Prologue
What if the one that got away… came back? What would you do? Now that you’ve moved on and had a life of your own, now that you’ve forgotten the past that used to haunt you before? What do you do?
I usually have a talent for words, teachers told me that I had the gift of gab, a voice of thunder and that whenever I spoke or tried to explain something, everybody would drop everything and listen to me. But when my friend threw me this question, I found myself speechless, not knowing what to say. Staring at the blank space before me, staring at the place where we first became friends and where that friendship ended.
That’s all there is, right? Friends. We’ll never be more than that. No matter how I wished, no matter how I’d always be there for him. Best friends. That’s all we are. And I lost it without even telling him how I feel.
I keep on glancing at my watch as I sat on the old bench that has been here even before I discovered the place. I found it when I was fourteen, and it has been my hiding place, my comfort zone and my safe haven. It was located at the back of our school, behind the rusty gate that pre-schoolers were afraid of approaching. There was a big tree and the old bench. I planted flowers at the corners of the area so that the white walls that guarded my haven would have a bit of tints on it, so that it had more color. The place was ordinary and secret… and I loved it. No one, even the school personnel has ever found it.
I looked at my watch again. How many months has it been since he left? Two? Five? No, six. Six months, half a year but it seemed as if it was a whole lifetime. I anxiously paced back and forth, hoping he’d come but I saw what time it was. It was thirty minutes after five and nearing the sunset. My day was almost over. My wait was over. HE IS NOT COMING BACK.
Chapter One
The First Day
“Just hide under the bed and don’t make any noise!” Apollo, my loving older brother, whispered in a hushed but nervous voice.
“Apollo, I don’t understand! Why should I?” I asked him, my grey eyes filled with angst. “This is just another one of the tricks you play!”
“Athena, MOM IS DEAD.” he said in a morose tone that I’ve always noticed when something bad happens. “There are robbers downstairs, this is not a joke. There are five of them. Now, please, hide yourself, stop asking questions and you’ll be safe.”
“Mom is dead?” I asked once more, tears sliding down my cheeks. I forced myself not to believe Apollo, but he was right. I heard a gunshot a while ago while Apollo and I were in my room watching a movie and chatting about how our day went. “But that loud noise could come from outside, maybe… maybe… maybe, something exploded from our neighbor’s house and… and… and… maybe, maybe it’s just a riot near our… our village.” I denied, thinking of more reasons and more words to tell him. But the noise was so loud we were sure it came from downstairs.
“I saw mom downstairs. She’s gone, Athena… they took her life.” The words seemed to echo all over again in my mind. My mother was gone. The ground beneath me seemed to crumble and I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. My heart thumped so loud, if they took away Mom’s life, they could take away ours as well. I could see Apollo’s bright eyes darken and well up with tears. “You’re smart enough to live on your own, right?” he suddenly asked me.
“No, I can’t.” I answered.
“You have to get used to it. You have to stand up on your own two feet ‘cause no one will stand up for you forever…” his voice trailed off as if he wanted to say more but he couldn’t. It was as if my brother is saying goodbye.
