Chapter 7

Never try to mend a broken blade, you'll only end up getting cut......

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Ashanti's POV:

Jasmine storms passed me through the hallway as I step out of one of the guest rooms after I've just finished tidying up all the dust from inside.

I call after her softly so I won't infuriate her any more than she already is but she slams the door hard shaking the building a little.

Sigh

She's been like this since I got here, always storming off in anger into her room and slamming the door right behind her,most days she doesn't even come out of there.She literally locks herself in for days.....weeks even.

I always knew she was a peculiar.....young girl right from the day I saw her lurking about spying on me.At first I was a little creeped out but then her parents explained that she was a shy person and doesn't know how to interact with strangers so I just brushed it off.

Since then I've tried befriending her and checking up on her to see if she's alright locked up in her room but she always pushes me away telling me to leave and when I say leave I'm not saying leave her, I mean leave as in run away.

At first when we first encountered she told me to leave while I still can, at first I thought she wanted me to quit the job because she didn't like me and I felt really offended, threatened even but I brushed it off with the thought of her just trying to be mean.Although it was later on about two weeks after I got the job that I had found a perculiar drawing in my room on one of my shirts.I remember that it was drawn with blue ink, nothing perculiar about that right?

Wrong

The drawing itself was a strange drawing of a stick woman sitting on a weird looking bench with what I presume to be electricity that was connected to another bench with another stick woman on it....but the other woman looked like she was.....dead.

Till this day I don't understand what that meant but I knew exactly who did it.Jasmine.I never took it seriously though.Ive had experience through my years of living in an orphanage that when kids don't want you around they play pranks like that so you'd leave......Children are mean.I simply just burnt it.

However,after that little prank she pulled she'd been in her room for a whole week and refused to come out so I never got the opportunity to actually confront her even till this day.

It was after she came out that I got a chance to see her but she looked a little weak so I didn't have the heart to talk to her.....I just let her be.However when she saw me she looked at me like I was stupid and couldn't help but feel small.She also started acting a little rash and had her occasionally erratic fit of anger.....she even tried to escape.

It was then it all clicked.She obviously has a psychological problem after all it only made sense since she always locked herself up in her room for days.... anyone would run mad being locked for so long.

But the question is why does she do it?

But even that question lacks an answer.

But still it doesn't make sense why she's always so mad and acts all erratic to her own parents and they're such nice people.

I remember the day Mrs Ada had seen me roaming in the streets of Galria begging for food.She was so kind to me and bought me a large meal to quench the burning hunger.Not only did she do that, she also offered me a place to stay in her home,that's where I met her husband who was equally kind to me.They never asked for anything in exchange but it only felt right to render them my service as a maid in order to pay my dept of gratitude.It only made sense,I owed them that much.They obliged to it and didn't press the matter forward.

I've lived here ever since and it's been four months already....How the days fly.I feel safe here,I mean why wouldn't I?I have a roof over my head,a warm bed,food and clothing and two people who care enough to take me under their wings.....just like parents.

I'm about to go to my room and just let her be.After all she's only going to yell at me to go.

But then.....she may just need a friend to talk to....... someone to understand her.If only she'll just let me talk to her.

I look at her door and concern takes over my reasoning.

It won't hurt to try and talk to her right?

I go to her door and knock lightly

"Go away".

It's strange how I expected that but still knocked any way.

I sigh the familiar sigh that always escapes my lips every time she sends me away but for some reason I don't exactly loose hope.

"I--I just wanted to check up on you"I say.

There's no response from the other side as expected and I walk away,not to my room though but to the kitchen because I know for a fact that she hasn't eaten.She rarely eats anything,I'm surprised she hasn't collapsed from hunger.I take few servings of food and two bottles of water and place them on a tray.I head up stairs and walk to her door then swiftly slide the food under her door.I don't bother to check if she accepts it or not.She always does.And I know that only because this has been going on for a few weeks now.She may reject my company but she never rejects the food I bring her.And even if she doesn't say thank you I know she's grateful.....she simply doesn't know how to show it.The thought of that makes a smile creep on my lips as I head to my room.

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Mirai's POV:

I feel my body shift,turn and twist on the sheets as vivid flashes of images unfold in my mind.

