Chapter Text
“Valeria! Change all the bedding from Room 1 to 3, and do it properly this time. You wouldn’t want to get a correction lesson again, do you, like last time? Also, Mother Amihan wants to you clean the toilets too. Make sure everything is done before dinner”
I nodded out of fear towards Sister Maria, as I stood as still as a tree with my hands respectfully behind my back and my eyes not even daring to look into her beady harsh eyes. Living in this orphanage, for the past 15 years, has taught me three things that I never dare to break. First, ‘one shall not disobey’, two ‘do not speak back’ and three ‘do not misbehave’. Sometimes, it was difficult for the younger kids to understand and follow these rules, and at night I’d hear pained whimpers and screams from down the hallway. Yet, I was not able to interfere. And it troubled me to see my brothers and sisters experience what I had gone through.
Lost in thought, I had not realised that Sister Maria was still standing in front of me, with a look of disgust and annoyance. As her hand raised, I flinched on command from past hits. Yet it was a good call to flinch, as a slap made contact with my shoulder instead of my cheek. At least, that won’t bruise like last time, I thought.
“Why are you still standing here, you insolent girl? Do your chores before I report your disobedience to Mother Amihan” she spat out, her saliva landing on my face. I shivered in disgust from how warm it felt when it slid down my face.
Before any more confrontations, I quickly fled away from the scene and made my way to the toilets. One thing that wasn’t very glamorous, had always been cleaning the toilets. With most of the orphans being young, it was always like as if a bomb had gone off within every single stall. And today had been no exception, it looked like it had not been cleaned for a good few days. There was water and urine on the floors, soap suds on the mirrors and stains that were in places I can’t even fathom how it got there.
Grabbing the cleaning utilities beside one of the stalls, I wore the thick rubbery yellow gloves on my scarred hands. In any case, it was best to keep them hidden, because doing so helps me to forget the punishments Sister Maria has subjected me to over the years. Repeatedly striking my hands and palms with a firm wooden ruler, until my hands began to bleed. It was in the past, yet it still hurt, now, instead of hands, they’d strike my back due to me being ‘older’.
Sighing, I got onto work before getting too emotional. As the minutes went past, my exhaustion arose as well. Due to the lack of food and rations, the sensation of hunger was a normal feeling that most orphans felt in this orphanage. Even the food donations that visitors would hand in, it would only go towards the greedy workers. Sometimes almost taunting us by walking into the dining area with a big juicy apple in their hands or a piece of coconut cake. It was sick of them to do that to kids. I hated them.
Scrubbing the dirty, decrepit floor with a rugged cloth, my attention was grabbed suddenly by the door barging open. Revealing Alma, one of the younger orphans, sweating and clutching her stomach with both arms. Her knees fell on the damp floor as she wailed out in pain, tears trickling down her eyes and bloody lips from biting too much.
Acting out in a hurry, I closed the door to make sure none of the workers would hear her cries. One hidden rule is that they absolutely detested any form of crying, and I wasn’t about to let Alma get punished for basic human emotions. Even with the floors being damp, I sat down and positioned Alma in a way her head was propped up on my lap, her body immediately curled like a baby, still clutching onto her stomach in desperation.
Many thoughts popped into my head all at once. Was she punished? Did she fall? Did she do this to herself? Although, pushing those questions out of my mind, what mattered most was Alma’s current condition. Carefully stroking the hair stuck on her forehead from sweat, my fingers combed through it, trying my best to relax the poor girl.
“Shh, I’m here… I’m here” I murmured softly, “You’re safe here with me Alma, take a few breaths and tell me what happened”
It took her a few deep breaths before answering.
“I-…um, I’m starving Valeria, ugh-” Alma winced in pain, her eyes squeezing tight, “I haven’t eaten in days, I’m so h-hungry. Please, end my pain. Please…please. Mother Amihan caught me trying to steal extra bre…bread four days ago, and I was punished. I atoned for my sin Valeria, why does this happen to me, to us?”
Immediate guilt ached in my heart, as I tried not to cry in front of the already distressed girl. I felt guilty. Guilty of how utterly useless I felt at this very moment. Guilty that I could not help and provide the kids here with a better life. How it was fair that we starved and received hits, while other children were engulfed by love and gifts instead? Before anger could wash over me, I also took a few calm breaths and put on a courageous front.
