After leaving Zara's room I went to my bedroom. I closed the door before throwing myself onto the bed. Today had been rather tiring.
But for the moment, I still didn't know anything about the person who had that body before. The person whose name was also Leora, the person whose face I now wore.
I'd better look around a bit, maybe I'll find a diary or something. I got up from the bed and started searching the room. It was a small and simple room, with a wooden floor, a stone wall, and a window. There was a closet, a dresser, a nightstand, and a bookshelf. There were no decorations, no pictures, no personal items. It was as if the room belonged to no one.
I started looking under the bed, but I only found dust and cobwebs. I moved on to the closet, but I only found clothes and shoes. I opened the dresser, but I only found more clothes and some accessories. I checked the nightstand, but I only found a lamp and a clock. I was about to give up, when I noticed the bookshelf.
It was a small and narrow bookshelf, with only three shelves. There were only a few books on it, mostly about history, geography, and magic. They looked old and worn, as if they had been read many times. I scanned the titles, but none of them caught my interest. I was about to turn away, when I saw something red on the bottom shelf.
I reached for it and pulled it out. It was a diary, a red leather diary with a silver lock. It looked like new, as if it hadn't been used much. I felt a surge of curiosity and excitement. Maybe this was what I was looking for. Maybe this was the key to Leora's past.
I sat down on the bed and opened the diary. I flipped through the pages, but I was disappointed. It looked like there were only two pages where it was written, and it was written in tiny letters. I had to squint to read them.
17th July 1445
My name is Leora Fade and yes I know it's weird for a 19 year old girl to write in a diary, but I've always dreamt of doing it. I've always wanted to have a place where I can express myself, where I can write down my thoughts, my feelings, my hopes, and my dreams. I've never had anyone to talk to, anyone to listen to me, anyone to care about me. I've always been alone.
I grew up in a poor family until I was 5 and then my mum abandoned me because of my red hair and my dad used to shout at me all the time saying that I probably wasn't his daughter. He blamed me for everything that went wrong in his life, and he beat me whenever he was drunk or angry. He never gave me any love, any affection, any attention. He never gave me anything, except pain and misery after that I was put in an orphenage.
But I'm not going to dwell on that, my childhood sucked, but it doesn't matter. I ran away from the orphenage when I was 10, and I've been living on the streets ever since. I've learned to survive, to fend for myself, to avoid trouble. I've learned to steal, to lie, to cheat. I've learned to do whatever it takes to get by.
Tomorrow will be my first day as a servant and I've really struggled to find this job. I've applied to many places, but they all rejected me because of my hair colour. They said I was a cursed.
I've even thought about going bald so that my hair colour wouldn't prevent me from getting a job, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I hated my hair, but I also loved it. It was the only thing that made me different, that made me special, that made me me. It was the only thing that I could call my own.
But luckily, I've got incredible cleaning and tidying skills. I've always been good at making things neat and orderly, at making things shine and sparkle. I've always enjoyed cleaning, it gave me a sense of satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment, a sense of purpose. It was the only thing that I was good at, the only thing that I could be proud of.
So when I heard that the verry rich noble was looking for new servants, I decided to give it a try. I knew it was a long shot, I knew it was a risky move, I knew it was a crazy idea. But I also knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, a chance to change my life, a chance to make my dreams come true.
Now I'll be able to earn money and then I'll build a house in the countryside and then I'll find the love of my life and get married. That's my ultimate goal, that's my ultimate wish, that's my ultimate fantasy.
To have a home, to have a family, to have a happy ending. To have something that I've never had before.
The diary stopped there, with no further information. There were no more entries, no more pages, no more words. I felt a pang of sadness and sympathy for her.
She had had such a hard life, such a lonely life, such a hopeless life. She had had such a big dream.
I put the diary back in its place, before sighing heavily. Even though we had the same first name, I could feel that we were very different. She had been a victim of her circumstances, and I was leaving my best life before.
I don't know if I'll be able to fulfil Leora's dream, but for the moment I'd say everything's going well. I wiped away a tear that was running down my cheek.
I turned my head towards the window and saw that it was already dark. Then I turned to the clock and saw that it was already 9.30pm.
"No, I must have missed dinner because of all this," I said before collapsing theatrically to the floor.