writingcamp Ciello

Week 4: How to overcome writer's block?

She pressed her palms together as she murmurs a prayer. With a small faint smile, she ended the prayer and proceed to close it with the sign of the cross. She stared at the picture that is laying on her bed— a pretty woman with pale skin, jet black hair and has a pretty smile on her face. With her slim fingers, she gently caressed the picture, trying her best not to shed a single tear.

"I'll see you in a bit, yeah?" She speaks as if she was talking to the woman on the picture. She then hurriedly grab the picture, a jar of small rolled up papers and snacks then she slid it in her backpack.

She proceeds to wear it. Before she steps out from her own room, her attention got diverted when she saw herself in the mirror. She gazed on her uniform's navy checkered skirt and a black jacket that she's wearing on top of her white short sleeved uniform blouse. Her eyes examined her own features, from her black hair, just like the lady in the photo, to her captivating brown eyes, her perfectly shaped nose, her pale skin, her red lips— bleeding due from her peeling the dead skin on it.

She can see her in her.

Scrunching her own nose, she looks away from her reflection, heaving a deep sigh as she does so. I hate seeing my face in mirrors.

"Hey." Her attention diverted to a woman who's around in her middle 40's the moment she stepped out from her room, looking at her with her hands on her hips. "Where the hell are you going?!" She asked.

She purses her lips before answering. "School..." In a small little voice.

"Ah," The lady, who happens to be her aunt, nods her head after hearing it. She then walked closer then casually slaps her niece's cheek. She flinched.

"Listen." Slowly, she looks up to her auntie. "Don't even think about escaping from this household, do you understand?" She kept silent.

The silence from her annoyed her aunt. She smacked her head, strong enough to let out an echo through the narrow hallway of their house.

"Answer me, you brat."

She nodded multiple times as an answer.

"What are you? Mute?"

"I've been her1e for eight years now and you still suspect me to escape." She mumbled. Her aunt scoffed then she smacks her niece's head.

"Ah—" She immediately rubbed her head. "This b***h. My question was easy and your answer will only be yes or no! Now answer!" She raised her voice.

She stares in her eyes with no such emotions. "Yes, auntie. I understand." She mumbled softly.

"You dare to stare at me like that, Trinette?!" Raising her voice as she mentioned her name, her aunt asked.

Without a hint of emotion in her voice. Trinette kept her eyes staring at her Aunt Kaela that is now looking at her in a grumpy look.

"I have to go, I'll be late for school." She lowly said as she turned her back at her aunt.

"What—" Despite of hearing a rebut from her, she continued to walk away, walking down the stairs. "That pesky little brat." Kaela silently commented.

Trinette heard it. She inhales deeply as she tries to erase those in her mind. The slap and the smack. Its been 10 years anyways, nothing new.

"Hey!"

"Ah—!" She hisses in pain as she felt an empty bottle of can got thrown on her head. She gently rubs its to ease the pain as she looked back and saw her cousin drinking a bunch of canned beer. Her eyebrows furrowed before answering. "Yes, Marvin?"

"Get me more of those." He demanded as he pointed at the empty canned beer he just threw. Trinette's droopy and tired eyes gazed on the empty can then back at her cousin.

She asked with a tired voice. "Aren't you going to go to class?"

"Are you telling me what to do?!" He raises his voice at her, widening his eyes as if he can't just believe what came out from her mouth.

"No," She simply answered. "I am merely asking you. Exam week is approachi— ah!" She rubs her forehead as another empty can of beer landed on it. The pain is stinging that she felt like crying while rubbing it with her palm.

Fuck. "Stop blabbering, will you?" Five f***s. "Are you gonna get me another can of beer or not?!" He shouted at her.

"Why the hell are you shouting, Marvin?!" Kaela walked downstairs, raising her voice at his son that was shouting.

Trinette didn't think twice and took the chance to leave. She hurriedly walked towards the front door, opening it in haste.

"Its because Tri won't buy me a—" Marvin shifted his gaze at Trinette that is now walking away from the house as she wears the hoodie of her jacket. "Wha— Hey!" He almost chased after her but stopped the moment he reached the door frame of the front door. He clenches his fist then punches the door frame.

"That little bitch." He mumbled.

Kaela then approached her son then gave him a smack on the head. "What did I told you about drinking too much, huh?!" She exclaimed.

Marvin annoyingly caressed the back of his head where Kaela smacked him. "Aish, my girlfriend broke up with me!" He reasoned out.

"Well, that's not my f*****g problem!" Kaela replied. "Well that little b***h niece of yours didn't buy me a drink!" He shouted back at his mother resulting for another smack on his head.

"Ow!"

"You're not allowed to talk back to me!" Kaela hisses then she turn her back at her son as she walks away from him towards the kitchen. "f*****g cunt." She mumbled. Marvin heard it, which made him tsked.

"Old ass." He mumbled. Marvin then grabbed a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket as he leans his shoulder on the door frame of the front door, lighting his cigarette.

———

Trinette can feel the stinging of the bruise that was caused from the can that got thrown at her on the forehead as she walked her way towards her school. She's currently walking on the sidewalk where she spots a lot of students from her school walking on that lane as well, a sign that she's almost there.

She kept her hands inside her jacket's pocket as she silently walks. Looking at her feet as she does so.

She's been experiencing physical pain from her aunt and cousin for the past 10 years but despite from it, she still have the urge to cry everytime they do so. She never felt such mistreatment not until she reached the age of 6. Everything went downhill for her. Everything went unfortunate. She have lost the people she loved the most, she have lost almost everything.

"Hey, Tri~" She heard a group of students that is standing just outside the gate of their school called her.

She knows their faces, she knows what their up to. So Trinette have her chin up as she unhesitatingly ignore them.

"Ugh, what a bitch."

"How dare she?"

"We'll get her later after the dismissal."

Are the sentences she heard along with her entrance in the school.

"Tri," A familiar voice caught her attention. She looked back at where seems to be the voice came from. Her eyebrows furrowed at the girl that is now looking at her in a weary expression.

Pain and sadness are visible in her wet and droopy eyes.

"Oh, Freya." Tri called. Her eyes widened when Freya suddenly surprised her with a tight hug. Despite from being clueless, with a confused expression on her face, she gently pats Freya's back even though she doesn't consider this girl as her friend.

"What's wro—"

"He rejected me!" She whined as tears starts flowing down from her cheeks. Students turn their head at them and that's what Tri noticed, making her lower her head and mouthed her apology.

"Geez, keep it down—"

"How?! Tri! He's everything to me!!" She continued as she speaks with an even loud voice. Tri broke the hug then stared at the girl for a good minute. She wonders, what could possibly happen to this girl if she went through the same path she went through herself? This girl wouldn't have been breathing by now if so.