“Listen, Alma, and listen to me carefully. You did nothing wrong, you do not have to ‘atone’ for your sins, you are an angel. You are always so polite and sweet, don’t ever think you deserve this. When you can, I need you to be a brave little girl, can you do that for me?”
She nodded slowly.
“Y-Yes…”
“What I need you to do is slowly get up from this floor and go to my bed in room 2, okay? Underneath the mattress is some painkillers. I do not have any water to give you, however, you got to be brave and swallow one of those pills okay? Once you do that, the pain will go away. Trust me, it’s going to be okay” I whispered, my confidence in what I was saying faltering ever so slightly.
After a few minutes, Alma carefully stood up as I tried to help her balance herself. I could tell it was still painful, although I knew she was capable of the task. There was no time to coddle her any more, as failing to do my chores would not end well for the both of us. Luckily for Alma, dinner had just ended, and I knew all the workers were still situated within the dining area, giving the girl a chance to walk away without notice.
Sighing, I hoped that she would not get caught nor experience any more pain when taking my hidden stash of medication. Stealing those painkillers was a hassle, seeing that I wasn’t allowed to go out much and when I did, it was just me taking medications secretly from stores and hiding them within my pockets. Those stolen painkillers have saved me countless times; from high fevers and easing painful blisters from scrubbing too much when cleaning.
As the hours went by, the chores list was slowly but surely getting done. Although, I couldn’t stop thinking of Alma’s condition, with her telling me she hasn't eaten for nearly 5 days. My brows furrowed in deep thought, going through ways of trying to help her. Yes, painkillers would subside the discomfort for no more than a day, despite that, even with painkillers, someone who’s only barely 8 can withstand no food for maybe a week. Time was ticking for her health, the girl was already skin and bones.
When nighttime arrived, sleep was not an option for me. I could not see much, but I could hear and from what I could comprehend, was Alma who was 4 beds away from me, whimpering in pain and rolling in bed. Not wanting to wake any of the others within the room, I stood up and dug through under my bed, revealing all the secret stash of items. From emergency medicine, sanitary supplies and some tiny candles and matches, to which were all stolen. Grabbing one of the white candles, my match struck a light and the moment it made contact with the wick, my eyes adjusted to see better, even with the tiny light source from the candle.
Walking ever so carefully towards Alma’s bed, while passing the other kids who were sleeping peacefully. My hand touched her forehead, it was covered in sweat yet again. Even with the cold sweat against my hand, my intuition had been right, and she was currently experiencing a high fever. Placing the candle closer to her face, it was scrunched in discomfort, her pink t-shirt that was covered in holes was drenched and damp around her neck and back. It seemed the painkillers were barely helping now. The only solution I could think of was to give food. Even a crumb at this point would suffice.
“Ugh… Is that you, Valeria?”
“Yes, it’s me but… Alma, you’re burning up, you really need to eat something”
A single tear ran down her flushed cheeks.
“I don’t have any food, and I’m not allowed any”
Biting my lip, it was time to resort to risky solutions.
“Alma, I’m going to get you some bread, okay? I can’t get much or else they’ll get suspicious, but I’ll get just enough to make you a little full. How does that sound?” I whispered, placing a smile on my face to ease her worries.
Her tiny, weak fingers wrapped around my wrist, so quickly it nearly blew out the candle. Those swollen, puffy eyes stared into my own, I could feel the terror that exuded with a single look.
“Pu-Please don’t do that…” she pleaded, not letting go of my wrist, her tiny nails digging into my skin as she gripped harder, “You’ll get in trouble and get punished for me, please don’t go”
“Calm down okay? Listen to me, I’ll be fine as long as I’m quiet. I know this is a bad thing to admit too, but I’m quite good at stealing things and stealing some food for you when you desperately need it, is a piece of cake for me. You need to eat, and I won’t watch you starve any more, it makes me upset, and you don’t want to see your big sister cry do you?”
Alma shook her head slowly.
“Good, now I’ll be back soon,” I whispered, kissing the top of her head delicately as she let go of my wrist finally. Her glossy eyes from tears pained my heart to witness.
As I walked away with the candle in my hand, I closed the door quietly when letting myself out of the room, trying to stay as quiet as possible. No one was in sight as I turned to my left and right and peered along the hallways. For those who used the lavatory at night, there was just one candle lamp on the floor. On the other hand, having lived in this hellhole for 15 years has taught me how to manoeuvre the structure, even though there was hardly enough light to see.
