The Girl Named Mirage

Manila, Philippines

It’s been a month already. But Elven’s still can’t accept the reality. His family is gone. Forever. He’s alone now. And with that thought, tears pour down again. He thought there were already none. But it seems he still has a lot more tears to cry.

He didn’t know how much would be left for him until he cry his heart out. Maybe he should call someone but he doesn’t want to bother them because he knows they are all busy with their lives. Besides, they wouldn’t want to listen to him anyway. They wouldn’t understand him. They won’t feel anything rather than pity. It is far worse than what he’s already feeling.

He’s in his daughter’s bedroom. Lying on the floor. Hugging her favorite Bunny stuff toy as big as her. There’s still a faint smell of her as she always hugs the bunny. And the surge of his daughter and wife’s memories flows over him.

Crying and thinking, but nothing seems to work. He tries to think of ways to make things better. There must be something he can do. It’s not like he was able to bring them back. He fell asleep. He always falls asleep when he’s tired from all the crying. He slept and dreamed of a life with them.

6 O’clock in the evening. Someone knocked on the door that woke him up. He didn’t move. He doesn’t want to. He just lies there and stares at the ceiling with a blank expression and empty mind.

Then he heard the unlocking sound of the door and the light spread over the room. He was blinded so he covered his eyes using his arm.

” Elven, you should eat. Come, I will prepare Belle’s favorite food. ”

It was Sylvia Vernon. His mother-in-law.

” I’ll wait for you downstairs okay? ”

He just nodded. For the past weeks, Belle’s mother took care of him. She always forced him to eat so he wouldn’t get sick. She’s also heartbroken as she lost her daughter and granddaughter but she stays strong. She didn’t think of him as a nobody now that his wife is gone. She still looks and treats him like her own son. She’s not going to leave him behind too. She’s going to take care of him and help him cope with this situation.

As if reading his thoughts, she said ” I’m here and I will never leave your side. I am your Mom and you are my son, nothing’s gonna change that. ”

With those words, Elven started to sob once more. Sylvia quietly close the door and leave him be.

” Where’s Elven? ”

Sylvia sighs and sadly looks at Angelique.

” Upstairs. Still crying. ”

They both sigh. They know how he loves them so much. He always went home straight after work. He loves spending his spare time playing with his daughter. He always helps Belle in her business and in her household chores. They can’t just say anything bad about him. He’s a very humble and sincere person.

A knock on the door startled them. They don’t expect anyone.

” I’ll see who it is. ”

Angelique opens the door and a woman with a huge bag just barges in making Angelique take a step back.

” This looks nice. We can stay here, Mom. ”

Eliana looks at her mother who’s still standing outside the door. Angelique’s face darkened but didn’t say anything. She just opens the door wider for Leona to come in.

” What are you doing here? ”

Angelique shot Eliana a cold gaze as the latter sat down without being asked. She even dares to crossed her arms and legs and looks at Angelique with a straight face. She doesn’t look intimidated by her at all.

” We need to stay here for a while, ” Leona explained calmly.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

” You know, this would be our home now. ”

Leona then turns towards Eliana and smiled.

” We’ll stay here with Elven from now on. He now lives here alone so we’ll just give him company. Well, that doesn’t have anything to do with you anyway. ”

” Seriously? Huh. Where did you get that ridiculous idea? ”

” Why not? Your sister is dead so all of their property including this house will now belong to my brother. ”

Eliana said mockingly. Not hiding her displeasure with Belle and how she likes to take all of her property.

Leona ignored Angelique’s remark and continue explaining why they had to stay in the house.

” Don’t you get worried. He loves us, so he will always be happy to share his space with us. ”

Angelique just rolled her eyes.

” Wow. Just wow. After everything your family has done to my sister, you have the guts to say that? ”

” Angelique, calm down. ” Sylvia, whose patience was endless, tells her younger daughter to stop. She’s worried that this will upset Elven even more when he hears their argument.

” I believe we don’t do anything to your sister. We treat her kindly and well. ”

Leona who’s trying very hard not to look mad said with a bitter smile.

” Kindly? Well? How so? By ordering her around when they visited you? Is that how kind you are to my sister? You make her life miserable! ”

” What’s so wrong with that? It’s just some simple stuff. ”

” I don’t know if you’re just trying not to look stupid or you’re just simply plain stupid . ”

” Hey, watch your mouth! ”

” You, watch your mouth. ”

Angelique says with a menacing glare.

” I’ll just assume that you’re not in your right mind, that’s why you decided to demand something from anyone here. You see, this is not your territory, this is not the right place for you. That’s why you don’t have any right to live here, so get the fvcking out of here! ”

” NOW! ”

Sylvia shook’s her head while her hand touches her forehead. Her daughter’s hatred finally explodes. It’s like watching a firecracker exploding. Everything is on flames and you have no way to escape it. You can only stand on your ground and watch it destroy you completely.

That’s how much Angelique hated Elven’s family.

Because they make her sister’s life difficult and hard. Because they treated her like dirt. Because they made her feel weak. Because they are selfish people with no empathy. Because they don’t care about anyone other than themselves.

She really wanted to hit those women in front of her a long time ago. But she can’t. Even though she wants to beat them to death, she knows that that isn’t allowed. It wouldn’t do any good to her sister, Belle. She has to protect her. No matter how angry she is with them, she knows it’s better to keep that anger inside. So she keeps it to herself until the day she’ll explode. And that’s now.

Her sister was gone. She really needs to let it all out.