Somehow I know it's a dream.......my mind knows it's a dream because even with the vividness of the flashing images,the meaning and sense behind it is vague.

But it feels so real.....

I find myself in a dark room,with no doors or windows.The only source of light is from flashing images of monsters.Two monsters.Both big,red and ugly.

The flashing continues for a few seconds until it stops and they disappear, leaving me in complete utter darkness.

I have no idea how I got here but from some reason I'm here surrounded by the black inkyness of the dark.

Out of nowhere a small round silver mirror emerges from the inky darkness and I notice that the room is not dark but is still dark....somewhere in between,I'm not sure I know the words to explain it.

The mirror levitates and comes to me slowly.But it's blurry and remains that way till I look into it,but once I do it cracks then shatters flying into different directions.I shield my face so I won't get cut.After a few seconds I uncover my face but the sight in front of me makes me fall on my butt.

Graves......

Not one,not two but hundreds.

I'm in a grave yard......

I get up and stare in awe at the different shapes and sizes of graves as I start to tremble.

Out of nowhere a blinding light emerges.I look to the direction from which it came from.It's a door,a big door.I feel my legs walking to it all by itself but the more I walk to it the bigger the door gets and the smaller I get.Before I know it I'm in full sprint but it feels like the door is moving further.

I stop to take a breathing break placing my hands on my knees whilst bending over but by the time I stand up straight the door is gone and I'm left in the odd darkness.Seconds later I feel the room tremble and floor begins to crack.Before I know it I'm falling...

From the sky......

But the sky looks familiar....it's greyness and gloomy nature seems like that of the city Galria.

Thunder strikes in all directions as I continue falling from the heavens through embodiment of grey clouds.I hear an ugly roar as a monster show cases it's ugly teeth.It claws at me with both it's claws but misses me with only a few inches growling in furry.

I scream on imapct as I feel my body land on a hard surface backwards.

I wake up screaming-Something I've never done-as I pant heavily like as though I'm fighting for air.I wipe my moist forehead with the back of my hands.I turn my body to the edge of the bed as I flip the once cozy sheets off my sweaty body.

I stare at the gigantic window that's just adjacent the bed trying to remind myself that it's only a dream.

It's only a dream...

It's only a dream

It's...

But it wasn't a dream it was a nightmare.

But why did I have it?

I never had nightmares,not after the fire that took my family,not even when I was in the hospital,not even when I was with my aunt,and she was a terrible person.

My mother once told me that the mind is a pathway for both dreams and nightmares and that both are used in sending messages of any kind to the person in question,she said that they don't just pop out of nowhere that they are brought from a spiritual realm used for both good and evil to cast the mind into a wonderous, frightening or blissful place......

But I never believed her, she had always been one to believe in superstitious things.But today it seems that all my doubts has been cleared.

Within a short amount of seconds something clicks.

Jasmine

Her odd parents

This house

I'm such an idiot.I should have left the moment I got here.It was giving me the creepy vibes the moment I got here.

Well there's only one thing left to do then

I get up from the sweat soaked bed and head to the bathroom.I literally only rinse my body with running water then quickly dry myself.I go to the drawers and see if I'm lucky enough to find any clothes but of there's nothing.

Darn the luck

I head back to the bathroom and put back on the night gown.I take my scarf and wrap it around my head.

I begin to head to the door then open it slowly as I peek my head through to see if there's any one out the door.I slowly shut the door then start heading downstairs whilst occasionally looking around to see if anyone is lurking about.

What time is it?you might ask..... however the truth is I don't know.

Once I reach the front door I reach for the door knob and try to open the door but it's locked.

I should have known....

"Going somewhere miss?"asks a mechanical voice making me snap my head up before I turn slowly to the direction of the person behind me.

Onyx

"Uh....yes....I wanted some fresh air"

He raises his left brow up vividly showing his unamusement.

"At two am?"

"Since when did it become too early to breathe?"I try to counter putting on a facade of confidence.

He still retains his poise posture still seeming very unfazed.

"You do know that your bedroom has a gigantic window right?All you have to do is just open it"he says calmly

Shit

I swallow a little not knowing what else to counter with.