Every step I took was accompanied by a creak or other aggravating sounds due to how old the flooring was, making it harder for me to remain calm and composed. It also seemed a little foolish now to leave the hallway lamp behind, because my candle was growing low and getting dimmer by the second. Nevertheless, I arrived in the kitchen without being seen. The candle was gone by the time I arrived, although luckily there was a light switch inside.
Looking around the kitchen, my eyes were bombarded with mess. The countertops were covered in stubborn stains, and utensils were scattered haphazardly. A mountain of unwashed dishes towered in the sink. The floor was covered in leftover food and sporadic spillage. I took a big breath and tiptoed around the mess, gagging at the bugs crawling and flying over the bins near the fridge.
“This is how the kitchen is? I don’t even want to think the amount of times I've eaten the food from here, I mean it’s not like we get fed that much anyway” I murmured to myself.
Opening the fridge and scavenging around, my eyes spotted one half of a sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap. From what I could see, it had ham, thinly sliced tomatoes, green lettuce and what I think was a single piece of cheese. Grabbing it swiftly without a second thought, I stuffed it into my pocket, squishing the bread a little. Although, I don’t think Alma would mind it being a little deformed; food was food at the end of the day.
Feeling confident, I looked around some more. Hoping to find extra scraps for me to store inside my pockets for emergencies. There was so much rubbish, not enough edible snacks. A couple of half-eaten apples were in the bin, if I were desperate enough I’d eat it. Shaking my head off those thoughts, my focus shifted towards something hidden by a white piece of cloth over it on one of the countertops near the stove. Lifting the cloth off, my eyes widened in glee. I could have nearly burst into tears and broken down.
There, in front of me, was a plate full of turon*. The thought of eating sweetened bananas, wrapped in crispy brown sugar-coated wrappers, made my mouth salivate. The crunch would be immaculate, and the taste would satisfy my endless hunger for something sweet. Seeing as all I ever ate in the orphanage had been bread or plain arroz caldo*.
Reaching eagerly for one and taking a mouthwatering bite, my eyes instantly welled up with tears of sheer delight as the extraordinary flavour danced on my taste buds. It was precisely the embodiment of everything I had yearned for and desperately craved, flooding me with a comforting warmth. Each delectable mouthful I savoured was magical that I cherished it with endless indulgence-
“Valeria Sereno… What are you doing!”
I nearly choked from shock. My enjoyment ended in an instant as I desperately scrambled to hide the plate of turon with the white cloth, while simultaneously wiping my mouth of any brown sugar residue. I didn’t even need to turn my head to know it was Mother Amihan, the head of the orphanage, who had caught me red-handed. I was worried that something like this would occur. Furthermore, I was eating so carelessly that I lost track of what my initial assignment was. To get food for Alma.
Daring to take a peek at her face was the moment I knew I was fucked. I've never seen somebody with such visceral rage. She had sharply furrowed brows, a pronounced scowl on her parched lips, and frighteningly red flushed cheeks from anger. Big, heavy stomps approached menacingly, each step making my whole body flinch in fear of what was going to happen to me.
“The audacity of you to steal food and at this hour too?! I have had enough of your delinquent behaviours at this orphanage. We feed you, we dress you, and you have a roof over your head. But apparently, that is not enough. You spoilt, arrogant, selfish and utterly disgraceful girl! Have you no shame?”
My ability to speak back had been taken away, I couldn’t muster the courage to even talk back to her. To defend myself. To tell her that I was doing this, not out of selfishness, but in kindness and to help Alma. Swallowing thickly, I finally gathered a bit of valour.
“M-Mother Amihan, I was only helping someone because they were hungry and-”
I couldn't help but admit that I should have expected such actions from her, but I was caught off guard by an unexpected smack that jolted me from carrying on speaking. My weak cries for help appeared to just intensify her hatred as pain rocked my body, resulting in an endless wave of hits. In the midst of her wrath to hurt me, pleading for mercy was ineffective. When the attack finally stopped, it was replaced by a violent hold from her palm that tangled my hair in her sharp, untrimmed fingernails and scraped my tender scalp as she fisted my hair. My thoughts immediately recognised the route she was dragging me down as I was violently pulled along by my hair.
