Chapter 43
2145 Words
Chapter 43
THE BALLERINA’S GHOST II
As much as I wanted to go there as fast as possible to check if anyone was left on our property, I shouldn't disregard the fact that our stomachs are madly hungry, but I suddenly remembered that we can ask the staff to pack the foods as a take out. That was what I did. When our order just arrived at our table, I kindly told the staff to pack it. When we were done waiting, we went back to the parking lot. Just as I was about to enter the car, my phone rang, and it was from an unknown number.
“Hello?” I said upon picking up. “Who's—”
“Sweetheart!”
My eyes widened. I automatically faced Seth with my surprised reaction and pointed out my phone.
“Mom!” I exclaimed. I went inside the car and put the call on speaker. I placed it in between the two of us. “Where are you?”
“Are you with Seth?” from the voice of Seth's father.
Seth spoke. “Yes, dad. Glad to know that you're both okay, but where are you?”
“We're at your aunt's house,” he replied with his masculine voice. I couldn't find the fear in his words. “At Marioma.”
I looked at Seth, asking where it is. Understanding what my face meant, he only nodded.
“Sweetheart,” my mom called. “I am not sure if this tornado is done, but if you see no danger in the village, get our important documents.”
“You, too, Seth. We forgot to take all important things. The tornado was moving fast.”
“At least you escaped,” Seth comforted. “Have you called mom?”
“Still at work, but she's safe.”
The object that was stuck in our throats earlier was now gone, and a breath of relief came out.
“Please be safe,” my mom gently reminded me. “If you see another tornado, forget what we asked you to get and head straight here to Marioma. If the way here is unsafe, Seah...”
I flinched for no reason. “Yes?”
“Go back to our old house.”
“Understood.”
We bade farewell for this time, and a few minutes later, we were back traveling on the road. On our way to the village, I kept my eyes and ears alert for any possible tornado to attack. Seth also turned on the radio of his car while I feed him.
“Drink.” I put the straw on his lips and assisted him. He tried to grab it from me, but I evaded my hand. “How far is Marioma?”
“Forty-five minutes away without traffic.”
“Forty-five? That's still far.”
I saw no threat as of the moment, but the trauma after what I have seen left a mark on my mind and heart. I kept thinking about the ‘what ifs’ and all the possible accidents our parents could have encounter although I have already heard from them. I couldn't calm my mind unless I see them personally. I didn't want any of us to lose our parents.
“I'm full,” he suddenly said which cut my thoughts about what happened. “I know you're hungry.”
I stared at the plastic bag that contained our food and realized that I was only feeding Seth and not myself.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
He nodded with a smile. I took out the fries and the milkshake; my mouth stopped chewing due to the next report announced on the radio. The words repeated in my head.
“Tornado outbreak,” I muttered to myself.
Our place, as of now, could be considered safe since the tornado was gone, but the reporter just said that it could possibly come back. It was not only Marcadel and the nearby villages that were damaged. Other states also experienced it a while ago, and there's a chance that it would destroy more than what we assumed.
A shiver ran down my spine. My hands felt icy and numb at the same time. I couldn't think of anything but worry that it might also affect Liesion where Rose and Andi live and Marioma where our parents were currently staying. I pressed my teeth even hard on the straw of the milkshake. It flattened.
The same thing must be going on inside Seth’s head, but he kept his cool. Unfortunately, since the rush hour was coming, the traffic held us as prisoners in the road for more than fifteen minutes.
I jumped from my seat when he slammed his fist on the steering wheel, sounding the horn.
“Damn, we should have taken the shortcut.”
This time, I was the one who said, “Babe, calm down,” and the boy's ear turned red, causing me to chuckle. “You're so easy to calm down.”
“No,” he denied and did not try to look at my way.
“Okay, babe.”
His ear got redder; I laughed out loud. Nice to feel that I still have this laugh even with the storm inside my body.
“It's the reflection of the backlight.”
“Oh, I see,” I replied and glanced at the backlights of the cars in front of us. “I wonder why your face isn't red. Only your ears, babe.”
“Shut up.”
“Okay, babe.”
“No.”
“Okay, love.”
He did not react. When I looked at him, he was covering his face using one hand. He ran his palm on his face and sighed frustratedly before he noticed me staring at him. His cheeks were flustered, and he was making an expression I couldn't describe.
“Love,” I repeated to assure his reaction.
“God, Seah. Don't try me, or else...” he trailed off with his threatening voice and aura.
But I was not backing down. “Or else?”
“You won't like what I would do.”
“Okay. I'm scared.”
