The scorching sunlight piercing through the window woke me up. My vision was blurry, and a stabbing pain in my head seemed to force me to recall things I never wanted to remember.
I had no idea how many times I had opened my eyes last night. But every time it happened, I could only see the faint grin of that old, unfamiliar man. His face was blurred, yet that expression was imprinted clearly, making me want to vomit.
This time, I truly got up. There was no one in this damn room. Just me and the painful silence. My first step onto the floor felt heavy, and the sole of my foot touched something. A sling bag! The small bag I had carried last night. I remembered taking it from the hook behind the door, just as Mrs Marni came to pick me up.
I picked it up, feeling as if the bag had grown heavier. Slinging it over my shoulder, I dragged myself out of the room. My legs felt unsteady, my body nearly collapsing with every step. The elevator took me down, but I could only stare blankly at the numbers on the panel, as if my body was moving without direction.
When the elevator doors opened in the lobby, I became the center of attention. People stared at me. Yes, I knew they did, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything anymore.
Outside, a taxi stopped, just having dropped off a passenger. I opened the door without saying much and sat in the backseat, my body feeling empty. The driver looked at me, startled.
"Hey, miss, are you okay?" he asked.
I didn't answer, only staring straight ahead with eyes that had likely lost their light. Perhaps noticing my disheveled state—my stained dress, tangled hair, and pale face—the driver refrained from asking me to get out.
"Where to?" he asked softly.
It took a few seconds before I could open my mouth. With trembling lips and a barely audible voice, I replied, "The hospital…"
"Which hospital?"
"Great Green Hospital."
The driver asked no further. The car moved, and I could only sob in the back seat. My tears finally broke free. Pain enveloped not just my body but also my soul. Everything felt heavy. I wanted to scream, to escape from it all, but my body was weak, and my voice was drowned in helpless sobs.
Occasionally, I whimpered, regretting why I was still alive to endure this pain.
"Miss, should I report this to the police?" the driver asked, his voice filled with concern.
I didn't respond because I couldn't process anything. My mind and body felt detached, drifting somewhere far away. The driver sped up, maybe out of sympathy or maybe because he didn't know what else to do and just wanted to be done with a passenger like me.
When we finally arrived at the hospital, I stepped out with unsteady legs. The driver quickly got out as well, wanting to help me, but I harshly brushed his hand away. He looked at me with an unreadable expression. Maybe anger? Or pity? Then he got back into the car without asking for payment.
I walked into the hospital, passing through hallways I had memorized by heart. Again, just like in the hotel lobby, I became a spectacle. Patients and visitors whispered as they stared, but once again—I didn't care! My gaze was empty, fixed only on one destination: my mother's hospital room.
On what felt like a long and exhausting walk, a nurse tried to stop me. "Miss, do you need help?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. She touched my shoulder as if trying to support a statue about to collapse.
I kept walking, using every ounce of strength I had left, ignoring her. My steps grew heavier, and the pain in my body became unbearable.
"Nurse, she's bleeding," someone behind me exclaimed, their shriek shattering the silence. They must have been referring to the red streaks trailing down my legs, seeping from a place beneath my dress.
I didn't care. I just wanted to see my mother.
When I finally reached the room, I stopped. Slowly, I pushed the door open, and all I saw was emptiness. No mother. No beeping medical devices. Just silence. A silence that dragged me further into the abyss of nothingness.
"Laura…"
I turned around. It was Nurse Lina, the one who always took care of my mother. Her face was filled with sorrow and deep sympathy. "We tried to contact you all night," she said, her voice trembling.
I only stared at her with unfocused eyes, trying to process what was happening. "Where is my mother, Nurse?" I finally asked, my voice hoarse, barely a whisper.
Nurse Lina fell silent for a moment as if searching for the right words. Then, still with a quivering voice, she said, "Laura, your mother… she passed away."
Time stood still. Her words struck me like lightning. My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the floor. It felt like a drain had sucked out all the energy from my body. The last thing holding me together had snapped, and I could only sob, drowning in an endless void.
.
.
-----------------
-----------------
"Laura, stop!" Calvin repeated, his voice trembling between anger and pain. Reflexively, he pulled Laura into his arms, trying to silence the turmoil shaking his own chest.
They were inside a car in the hotel's basement, a quiet, dark place that bore witness to a conversation that should never have happened.
Calvin clenched his jaw tightly, his eyes red and glassy with unshed emotions he couldn't control. His arms, which held Laura, trembled slightly—unsure whether to hold her tighter or let her go.
He was the one who asked Laura to tell him everything, who even forced her. But now, every word that left her lips was a dagger cutting deeper than he had ever imagined.
Yet Laura remained still, like a fragile doll that had been broken too many times. Instead, she pulled away, slowly releasing Calvin's embrace, as if refusing to let herself appear weak any longer. Though her tears still streamed down her face, her lips curled into a smile—a bitter, forced smile.
"Why, Mr. Calvin?" Her voice was soft, but every word carried a firmness that made his chest tighten even more. "You said you had all night to listen. So why are you telling me to be quiet now?"
Laura smiled sweetly, as if she was unshaken. But Calvin—only Calvin at this moment—could see that it wasn't resilience she was displaying. It was the opposite.
There was no strength there, no courage. Only a shattered soul wrapped in a well-practiced disguise. And Calvin could see it clearly. He was the only one who could see that her smile was the quietest scream of a heart that had endured too much of this cruel world.
"Laura…" Calvin tried to speak, but his words died in his throat. He could only look at her, frozen by the realization that she had gone through something no one should ever have to experience.
Laura glanced at Calvin before turning her gaze toward the car window. "This is strange, Mr. Calvin. So rare. Maybe once in a lifetime. For months, I stayed silent, never spoke, never trusted the world. But tonight… I ended up telling you everything."
Calvin stared at her face, which had turned away from him. But he could see the glimmer in the corner of her eyes—a shimmer formed by tears and the soft glow of the dashboard lights.
"I'm not asking for your pity. Maybe, tonight, I just wanted to be heard. That's all." Laura's voice was calm, almost emotionless, as if she had drained herself completely.
Calvin clenched his fists around the steering wheel, his head hanging low. He wanted to say something, to make promises, to turn back time to before it all happened. But now… any words felt meaningless.
And Laura, still with that bitter smile on her lips, turned to him once again. "So, do you still want to hear the next part of my story?" she asked. This time, without a smile. Just an empty gaze that shattered Calvin's last defenses.
.
.
(To be continued)