Chapter one
1245 Words
A woman, who was now and then casting a look behind her, proceeded calmly as if taking each step on purpose and with no haste whatsoever, letting the scene impress itself upon her.
Walking along the street that appeared to stretch on forever before her, she gazed out at the expanse before her and, with interest, noted how quiet it was despite the huge numbers of people about there.
The scary emptiness that prevailed there in that street was still so much present there as the same ghostly whisper ceased to substantiate after a long time, and it locked up everything inside.
Maybe the sun’s glare that day was so intense that it seemed to force everyone to retire inside, emptying the street of its usual commotion and tossing this scene of an alien and surreal stillness at my feet.
It's almost like the street itself caught in a moment of suspense, as if in a while life will shine and revive its spirit again.
In such a surreal atmosphere, one could almost envision a figure standing alone in the middle of the road, arm upraised to the sky, screaming, silently, of course, a scream of awe and wonderment, revealing perhaps a knowledge of some divine presence in the air so heavy and still all about.
She walks with progressive slowness, the deliberate pace of someone who has spent her life close to the earth, in profound communion with its creatures and seasons.
Viewers might get the impression that, despite the scorching sun, she is a person who can go through the day in the first step without any sign of panic.
But what they don’t know is that she really can’t take the heat; she feels like she’s melting. one tiny, gradual step at a time.
Every step she takes makes the heat prickle, and she wants to get to her house so badly.
The source of her distress is the material she’s wearing—lace, in other words, wrapped into a dress and a skirt and fitted tightly around her arms to keep all that heat reeking from her body in.
The clothes, the color of which matched her small red swagger bag thrown over her shoulder, added more to the heat she was compelled to bear on her way.
Going in the direction of the entrance to their modest home inside the terrible slums, one will find that it isn't this type of lengthy, however complete, distance of many stories.
The structure status earlier than one's eyes is made, broadly speaking composed of putting up with bricks upon bricks, exuding an uncooked and unrefined aesthetic that lacks the opulence that a layer of smooth plaster normally carries with it, save for the colorful embellishments of paint decorating its surface.
As she took off her most modern shoulder bag, full of colorful patterns and hues, she stood elegantly at the edge of the grand entrance into the majestic residence.
But her lengthy stride did come to an abrupt stop while her eyes rested on a young gentleman confidently standing in front of her.
To her surprise, next to him stood another interesting character—a young lady of beauty by the name of Hannah, identical to her, which similarly informed her that they were probably related.
Those subtle differences in their body movements and the way they were positioned at that moment said so much about what kind of conversation it was, showing a sense of familiarity and perhaps even secrets.
Whether there were others or not, Marianna kept an air of indifference.
This attitude arose from her deep dislike for Hannah’s strange habits, which Marianna found very irritating among other female residents in the house.
The mere thought of how Hannah behaved made Marianna impatient, prompting her to go further away from them.
Despite trying to stay calm and collected, she felt detached, like no one saw her anymore.
The disturbing question continued to lurk at the back of her mind—what would be the best way to handle this social situation when her humanity is disregarded?
In between them was a narrow corridor, and she found herself having to think over what was the best course of action as there didn’t seem to be another way out for her.
At that moment, while she was still thinking about that, a familiar voice broke her concentration, and it was a young man who called her “Welcome back, big sis.”
"Thanks,” she replied with a blank face, and she went inside.
She listened no time in thanking him; she just said the words and then moved toward the bordering walls of her home as if a spirit had taken hold of her body and saw to it that she traveled such paths while clueless yet restless, for this path was only freshly tread, not by feet nor hands but certainly by souls.
"Frankly, Aron, the power of confusion that reigns within me when I think back to several memorable occasions upon which you were found challenging my honor is almost above what should be possible, and causing wonder over how much more we would need this same talk of conduct if ever it came down for you again; with that very lady having crossed your line will nearly have had escaped my eyes just a little bit, disturbing myself greatly!"
"Is it a crime now that I have greeted your sister, knowing fully well how nice and intelligent she is?" he asked.
The very simple act of praising her stirred up some festering rage that Hannah had been battling before it intensified her even more.
The idea of his praise for her stepmother embedded a deeper thread of fury in her soul.
"How many times do I have to tell you that she is not my sister but a stepsister?" Only her tone had turned into almost venom and pure resentment.
'I have finally understood what you meant after all the soul searching and deep thinking. If I am right, do you think she is more beautiful than me? What about the possibility of having her back and going for her rather than me? She could be considering marriage too. Given that she is 35 years old and still lives with her parents, she might be a homemaker by now. Do you think it’s feasible for you to maintain such an outlook?" Her tone was full of fury and annoyance.
He deliberately chose to hold himself in an orderly manner despite noticing the increase in her emotional pain.
“I never meant it that way; I love you and you alone, my sweet. I am sorry; this was no such thing."
In this way, he sought to correct her misunderstandings by laying bare his heart and their relationship’s large exclusivity.
He pulled her closer to him with an extremely gentle touch that made her lose balance in his arms before he could press his lips on hers in a kiss, which was like none other—shocking enough to make her forget whatever previous anger or disappointments she had encountered.
Nevertheless, many questions were running through his mind when they were hugging each other so tightly that they became one person, even though they still looked like two individuals at the same time.
But he couldn’t help thinking about how it had started for such a strong dislike between two siblings to grow as mysterious as it does now.
- Writer
