Another day with the same scenic scenery, the same breeze and the same faces of the people that Leticia greeted throughout the day.
Leticia still remembers the first time she saw the place that she will be staying in, at the far end of the stony path was a largely drab yard, a weathered slate cottage sat. The sun had tarnished the wood but unexpectedly it looked homely to her.
It could have been newly built and nice once, it could have been the house of a family before but the moment that she saw the house it was like a dream come true for Leticia who seeks rural life away from the populated city and toxic people in her old world.
That day Leticia swore that it would become her home and someday... with her special someone.
The house had been renovated with the help of the town's carpenter. It took a few months before the house became habitable because Leticia also needed to earn to pay for the labor and materials that was needed.
The shingles on the roof had twisted and had been repaired a lot of times ever since she arrived and accepted the fact that she's now in a different world.
Leticia's memory of the tarnished colored roof had become a part of the house's identity as well as her. And now, if someone asked who lived in that old cottage house, the answer would be a feisty, impregnable woman that keeps the bachelor's at bay and on their toes. Someone who would be fearless and villain to the people who only see her as a pretty lady that would become a trophy wife to her husband. She hated that old way of thinking in the town of Oakland so, she always become a person who would become a villainess when someone appeared with a twisted thought about women. She was known for that and she was proud of it!
Anyways...
The tall trees, shrubs and flowers of different colors give vibrant to the overall design of the house and make the atmosphere lively.
Leticia who saw the front door of her house from meters away smiles whenever she sees the cozy looking dwelling that she's residing in.
"Hmm~ Hmm~ Hmm~" She hummed happily as she approached her place.
It's been three years and the thing that comforts her the most whenever reality hits her is the scene of her house in a blinding orange light striking the tarnished colored roof. It comforts her the most.
The green lawn, which was carefully managed and trimmed every few months, covered the ground and made the whole place look warm and pleasant. A wooden fence surrounded the place with a wooden gate hanging from its post as well as the native trees of the South that clouded the residence in yellow.
When Leticia arrived in front of her house she crumpled her face.
"Huh?"
The knob that was supposed to be locked was destroyed and the door was slightly open.
Her heart begins to beat in a different way. It was the kind of way that she could not explain with words. She could only bite her lower lip while pondering if she needed to proceed to open the door. However, Leticia was not in a situation where she could turn a blind eye. It was her house. Besides, it was also getting dark as she usually went home when dawn comes. Furthermore, her thoughts and worries went to someone who became a part of her life these days.
She tightly closed her eyes and inhaled with all her might before she exhaled silently. She decided that her fears would only hinder her in finding out what really happened behind the door. Besides, maybe it was just her overthinking that's scaring her.
So, Leticia decided to open the door.
creaaak…
As she stepped in, a dark room with little light that came from the setting sun that illuminates a portion of her interior, welcomed her. Her eyes widened as she saw wooden parts of her furniture lying on the floor and becoming a scrap and kindle to the fireplace.
Leticia unconsciously swallowed the nervousness that was itching inside and decided to focus on searching for someone who would explain all of this to her.
'But is he still here?' The thought passed her mind and she unconsciously opened her mouth,
"Where the hell is that man?" She mumbled as she swept her hair in anxiety.
As she brushed the broken things that were lying on the floor with her foot, Leticia was exasperated at the thought that something scary happened while she was outside.
Suddenly, she heard clattering in the back door where her garden is. She swiftly made her way there as the thought of finding Hugh there.
"What is this?!"
Shocked, her jaw dropped at the scene of her precious garden.
Why? Because it was not only simply destroyed, they were also people lying on it.
To be specific… people covered in blood with their limbs cut off!!!!
CUT OFF!!
Leticia's pupils were shaking. She can't help but be shaken at the sight in front of her. It was as if it was straight out of a horror movie but more gruesome and more vivid than what Leticia ever watched.
rustle… rustle…
Her heightened senses because of nervousness made her turn her head to where the noise came.
Leticia could see a person come from the bushes.
"Hugh?" she asked, pushing her anxiety away but the person clothed in black that came out from the bushes made a shadow that almost seemed like a devil coming out from the purgatory. Additionally, his build and height told her that it was a man.
'Shit! Shit! Shit!'
Leticia cursed inside her head. Because some of the rays of the setting sun hit his face as he went to the spot where the light passed and his face was seen for a moment.
His fierceness, sharp gaze as well as the scar on his face made him look scarier. Leticia wanted to run. But as the man approached her slowly with a stain of blood in both his hands and some on his face. Her scared self could only take one step back. She could feel the sharp gaze of the person cloth in black. Leticia thought that it would not be unexpected if she succumbed to her fear and fell unconscious and passed out on the spot. Her mind was running heaps of thoughts about running away from where she stood but her feet seemed to stem roots to the ground as it only stood there with no intention to move.
'Shit! Shit Shit!'
Leticia repeatedly curses inside her head. She wanted to punch her legs and told it to move but because of the sudden surprising events that was thrown at her the moment she stepped inside her house, her mind and body were like different entities as they didn't cooperate with each other.
'I'm going to die! Oh no, I'm going to die!' Leticia wanted to cry and scream! It was like a mantra that replayed in her mind. She wanted to curse more! Curse the situation that she's in! Curse her decision to follow the noise she heard!
Then she remembered why she made this red flag decision when her guts already told her that something was wrong.
'It's because of Hugh! Damnit! Where the hell is that man! He's a mercenary for goodness sake! He should be the one to deal with this! I don't know anything other than self defense!' She screamed to herself.
If she could, she would have run immediately the moment that she saw that the man was not Hugh but Leticia also understood the moment they locked eyes that the man was someone who could kill her the moment she moved and if she ran he could easily catch her so running was out of the option.
So, the only option was close contact to surprise him with an attack that she knew back on earth. The attacks she learned as she momentarily had a class for taekwondo in her middle school.
'But would that be enough?' she thought.
It was a long time ago and she didn't really learn it properly.
'Damnit! If I ever lived tomorrow and saw Hugh, I'd definitely kill him! No, scratch that! Even if I die today, I'll kill him even if I need to go back as a ghost!'
At that moment, the man Leticia was waiting for appeared at the other side of the house.
"Leticia?" His smooth and baritone voice made her still body move to follow his way.
And as if the curses she thought and repeatedly replay inside her head earlier was just a joke, Leticia looked his way with a shaken and clouded orbs as her fears that she kept in check resurface the moment Hugh's presence was known that it made her feel assured and safe.