"--aith? Faith, are you even listening?" asked the muffled voice.
Mmh huh. I responded subconsciously to it when I slowly opened my eyes.
"Where–" Before I finished my sentence, I recalled and reminded myself that I was still in the car as the sun brightened my entire face, making me squint my eyes. Still tired yet unfazed, I used my arm to open the sun visor, covering my eyes.
"What time is it?" I yawned and turned my head a little to look at the driver.
When the car stopped at a red light, he immediately looked at me in shock. The man wears a neon orange shirt, black denim shorts, and mismatched colored socks to go along with his black and white shoes.
Like me, he has black hair that can be mistaken for brown, warm beige-colored skin, and purple eyes. However, a few differences between him and I are the visible strands of white on his black hair; his skin got tanner; his eye color is more towards dark lavender while mine is amethyst.
And unlike him, I at least wore something comfortable and decent like a brown sweater, blue denim shorts, white socks, and shoes.
Did Uncle Travis get thinner? I thought to myself. How come I didn't realize it until now?
"What?!" Uncle Travis dramatically exclaimed. "You were sleeping this whole time?!"
I crossed my arms and stared at him, asking, "You got a problem with that?"
"Of course, I do!!"
Before he could say anything more, the driver behind us honked at Uncle as he noticed that the light is now green. He then proceeded to drive and sighed.
"Then again, you were packing the rest of your belongings last minute this morning. That reminds me…" Uncle glanced at me, then looked out on the road. "What on earth were you doing the past few days?"
"Daydreaming," I immediately responded.
"So…" Uncle looked puzzled but continued. "You're telling me for the past few days you've been daydreaming instead of packing up? I thought I told you to do everything beforehand."
I was quiet and said, "It just slipped out of my mind, Uncle. Also, it's funnier to imagine things while daydreaming, no?"
This time it's him who is quiet, and replied, "You know, you're telling me that you subconsciously packed your belongings in your mind while in reality, it's not, right?"
I ignored him, yawning again. "Anyhow, the time?"
"Geez… What am I going to do with you?" Uncle shook his head, smiling a little. "It's already 3:15 pm, and you've been sleeping for more than five hours. Ah, speaking about that–"
And here we go again… I rolled my eyes. Must he always lecture me when I'm in an okay mood?
I turned my head, looking at my side of the window..
"...Uncle," I interrupted. "Do you have to leave?"
Immediately, the car was filled with an eerie silence until he took a deep breath.
"We're not starting this again, Faith," he said, calm and composed.
"But don't you think it's too soon?"
"I know you're upset, but no matter what, I have to go. Not only is it important to me, but it's also great for you, Faith."
I closed my eyes, trying to hide my frustration.
"I won't go anywhere. You know that, right?"
However, I failed to do so and snapped at him. "Don't think you're making me feel any better."
Uncle became quiet but continued the conversation calmly. "Think on the positive side, Faith, You finished high school, got a scholarship, and you wouldn't need to worry about your school's tuition. Shouldn't we be thankful that Serena is helping you apply to her school in White Clover?"
"Oh, of course," I said, sarcastically, looking back at him. "I'm SO lucky to apply for college on such short notice because SOMEONE didn't bother telling me about it."
Then I proceeded to look back at the window.
"So why should I care?"
"Hey, you know I'm proud of you, kiddo. And yes, I'm sorry for not telling you about this because everything was decided last minute."
Said to the person who said I was packing at the last minute.
"But still, you should've taken Serena's offer. You know, living with her," Uncle said with a worried look in his eyes. "Your dad wouldn't like the idea of you living by yourself. Heck, if he was still here, he would've chased me around and killed me."
Uncle then laughed. "And your mom, she'll lecture me to the point she runs out what to say next."
"Uh-huh," I responded blankly.
"Well," Uncle cleared his throat. "What I'm trying to say is it's not too late to change your mind, Faith. Serena is more than happy to welcome you to her home."
I sighed. "Why does that matter, Uncle?"
Why do you always insist that she's a good person?
"And besides… I'm used to it."
For all we know, she could be just like "those people."
"Faith, she's different from–" Uncle tried to explain, but I interrupted him and pointed to our destination as he turned his steering wheel to the right, turned into the driveway, and parked in front of the house.
Its appearance is a small, white shabby rectangular prism with seven windows and a triangular prism maroon roof. On the front porch is a small wooden deck with stairs on the right side, and you can see the left side of the house has a similar concept to it. I looked at my phone in case we were at the correct address.
"Umm…" Uncle looked flabbergasted as he turned off the engine, asking, "Why does it look exactly like your parents' old house?"
"Do you not like it?" I turned to him, tilted my head
"It's not that, Faith. It's… Well… Uh, how should I say this?"
Maybe he doesn't like it. I thought to myself and shrugged my shoulders.
"But are you sure you'll be fine with this? I still don't like the idea of you living alone."
"It's not like someone's going to murder me in a killing spree."
"Haha… good one."
"I'm not joking. Besides, isn't this what this "independent thing" meant? You always told me to go against all the odds and be prepared to shoot while in battle."
"Uh… Did I say that? Wait, did you twist the meaning or something?"
"Am I not wrong? There's a saying that being eighteen is a stepping stone to becoming an adult."
"Even if you say that, I still see you as the baby who had a hard time trying to crawl and the little kid who always plays family with me. That reminds me, remember when–"
"Don't say it. Let's not start there," I quickly stopped Uncle who then chuckled and smiled at me.
