Why me?

New guardian

"Don't worry, little one, everything is going to be just fine. You have to wait here, okay? I'll be back in a couple of minutes, feel free to sit down", a tall, blond woman told Alice, gently patting her shoulder. Alice didn't even look at her, she just sat where the woman had shown her and the second she did she started biting her nails, looking absently through the window. The woman went through an ebony- colored door  and smiled back at her the moment before she closed them, but Alice didn't even notice.

"Is she here?", Alice heard muffled voices through the door.

"Yes, I've brought her", replied the woman with somewhat of a deeper voice than when she was talking to Alice.

"Have I been informed properly? The girl's parents didn't make a will?"

"You have... Unfortunately. There are those papers the new guardian needs to sign, bring them and take the girl to the courtroom, the judge is ready". Alice heard the sounds of paper getting shifted and she bit her finger so hard that there appeared blood. She could feel the iron- like taste of it and cringed, wiping it on her shirt.

"Okay, let's go", said the woman as she exited through the door, taking Alice by the hand, which was not accepted by her and she tugged her little arm away.

As they were walking through the hall, Alice a few feet away from the woman, she suddenly heard something...Something like a creepy laugh with a disturbing grunting sound and as it arouse she could feel her whole body becoming somewhat numb and shivers going up and down her spine. She quickly turned around, but there was no door around behind which the noise could be happening, so she looked at the woman's reaction. Mrs. Lee didn't seem to notice it. "What was that?", Alice asked quietly. The woman gave her a puzzled look. "What was what?"

There it was again.

Just this time, it was louder. More sinister. The grunts that followed made Alice want to cry as she felt like something was creeping up on her, yet she couldn't see a thing.  It was getting closer, closer... Suddenly, she hear a loud scream right against her ear and she felt as if her ear drums were about to explode and there was hot whizzing air as if it was coming from somebody's mouth, tickling her throat. She fell to the ground, crying.

                                                                                              ***

Alice wasn't allowed to go into the courtroom, but she could her the knocking of the judge's wooden hammer as the door closed behind the last person that entered. She was looking around her in a terrified manner, constantly thinking that someone, or rather, something  was about to  come her way and scream into her ear again. The scream was still buzzing inside her head, she couldn't focus on anything. 

A few minutes later, the big door opened and the first person to exit the courtroom was a fragile- looking old lady with a satisfied grin on her face. She slowly approached Alice. "Hey, little girl. You've never seen me before,  have you?", she asked in a jolly tone as Alice shook her head. "Well, I'm not surprised your mother hadn't mentioned me... You see, I'm your grandmother. Ha. That word is so big and... Feels good to say it. Grandmother. So you see, little girl, I'm your guardian". Alice swallowed, looking at the wrinkles on her grandmother's face. They looked a lot like the tunnels the ants made in the ground. "Your name is Alisa, right?"

Alice again shook her head. She could hear a quiet, yet creepy laugh somewhere near her, yet no one around them was even smiling, let alone laughing.

"It's Alice", she said, her voice cracking as she was trying to hold back her tears.
"Well then, Alice, what are you waiting for?" The woman spread her arms so they could hug. "Come on. Show me some love".