The beginning of that girl, Ajia

Blood is dripping down her forearm while catching her breath, gasping. She has ran for hours trying to escape her hometown. The smell of her sweat mix with the fresh night breeze consoles one's soul during a calm night, but not for Ajia. Slowly walking towards nowhere, she feels her legs are getting heavier by the second. Her breathing is heavy but controlled. The thought that she can't rest alarms her to be alert, vigilant and nervous at the same time. She can hear her heart pounding hard again. She suddenly panicked,

dug dug, dug dug

while controling the sound of her breathing. She can't be heard. She can't afford to be noticed. She closes her eyes, trying to convince herself, that it is not happening to her, to her family.

"This is only a dream!" a half baked giggle, "I will wake up now." she said in a whisper while pinching and slapping herself. She counted, "1..2..3..yea".

She opened her eyes only to see pitch black surrounding. She is still there. She is lost. This is not a dream. She felt the soreness of her legs and feet as she scrambles to hold on to something. Her body suddenly felt weaker as she realizes that this is happening to her. Her left hand caught a trunk and held onto it as she slid down slowly, just as the energy from her body is dissipating. No hint of any light and only the crickets sounds in the area. The wind blows softly, of cold chills.

"This is not happening!" she started to cry silently.

"Where am I?" she whispered to herself with a trembling silent voice. She was holding a kitchen knife. Upon realizing, she immediately tossed the knife few feet away. Shocked by the sticky fluid she felt on her forearm, no. She tries to widen her eyes hoping to see something but it was too much for her that she decided to give up.

"Papa?", tears are forming again in her little eyes. "What's happening?" No one was there to answer. She curbed and hugged herself while crying. She was confused, shocked, and afraid.

"Mama?" She suddenly felt something is about to come out from her silent monologue. In her mind, she was wailing but in the darkness of the night she was still. Then came out from the bushes...

---

Tuttt tuttt tuttt tutt tutt

Ajia slowly reached for the alarm on her side table. "Ajia, wake up! or you will be late for school! It's already 9:00 in the morning!.. how can you become successful... if you" called the mother with fading voice.

Shocked to hear the time, but seconds later she realizes, her mom always does that - exaggerate things! She looks at the side table, relief crossed her face "Mom, it's 6:03 not 9:00." With a droppy eyes she dipped again her head in her soft pillows for few seconds and finally stood up!

"Today is a wonderful day to live! Whooho!" she shouted as soon as she took her towel and entered the bathroom to take a shower.

Ajia is a typical 15 year old girl with a knack for running and reading. She has a cute face but she prefers to cover it with her hair, most of the time. She is the only child of a homemaker and a regular office employee. They live a simple yet a comfortable life in a suburban community just outside the Metropolitan. The father prohibits Ajia to go inside the Metro saying it is too crowded for his little young girl. Even until now that she is a teenager, she has not gone to the city or even closer to the border. However she does not really bother. For her, reading a book with different stories made her imagine things and relive them in her mind is more important that anything else. The house was built with three rooms and a nice garden. Her room was situated next to her parents and with a good backyard view. She always hang around the window while reading a good book. The garden is well maintained by her mother. They already have plenty of fruits and vegetables that could support their daily requirement. Her mother was a greenthumb, something that Ajia also inherited from her mom.

They have a good neighbors in the area. Living few meters away from them, is an old lady living alone in her house. She does not go out that much and Ajia doesn't remember her name for she never talked to anyone in the area. Another family is also living nearby who has a shop in the market. They are always out early in the morning and usually comes home late. Living in the suburb indeed was a breath of fresh air for her family.

"So what's cooking Mama?" asked Ajia who just finished getting ready for school combing her hair that would cover her face.

"Why do you always cover your face Ajia?" noticed by her mother. "You have to show your cute face to the world, you know." while touching her face.

"Well Mama, you see, I don't like being... looked at. And besides, yeah no, never mind." said Ajia.

