Touch of Deception

She felt the coldness of the ground as she ran barefoot. She bristled at the cold bite of the wind on her almost bare body. She was wearing a shirt. A shirt that was not hers. Her feet hurt with all the running she has done. She wore no shoes and she doesn't even know where she is. Fear crept into her. It was fear since the very beginning. It was fear that caused all of this. She ran faster. Not even bothering to look back. She didn't mind the sting on her feet. She might have hurt it earlier, she doesn't know. All she wants now is to escape this hell-hole. Anything—she will do anything to get away. But a flash of light blinded her and made her stop. She covered her eyes with her hands and looked at the approaching car. Everything went in slow motion. And she thought it might be a good idea to die. It's better than being alive in this state. She didn't feel anything when the car made an impact on her body. It was when she rolled a few times on the road and laid motionless on the freezing ground that she felt a searing pain. Why can't I just die? A tear rolled down her cheek. Breathing became difficult and she felt her arm at an odd angle. But she didn't care. Then a man came rushing to her side. He was pacing back and forth in front of her while talking to somebody on the phone. Then he crouched down and was saying something she couldn't comprehend. Her vision became blurry. She wanted to see the man's face. But sleep, she thought, is very tempting. So she dove into oblivion. Deeper and deeper. That was a year ago. That was Celeste's past. And it took a toll on her life. She got homeschooled because of the trauma she experienced. She broke up with her boyfriend without him knowing the reason why. She lost her friends. Everybody knows what happened to her. And it was shame and guilt that eats her every day for a long time. Living everyday eats a part of her soul until it left a huge void in her. She had no idea what to do with her life or if she might even escape the hellish past she had.  But all of it changed one day as she held a piece of paper. She found hope. Hope that she might be able to live her life again, forget her past and start a new chapter.  "Honey, what's wrong?"  She whirled to see her mother outside her room, bringing a tray with her. She smiled but tears started streaming down her cheeks as she showed her mom the letter.  "It's the school, Ma," she said and wiped her tears.  Her mother immediately got inside the room and placed the tray of food on her table before she took the letter and read it silently. Later, her mom was covering her mouth, her eyes filled with tears too as she finished reading the letter.  She immediately hugged her mother. "I still can't believe I got the scholarship offer," she said.  "I always knew you'll get it. I always knew, my dear. Good job," her mom said while kissing the top of her head.  She pulled out from her hug and wiped her tears. "This is a new start for me, Ma. After all... after all that's happened, it's a start."  Her mom just nodded, wiping the tears in her eyes, and pulled her into a hug once again. "Let's tell your father once he gets home, okay?"  She nodded and looked at the letter once again. She never thought a letter could give her hope. But there it is. Laid on her bed. She got accepted at one of the most prestigious schools in her region--Iligan Institute of Technology. It's in Iligan City, eight hours away from her hometown.  She applied for that scholarship on purpose. Aside from the fact that it was her dream school and it's hours away from her hometown, the school was the only in the region to offer the Psychology course, her dream course. It's been a long time since she last went to school and she didn't miss it. Never. Not the people in the school, at least. When she stopped going to school, people in their town started talking. They always have something to talk about but her sudden withdrawal from school was their favorite.  She lived in a small hometown. Rumors started sparking everywhere and it was easy to get wind of it. They said she got pregnant and had to hide in their house until the baby is born. And when one of them saw her out of the house one day, realizing she wasn't pregnant, the rumor stopped but replaced with a new one. They said she was a drug addict and was found in the road one night, almost naked. Well, at least they got the last bit right, except she wasn't almost naked. It was when she started going to a support group that their rumors became accurate. She was raped. It was a hot topic in their town that her father even considered moving. They blamed her for what happened. And she started blaming herself too. The support group was a great help. And of course, her parents never fail to make her feel she isn't alone. Aside from that, she cut herself from the rest of the world. She even stopped seeing her friends for a while. The rape case wasn't solved. It was all buried. She wants it buried that's why she told her father to stop the investigation. They were going nowhere with it, anyway.  She sighed. She had no experience of living alone. She's twenty years old this year. And she figured it's time for her to heal. There's always a start. And this is her start.  Later that night, she has packed her bags with the things she needed. The school doesn't have a dormitory so she'll have to rent an apartment near the school. Her father was ecstatic but was also having doubts about her living alone. But deep down, he knows it's for the better. Living in this town only reminds her of that traumatizing incident.  "Are you going to be fine?" her dad asked that night.  He was standing in her room's doorway as she was preparing. She nodded at him and smiled. It scares her. Everything scares her but she has to make the first step.  "I will, dad. Don't worry about me," she said and gave him a reassuring smile. "And besides, you can visit me every weekend," she continued.  She doesn't know anyone in that city which she thought was so much better. It would be nice to meet new people. People who don't know her past. She figured it would be easy to make friends with that.  Or would it? * * *