Chapter 15

Claudine cried like she never had before after they had all left her. The left side of her head throbbed badly and her forehead felt hot to her touch. Her tongue sat like a woollen piece of dried cloth in her mouth and Claudine knew she'd sell one of her pinky fingers for water that moment. The last time she had felt this way was when her best friend, Eleana died from internal bleeding. She had fallen from a tree when she had gone on a rebellious adventure with some of the other girls. She had gotten up, patted herself down and felt that she was alright except for some minor abdominal pain. However, it was too late when the part-time nurse who came to the orphanage twice a week discovered the anomaly.

Claudine remembered that day like it just happened last week. She had held Eleana's hands in the makeshift infirmary at the orphanage which was just a used room with a couple of bunkers thrown in together. Elena had died in so much pain. A dark, dirty bruise had stained her exposed belly, making the rest of her body a ghastly white complexion. Claudine had refused to leave her side, she had held her hands until Eleana took her last breath. The nurse said there was nothing that could be done since Eleana never let anyone know that she had fallen face down from a tall tree so a proper examination could have been done.

Claudine had been inconsolable that day, she had cried and wanted to die. That was seven years ago, they had planned a lot of exploration together for when they finally got out of the orphanage home. But here she was, in a shitty rat hole and Elena, beneath the cold ground.

She had lost track of time after a while. When did the Zaynader family desert her? An hour ago or six? She couldn't tell, only that the day must be getting dark. Her bones ached as she tried to get up from the ground. She wondered how long she had fallen asleep in that position after having cried an ocean.

On standing up, she noticed what looked like a work table. She inched closer and discovered that there was something that looked like a basket underneath the table. She pulled out the basket just before she heard the scurrying of little animals from within which made her fall back in shock. Rats of various sizes ran out of the basket, scattering into various nooks and crannies within the room.

In her horror, she kicked at the basket, further setting the vermin free from pieces of nylon paper that they had probably chewed to bits while homing in there. Claudine jumped onto the worktop table and started screaming as she watched the hideous rats leap out of the basket. She kept screaming, using up the little energy she had and finally passed out when one of the rats found a way to climb on top of the table and jump onto her body.

Back upstairs in the well-lit and cosy sitting room, Janey sighed gratefully.

"I honestly thought she'd never stop screaming."

Ariella laughed, "Don't be ridiculous, mum. Even banshees eventually stop screaming."

"Right", smiled Janey to her daughter just before she took a sip of sweet red wine that stained her lips blood red.

Their living room was tastefully furnished as Janey had good taste. A picture window stood on each opposite side of a black marble fireplace. The curtains that covered the picture window at night were ash in colour and of gorgeous material. A compact and round table of black marble quality similar to the fireplace area rested in the centre of the living room. This was where Janey had left the bottle of red wine with its cork lying nearby.

Two flower vases with Chinese markings and house plants growing in them had been placed in front of each of the rectangular picture windows. Janey and her husband brought back the vase from their last vacation to the Far East. A quaint elderly Chinese lady had sold it to them and even offered to have it shipped to their place in perfect condition and her husband had readily obliged even though Janey had her misgivings. What if the old lady was a fraud and was trying to rip them off? But the flower vases had arrived exactly two weeks from the day they had returned, just like the old lady said.

Ariella got up and paced the wooden polished floors which were exposed where the ottoman rug wasn't able to cover. Light from a beautiful glassy chandelier illuminated the room. Janey had turned off the brighter bulbs earlier because she couldn't stand the brightness when she was trying to drink and relax.

"Good thing she did though. I was nearly ready to stuff her mouth with a piece of cloth."

"And it's a good thing we don't have close neighbours and that we are surrounded by trees for miles on end."

Ariella laughed, "Just imagine the neighbours calling the cops on us due to all of that disturbance all evening. It would be hilarious."

"Not when they discover where you put Claudine. It would be the cuff on your wrist and your ass in jail."

Ariella's face darkened and she took a jab at her mother. "And so will your ass too because it happened right under your roof, in your presence, and you did nothing about it!"

"Ah, easy now, darling. I was just playing devil's advocate", said Janey mildly as she always wanted to be on her daughter's good side even if it meant spoiling the girl silly.

Claudine's screams reach their ears again. It was much louder than it was before when they had first locked her in.

Janey groaned, "The bloody girl is at it again."

"It's the rats", replied Ariella like a young sage, "I did warn her about it."

"Like you aren't happy this is happening."

Ariella smiled, "Of course I am."

"Well I can't stand it any longer, go shut her up please."

But as Ariella changed her pacing directions and started heading towards the door, Claudine's screams abruptly got cut off. Ariella paused in her tracks and shared a look with Janey who only shrugged her shoulders and said, "That was good riddance if you ask me."