"Of course honey, just take a seat in any one of the empty tables, and if you need anything just call for me or Alicia. Okay?" She asked.

I nodded my head in response and took a seat in one of the tables, located nearest to the counter, and started to fill up the form, occasionally taking a sip or two from my delicious gingerbread latte.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It only took me about 10 minutes to fill-up the form. I stood up from my seat and grabbed the form and, the now empty cup, and walked towards the counter, before disposing of the empty cup in the dustbin.

" Miss Alicia," I called out to her as I located her, attending to some customers.

When she heard me calling her name, she quickly excused herself and came towards me.

" Yes, dear. Are you facing any problem?" She asked.

"No. Actually, I have filled up the form and I should get going, as it's already late." I said to her as I handed her the form.

"Okay then, bye, I hope to see you soon." She said.

I gave her a small smile and walked out of the shop, the chilled air instantly hit me. It's only October and the weather is freezing already. I sighed deeply as I pulled my coat tighter around me. I remembered that how my dad and I used to chat about books and movies and anything else over tea, in all those sleepless winter nights.

Whenever I wasn't able to sleep, my dad will make some tea for us and then we will talk for hours, and sometimes we used to talk till dawn, and then mom will chide at us for staying up late.

Just the thought of them brings tears to my eyes. I just miss them so much. I will call them once I reach home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I put off my bag in the corner of my room, right next to the desk.

I changed into some sweatpants and the large football jersey that my dad bought for me. My dad and I are really big fans of the football team Barcelona, and whenever there was a match, we will sit in front of the tv with our football jerseys to cheer for our favorite team.

I quickly threw my hair in a loose bun, before making my way into the kitchen. I looked at the clock and it was only half-past 6 in the evening. Ryan and Mia would be home by 7. They must be hungry so u decided to quickly whip something to eat.

After much thinking, I finally decided on preparing Mac and Cheese. After collecting all the ingredients, I started cooking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After 15 minutes, I was finally done with the food. I quickly poured them into a big serving bowl and placed them on the table. I then took three plates, three forks, and spoons and arranged them on the table.

And just as the clock struck 7, both of them stumbled through the doors and took off their shoes.

" What are you cooking, it smells heavenly?" Ryan asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Mac and Cheese," I answered as I walked out of the kitchen carrying three glasses of water

Ryan quickly ran out of the kitchen.

I slapped his hand as he was about to dip his dirty fingers in the food.

"Go freshen up first," I ordered him and both of them scurried off to their respective rooms and both of them returned them within 2 minutes. They both served themselves and started wolfing down the food as I did with mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm not sleepy," Ryan announced as he plopped down on the couch.

"Me too," I said as I sat down on the leather recliner.

"What should we do then, it's only 8," Mia said as she sat down on the carpeted floors. leaning her back against the leather couch.

"We can go out," Ryan suggested.

"Absolutely not, I have morning class tomorrow?" I said, shaking my head in disapproval at his suggestion.

"Or we can have a movie marathon?" Mia suggested, and both I and Ryan nodded our heads in approval.

"But what movie?" I asked

"Let's watch Harry Potter," Mia suggested and both me and Ryan jumped at the idea.

"I'm going to prepare the snacks, and you two get the place ready for our movie night," I ordered them and went into the kitchen to prepare some snacks. I quickly made some popcorns and grabbed two large bags of Doritos, 3 cans of coke and gummy bears, and of course Oreos, because Oreos are life.

And by the time I got back, the whole place was completely transformed. The lights were completely dimmed and the couch was transformed into a bed with bed sheets and pillows.

"Wow, that was fast," I exclaimed as I placed the snacks in front of them. I took a seat next to Ryan and Mia was sitting next to him. We all huddled together in our couch turned bed and started eating the popcorns as the Warner Bro's logo showed up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The darkroom was drenched in the foul smell of blood mixed with sweat. The fluorescent light bulb hanging from the ceiling was the only source of light. I suddenly found my hands and feet being chained to the room's walls. How did I reach here? This all felt like a dream but also real. What is happening? I looked to my right and saw that a young boy, no older than 16, and a young girl, no older than 14 were tied with chains. Their clothes were torn and tattered, with multiple scars on their bodies. Their faces were bloodied and beaten.

I tried to call out for them, but no words came out. It felt like someone has taken away my voice. I tried to scream, I tried to yell, but nothing happened. The boy and girl weren't even able to notice me.

Suddenly a door opened, and in came a man, his face and body features were blurred. His voice boomed across the room as he yelled incoherent words. I wasn't able to understand anything but from the movements of the young boy and young girl, I think they understood his words. The man suddenly shouted for someone and pretty soon, two other men entered the room, the first man then ordered the two other men and they nodded their heads and went straight towards the young girl. They released her from the chains, but grabbed her hair and started to drag her away, all the while the girl was kicking and yelling at them to stop. Suddenly one of the men stopped and backhanded her. The impact was so fierce, that the sun echoed through the room, and then they proceeded to drag the limp body of the girl. Only, when the girl left, I realized that the boy was yelling and struggling to get out of the chains, that confined him. The last man walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

As I started to get up to approach that boy, I felt myself falling from a height, and then everything went black.

I woke up with a start from my deep slumber. It took me some time to adjust myself. After a few seconds, I finally realized that I was in my home, in my living room, with the end credits rolling down the screen.

Ryan and Mia were sleeping peacefully. Somehow Ryan had ended up lying on the floor and Mia and I were sprawled across the two opposite sides of the couch, our heads resting on the hand rest.

Seeing them peacefully sleeping, I too decided to go back to sleep. I switched off the tv and laid down.

The last thought before I went to sleep was

That was one strange dream.....

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 completedWaar verhalen tot leven komen. Ontdek het nu