Tears flooded my eyes in an instant, desperately struggling to fight her grip with weak slaps fuelled by turmoil. To no avail, we arrived in front of a dilapidated door, with a worn-out wooden sign with the sentence ‘Confessions Room’ etched into it. All the memories flooded immediately. I hated going into the confessions room, it was basically solitary confinement and inhumane. When I first stole, I had been brought to this room and was left alone for 3 days with just water, with no supply of food either. The room is dark, with no windows to be seen and covered with multiple scratch marks, so you spend time using your imagination and slowly going insane until they let you out.
The only thing that kept me sane was the thought of getting out of this orphanage someday.
“Quit your struggling, you did this to yourself” Mother Amihan hissed, as she opened the door with a huge key. The moment the door opened, her grip loosened as she flung me into the room. It shut before I could even process to say sorry and plead for forgiveness again. “You will stay here until you learn your mistakes”
With that, she left me inside the cold, dark and eerie room, all alone.
Crawling over to the corner of the room, I found comfort in the embrace of the cold, unyielding concrete wall against my back. Fear gripped me tightly, causing me to coil into a protective ball, seeking refuge from the darkness. The unknown held an undeniable power over me, its veiled mysteries instilling a sense of vulnerability the longer I stay. In the darkness, the ability to know what was ahead vanished, leaving me defenceless in the shadows of mystery.
With closed eyes and shallow breaths, I attempted to regain composure. Yet tears streamed down my face, upon realising that Alma remained confined to her bed, experiencing agony that I failed to help. The weight of her disappointment pressed heavily upon me, piercing my heart with the sharp sting of being labelled a liar. Each false promise pierced my heart on an emotional level I’d never felt before.
“Don’t worry Alma… I’ll give you the biggest hug. I’ll be out soon, just promise to not hate me” I mumbled to myself, swiping my falling tears with a glide of my thumb.
Unexpectedly, a loud, booming sound could be heard all of a sudden. Because of the domino effect of the screams I heard, I believe it was safe to assume that the entire orphanage heard it too. But I was unable to focus on them since the previously dark room I was staying in was now illuminated, illuminating every nook and cranny to the point where I was rendered blind by its brightness. I looked at the mysterious rock on the floor that had suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.
Carefully making my way over to the grey rock, which was formerly a vivid turquoise colour but now appeared to have a faint light instead. Was I really about to touch a rock that seemed like it belonged in a sci-fi film? I bit my lip in fear. Absolutely, I would. I wasn’t particularly scared, more intrigued by how it arrived. Perhaps it was magic, or I was going mental already, nevertheless, my index finger curiously touched it.
I immediately regretted my decision, as I yelled and shrieked in anguish as soon as my finger made contact. The terrible suffering I felt that was tearing through my body and mind seemed like a hot, blunt knife was slicing into every vein and bone inside of me like my skin was being peeled by hand. Nothing could have prepared me for this, it wasn’t even comparable to receiving my back lashings from Sister Maria. I could feel my eyes roll back from the intensity. For the first time, I begged God to put an end to it and to ease the suffering, and perhaps he did. For once in my life, he may have paid attention to me since I lost consciousness and my eyes closed, causing me to fall to the ground.
---
Gasping for air, I leapt up onto what I believed to be my bed. It was definitely my room after my eyes cleared up after being fuzzy. Looking around, I noticed that the youngsters were huddled on either side of my bed, their small faces showing fear, worry, and confusion. By the end of my feet, some were sobbing while others were dozing out.
“How long…how long have I been sleeping?” I asked, my throat dry and itchy.
One of the girls burst into tears as she spoke, hiccuping every so often. I offered a smile at her and gave her a gentle head stroke to help her relax.
“We all thought you were g-gone when Sister Maria found you in the-the confession room. You’ve been sleeping for nearly 5 days. It was so scary, the thunder was so loud” she cried out, gripping my bedsheets in frustration.
That’s right, there was a huge, loud thunder-like boom before that strange stone appeared in the confessions room. And when I touched it…the pain that I had endured, must have been real. Biting my lip and forcing myself to push that anguish away, there was one thing I needed to know.
Alma.
“Where is Alma? Is she okay?”
Whispers were exchanged as heads turned to face one another. I instantly felt anxious, as the atmosphere in the room became tense and anxious; it was suddenly difficult for me to breathe normally. My lips began to bleed from nervously chewing, and I felt sweat start to form in my palms. My worry about their response increased with each beat as I became acutely aware of my heart. She couldn’t have, right?
Alma is alive.
“Valeria… Alma is-”
“No” I denied.
“Alma is-”
“No!” I denied it again.
