INFERNO

CHAPTER TWO: FIRE CALLS I

   She shot-off from her tiny mattress on the floor. looking around, she found she was in the safety of her attic bedroom.

 "Thank God it's all a nightmare." She whispered as she grabbed her head in both arms, her erratic breathing calming gradually. Just now, she had almost died in her sleep.

But, what's with all these weird dreams lately?

Recently in her sleep, she had seen things, strange things, and scenes that never really happened, ever. How can you explain dreaming about a pregnant adult you losing your baby in a miscarriage when you are still a teenager? 19 years you getting married to a middle-aged man? or watching yourself being experimented on and dying agonizingly on the table. These things never happened, but she dreamt of them repeatedly.

The thousands of terrifying zombies were a new addition to her bizarre dreams but what exactly does the fiery lady want with her?

Shaking her head, she stood up to prepare for the day. Thank God it was all a dream otherwise, what would she have done if she had transmigrated into a horror movie? She will have to make out time to ruminate over these weird dreams of hers, but for now, she has to do other things if she doesn't want to be miserable this morning.

Tamarys is an illegitimate child. Her father, Amsel Adams, had an affair with her mother when he almost left his wife. They’d been having some recurrent major issues in their marriage, but when Amsel found out his wife was pregnant with their child, he returned home to be with them. Tamarys' mother, Belize Moore was an innkeeper who inherited her inn from her grandmother Isabel and generations of Moore ancestors. It wasn't a very large establishment but in its prime, it made a name for itself. The building is about one of the best hotels or inns in this little town. Liz had been married but her husband died barely two years after their marriage leaving her with no offspring. They’d found it difficult to get pregnant. Liz had been living a very peaceful life managing her inn. Business was good and she was happy up until trouble came knocking in the form of a depressed traveler. When Amsel left home, things were very bad between him and his wife they even considered divorce. He found solace in the arm of Liz though he never told her he was married. Liz made him happy so he stayed a while with her. When he found out his wife, Mina was pregnant, he left Liz and went back to his family not knowing Liz was also pregnant.

Years later, on a certain cold November morning, Liz came knocking on the Adams estate with a five years old child in tow. Of course, it wasn't a happy reunion, Amsel's wife was very mad with him and his 'mistress' but Liz didn't intend to stay. It turned out she was very sick and had been given a maximum of three months to live. Liz had to track Amsel to the Adams estate just to ensure her daughter stays safe with her family. Even though she found out Adams was married she felt it was the best outcome for her daughter, at least, her daughter will have a mother and a sister to grow up with. But her expectation was destined to be cut short. She didn't realize she had officially destroyed her daughter's life with her own hands.

Tamarys was left in the Adams home and had become something similar to an indentured servant ever since. She’d grown-up always in the eyes of her so-called family unloved, uncherished, and unappreciated.

She tiptoed toward the door, placed her ear against the door, and listened to the quietness of the house in the early morning to make sure no one was up and about,  then opened the door and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for her family. It was still too early but she had a lot to do she might as well start her day since she is already awake. The only downside, she must be as quiet as possible otherwise there shall be consequences. It is not unheard of for her stepmother to punish her for making little mistakes. It seems to be Mina’s guilty pleasure of sort to punish her stepdaughter at any time for every negligible mistake she made. Her sister, Masha joins the farce, but the most hurtful thing is that their father says nothing about these things. He wouldn’t even caution his wife or curtail his eldest daughter’s excesses. He just watched on each time his daughter is punished or severely beaten in front of him like he could find nothing wrong with the child being beaten indiscriminately.

At seventeen Tamarys have gotten used to it, but when she was younger and naïve she couldn’t understand why she was so different from her older sister, why she was always treated differently from her sister, or why one daughter will be showered with so much love and care while the other is neglected. She felt so alone she wished to join her mother in death.

At least, that will be much better, no one will hurt her if no one sees her. She thought.

When she was done making breakfast, she packed her lunch consisting of leftover dinner which she wasn’t allowed to eat, and then prepare herself for school.

Looking at her dreary appearance Tamarys sighed. There was nothing she could do. Tamarys would like to dress smart like other girls her age, but she didn’t own a single fitting article of clothing. Her measly collection of clothing was either what Marsha didn’t want or things she had already thrown away and since she was almost the same height as Marsha albeit a little skinnier, they tend to hang off her frame.

The loose old jeans she wore she belted unto herself tightly, then put on a black hoodie and a pair of converses. she grabbed her school bag and, set off to school. Of course, Tamarys’ maltreatment is a ‘private matter’ therefore she was sent to school like her sister. Mina was very upset that an illegitimate child like Tamarys will have to share the same breathing space as her beautiful daughter. Left to her she would have Tamarys work full time as a helper at home or send her off to another to work as a servant, but the Adams family prestige had to come first. No one likes to be given a bad name. not the Adams, especially as Tamarys’ birth history was a well-hidden secret. That she could go to school like other kids, thank God for small mercies.

The school was not much different from her home. Marsha had taken it upon herself to make life miserable for Tamarys. She would get people to bully and tease Tamarys until she was purple in the face, and that was on a good day. On a bad day, they could even beat her up. No one in the school, not even the principal said anything to these horrible children. Who would dare? These were the children of big wigs, the ones who fund the school.

 And who the hell is Tamarys? Nobody, that’s who.

One day, they went as far as swapping Tamarys’ English essay assignment for one with obscene characters. The teacher called Tamarys in and had her suspended for misconduct. You’d think that would be the end of it. But once she got home Marsha had her reported to their parents. Once again, she was beaten, then locked up in the attic for days without food and water. Had she not hidden some dry bread and cans of bottled water in the attic because she didn’t want to go down in the middle of the night and invite trouble upon herself, only God knows how she would have survived.

On getting to school, Tamarys went straight to her locker, picked a book, and went to seat under a shade in the garden. There she would wait for the school day to begin. She drowned out the voice of the student arriving and conversing with friends until the bell rang to signal to commencement of classes.