"Theairisnotthesame"I blurt still trying to understand what I just said.

"What?"he asks raising an eyebrow

"Uh..the air is not the same.......you know...it's just not"I say continuing with the facade of confidence.

"You can't be serious"I hear him mutter and for the first time I see a flash of tiredness in his face as he massages his forehead with both his thumb and index fingers.For a moment there he actually looks.....humanish but then he somehow regains his normal poise stone cold nature in a flash.

"Ma'am please go to your room"

He continues in his bored monotoned voice.

I obviously have nothing left to say and simply head to the stairs.

Again whoever is giving me all this confidence is doing a terrible job.

"She'd better not try to escape,I already have Jasmine to constantly deal with"I hear him say out of nowhere as he himself walks away into the far darkness.

So he knew?

I feel my blood run cold as I walk back slowly to my room knowing for a fact that I wasn't supposed to hear that.

But I did...

I open the door still a little shaky as I enter.

"I see you tried to escape?"says a voice in the dark that makes me jump before I turn on the lights revealing an unsually calm Jasmine sitting on my bed.

She's sitting at the edge adjacent the door as she looks at the far end of my room at nothing in particular,she just stares.

I'm tempted to ask her what she's doing in my room but then the fact that this is her house and it's not my room per se stops me right on time.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?"she asks now turning her attention to me.

"What for you own the place remember?"I ask

"You have a point there"she states before chuckling bitterly

"I guess you're right"she continues as she lowers her head before looking back at me.

I'm now creeped out as her stare doesn't shift as I walk away from the door closer to my bed but I still manage to look at her with a feigned unfazed look which I doubt she can even see.

But it's only now that a question strikes me.

"Wait how did you know I was trying to escape?"I ask getting suspicious as I narrow my eyes.

"You said it yourself,I own the place"she says now crossing her legs

"And you weren't in your room when I walked in"she says pointing at the door.

I look at her not saying a word

"I didn't exactly lock it"I say slowly

"Yeah I just had to push it open"she says

Suddenly we hear footsteps.....Onyx's footsteps,she gets up and goes to the door.She gives me a little stare before saying

"It's time to get to bed now"

I can't help but notice how she stressed on the word bed

"Hmm"I hum as I nod slowly looking at my bed then back at her.

It seems like she just successfully passed a message because she nods before leaving.

Soon after I see a musculine shadow under door then I hear Onyx's low voice then Jasmine's voice follows suit before she shuts her door.However I see Onyx's shadow approach my room and I jump into the bed and cover myself with the seemingly dry sheets.

The door opens and I close my eyes pretending to sleep.I hear him walk around my room along with cluttering items it is only after a few more minutes that he seems to stop his search and I hear him walk away opening the door then closing it.I don't open my eyes even after his footsteps fade into the far distance of the hallway too scared that he might be right in front of me waiting for me to open my eyes.

It takes me some few extra minutes till I finally open one eye slowly and when I don't find him anywhere in my room I open the other one and turn to the other side of the bed.

However I notice that the pillow has something in it.I waste no time in opening the casing and find a small piece of scrunched up paper.I straighten it out and see the information written on it

"Meet me at the garden by 11 am sharp

After you're done reading this destroy it"

I scrunch back up the paper once I'm done reading it's content

This must be what Onyx had came for....

What exactly did I walk into?

I look at the paper as I try to figure out a way destroy it.

I get up and go to the bathroom and attempt to flush it down the toilet but something else comes to mind once I see a bottle of bleach conveniently sitting at the top of the cabinet. I get a stool from my room and I place it near the sink as I climb it and get the bleach.I place the paper in the sink and pour a good amount of the bleach on it.I place the bleach back on the cabinet and put the stool back near the vanity.

After some time I turn on the water and shred the paper.I pack up the now shredded paper and dash it into the toilet whilst flushing.

There,all gone now...

The only thing I have to worry about is the smell but I'm sure before a few hours it'll be all gone.

I hope...

I go back to my bad but not to sleep though but to pray I figure a way out of this place...I don't even want to know why I need to leave I just need to leave.But I know for a fact that Onyx will now keep an eye on my every movement.

What ever this creepy girl is planning on seeing me for had better be good.