“Alma died 3 days ago while you were unconscious. Mother Amihan said she died due to being sick, that she was ill-”
“Lies! Those are goddamn fucking lies! Alma didn’t die of being ’ill’ she died because they starved her! She was a healthy girl, even with the lack of food they gave us. They killed her…they killed her. They fucking killed her.” I proclaimed, seething at the fact they labelled her death as some sort of illness.
“Big sis… Alma is in heaven now-”
“Well, she shouldn’t be! Can’t you see how fucked up this place is? I know you guys are young, but these workers want us to die, we barely get fed, we barely go outside, and we can’t even have an ounce of time to relax. We are kids, they are the adults. They should be taking care of us, they should be protecting us. They should have been the ones to die, they should have gone through the punishments we’ve all endured, the harsh lashings on our hands, feet and back are proof that they deserve to be gone! Alma should be alive….yet”
Alma is dead.
That was it, Alma is dead and there was nothing I could do to prevent it.
My tears kept pouring out, it was futile to try to stop them when I couldn’t even believe my reality right now. The news hit me like the heaviest slap in the face and left me unable to process anything; it was as if someone had broken my heart and thrown it into the abyss. Each breath was like breathing underwater, making me feel as if I were drowning in my own grief and sadness. Breathing was laboured.
It was too much.
It was all too goddamn much.
All their worried voices were all blurred together.
My mind was in shambles as my hands covered my face, nails digging into my forehead as blood trickled down my eyes and cheeks.
“Valeria… Valeria… Valeria”
“-there’s black smoke coming out your skin… Valeria?”
Their calls to me didn’t reach. My anger was blocking everything like a shield. The sound of their voices only served to intensify my agitation, engulfing me in an overwhelming wave of emotions. Since when have I felt so emotional? It felt as if I were on the brink of erupting in fury. And I did.
“SHUT UP! EVERYONE SHUT UP! EVERYONE FUCKING SHUT UP”
I exploded finally.
The entire room was filled with black smoke and shadows as I yelled. There was that brief peaceful sensation of letting out my stress as if my feelings were finally being released, it felt like this feeling went on for aeons. The room was now totally engulfed in shadows, and in the meantime, I noticed that my skin had an odd, golden glow that was both subtle and noticeable.
I have no clue why that part was the factor that snapped me out of my existential crisis, but it did. However, when the shadows vanished into nothingness, I noticed that all the children were tightly gripping their throats, some of them gasping for breath, while others were comatose. Their eyes were rolled back, the whites of their eyes prominently on the show. Clear signs of suffocation were obvious.
What had just happened?
“I-I can’t b-breathe” one of them gasped.
“H-help us…” another pleaded.
No, no, no. What was happening? Did I do this? No, I couldn’t have. Then what were all the shadows that exploded within the room? Jumping from my bed fervently, I started to perform CPR and chest compressions on their lifeless bodies. While periodically checking their vital signs, slowly coming to a bitter conclusion as their breathing, and hearts became quieter and quieter like wisps. As they passed away one by one. I kept pushing their chest, desperate to bring them back, even breaking one of their ribs with how urgently I was pushing.
What have I done? How long was I in that state of darkness? It only felt like a couple seconds for me.
Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably as a surge of anguish consumed me. Each tear that ran down my pained face, felt heavy on emotions, as it crushed any hope in my body, leaving me desperately grasping for air. I cried out, my voice raw with a mixture of grief, frustration, and anger. The sound of my anguish prevailed in the empty room At that moment, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders, the burden of their deaths left spikes within my heart and soul. If I could see my own spirit, it would be shattered into a million pieces at this very moment.
Frantically darting through the doorway, I cried out desperately for assistance. Yet, my calls went unanswered. At that moment, the horrifying truth dawned upon me—the impact of that explosion of shadows went past Room 2; it had spread throughout the entire orphanage. Lifeless bodies sprawled across the hallways, and in every room, young children writhed on the ground, clutching their necks in agony. The devastating effects of the blast extended not only to the orphans but also to the workers, who were also all over the floor.
From a far distance, I could spot a recognisable figure. Mother Amihan also seemed to have been affected. If I was not absolutely going through a mental disaster I would have smiled at this turn of events, however, I was not in a smiling mood even with her death. Looking at the children was hard to comprehend due to the sheer adversity. My head could not grasp that this was my doing.
I did this.
