"Sxy Fatima Do."
Do? Did I hear that right? Is she a part of the family that I lost? But how? I was convinced that I was the only one who survived that incident. How could that happen? How did that happen?
"You are questioning my existence, are you not?" she asks, and I gulp, swallowing down the guilt as it forms in my throat. I turn my eyes away, but then she speaks once more. "Do you not want to know how I found you, Katarina?" I freeze, and I can feel the night air getting cold as it hits my skin. I look back into her eyes, which are darker than my own. It seems that she has come from far away, given the fact that she is wearing a robe around her slender body as well as a dress that rests inches above the ground. Her face is round, and her cheeks are flushed, perhaps due to the cold. I clear my throat as I reply to her question.
"How... How did you know my name? Are you a part of the Do family? How did you know where to find me? Why... Why are you looking for me?" The questions keep going, and I know that it will overwhelm her, but I cannot find it in me to care. While it is true that I am trying to find out what happened to my family years ago, this is the first time that someone with the same surname as me has appeared in front of me. It is not that I never dreamed of it, though, but I certainly did not think it was possible. My memories are still hazy—there are things that I still cannot recall—and I do not want to put my trust in this person, but I've at least got to try. After all, she uses the same surname as I do.
Her head turns to the side and then to the other, as if she is checking that anyone can hear our conversation, and then she takes one step closer to me. My heart starts beating loudly in my rib cage, and I try my hardest not to make my nervousness show. "Come with me, Katarina. I will tell you everything that I know about our family."
Our family. That is what she said. My lips are starting to tremble as well as my whole body; my hands have become sweaty, and I rub them against my pants to dry them off. Her dark eyes are looking deep into my soul, as if she knows something about myself that I do not. I gulp, swallowing every bit of information about me that might slip out the moment that I open my mouth to speak. She might really be a part of the Do family, but this is the first time—in forever—that I have met someone from the same clan as me, so it has become harder for me to trust anyone who claims it. It is easy for people to tell a lie and then cover it up with another. Before I can open my lips, a white car stops in front of us, and a man steps out of the vehicle—Riley. A breath of relief escapes me.
He looks at me with a confused expression, jerking his head at the woman who is standing in front of me and walking toward us. "A friend?"
I look at Sxy. "N-no... But I think that she knows something about me... My family." Sxy stares at Riley; her eyes are sharp as she puts back the hood of her robe over her head. She turns to me with a small nod of her head.
"I will see you again, Katarina. I trust that you know where to find me." She gives Riley one last glance before disappearing in the darkness. Her robe flies as the wind gets caught underneath it as she runs quickly. My eyes never leave her stature, as she completely gets lost in my sight. I turn up to Riley, who also has a questioning gaze lingering in his hazel brown eyes.
"You're not thinking about meeting her again, are you?"
"Her name is Sxy Fatima Do, Riley," I answer. "She comes from the same family as I do. She must know something that I don't, things that even my savior does not know." His eyes grow soft when I finish my sentence, and a wave of guilt comes crashing down on me. I should not have said that. I am a fool. Riley wants to help me in any possible way that he can to unravel the mystery about my family's murder from years ago, but here I am, crushing his will and determination to do that. "I'm sorry... I did not mean to hurt your feelings. But please, let me do this, okay? I really want to know what happened, why my mother and father, the entire Do family, had to die that day, and the people who were behind the killing. She and I... And if she really is family, it is only right that I keep her by my side."
Riley scratches his temple with his thumb. A sigh comes out from his pink lips as he looks down at me, a look of worry on his face as he replies, "Fine. I guess no matter what I say, you will still meet with her. It will not be right of me to stop you from doing this, but I want you to stay safe. Always. Danger is always right around the corner, Katarina, especially for you. You know what I mean, don't you?"
A smile creeps up on my face. My arms wrap around his waist, pulling him close, and I can hear him gasp. I guess he does not expect that I will do this. "Don't worry, Riley. I will be okay." Riley's arms snake around my own waist, gripping it tightly as they lock behind my back, making me chuckle. He rests his forehead against my own, his eyes closing as another sigh escapes his lips.
"I know, I know, but I cannot help but worry."
Among all the people in this world, I should be the one who understands Riley's fear. Although impossible, the fact that the people who killed my entire family can still be out there looking for anyone who survived the murder. Sxy must also be in hiding, just like I am. Wary of our surroundings and careful about saying our full name out loud. That must be why she is wearing a robe over her body to hide her features—her face. She is also dressed differently, as if she were a part of a noble family—I can understand.
The following morning, it surprised me that I did know where to go to meet with her. I find her sitting on the bench beside a huge potted plant. We are inside an abandoned manor, and I have no idea how this place even got into my brain or how I knew the way here. The manor is huge—almost as big as Riley's house. It is painted gold and white. Sketches and paintings of those who probably lived here are hanging on the walls. There are dates and names written under each of their faces. All of them I share the same family name with—Do. I take my time to brush my fingers across the rough canvas, tracing each line as I stare into their eyes, familiarizing myself with their features. I even try to think about whether I have met them in my life.
"So you really know where to go," A voice makes me jump. Although I do not forget that she is here, I am so focused and engrossed with the picture before me that she scares me. My fingers leave the canvas paper as I turn to face her.
"Please, I beg you, tell me everything that you know about my family, our family."
Sxy unbuttons her robe. Gracefully, she unwraps it around her shoulder and places it on the railing of the stairs. I gasp at the sight of her. She is breathtakingly beautiful. Her huge curls that rest above her shoulders are perfectly shaping her face; she is wearing a lavender dress that is also hanging inches above the ground, like the one she wore last night; her flaming red eyes are looking back at me, and I draw a breath. I thought they were dark brown, though, but given that our first meeting was at night, I guess mistaking her eye color can happen. I have never seen a person with the same pair of eyes as hers, and never did I ever believe that someone can ever have a different eye color—so unearthly, so mythical. Yet they are so mesmerizing, and I could not take my eyes off of them.
"You should know that our family isn't just an ordinary family," she starts, intertwining her fingers as she turns herself around and begins to walk ahead of me. I take it that she wants me to follow, so I do. My eyes are still lingering around the manor, admiring every single thing that my eyes lay upon.
"What do you mean by that?"
"We are beings that aren't human."