My Courage
1609 Words
Kayla Turi POV
“Helena.”
My body's instinct immediately turned.
A man sat in a wheelchair near the door. I hadn't noticed him before because I was too focused on the women, water, and impossible mirror reflection.
But now I saw him clearly.
Oscar had a tall body, sitting upright. His shoulders were broad. A face that would be handsome if his eyes weren't empty. I mean, his eyes blinked or just followed me. He just stared at a fixed point beyond my shoulder.
Oh my God!
He's Oscar Padip, Helena's husband! How could I forget that in the book he's temporarily blind because of glass shards that injured his eyes while saving Helena in a car explosion incident.
"Oh God." My knees weakened. I held myself against the wall. "Oh God, oh God..."
"Helena, are you alright?" His soft voice seemed worried.
I laughed. My voice high and hysterical, even scaring me.
"Am I alright?" I repeated. "Am I alright?!"
The older woman named Deca stepped forward. "You see, Oscar? Your wife has gone crazy. This is what happens when you spoil a woman. She forgets her place."
"MY PLACE?!" I turned toward her. "You just threw water on me and slapped me!"
"Because you deserved it!" grumbled the youngest, Magda, Oscar's sister. "Lazy and ungrateful. You should be thanking us for accepting you!"
"Accepting me..." I stopped.
Take a deep breath.
This is crazy and impossible! But it's really happening.
I'm inside that book and taking contribution to be part of Helena's body.
And I realized with horror, it's Oscar's mother who at the end of the book stated she hated Helena until her dying day.
Fuck!
"I need..." I looked around in panic. I need to think. “Everyone out! NOW."
Deca laughed. "You can't give orders here, girl."
"OUT!" I screamed as loud as I could until my throat burned.
Oscar raised his hand. "Mother, Magda... Please. Give her space."
Deca's mouth thinned into an angry line, but she complied. Magda stared at me with a hateful look before following her out. The door slammed shut.
Leaving me alone with Oscar.
"Helena," he said softly. "What's wrong?"
What's wrong? Where do I start?
I sat on a crate, my head held in my hands. Think, Kayla. Think.
The voice. The voice from my apartment. It said I was "selected" to determine Helena's fate. Which means...
I'm stuck here until I find a way to give this cursed girl a happy ending.
"It's okay," I lied, trying to stay as calm as possible. "I'm just tired."
"But you sounded like you were crying."
Was I? I touched my face. Wet, but not from the bucket. Real tears.
Helena's body was crying.
"I'm fine," I said.
Oscar wheeled closer. His hand reached out, searching. I watched it float in the air, hesitant, until it finally found my knee.
"You can tell me," he murmured. "Whatever it is."
For a moment, I almost believed him.
Then I remembered how the book ended. He sat there, listening to Helena die, and did absolutely nothing.
I pulled away.
"I said I'm fine."
His hand fell. The pain on his face was so genuine I almost felt guilty.
Almost.
"Okay," he said softly. He wheeled his chair toward the door. Paused briefly. "Helena... my mother and sister are harsh. But they mean well. Try to understand them."
And just like that, the sympathy evaporated.
"Yes," I answered flatly. "Sure. I'll try my hardest."
He left.
I sat there in the dark storage room, apparently this would be my new reality.
"Ety!" I shouted into the void. "Or whatever your name is! Get me out of here!"
Silence.
"I didn't agree! Take me back!"
Nothing.
I stood pacing because panic rose like a flood in my chest.
I believe one thing. There must be a loophole. There's always a way out of a story like a rule I can exploit.
"Hi boss, I'm here." Ety's voice appeared making me incredibly happy. But the next sentence made me want to claw the walls with emotion. "Find the source of her happiness, and you'll return safely."
Helena's happiness.
I laughed again, "My life is already complicated, do I have to work on someone else's happiness?!" I said unacceptingly.
Besides, Helena died in such a tragic way. "Can the book's ending even be changed?" I asked curiously.
"For you, boss, everything is possible."
"Tch... Gimmick!" I said disbelievingly. "Alright then, I want to go home!" I said.
"Warning for forbidden words..." An ambulance siren appeared, deafeningly loud. Then my body was electrocuted until I went limp.
I cried hysterically. "You didn't say there was a punishment concept like this!"
