Alice
It was really painful. Organizing Mom's stuff after her passing away was like stabbing my heart with invisible pain. I tried to keep postponing the work but everything eventually should be done in the end.
And that day, happened to be one day before my eighteen birthday.
Jeff had gone back to his place and left me alone. Although he seemed extremely worried about my condition, I kept reassuring him that I would be okay. I am a grown up after all. Living alone shouldn't be a big matter for me.
But damn, I might be wrong. It was hard and lonely. I slept and woke up to an empty house, then went to work until my body passed out. Everything ran like I was in autopilot mode. I tried so hard to bury my sorrow deep down in my heart but I gave up finally.
Two weeks after Mom was gone, I broke up in tears while arranging her stuff. Each one of them was like a memento of her for me. That stuff kept bringing up memories that used to be beautiful but now turned into a pain in my heart.
My eyes watered because of the tears. I took a photo frame where Mom and I were happily smiling in there. It was when her health was a little bit better and we suddenly decided that we should take a photo together.
A nice decision. Seeing how useful was it for my reminiscing moment.
I hugged that photo tightly and cried a river. My heart clenched in pain and the air suddenly felt so heavy. I couldn't breathe and the only sound I made was a ragged cry in the middle of silence.
"Mom, I miss you."
I didn't know how long I had cried while hugging that photo. But one thing I realized was that my eyelid felt heavier and heavier. In the end, I fell asleep in Mom's bedroom while clutching that photo tightly in my arm.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
I woke up with a shock. There was a knock on my door just a second ago. I glanced at the clock and it was one second past midnight. Who the hell was visiting at this late hour? Did this person not have any conscience about time?
I rose and stood on my two feet. I suddenly felt lightheaded and stumbled upon my own feet. But fortunately, I could save my face from landing on the floor.
I strode to the door and took a peek at the peephole. My body froze when I saw who was standing outside my door right now.
It was him! The man I saw at Mom's funeral. The one who had a serious talk with Jeff.
What was he doing there? Outside my house? At this late hour?
My mind wandered into many possible situations. From the bad to the worst. Did Mom possibly have any debt to that man? Or did he come here to kidnap me and sell me to the brothel?
Damn! Shit! What should I do? I was so confused and torn between whether should I stay hidden and act like no one out there - or was it better if I opened the door and greeted him like a fool?
Just when I was having a little panic attack, I heard him calling me with a gentle tone.
"Open the door, Alice. I know you're there."
Gosh! How could he know that I was here? Was I speaking my mind out loud to the point he could hear me?
I kept silent - too afraid to say anything.
"Please, I won't do anything bad to you. I'm just here to see you."
What? Seeing me? For what?
I was probably the dumbest person alive on the earth because I decided to believe his words. My hand reached the knob and clicked it open. In a split second, the door swung open and I saw him. The handsome-looking man who came to the Mom's funeral.
"Happy birthday, Alice." He said while smiling.
Birthday? I slapped my hand across my face when I realized it was indeed my birthday. It had only been five minutes since the day changed into my birthday.
But how could he know about my birthday? Strange. Weird. And creepy guy indeed.
"Who are you? How could you know it is my birthday?"
"Can we at least talk inside? I believed it wouldn't leave a good impression if we kept chatting in here."
I nodded. Hell, I didn't even realize how cold the night was and it was definitely uncomfortable to have a conversation in here.
I made a way for him and he walked past me. Then he took a seat on one of the old sofas in my living room. I followed him at sat across from him with a very questioning look. There were too many questions inside my head but the biggest one was this man's identity.
"I still haven't gotten my answers, stranger," I said with a stern voice.
He leaned onto the sofa and smiled again at me.
"I know everything about you even though you don't know anything about me, Luna."
Luna? What the hell was that? Ah, he probably mistaken me for some girl named Luna, right?
"My name is Alice and not Luna, you creepy man."
He laughed without seeming to feel offended at all.
"Of course you're Alice. Alice Knox. But for me, you are my Luna. My mate, Alice. The one who is destined for me."
Every piece of his words kept making my head feel dizzier. What on earth he was talking about? Was he talking gibberish about nonsensical things? Or was he a lunatic who escaped from the nearby asylum?
If my second guess was right, then I definitely in big problem.
Well, hello Grim Reaper. It was surprising how fast I could meet Mom.
I blinked a few times - trying to process everything he just said.
"Seems confusing, right?" He asked me. A strange expression painted over his face and I fooly mistaken it as a concern.
"You know it well. All of your words seem like a bullshit right now." I blurted without thinking too much.
He sighed - as if he knew that it would be hard to explain everything to me.
"There are too many things to explain right now, Alice. And the time we had now isn't enough."
I furrowed my brow and stared at him.
"So? What would you do? Just tell me who the hell are you, creep!"
"I want to take you to my home right now and I promised that I will explain everything there."
I was dumbfounded. This man was definitely a lunatic. A crazy man who was on the escape.
How could he say that to the girl he just met twice? Taking me to his home? Was I looking like a prostitute to him?
"And what if I refused to do so?"
He silenced for a beat and looked at me seriously.
"Then unfortunately I will take you by force."
My eyes widened into the size of a saucer. I glanced around my house and tried to find something I could grab to defend myself. I didn't even have a drop of martial arts skill in my blood, let alone put up a fight against this athletic man.
I doomed. My fate had been written and my life would probably end in a short time.
Thanks, world. Although you never be nice to me, I would indeed miss you.
With a trembling voice, I let out my rejection. Telling him that I wouldn't follow him anywhere he intended to take me.
"I refuse to go with you. You can kill me and take my money, but I won't ever leave this house. Voluntarily or even by force."
He shook his head in disbelief. Maybe his plans were crumbling apart because of a broody girl like me. Maybe because he failed to kidnap me like he was planning first.
"You're really taking this in the wrong perspective, Alice. And I couldn't help but to do one thing."
And to my horror, he stood up from the chair and with a blink of eyes he was already behind me. As fast as a lightning bolt. I couldn't even see his movement when the last thing I heard was his voice in my ear.
"I'm sorry, Luna."
I felt a thud at the back of my head. And then everything went black. I passed out in front of that creep who wanted to abduct me.
***
I blinked my eyes a few times. The warmth from sunlight that was seeping through the window showered me. I looked around and realized I was in a room I didn't know.
I woke up in horror and the first thing my mind told me to do was check what was below the blanket. I peeked and saw my body was still fully clothed.
I sighed a relieved exhale. Thank God everything didn't take a wrong turn like I imagined.
But the second I realized where was I, my body felt as if being hit by a truck. Where the hell was I? Whose room was this? And whose bed I was sleeping on? This grandiose bed with an insanely comfortable mattress and blanket. It was not mine. And it means the danger was near.
I quickly moved from that bed and inched slowly toward the window. I slid open the curtain and saw a beautiful garden outside. Something that seemed to didn't belong to my neighborhood.
I tried to break the window open but my effort returned to no avail. It was locked tightly and that expensive window must be hard to break.
Just when I was trying to figure out another way to escape from this place, I heard the door click open. My body froze at where I was standing and I slowly shifted my head to the door.
And there he was - standing at the doorway like a perfect husband at the movie. That stranger now was wearing a white T-shirt and grey sweatpants. I could even see his nice body carved behind those fabrics. He brought a plate of what seemed like breakfast and a cup of warm chocolate, I believed.
He smiled at me fondly while approaching me.
"Have a nice sleep, Luna?"