TWO
1088 Words
"Are you all set?" her father knocked on her door while she was just putting her books inside a bag.
She looked at him and nodded. "Yes."
Her father helped her carry her luggage and loaded it on the car's trunk. He especially took a day off today to drive her to the city.
Two weeks have passed since she received the letter. She has already finished the enrollment process and her classes start tomorrow. And it will be her first time setting foot in that city, which thrills her.
She looked outside the car's window and saw one of her neighbors that lived in front of their house, peeking at them. She scoffed.
"Don't be surprised if you get back here and you hear rumors about me being sent to a mental institution," she said as she waved her hand to her neighbor, who immediately closed the window. Another rumor will start. She's sure of it and she already learned to not give a damn.
Her mother chuckled and her dad shook his head while looking at their neighbor's house.
"She should learn to control her daughter first before she starts to spread rumors. I saw Maeye one night climbing their house's gate," her dad said, clicking his tongue. Maeye was her neighbor's daughter, a few years younger than her. An infamous bully, and was caught multiple times selling and smoking pot.
She doesn't really care about her neighbors. She already has enough on her plate. And she hoped her neighbors would do the same. She just sighed.
She plugged in her earphones and started to disconnect. They passed by the house she used to go to before all of it happened. It used to be her best friend Niki's house but she moved somewhere far and they lost communication. She didn't know she was moving and she wasn't able to say goodbye. That time, she was so deep in despair and isolated herself from people, even Niki. She regretted the time she shut her out. Niki would have listened.
She closed her eyes as it's starting to get watery. The last thing she would want is for her parents to panic when they see her crying. So she pretended to be asleep until real sleep finally took her.
And it was the same dream she dreams sometimes. She was running. Her feet hurt because of the wounds she got somewhere. This time, she was in the desert. Last time, she was in the forest. She could feel the wounds in her feet. Too real. It felt too real. Sweat and blood trickled down her face. She didn't know where the blood came from. It wasn't there before. The ground was too hot against her feet and she could feel her body slowing down.
No.
No, not again.
She tried to run faster but she kept slowing down.
No.
She then whirled to see a man with his head wrapped in a cloth. He was holding a knife that glinted under the desert sun.
Then she felt his hand tight on her shoulder causing her to wake up and jump on her seat.
She was breathing heavily and her mother's worried face was what greeted her. She looked like she ran a few miles that she grabbed her water bottle and chugged half of its content.
"Honey, are you okay?" her mom asked. Worry etched across her face. She could see her dad checking her by the rearview mirror. She looked at her mother's hand on her shoulder and then sighed. She calmed down and rubbed her eyes.
"Yes. Yes, I'm fine," she answered, her breathing labored.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Ma. I really am. Just ... just a bad dream."
She looked at her phone and it's already half-past eleven. Her father made a stop at a fast-food restaurant and they had their lunch. They're three hours away from the city.
"Is it ... your dream, is it something related to --"
"No, Ma," she said, cutting her off. "I was just nervous with all of this. That's all it is." She doesn't want her mother to worry about her.
Her mother stared at her for a few moments before she started eating again. Her mother must have waited for her father to go to the restroom before she asked her about it. She knew her parents worry about her but she just wished they would stop treating her like she's fragile. It's been a year and aside from the dreams she sometimes has, nothing else reminds her of that incident. And she was really grateful her parents supported her decision to stay in another city.
Her parents may be strict but they never prevented or hindered her to do what makes her happy. That's what she's thankful for.
She looked at the busy street as they hit the road again. She couldn't help but think about that dream she had earlier. It was the same dream but in a different setting. The dream, it was getting less and less frequent and shorter as time passes by. Before, at most nights, she'd always crawl in the corner of her bed, curled up in her knees, crying and trembling until her mother opens the lights and hugs her until she falls back to sleep again. It was a nightmare. What happened to her was a nightmare.
She closed her eyes again, trying to sleep but it didn't come. So she just listened to the music until she felt the car stopped. She removed her earphones and saw his father and mother get out of the car.
She surveyed the building in front of her. It was a wide building with five floors. She's not sure how many rooms on each floor. The only thing she knows is that it's an all-girls dormitory. A security guard was stationed in front of the building. She decided to get out of the car and helped her father unload her things.
"What do you think?" her mom asked.
She shrugged. "As long as it has a bed and a bathroom, I am fine with it."
Her father chuckled. "Don't worry, it has all the things you want. A bed and a bathroom, alright."
She chuckled, then realized she has to ask something.
"Wait," she said, "do I have a roommate?"
"You do, actually. There's only two of you sharing that room. Is that alright?"
She looked at her mom. And judging from the wary in her eyes, she could tell she wasn't sure whether she will like having a roommate or what. But she smiled at her mother. It's better than having to have the room all by herself. So much better.
"Of course," she said, grinning.
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- Writer
