward for the letter, burning her forearm in the process. A scream echoed around the walls when she felt hot merciless fire melting into her skin. Tears fell freely from her eyes when she recoiled. She clutched the acceptance letter, hugging it as though it could stop the pain in her arm. It felt like boiling hot lava entering her bloodstream, tearing her skin from inside out. Gritting her teeth, she tried to stop herself from releasing another cry.

Sarah's eyes widen in surprise, watching her daughter's smooth tanned skin turn to a revolting shade of red. “Darling! Are you alright?”

“Go away,” her voice cracked.

“Don't worry, just wash it up and-“

“I said, GO AWAY!”

Just like that, Sarah's soft features hardened, “Okay, fine! You don't want to be with me anymore?!”

Without warning, Sarah grabbed her unharmed hand, dragging her out the door. “I don't need you anyway! You're just a burden. If you want to leave, fine! Go!”

Being roughly shoved out the door, Adelaide fell onto the hard ground, causing another wave of pain to hit her. She didn’t have time to regain her posture when her luggage was thrown out the door, narrowly missing her feet.

Sarah took a long, unwavering look at the wounded child, “Good riddance!”

With a loud thud, the door slam shut, isolating her from her home. More tears started falling from her eyes. There was an ache in her heart, a kind of pain that rivalled even the burn on her arm.

Adelaide sat still in front of her apartment, waiting for her mother to open the door once more and invite her back in. She waited, bearing through the stench of burnt flesh. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours. No matter how long she waited, the door remained closed.

A wave of dread flooded her when she finally stood up. She was homeless. She had no direction. No one to turn to. Aunt Gemma lived at the other side of the city and the transportation to get there would be too pricey. She never felt so lost in her life.

Part of her wanted to stay here, with familiar dirty walls protecting her from the cruel city. But she was far too prideful for that, she would not allow her mother to see her in such a futile state.

Gathering up her courage, she walked out of the apartment building with her luggage dragging behind her. The snow had discouraged citizens from going out at night, leaving the road to only a few cars whizzing pass her. She lived in an area where streetlights didn't function as no one ever called to fix them. It was up to the shinny billboards of New York City to help her navigate.

The snow was mercifully light, but that did not mean she could fare with sleeping out on the streets. It didn’t take her long to contemplate where to go, there was another place which held the same familiarity as home.

As she had guessed, there was barely anyone at the library. She predicted the time by judging the amount of people leaving, which was a lot. It was probably close to 9 p.m.

Adelaide settled onto one of the many benches outside the library, it was under the roof and that was as good as it could get for her. When it was closing time, the guards gave her a curious stare. She couldn’t blame them, she would stare too if she saw a crying girl with a luggage outside the library.

The guards exchanged doubtful looks, but since they were used to seeing her around, they left her be.

It was when the library was empty, and the bustling of the city life was just a distant hum, that Adelaide’s dark thoughts started creping in. Still early in January, the weather treated her harshly, its wind causing her bones to quake. The clothes she packed served as a barrier, protecting her from the chilly winter night. But no matter how many clothes she covered herself with, there was nothing that could warm the ice spreading in her heart.

Like a tidal wave, the realization of her insignificance crashed into her soul, making her drown in her own sorrowful thoughts. The sad reality was, she could die right there and then, and no one would give a damn.

And so, the lost little girl, cried herself to sleep, dreaming for a better life.

Morning came with a painful throb on her back. Sleeping on a bench wasn't the most comfortable experience. Lucky for her, she was not harmed in any way nor was her belongings stolen. She suspected no criminal would be hanging around a library anyway.

The sorrow in her heart melted away as the sunlight touched her face, feeling like caress from the god above. She pushed her sadness aside, replacing them with newfound determination. Today, she’ll be on her way to Solum Island, the Island that held the key to a better life for her. That key took the form of Remlyn Academy. She vowed to herself, she will not be forgotten anymore, one day her name will go down in history and those who turned a blind eye at her will regret it till they die.

Everything passed like a blur, after changing to a new set of clothes and buying a hot dog, she made her way to the docks. Thankfully, it was a walking distance from where she was, far, but manageable.

She bought her tickets and soon came face to face with the ship she'll be boarding for the next 8 days. It was large – she'll give it that – but it was also the kind of ship that normal people would never even think of boarding. It was painted with cheap paint, smelling like dead fish and the sailors on board looked less than friendly.

If it were up to her she wouldn't want to board that thing as well, but what other choice did she have?

There was only 3 ways to get to the Island. First, was through the air. However, there were only a number of airlines that flew to that Island so the cost was pricey. It was the only way to arrive at the Island a month before school started, giving them plenty of time to get settle in. Second, was by a luxurious cruise mostly hosting tourists than students. Although it was expensive, students were able to arrive to the Island a week before school started. Thirdly, was the option Adelaide opted for. The cheapest one. Waiting till winter’s end, the boat sailed to Solum Island in hopes of buying fish.

The scorching sun made Adelaide restless as she sat by a nearby bench. She watched a bunch of sailors loitering around with cargo in their hands. The ship's captain was not in sight, allowing some sailors to laze around. This made her annoyed, knowing that they were delaying her schedule. It was as if there was an itch within her, begging to leave the foul city. Senseless thoughts filled her mind while she waited. What if someone came and dragged her away? What if the boat suddenly sunk? What if she had a heart attack before she can get on board?

Those scenarios were illogic and plain dumb but she still couldn’t help but letting it conquer her mind. After all, those events seemed more likely than her ever stepping foot onto Remlyn Academy.

After what felt like years later, the boat was finally ready for boarding. Another wave of anxiety washed over her as she stepped onto the slope. She gave her ticket to the sailor and walked right in, her movements feeling robotic even to her.

Sails dropped down, sailors started barking orders, the anchor rose up and before she could even prepare herself, the boat had already began its sail.

Solum Island, here she comes.