Not like Us

The sound of the revving engine envelops the sleeping mountain. The ravens started mimicking the sound as it tried to be in harmony with the engine. Vroom. The sound of the car and the ravens were both creating sent chills to the spine of a 19-year-old Bella, who was inside the car. She hugged herself and rubbed both of her arms with her hands. After hours of being stuck in the middle of the forest, where no one else was present, the car was lit, at last. The sun was already setting and the area was getting cold. Bella looked at her mom that was situated on the driver seat. "I didn’t permit you to bring me there," she sternly said. Her mom looked at her through the rearview mirror, “I am not asking for your permission, Bella. You’ve done enough for me to do this." Her stepdad entered the car, seated beside her mom, and wiped his hands that were stained with grease from fixing the car's engine. "The car is ready. It will only be half an hour until we'll be able to reach our destination or even less than that, “he sighed and looked at Bella. “This is for your own good, okay?” Bella scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You both took away my happiness.” Her parents decided to not answer and just focused their eyes on the uphill road. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “Bella, look at you! You look pretty!” Bella’s grandmother welcomed them with a smile. Her parents hugged the grandmother while Bella was still seated in the car and remained silent. “She’s not in the good mood,” the mother said in a whisper. Bella’s grandmother nodded and continued smiling. “Bella, come follow me.” The grandmother opened the door and assisted Bella out. “I am going to take you to your room.” Bella didn’t protest because she knew she needed time to be alone. When they had reached Bella’s room on the second floor, together with her belongings, they gave her time to be with herself. “Why’d you decided to send her here, Rose?” the grandmother asked the mother when they reached the counter on their kitchen on the first floor. Rose let out a soft groan and pulled the chair underneath the counter. She placed her elbows on the counter and rested her head on her hands. “I don’t know what else to do, mom.” Rose facepalmed herself. “As the days goes by, she becomes harder to control. She’s not like this before.” Rose’s husband sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her wife's waist. “She got in a fight earlier this morning while clubbing. They were sent to a police station. Luckily, it wasn’t that serious and we got to take her home immediately.” Rose’s mother shook her head due to disappointment and placed the coffee she prepared for the couple. “Did you asked her what caused the fight?” The couple looked at each other. “No,” they said in chorus. "You didn't?!" Rose's mother exclaimed. "We didn't get the chance to, Mom. The moment we arrived at our house, we immediately packed her belongings and drove her here," Rose added. Rose's mother let out a deep sigh. “I guess it's best that she's here now. You're both so irresponsible." Pain was registered on Rose's face but she cannot deny it for Bella wouldn't be a delinquent if she was able to control her beforehand. "Maybe the reason behind was just a senseless fight," Rose's husband said in defense. "Teenagers, nowadays, fight to boost their egos. Maybe that was just it," he added. Rose nodded her head to agree but her mother thought that they should still ask her no matter what the reason was. Little did they know, Bella was just standing behind the wall near the entrance of the kitchen, listening to them, making sure to hear what her parents badmouthed about her. She rolled her eyes and decided to went out of the house, quietly. “Are you sure you wouldn’t stay for the night?” The grandmother asked as Bella’s parents went inside the car. “Noah and I need to be back as soon as possible to the city, Mom. We have an important meeting to attend to,” Rose said. Rose, together with her husband, owned a café in the city with 6 branches around the region of Cebu. The meeting will be all about the building of the 7th branch which will be managed by Bella when the time comes. The grandmother bent down for a bit to level herself to her child who was sitting in the car. “You sure you are not going to bid goodbye to her?” Rose shook her head. “I guess it is best not to. Bringing her here was against her will so I guess she wouldn’t like to see us either.” “Go in now, Mom. It is now dark and it is getting colder. You might catch a cold,” Noah said showing concern to his wife's mother. The grandmother step back. “Alright, take care both of you.” When the car was already meters away the grandmother went inside the house and went upstairs to check on Bella. “Hey sweetie, nana here. How are you there?” Nana sighed when she didn’t hear a thing from Bella. She decided to knock three times but there was still no response. “I’ll prepare you a dinner. You can go down anytime you want. You can also knock on my door if you want to eat on somewhere nice. I’ll spoil you for today. I have a car and I can take you to the town. Just let me know if you need anything.” Nana went to her own room, lighten a candle and sat on her own couch. The last thing that she remembered, Bella was a very cheerful child. She was the kindest person you could ever meet. She was like an angel and a light that would be able to illuminate your entire gloomy day. She was once a source of everyone’s happiness. The very moment you lay your eyes on her, you just instantly smile like magic. She was the epitome of perfection. Kind, pretty, diligent, obedient, courteous, and any other good words that you can think of. ‘ What happened to her now? ’ she asked herself.