"Why my daughter? You have a beautiful face." asked the mother, smiling and a bit worried for her daughter's introvert tendencies.

"Do we eat breakfast or do we stare at my face until Papa arrives from work?" Ajia retorted with a smile. She could never disrespect her mother. She loves her so much that she'll do anything for her.

"Okay, okay... it's your favorite dish today! Tanan!" enthusiastically exclaimed by the mother while serving a fried chicken with herbs. "Come on sit, sit."

"Ma, why does Papa always leave for work very early?" asked Ajia who is enjoying her favorite dish.

The mother answered Ajia with a smile, "You know your father works very hard for the both of us right? So he needs to be in the office.. always. Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"I kinda miss Papa's presence. Anyway, I love your cooking Mama, it is the best in the world!" finishing her meals.

"But you haven't tried any other dish other than what's being prepared here at home Ajia, how come you said it's the best?" asked the mother.

"I just know Mama, I don't need the world I only need you and Papa!" Ajia answered and smiled sweetly.

"Ohhh my pretty baby! You really know how to make my heart flutter with compliment." said happily by the mother.

"I got to go Ma! I'll be home before..." thinking for a specific time when the mother, interrupted her and finished her thinking, "the sun down, of course!" with a stern look.

"Of course, sun down!" said Ajia laughing and kissed her goodbye.

She then checked her bag and shoes before leaving the house. "All set..let's go!" Ajia whispered to herself while etching a smirk on her face.

It takes an hour to walk leisurely from her house going to her school. However, Ajia is fond of running so most of the time she would run her way pass her neighborhood, small hills, farm lands, and trees on her way. But today she has more than an hour so she decided to take a stroll.

She was looking at the old lady's house when she suddenly realized the old lady was waving at her! It was the first time in 15 years! She was perplexed. She waived back and smiled. Something is weird today, she thought.

Then after several minutes, she can see the house of the family who is always busy. There was no one at home, as always. You can tell because the house is all locked up. She then proceeded and decided to run the rest of the distance.

In the school, she immediately went to the washroom to change into her school uniform. Ajia is quite shy. She has no constant friends. She is neither popular or the regular student. She is more of a wallflower. You know that you have a classmate but you don't really know anything about her except her name, that's her. She would sit at the last row where her pushover classmates are often bullied. She would always look down so as not to be noticed by the bullies. But most of the time, they would notice her.

"Hey, Ajia! Give me your money!"

She would just look them in the face and open her palms and shook her head slowly.

Always they would be annoyed by her calm response and would want to hurt her but the teacher would always show up in time to disperse the bullies. Sigh. "I survived the first round." she thought to herself and the class would begin.

Right after the last class she would prepare her bag and tighten her shoe laces. The second round will begin momentarily. She could already see the frustrated bullies earlier from a distance waiting for her.

"Ajia! We are not finished yet!" and they would start to run after her. Ajia is agile and is fond of running. The daily hustle with the bulllies is just a part of the day that needs to pass. She is always determined not to get caught so she exert all her effort to run in every direction she could just to lose the pursuers.

"She is becoming faster and faster every day! We couldn't keep up!" said the bully. "Let her go, there will always be tomorrow for that girl, Ajia." and so they just followed her with a gaze of frustration. The prey just outrun the hyenas.

When Ajia felt that she has lost them, she would reduce her speed and let a big satisfied sigh! "Yay, second round completed! Those bullies never learned." With a heartily laugh and a big relief she would be on her way home, unscathed and triumphant.

"I wonder what Mama will be cooking for tonight's dinner." The feeling of excitement filled her that it made her leaped and jumpstart to run again. It only took her 15 minutes to run and see the familiar neighborhood and her house, but later did she noticed something was off.

The house is dark but her dad's car is already parked. Her heart starts to pound abnormally because she is not fond of pranks. She opened the door and called her parents.

"Papa?... Mama?.."

She turned the lights on and screamed, "Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!".