A desperate urge to flee consumed me. Run somewhere far, somewhere away from this place. I was unable to understand my own behaviour because today's events defied all logic, far beyond what my brain could understand. All I knew was that I couldn't afford to stay inside these walls and risk being found. It hurt me to leave Alma and the other kids, since it seemed cruel and betraying to desert them from my own wrongdoings. I had no other choice, though. Dealing with my guilt and self-pity could be done later, but right now, I could not stay any longer
My heart ached once again, this was all my fault.
Navigating through the corridors was harrowing, and when I finally escaped the building, there was an odd sense of relief from getting out so quickly, yet it was mixed with the deep sorrows of grief and regret. Tears still seemed to have kept falling as I walked away, leaving my entire world behind me.
Goodbye, Alma.
Goodbye, my little brothers and sisters.
I’m sorry for what I have done.
As I kept walking, the feeling of bereavement following every footstep, the small metal gate door opened, which made me pause. As the metal gates swung open, it revealed Sister Maria carrying a brown paper bag filled with fruits and vegetables. She must have been out grocery shopping when that breakdown of me occurred.
“Valeria, what are you doing outside the building? You shouldn’t even be outside, after the stunt you pulled. I’m giving you a fair warning before I report to Mother Amihan of this behaviour” she spat out angrily as she walked past me with a smug attitude, “and wipe that scowl on your face, before I punish you”
“Shut up”
“Excuse me?-”
Rushing forward, my hand clenched around her neck, digging my nails into her delicate skin. Her cries only increased my grip, the desperate clawing at my hands mirroring my past plea when Mother Amihan dragged me by hand. But now, the roles reversed, I held the power, not them.
“Gah! Uh! L-let go, you impudent child!”
“No”
Even with her clawing and making my hands bleed and sting, it was not enough to snap me out of this trance. It was euphoric to see her struggle, those shouts of exasperation were addicting like drugs. I needed to see her suffer, I wanted agony in her eyes. It was only fair.
“Your e-eyes! They’ve gone black- you’re demonic! Agh! gah- you’re a child of the devil-”
Snap.
She held on for one last grasp before her body went limp, and her eyes turned white and lifeless, revealing the scarlet veins inside. I threw her to the side like a lifeless doll that had been abandoned, and I walked over to her corpse. To my shock, her hand moved abnormally fast, grabbing onto my ankle. Her neck cracked and twisted, producing sounds of a branch snapping while looking into me with those ghastly pale eyes.
“Thisss…. Hah, this is all your fault, Valeria”
My heart dropped, she was supposed to be dead.
“It’s your fault Alma died” she giggled, “your fault everyone died. You’ve always been selfish”
I kicked her head in response.
“It’s, it’s not my fault! It’s yours, you abused us”
“But who murdered all those kids, hmm?”
“Shut up” I gritted out.
Yet she only carried on cackling like a deluded witch.
“Shut up, shut up, shut up-
Bolting upright, my chest heaved as I emerged from the clutches of my nightmare. Beads of cold sweat adorned my forehead, clinging to my skin, a reminder of the intense scenario that just played in the chambers of my head. I frantically searched my surroundings as I gasped for air, breathing erratically for what seemed like ages, until I realised I wasn’t back at that orphanage.
Trembling hands reached for the mirror beside my bed, as I examined, it seemed that my power was active during that nightmare again, and I was radiating off black smoke while my left eye was completely black. Whenever I dream of that day, it seemed it sets off my powers or ‘curse’ as I like to call it into overdrive.
It was impossible for me to just forget that day. Even after crying for the past 11 years, it never went away, and nothing I did even slightly lessened my guilt. The echoes of fear and unease persisted.
Getting up from my bed, I went to the bathroom sink to splash cold water on my face. Suddenly there was a knock on my door. Unusual when I had no visitors, nor friends for that matter to converse with.
“Fuck…” I murmured
As I swung open the door, my eyes widened in awe. Before me, stood a woman whose presence was nothing short of enchanting. Her black ponytail cascaded down her back, flowing like a regal waterfall as it nearly touched her calves. Her attire was nothing short of amazing too, it adorned vibrant shades of greens, teals, and purples, complimenting her porcelain-like complexion. She exuded an air of mesmerizing elegance, her stance was confident and powerful.
I was shocked that I couldn’t muster a single word. The woman smiled at my reaction, and I was now consciously aware of how dumb I must have looked.
“Uh hello?”
“Sorry for my intrusion, however, we’ve been looking all over for you, Valeria Sereno"