He did not say anything. It was my time again to grin devilishly. I pressed his hands on the steering wheel; he glared at me, but now that he was locked, and any wrong movement from him could bring us to accident, I used the chance to make him thirsty with a kiss. Before he could react and make his revenge, the cars moved again.
“I'm very scared, love.”
“Shut up.”
He rolled his eyes. He licked his lips and bit it, earning another laughter from me.
“Feeling better?” asked I.
“Need more.” When we stopped again, he unbuckled his seat belt and stole a kiss from me. “Feeling better.”
I giggled. At least, something good happened this day.
It was evening when we arrived at the entrance of the village. It was hardly recognizable. The trees that served as the pathway was taken from the land as if a giant hand remove the unwanted plants. The metal arch slept on the ground—it was murdered. Some of the letters of the words ‘Marcadel Village’ were detached and scattered around.
“Should we stop here?” I asked, but he did not answer through words. Instead, he continued driving the car, rolling the tires on the fallen arch. The mess at the entrance was incomparable to what we see the moment we entered the place. The first house on my right side was devastated—no roofs and doors, only walls remained.
“She was cruel,” Seth said while looking at the house in his side. The view ached my heart. “Don't look if you can't take it.”
The moonlight, giving us a clear vision of what is ahead of us, passed through the windshield. The one we saw in the picture earlier was very unlikely to the scenery now. These houses needed something more than repair. They should build a house that can withstand the tornado. Looking at the unalive living things on the ground, some showering themselves from the broken hydrant, I wished that there were no more lives taken. I prayed for others' safety. No one deserved to die in this storm.
Seth turned the steering wheel to the right, passing four blocks before he turned to the left. We stopped first in their house. He parked the car outside.
He looked at me after we stepped out of the vehicle. “You going in?”
I glanced at their house. “I'll stay here as a look out.”
“Alright. I'll be quick.” He kissed my forehead. “Be safe.”
I chuckled. “Chill, I'll be just here.”
I leaned on his car and remained alert. I wandered my eyes around and tried to reach a spot that was so far from my vision. The darkness that envelops our village made it hard for me to see the surrounding. The sky was calm and plain. Even the stars decided to sympathize with our situation.
I searched for the location of our house, but it all looked the same that I had to count the blocks from Seth's house to mine. Ours was as ruined as others, and the elves put by my mom yesterday as a design tumbled.
A noise from behind almost killed me. I was overthinking even over the smallest things.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack,” I said to Seth who was coming to the car. “We're done here?”
“Yeah. Let's go to your house.”
He drove his vehicle towards our front yard. I thought he was going to say outside the house, but he went inside with me. The switch, of course, wouldn't function, so I used the flashlight of my phone to guide ourselves. I headed directly to my mother's room and opened her drawer searching for the envelopes she told me before that contained the important documents. Seth rummaged other cabinets. I saw him staring at some paper.
“What's that?” I asked.
“Nothing.” He slid back the paper inside a brown vertical envelope. “You done?”
“Not yet.”
I also took out some of our photo albums which only contained pictures of me and my mother. There was no album that showed my father, and I was wondering what happened to them. I rotated, my eyes looking at every corner to find out if I forgot something.
I glanced at the stairs. Good thing, it wasn't ruined. I climbed upstairs and grabbed the photos of me with my best friend, a box that contains the letters from childhood and suitors and also the threats, and another box which has the gifts from my mom and best friends. I pressed the envelope with documents underneath my arm to hold the two boxes. Seth's gift caught my attention. It was a moon necklace.
“Let me help you.”
I turned to Seth standing at the door and passed him the box. He gave me the envelope in his hand, so I could hold it together with mine. I clutched his gift and inserted it into my pocket.
“Let's go.”
We rushed to the car—I meant, I rushed to the car afraid that the tornado would strike again. Seth needed not to walk nor run because of his long legs. He caught up with me in no time and got in the car. We drove straight then to the right to go back to the entrance.
“By the way,” I interrupted the silence, “do you the way to your aunt's house?”
“Kind of.”
I frowned then turned to him. “What do you mean kind of?”
“I kind of remember the way, kind of not.”
I slapped his arm and scolded him. “What if we get lost? It's a forty-five-minute drive. We'd take an hour to go there, then you're not sure?”
He raised one hand in his defense. I put it back on the steering wheel. He laughed. “I was just kidding.”
“Can you handle the long drive though?” I asked. I was concerned. Earlier, he was very sleepy and out of energy. “You might fall asleep while driving.”
He held my hand as he drives and threw me a glimpse. “After what happened, do you think I can still sleep?”
Right. The adrenaline rush in my body was still here, too.
“You can sleep. I promise to keep you safe.”
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- Writer