I was taken back, but let him be and stared at the house. Something within my heart started to twinge, and I took a deep breath, ignoring the feeling inside me.
"Faith, won't you–"
Before I let Uncle finish his sentence, I unbuckled my seat belt and unlocked the car door to grab my luggage at the back of the car. At the same time, Uncle gets out of the car on his side, helping me as we both stand beside each other, looking at the house.
"Would it hurt to ask?" he asked. "I mean about the house."
I stared at it for some time, and replied, "No reason. I… just missed it."
"I see…"
The two of us quickly fell into silence until Uncle cleared his throat, changing the subject. "Serena's not here yet, huh? I wonder if she's late."
Now that I think about it, she did call me yesterday saying that she needed to run an errand today.
Though she never told me the specifics.
"What's your relationship with her, Uncle?" I looked up at him curiously.
He immediately looked at me, waved his hands in denial. "My relationship? Who, Serena? Nah, nah. We're just friends, Faith."
Friends? But he was flirting with her since day one. I frowned, thinking to myself.
"And besides," Uncle Travis continued. "We've only known her for six months. Count today as seven if you ask me."
I looked at my phone, looking at the date, and sure enough, it showed me Thursday, August 18th, 20XX. Exactly six months like he said.
"Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever you say, Uncle," I said, expressionless.
As I was about to turn away, I noticed Uncle turned around and walked forward, staring at something from a distance. I followed his direction, but there was nothing around us other than trees, the houses in front and beside us.
"What's wrong?," I asked.
"Did you… hear that?" he questioned me.
I stared at him, irritated because he responded to my question with his.
"I don't know, did you?"
"I'm serious!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!"
The two of us darted in the same direction where the scream or something was coming from.
"Again! It did it again! Did you hear it, Faith?! It sounds like a woman's voice!" Uncle exclaimed.
"You don't have to tell me twice," I replied, plugging my ears.
I wonder…
As if on cue, Uncle and I could see a human-like figure sprinting in the middle of the street coming in our way. Whoever it is, it seems… desperate… familiar… and horrifying for making a weird face. The figure reached towards its destination–to us as she pants hysterically.
She has curly orange-brown hair like autumn leaves in the fall, Hazel eyes, which remind me of a lucky stone I once had, and peach skin. She wears her usual business attire, but only this time, her coat and pants are pink, and her tank top and shoes are black.
"I'm here; I'm here! Am I late?" she asked in a panic, looking toward Uncle and me.
"You're officially a minute and twenty-three seconds late," I replied, nonchalantly, and immediately the look on the woman's face seemed like she saw a ghost.
"EH?! O-One minute?! I-It can't be! I make sure to come here early, but–"
"But?"
"But my damn car died in the middle of the traffic while coming here!"
Serena Song. I cannot believe that this strange woman in front of me is my distant relative and the headmistress of Crimson High, the college I'm attending. According to Uncle, she's from my mother's side of the family, which I still find hard to believe.
"It's not good to say that, Faith," Uncle pouted. "She's joking, Serena. Please don't take her words seriously."
"Eh? So, I'm not late?"
"Of course not. You came just in time. In fact, Faith and I just arrived t–"
"Oh, I'm not joking."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Uncle sighs, "You don't have to be so mean."
"..."
"Hey, you don't need to glare at me like that."
"Am I? I'm just staring at you."
"You know, that's the angriest stare I've ever seen in my life," he said and walked towards Serena, comforting her while the teary and frantic woman calmed down and smiled at him.
As for myself, I looked away, but it wasn't long when Uncle walked back towards me.
"Are you sure you got everything?" he asked. "Will you be fine on your own? Even though… I don't like the idea?"
"What am I? A five-year-old?" I retorted. "I can handle things myself, you know." I only said those words out of a whim, hoping the meaning behind my words is not sarcastic. However, the look in Uncle's eyes said the opposite.
Again, the same twinge from earlier began again.
"I should be off," Uncle said, ruffling my hair. "Good luck on your first year in college, kiddo. Make sure you behave while I'm gone, okay?"
"You're messing up my hair," I replied.
"Aw, no need to be shy."
"I am not."
"Haha… Okay, okay," Uncle smiled as he withdrew his hand away. "And thank you, Serena, for your kindness."
Flabbergasted, Serena blushed and cleared her throat, and smiled. "N-No problem at all, Mr. Fate! Err--I mean Travis!. Leave it to me!"
In response, he winked at her and looked back at me. "I'm leaving now. Later, Faith."
"..."
The moment he was about to walk away, I instantly grabbed the hem of his shirt, catching him off guard.
"Promise me," I said as he turned his head to me. "Promise me you won't do anything reckless. Promise me... you'll text or call once you've reached over there. Promise me… you'll be back by December."
I then let go as Uncle stood still for a minute or two… and turned around, embracing me.
"I will; I promised," he said gently. "Take care of yourself, kiddo."
I hugged him back, only this time tightly. "I will, and be careful on your way there, Uncle."
He gave me one last squeeze of the embrace, and let's go.
"Also, I won't forgive you if you break any of those promises," I bluntly said as Uncle burst out a laugh and ruffled my hair again.
"Geez… You sound like your mom," he said "And besides, when did I ever break your promises, Faith?" Uncle smiled, and this time, his smile seemed real and sincere.
His hand let go of my hair as I watched him go inside the car, start it, and leave.