Submitting novel Chapter 45

Her eyes so kind, so soft, so naive. Innocent. Untouched by the cruelty of the world outside. A flicker in the darkness, I hope never extinguishes. The world needed people like her to stay alive. Such conscience, that hasn’t even flickered once in her years of life. I didn’t need to be told. Her brown eyes were an open book, baring her soul as she walked towards me with hopeful and helpful eyes. If she could, she would have tried to absorb the pain out of me, but I felt thankful that she couldn’t.

“Yes, Rose? What can I do for you?” She knew what I meant when I asked for her help, but I couldn’t do this to her and I won’t share my pain with her because I know it would eat away a piece out of her. God knows that there’s enough hungry wolves outside, and I wasn’t going to be one of them who did that. 

“I think it’s time that I talk to the cops or anyone with authority. There’s… things that need to be sorted.” Liza. I needed to get her out of there as soon as possible. It was scary to think that I might be late, and that possibility seemed so real that it made me tremendously guilty. I left her there and even if there was no other option then, I had the option to save her now. And I will try my best to do that no matter what.

“Oh! Oh, okay! I’ll do that as soon as possible. I’ll do that right now and someone will be available to talk to you about that as soon as possible.” She nodded quickly and walked out of the room anxiously. Her excitement  was not exactly a happy one but mixed with concern and again, the need to help me. 

I could almost smile. 

Was I finally amongst people who cared or is this just an illusion in a dry, drought, burning desert, giving me a moment of solace before it's snatched away again. Faltering, the smile that I had on lips just a ghost like it always should have been.

****

A strange sort of dread gripped me while I waited for whoever was about to come through that door. Would they even believe the past few weeks, months or maybe even years that I spent locked up in that house. A house which I knew only from the inside, the overall structure still a mystery.

A soft knock resounded on the door and in came the doctor, the nurse and two men dressed in pants and suit. It looked like something out of a movie. The black and white mystery thriller ones that are so predictable that you already know the ending. Only this was not a movie and everything was as unpredictable as the ever changing, moody weather.

Rain showered outside with a dark muddy sky outside. It was not warm anymore. Cold, chilling and unforgiving. 

They walked in with slow careful steps. As if I was  a scared kitten who must be approached with a certain empathy in your steps, otherwise they might run away before even you get to help them. I could see the pity in their eyes with curiosity swirling. I had that same curiosity somewhere inside me because I wanted to know why no one tried to help me or Liza. Why didn’t anyone come to rescue us…

“What do you mean who? Haven’t you been looking for us?” I had no idea what was happening. Didn’t they try to look for us at all? And as if he could read my mind, he answered my unasked question right away.

“Rose, I am really sorry that we don’t exactly know what you are talking about. We didn’t have any idea about you going missing.” he turned around to look at the other people in the room, unsure about how to react to it all. I was pretty much going through the same emotions.

“H-how could you not? We… have been missing… for such a long time. No-body informed the authorities?” Tears brimmed at my eyes as my vision blurred, and my face contorted in anguish. The stingy pain that wrapped its fingers around my heart made it hard for it to breathe. 

All this time that I spent there, one of the things that kept me going was the hope that somewhere out there people are looking for me and Liza. We would be found someday and I just had to wait. It’s just a matter of time and patience. 

Perhaps, Liza was right after all. The world is too cruel and selfish outside.