Haunted by the past

'It's okay, mom."

A young child was left trying to comfort her mother. The room was a mess. A shattered glass, and an untidy arrangement of chairs.

Her father abandoned them. For him, the company was a better choice.

'So what do we do now?'

She sat together with his mom on the tiles but not a single tear could be found on her face. It seems that she took the image of her father, her face was as cold as his.

"Asylene, my daughter. Your father abandoned us…" Her mother's voice was quavering and her hand was trembling as she was trying to reach Asylene's cold face.

"Mother, it's okay. You still have me."

Her mother swallowed her dry saliva and she told her daughter: "I'll never, ever forgive your father for what he has done to us."

For both of them, It was a very depressing night.

◇◆◇

"Gasp!"

Asylene woke up with a deep gasp from her mouth. She was panting, trying to catch her breath. She's sweating very hard and the sheet she was lying in was all rumpled.

'That dream again.'

She was haunted by a dream from one of her past. She was a naïve child at that time but she clearly remembers every detail how her family broke.

'What a mess.'

When she glanced at the side of her bed, she saw her clock. It was midnight exactly at three o'clock sharp.

'I should relax a bit and go to school then.'

She withdrew herself from the bed, went to the bathroom and washed her face. The place she lived in was an apartment. It was rather a small apartment since the money her father left wasn't that big enough.

She then walks towards the center of her apartment and opens the fridge. She grabbed a bottle of cold water, opened it and replenished her thirst.

"...Cruel father aint he?"

Standing and staring at the edge of her apartment, the time ticked as she was struck by the endless boredom. A scene from the past appeared in her mind.

[ Asylene Clea Rhapsody Flend. ]

That is her full name, Rhapsody means an ecstatic feeling or a poem. In her mother's family, they are all talented in poetry and music. Her mother was once a singer and a lyricist. And of course, Asylene has the talent like that too, but she never shows it to her parents.

When her mother got divorce, the Flend from her name disappeared as it was her father's surname. now her full name is:

[ Asylene Clea Rhapsody ]

She was once a happy and joyous child, like a person with an ecstatic expression. But little did she know happiness has its end too.

"Crap, I better take a shower now."

She went back to her room, grabbed the towel and went back to the bathroom again. She then took her time to shower.

In the meantime, her phone was ringing continuously inside her bedroom.

Ring Ring!

Her mother was calling her but he didn't notice it since the sound of the shower pouring was occupying the whole bathroom.

As usual, she would prepare her breakfast after she finished taking a bath. She would turn on the television in her apartment and sit there relaxing wearing a bathrobe.

She would spend a minute staring at a television with nothing inside her mind. She just watched because she had nothing to kill for some time.

When she returned back to her bedroom, she noticed the sound of vibration inside the blanket. She knew for sure that the vibration came from her phone, so she flipped the blanket and found out that her mother was still calling her from her phone.

'How long has she called me?'

She picked up her phone and answered her mother immediately.

"Mom, I'm sorry for not noticing your call. I was taking a bath."

"It's okay sweetie but, you know that we are financially unstable right?" Her mother's voice was hesitating to continue. " Asylene, I might not be sending you some money right now so I hope you still have some cash left."

"Mom, it's okay. I have some work too you know… I have money for myself to take care of.."

On the phone, her mother sighs with relief.

"Then, I'll call you again when I have some money left, Asylene."

Her mother then hangs up the call.

After her father left both of them, Asylene searched for a job so she could help her mother with money. Although her father gave them money from the custody, it wasn't enough to survive for a whole ten years.

Her mother, Haileyn goes abroad after Asylene turned fifteen. Her mother left her with the apartment she was living in now. And last year when she turned sixteen, she was hired as a cashier at a small convenience store.

She might be a seventeen years old child right now, but she's a college student. Of course in the beginning, she was homeschooled. All of her home teachers were impressed by her grade so it was a flash for her.

But when her father left, she had no choice but to continue her school inside a university. She has a problem with socializing with people since she's the youngest of all of them.

She would feel every glare of one's eye every time she walks and enters the school, but in the end she adjusted. She survived and now she's a first year college student enrolled in an arts school.

Asylene likes to paint and draw, so she chose to major in arts. It was rather a hasty decision but she didn't regret it. For her, it was fun doing some art and paintings. Sometimes, she would sell her artwork and paintings so she would earn more money for her tuition fee in the university. Being a college student sure isn't easy.

"I should hurry up now and go to school."

She hurriedly packed her lunch and put all the art things inside her bag. She put her ID and turned off all the gadgets and accessories in her apartment and locked the door.

'Another day for school. Ugh! this is so tiring…..'