Chapter Seventeen (Part 2)
1019 Words
Chapter Seventeen (Part 2)
"Hey? Why are you in the middle of the hallwa--" she stopped speaking when our eyes finally met.
My lips slightly gaped open when I realized who it was.
"V-Vanessa?" I can't remember the last time I stuttered.
She did not utter a word of acknowledgement but her lips parted in shock too. We just stared at each other in complete bewilderment before she finally spoke.
"What the fudge are you doing here?" She asked in her usual girly voice.
I arched my brows at her when I finally pulled myself together.
"Probably doing some laundry, waddya think?" My voice dripped in so much sarcasm that I can almost feel its tangible taste.
"Ha!" She spat mockingly. "So you happen to have grown some weird sense of humor now, huh? Didn't know freaks like you is capable of that..." she said scornfully.
I balled my fist. "You bitc--"
"Yadah yadah..." she put her puppet-like palms in front me. "Stop talking to me, will you? I don't like people seeing me talk to a freak like you. Why are you even here in the first place?" She whispered the last words like she is too exasperated to talk to me.
I bald my fist even more.
Damn it.
Why does she... have to say those words to me?
I chew on my inner cheeks to control my boiling blood.
Control, Arylle, control.
"Of all school in all places, you really decided to study here? Come on..." she shook her head in disbelief. "Whatever. Just... don't you ever talk to me. I don't wanna see you again, freak."
That was our last conversation and that was her last sentence before she turned her back to me, literally and figuratively.
Yeah, she made sure to constantly say the word "freak" over and over again. She made sure that I will remember how she labeled me as an outcast. Tho, it's not as if I care, anyway.
But isn't sad and ironic that you are the one who made me visit you now, Vanessa?
I parked my motorcycle in front of a familiar house, this is their house. I have only been here once. When auntie Veronica, Vanessa's mom invited me and Nanang here for lunch but that day, Vanessa did not went out from her room so we never really met.
The house looks so lonely even from the small the outside. I don't know why but the lovely paint of lavender in its exterior did not conceal the sorrowful atmosphere that surrounds it. Contrast to what I saw back in Cathrina's house, this place looks deserted. There are no traces of people inside the house even in the part of their undeveloped garden.
I pushed the doorbell on the gate once and wait if there is at least someone who will kindly attend to me or something.
When no one came to open the gate, I raised my hand again in an attempt to press the doorbell for the second time around but before I can do that, a sudden raspy voice from an elderly woman reproach me.
"Who's that? You may now go, we're not accepting visitors." The woman said in a familiar irritable tone. She is a middle-aged woman with a rather bloated belly who is now currently sweeping across a nearby plant.
"Yaya Rina?" I called her.
The maid suddenly looked attentive when she heard her name. She turned around to see me standing outside the gate.
Her pale lips parted in shock when she realized my presence.
"A-Arylle? I did not know that it's you!" Her chubby cheeks reddened in mixed emotions as she stride awkwardly towards me.
"I'm sorry for my unplanned visit, yaya Rina. But can I come in?" I asked in a formal voice.
"S-Sure! Come in," she hastily opened the gate for me. "I-It has b-been years since the last time I saw you!" She exclaimed in a mixture of hysterics and amusement.
"Yeah and to be honest, I never thought that we'll meet again--"
"Arylle?"
A sudden voice interrupted my words. I traced where the voice came from and there I saw auntie Veronica walking towards us.
"Auntie Veron..." I greeted her casually.
"Arylle? Is that really you?" She eyed me from head to toe as if she her eyes can't believe that she saw me today.
"Yeah, it's me. Sorry for the sudden visit, auntie Veron. But after what happened, I can't help but to go here." I decided to go straight to the point about the reason why I came here.
Her smile fades into a grim line when I said those words. It was as if I reminded her of the things that she wants to forget. But after awhile, she still manages to give me a weak smile.
"You came here to see her?" She asked in a rather casual tone.
"If possible..."
She inhaled briefly before ushering me inside their house.
"Come in inside," I followed her inside their house.
I was immediately welcomed with a bunch of picture frames hanging on the wall of their receiving area.
"You can sit here for awhile, Arylle while I get something..." she pointed at the white sofa before walking away to get the thing she is talking about.
However, I chose to stand up and examine the different frames hanging on the walls and lying on the console table. An unexpected frame caught my attention. It was the identical photo that I have. The photo of me, Vanessa, Blade, Gamence and Lumence.
I never thought she'd let this photo graze their living room.
After staring at that photo, I decide to ease myself in a couch when I heard the footsteps of auntie Veronica.
Her face is marked with grief and forlorn expression as she walks near me while holding a fragile jar.
A jar...
My mouth gape a bit when I realized what is it she's holding.
"We decided for her to be cremated. Because, I can't bear to see her in a coffin after all that happened in the autopsy,"
-C. N. Haven-
- Writer