"I forgot! Forgive me, boss." Ety answered lightly.
"Damn you!" I shouted annoyed.
Now I can't go home... huh, that means I won't meet the classic problems in my life, namely apartment rent arrears and my family's expectations.
Hmmm... at least if Helena is a girl who died while pregnant and miserable, I'm sure I can change her fate.
I stared at the door. Listening to muffled voices beyond it. Deca and Magda starting a conversation I couldn't understand the gist of. "Are they speaking an alien language?" but most likely they were plotting.
"Okay, Helena," I whispered to Helena's face reflection in the mirror. "You couldn't save yourself. But I can."
I don't know how yet.
So I looked for pencil and pen, drafting strategies.
First. If Helena pawned everything for love, then I mustn't fall in love or feel indebted.
Second. I mustn't follow the rules of the two witches in this house.
Third. I need to find someone who can save me.
Unfortunately my head was dizzy and I had one foreign memory.
The night of the car accident, Oscar saved her until his eyes became blind.
Oh God.
My heart suddenly softened. "Oscar really loved Helena. Really a good man," I commented.
But my head hurt again. It made me unconscious for several minutes.
One thing I knew when I woke up was: "Turns out the reason for the two witches' hatred is because by saving Helena, Oscar lost his sight."
I had read the story without skipping. But the memories still stored in Helena's mind opened a wider understanding for me about the reason Helena maintained her tortured life in her husband's house.
"Oh God! How do I secure myself while finding a happy ending for Helena!"
And I realized, I'll die if Helena dies in this story.
I spent the next hour searching the storage room like a detective in a bad crime drama.
There must be a clue, or instructions that can help me finish this story without dying ridiculously.
What I found instead were only:
- Three boxes of moth-eaten curtains
- A broken vanity mirror
- A rabbit doll the size of a real rabbit
- And one leather-bound journal, locked with a small brass clasp
I grabbed the journal, shaking it. Something rattled inside.
"Okay, mysterious book. You're my only hope." I tried to open it. The lock was tight.
Of course. Because nothing is easy.
I closed my eyes. "Think, you're in Helena's body. She must have the key..."
I let my hand move based on Helena's body memory. My fingers felt the edge of my dress, finding a hidden pocket I didn't know existed, then pulled out a small key.
"Damn! Turns out it was in my own pocket!" I laughed out loud.
After satisfied, I clipped it into the keyhole.
Click.
The journal opened.
Pages and pages of Helena's messy handwriting, always repeating due to the despair she suffered. I flipped through observing:
Page 3: "Mother-in-law smiled at me today. I think she's finally starting to like my presence."
Page 5: "Magda said my dress was pretty. That's quite rapid progress! Considering she never liked me before."
Page 10: "If I try harder, they'll accept me. I'm sure they'll accept me."
My stomach felt nauseous.
Every entry was the same. Helena always bowing, searching for reasons that kept her trapped in the illusion that more effort would make everyone in the Padip family like her.
"Oh God, Helena, you really have no hope," I grumbled.
As a reader, many annoying incidents actually happened when the two witches barely glanced at her.
I flipped to the next entry. "I think I want to get pregnant." My eyes widened. The words were underlined three times and below: "If I get pregnant, I can tell the whole world that the baby will make us a real family."
I slammed the journal shut. Then touched Helena's stomach, which was practically my stomach now.
My eyes reddened and I was scared.
"The baby didn't save you, damn it! It actually got you killed."
I tried to breathe calmly.
Fortunately this hasn't fully happened yet.
Suddenly Magda and Deca entered. "You're pregnant?!" Their words instantly made my heart stop.
"Helena, is what you said true, dear?" Oscar's voice softened. I saw him smile and reach out his hand looking for me.
I didn't dare approach, instead I grumbled, ‘Oh Ety, were they eavesdropping all along?!’
"Don't you hear your own husband's voice?!" Deca boldly kicked the chair I was sitting on. Automatically I fell, and ended up in Oscar's lap.
THUMP!
My heart was beating so fast!
Oh God, is this what it feels like to be face to face with a handsome guy? But considering his attitude, I won't fall in love.
For some reason my stomach suddenly hurt badly. My forehead furrowed, "Ashhh...." I groaned in pain.
"Helen? Are you okay?" Oscar asked in panic.
- Writer
