It
was past three in the afternoon. An early wind was blowing from the southwest
and made the sky a bit gloomy. On the second floor of an old townhouse, a
little girl was playing by herself while her mom was sleeping at the
couch. Her doll and some toys were scattered around the floor where
she sat waiting for her mom to wake up.
“No!
Don’t touch my ice tea! That’s mine okay?” blurted little Alunsina. Then she
tapped the floor to her left side and whispered, “Just stay here.”
Outside,
faint drip drop drip could be heard. The month of July had started to get cold
as the low pressure area intensified over the Pacific Ocean. Only the acacia tree at the backyard was standing proud amidst the threat of an upcoming storm. On the other hand, the bamboo grasses around it humbly bent their culm towards the ground.
Alunsina picked
up a tiny comb and brushed her doll's long ebony hair. "Baby Lala, so
pretty.”
The
lights began to flicker again and Alunsina got a bit irritated. “I told you to
stay here!” she screamed in frustration while pointing at the floor to her
left. After a few seconds she stood up and walked towards the door, “Okay, go
home now. I don’t wanna play with you anymore.”
Slowly,
she opened the screen door, looked at the acacia tree and smiled afterwards. “Ba-bye! Bye!” Then she
closed the door while peeping through the screen.
Selena woke up on Alunsina's loud voice. She sat on the couch while she brushed her ash brown hair with her hands.
"Al...who are you talking to?"
"JoshMary."
Alunsina said blissfully while pointing out behind the door.
"Who?"
Selena who was still feeling a bit dizzy, walked towards little Al. She stared behind
the door and frowned after a few seconds. "Where?"
Alunsina went back to where her baby doll was, sat at the floor
and started playing again. She picked up a mini water jar and pretended to pour
some water in a pot made of clay. "I will cook asparagus. You hungry Lala?
Oh, baby is hungry!" She took the slotted spoon and stirred the water in
the pot.
Selena opened the door and stepped out to the balcony. She shifted
her gaze at the enormous acacia tree in the middle of the
backyard. Its mossy branches were sticking out like twisted arms towards her. The forest of bamboo which surrounded the tree gave shrieking sounds whenever the wind
blew. Selena let out a big sigh and returned to the room.
“I think I’ll make some tea,” she told Al. “Do you need something,
baby?”
The five year old girl nodded, “Lala wants some chocolate milk.
Would you get her some?”
Selena smiled and went downstairs.
The shrieking of the bamboo grass continued and grew louder every
minute. “I can’t hear you, Lala. Too noisy.” Alunsina complained. She turned
her head towards the door and suddenly a small light appeared just above her
head. Her eyes were fixed at the floating light which started to circle around
the room.
Alunsina clapped her hands, “Fireflies!” she shouted and ran after
the light. “Come here! Don’t leave me.”
When Selena returned to the bedroom, a sprinkle of fireflies had already filled the air. Little Al had been jumping on the bed trying to catch one. Selena suddenly felt an eerie rush of energy all around the room. Her eyes immediately caught two silhouettes in front of the balcony’s screen door. She had frozen right when the two shadows rapidly took shape.
The time felt like it had stopped forever as she was standing
right in front of Al. One of the shadows had gray hair and her cerulean
dress touched the carpet. Opaque and pale blue lights were glistening from her
left wrist like fireflies. The taller Dryad had a long and green fern-like hair. Her body was like a tree branch covered with vines.
It can’t be! Selena’s mind was panicking while
she stood there like ice. How come the Dryads
are here? How? She tried to warn Al to run but no words came out of her mouth.
It was cold outside but sweat had started to form on her forehead.
Al suddenly stopped from jumping and looked at her with innocent eyes. “Can you
see the fireflies mom?”
Suddenly, Selena heard her own heart beat as loud as a bass drum. That was when all her strength came back and with all her might
she ran as fast as she can towards Al. Nooo!
It wasn't enough. I am too slow..
Just a few steps before she could grab Al’s arms, she
saw the Dryad’s eyes turned blue.
In an instant, a violent blow hit her whole body. There was a loud rumble and she felt an extreme heat of electrical current piercing through the center of her chest. The whole room shook. The paintings fell off the wall and the papers on her desk scattered all over the place. Alunsina was looking at her with eyes now bewildered.
In an instant, a violent blow hit her whole body. There was a loud rumble and she felt an extreme heat of electrical current piercing through the center of her chest. The whole room shook. The paintings fell off the wall and the papers on her desk scattered all over the place. Alunsina was looking at her with eyes now bewildered.
Her body slammed down the wall as her head hit the floor. It felt like all her bones had been broken. In an instant
the room became a dark sky full of flickering lights. She heard Alunsina’s terrified
scream.
And just before she lost her consciousness, she saw the screen
door burst open and a deep roar echoed the whole room. The impact of her fall
must have given her vague illusions. She saw the acacia tree moved closer and
it had become a nine feet tall shadow. The two Dryads were taken by surprise as
the balcony became darker and darker on Selena’s eyes.
Next Episode: Kafir
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