★Zara's Point of View★
"It's sad, isn't it?" I spoke to my mother's photograph in the living room.
Sitting there, it felt as if I was communicating with her in real life.
"Mum...? I hope you're happy seeing me in this lonely world."
I looked around the room and continued, "The only thing you left for me, they want to take it away. Are you happy about it?"
"Mother... are you really going to let that happen? Where will I go if they take away the shelter you provided me? Who will accept me?" I took a deep breath and continued.
"I bet you're happy now. Very, very happy. You were supposed to be here with me, but you left me alone. If you were here, some of this wouldn't have happened. But where are you now?"
"You left your only daughter to suffer. It's really sad. And I can see that you don't want to talk to me. Alright, stay quiet then." I looked away and picked up her small phone, which was now mine.
It was a simple button phone with no internet connection. I started operating it absent-mindedly.
"Zara!" A voice called out my name, and I paused, shocked to hear the voice. It sounded exactly like my mother's voice.
I remained still, hoping to hear the sound again, but it didn't come. However, I couldn't ignore it.
I stood up, looked at my mother's photograph once more, opened the window wider, and peered outside, but I saw no one.
"Mother?!" I called out, stepped outside, and looked around. I ended up staring at her grave, and then I saw a bird fly to the backyard.
The bird looked suspicious to me, so I ran to the backyard, but all I could see were trees. The bird was just a normal bird looking for its friends, and I think it finally found them.
"Mother...!" I called out again, but then I realized that I was starting to look like a mad person. How could I be calling someone who was dead and whom I had buried myself? That was obviously madness.
The voice I heard could be just my imagination, but I know it was not. I heard my name being called out openly. Maybe I should ignore it for now.
After a lot of thoughts in my mind, I decided to sit in the corner of the backyard and wait for a few minutes before going back to my position and waiting for the enemies.
Suddenly, I heard a sound of a car driving into my compound, and I immediately stood up because I knew they had come to take what wasn't theirs.
I ran out of the backyard thinking it was the agents of CC group of company but saw Tina stepping out of her car with her little brother. I was expecting her since I knew she would visit, but I wondered what she came to do with her school uniform.
"Have you come to ruin what you and your mother left?" I asked as I stepped closer to her.
"Have you come to ruin what you and your mother left?" I asked, stepping closer to her.
She looked at my mother's grave before speaking. "I'm sorry I couldn't visit you last night. I was trapped," she said, and I stared at her in surprise.
"You were trapped? Come on, that's why you always avoid coming close to me," I said as I turned to walk inside, with her following me.
"Zara, this is different," she said, and I stopped and turned to look at her, blinking one of my eyes.
"Yeah? I almost lost my life in the process," she said, and I wondered what had happened. "You mean at your home?" I asked, and she nodded.
"Yeah," she responded. "Then I think your mum probably wasn't there, was she?" I asked.
"This is far from what you're thinking, Zara. If only I could explain," Tina said, her voice almost breaking with tears.
"It's fine, I understand," I responded. "You don't understand anything!" she replied, and I was left looking at her in shock.
"Can you help me understand?" I asked, and she shook her head, tears streaming down her face. It seemed like this was becoming more serious.
"It's like a curse on me, and if I try to say anything about it, I'll die. I was choked last night, and I was heavily warned about it. Please..." she said, but I was still confused.
"What the hell are you talking about? Can you enlighten me?" I asked, but she shook her head.
"No, there's no way. Can you please stop asking?" she requested, and I felt annoyed by her statement.
"If you don't want to tell me, then why the hell did you come? Is this the new pattern for you and your mum to find something to accuse me of, so you can abuse me however you like?" I asked, and she continued shedding tears.
"Zara, you know me," she said, and my heart was touched by her words. She never meant any harm to me. She had always been kind to me ever since I knew her. We were more than friends, more than relatives. We were sisters. So when she made that statement with tears in her eyes, I immediately calmed down.
"Okay... what are you doing here, Tina? And why are you dressed for school? What's going on?" I asked.
"It's me and my brother. I don't know if we can stay here until after school," she requested, and I was shocked.
"Stay where? I might become homeless before that time," I replied. "What?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said, picking up the paper that was brought to me and unfolding it. "Can you please read this?"
She scanned through the paper for a few seconds and then stared at me. "How...? I don't understand how this property get to concerns the CC group of companies," she asked in surprise while I folded my arms. "Just like you were shocked, I was surprised too," I replied.
"But it's fine. You can stay with me until they come to claim the house. If I win and they let me stay, then it's fine. But if I become homeless, then you will have to help me find another place," I said.
"Come in, and I'll get you a seat," I ordered, and she joined me inside. We discussed a lot about the sudden claim by the CC group of companies.
Our conclusion was that they were rich enough to take away this building from me with a silky excuse about my mum. Well, I was just waiting for them while I spent hours with Tina. We went out together, and she bought some things for me, including foodstuffs.
"Now, it was already closing time for students" Tina said as she was set to leave, I nodded happily and thanked her.
"Thanks, you've done really well. Thanks for the stuff," I said, and she smiled. "You're welcome," she replied.
"What about the house issue? Do you still think it's true?" Tina asked, and I nodded. "Come on, it's not true. It's probably done by some touts," she said, and I agreed with her.
She was obviously right, and my mind could finally calm down a little bit. "Alright, goodbye Zara," Tina said, and we waved at each other. Then she left for her car and drove home with David.
Wow, Tina had done it again, just like she used to before. She had stocked my house with enough foodstuffs. All thanks to her!
I was so happy that I ran into my bed and fell asleep. I slept until it was already 8:00 pm.
I don't know what really happened, but I was woken up by a knock on my door.
"I'm coming!" I responded to the knock as I got up from my bed and stretched myself. I never suspected anything until I opened the door.
It was them, the agents of CC group of companies. They had come with the police.
"Good evening, dear. This house was given to your mother by our...," he was saying, but I interrupted him.
"You are lying! I know what you are trying to do! But I am going nowhere!" I yelled at him as he looked at the police.
"Alright, get her out of here and lock up the building!" the man in black barked.
"No! Get away from me!" I screamed, but I was powerless to stop them.
They pushed me out out of the house and sealed it up leaving me there to cry bitterly. As I wept, the sky suddenly changed and rain poured down heavily upon me. They shoved me out into the rain, warning me, "You are not to be found anywhere near this house again, or you will be taken to jail."
Left alone in the pouring rain, I sat on the ground and cried as the powerful wind whipped around me. I wondered how I was going to survive now. Should I go back to that wicked woman? No, she would surely use me as a slave. Who could I turn to? How could I be created just to suffer like this? What the hell was going on with me?