Kim Ji-eun (2)

Iana's decision to send me to school was unexpected, to say the least. For years, I had been confined to the suffocating walls of our home, my only company the echoes of my own thoughts and the oppressive presence of my aunt and cousin. So when Iana suddenly announced her intention to enroll me in school, I couldn't help but feel suspicious.

At first, I approached this newfound freedom with caution, half-expecting some ulterior motive lurking beneath the surface. But as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, I began to notice a subtle shift in our dynamic. Iana seemed to have less time for me, her attention diverted elsewhere, leaving me to my own devices.

And so, to fill the void left by her absence, I threw myself into school activities with a newfound zeal. Club meetings, evening classes, leisure competitions – I embraced them all, relishing the opportunity to escape the confines of my mundane existence. And to my surprise, Mira often accompanied me, her presence a welcome distraction from the emptiness that had consumed me for so long.

But even as I immersed myself in this newfound freedom, I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered at the back of my mind. Mira's behavior, in particular, struck me as odd. She seemed to be everywhere I went, joining every club, participating in every activity, always hovering at the periphery of my existence like a silent shadow.

I brushed off my suspicions, refusing to dwell on the implications of Mira's strange behavior. Instead, I focused on the present, reveling in the newfound sense of happiness that had eluded me for so long. For the first time in seven years, I made friends, genuine connections that brought light and warmth into my darkened world.

But all good things must come to an end.

The day I won the gold medal for first place in volleyball should have been a moment of triumph, a validation of my newfound sense of self-worth.

As Mira and I walked home, the tension from the earlier competition still lingered in the air, but Mira's attempts to sugarcoat the situation were almost comical. Despite the heaviness of the atmosphere, she persisted in showering me with exaggerated praise and enthusiasm. It was as if she were desperately trying to distract both of us from the underlying tension that simmered beneath the surface.

Her reaction, however, was what truly caught me off guard. As I laughed at her over-the-top gestures, she surprised me by dropping to her knees, her hands raised in a mock display of reverence. The absurdity of the moment was not lost on me, and I couldn't help but join in her laughter. It was a brief moment of levity in an otherwise tense situation, and for that, I was grateful.

But before I could even finish my sentence, the sound of a sharp slap cut through the air, sending a jolt of pain shooting through my cheek. Mira's shocked expression mirrored my own confusion, her eyes wide with disbelief at the sudden turn of events.

I turned to see Iana storming towards us, her expression twisted with anger. The sight of my gold medal seemed to fuel her fury even further, and I braced myself for whatever punishment she deemed fit to mete out.

"Good eveni--" I started to say, but my words were cut short by the force of Iana's slap. The sting of it reverberated through my skull, leaving me momentarily stunned.

Mira's shock quickly turned to concern as she reached out to steady me, her eyes filled with worry. But even in that moment of chaos, there was a flicker of something else in her gaze – something I couldn't quite place.

As Iana continued to berate me, her words a blur of anger and accusation, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Mira's reaction than met the eye. But with Iana's wrath raining down upon me, there was little time to dwell on it.

And so, with a heavy heart and a throbbing cheek, I followed Iana back to the house, the echoes of her anger still ringing in my ears.

Iana's furious tirade greeted us at the door, her anger palpable in the air as she lashed out at me with unbridled fury.

"How could you make a slave of my daughter, you leech!" Iana's voice thundered, her face contorted with rage.

"M-Mother, what are you doing?" Mira stammered, her shock evident in her trembling voice.

But Iana paid her daughter's protests no mind, her assault on me relentless and unforgiving.

"How could you steal everything from her? You weren't even meant to win this gold medal, you vile, evil leech!"

And then, in a moment of clarity, I finally understood.

"Mira, how could you?" I whispered, my voice trembling with a mixture of betrayal and disbelief.

Mira's laughter echoed through the hallway, a cruel symphony of deceit and malice.

"You never saw it coming, did you?" she sneered, her eyes cold and calculating. "You were so desperate for a taste of freedom, you never stopped to question why I was always there, always one step ahead of you."

As Iana dragged me down into the darkness of the basement, her curses ringing in my ears, I felt a cold dread settle in the pit of my stomach. I had fallen victim to their cruelty once again, betrayed by those I had dared to trust.

And as the days stretched on, my confinement becoming a prison of my own making, I felt the weight of my resentment grow heavier with each passing moment. I longed for escape, for freedom from the chains that bound me to this place of torment.

But it was too late.

By the time Iana finally decided to release me from my prison, I had already drawn my last breath, my body succumbing to the relentless onslaught of dehydration and despair. And as I lay there, my vision fading into darkness, I couldn't help but wonder how things had gone so horribly wrong.

In the end, I was just another casualty of their cruelty, a pawn in their twisted game of power and control. And as the world faded away around me, I prayed for peace, for release from the torment that had consumed my soul.

But in the end, all I found was darkness.

25th September, 2023....