Beyond The End

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Don’t, don’t! Leave me alone” I cried out loud. He was going to kill me; his huge hands were closing around my throat. “Don’t--!” before I could say anything else, he seized my throat. I was going--. I woke up suddenly. It was dream, just a nightmare. But a bigger nightmare was waiting for me downstairs: My sixteenth birthday! My mother would be downstairs preparing stuff for the guests.  I will have to make my breakfast again, I thought. I brushed my teeth and went downstairs. My mother, as usual, was in the kitchen. When she saw me, she came towards me and hugged me.

“Happy birthday Kia!” she wished me and kissed me on my forehead.

“Thanks mom” I said and asked her a question although I knew the answer already.

“Mom, is dad coming?”

My mother’s expression saddened. She did not want me to ask her that question, though she knew I’ll ask her.

“Umm… sweetie, you know how busy he is these days, with all the travelling he’s doing and all. He said that he would call you in the evening. He said that he would have come home for your birthday if he didn’t have to do the new project and—“

“Oh yeah, he’s too busy to wish his daughter on her birthday. Cool!” after saying this I turned and started leaving the kitchen.

“He loves you, he even sent you a present dear” she said as she followed me. She handed me a package when I stopped. It was about two feet tall. She gestured me to open and found a canvas. To tell you the truth, I actually liked the gift. I love anything related to art. Art is passion.

“You like it?” she asked me

“Yes, but I know you were the one who suggest him. Now I’m going upstairs to change and—what’s that?” I asked as she handed me another present. I opened it and found a beautiful black dress inside.

“Thank you so much mom!”

“Now go and get ready, your friends must be arriving”

            As I showered, I thought about my father. I look a lot like him. He came home once a month. He was always busy in his work and never paid attention to me. I’ve resented him my whole life for this. I put on my new dress. It had puffy sleeves and went up to the knees. I paired it with black heels. Then I stared at my reflection in the mirror.  I look perfect, I thought. I have long reddish brown hair. I am proud of my hair. There are only two things I like about myself, first is my hair and the second my eyes. They are beautiful and dark. To tell you the truth I find myself pretty.

The next of the afternoon passed in a daze with all my party and friends. The whole time I sat next to the phone, hoping dad would call, but he didn’t. By seven my relatives started arriving. I still kept the phone next to me. All my relatives were asking for my dad. This was too much for me to handle. I just ran from there, up the stairs to my terrace. My tears were threatening to escape. I jumped over the wall separating our terrace from our neighbor’s. Once on the terrace, I felt my tears escape. I hate him, I just hate him, but why am I feeling sad? This happens every single year. I suddenly heard my mother call for me, I need to hide, I do not want to attend that dinner party. I climbed down the wooden stairs that took me to the backyard. I pushed open the window, the lock of which I had broken last month. I jumped inside the room. It wasn’t as dirty as I thought it would be. This room contained a single bed, a closet, a study table and a wooden chair. I sank back in the corner of the room and cried my heart out. After twenty minutes of crying hard, I felt myself shivering. This room is always so damn cold, although it’s mid June and it’s extremely hot outside. I stood to leave and I heard a moaning sort of a sound coming from the other room. Must be some poor creature trapped in the other room. Suddenly I felt colder than ever. I stood up to leave,but I was not successful in doing so. How could I leave? I could never believe that it was the first time I saw HIM.