t h i s c o n t a i n s
| Mild Humor | Swearing | Drew Tanaka | cliffhangers | death | particular ghost | me asking for votes |
t h i s DOES NOT c o n t a i n
| Jeyna | Jeyna | Jeyna | Jeyna | Jeyna|
o h , y e a h
JEYNA
BEGINNING OF PART ONE ~
C H A P T E R O N E
" Only the dead have seen the end of War."
- PLUTO
J ULIAN RAMIREZ-ARELLANO IS A CERTIFIED VILLAN OF THIS STORY; COMPLETE WITH AN AWFUL BACKGROUND AND A WIFE WHO LEFT HIM. He eats off of people's fears until their dreams are nothing but left ashes of hopeless memories that were once remembered by the sweetness of summer days to the coldness of winter nights. But not only is he a villain, he is their father. There once was a time once upon a time when Reyna and Hylla were locked up in their bedrooms every night as their father left them there,never to let them out. That time has ended and it is his turn to be locked up in his closet where he belongs, banging against the wooden door screaming for them pleading for them to open the door so he can run away from the monsters that lurk in his dreams. His cries have died out from the quietest of mumbling and with only that shortage of volume, keeping up Reyna at night.
Their parents met each other in a trip Julian went to in Rome. He went there for a year before college and fell in love with the city's charm and building. He fell in love with Reyna's mother, a country girl with the talent of her charms and strength. Her name was Bellona and she had seen very few pictures of her. She was beautiful, Reyna could tell by the pictures sharing similar features from Hylla and Reyna. Reyna had never officially met her before. All she knew was the stories told by her dad went he was drunk and too hefty to think straight. She was like a muse, he voice spitting out words of love and insanity. Everything she knew about her mother was hopes and perfections Reyna rose her mother to be. Bellona was a fighter and his father loved her for that. They never officially got married and when he went to Iraq after Hylla and Reyna were born, he came back as a new man.
Literally speaking.
Julian was never the same. His mind hadn't been changed and fractured but the brutal life of war in Iraq. He had seen people die and people try to kill him. The gunshots and fires, bombs and the heartless ruling of human beings. Julian was never the same and when he came back, Bellona left him. That was when the locking up happened where he would secure their bedrooms with them in it, having his mind fooling him into thinking his children were his enemies here on Earth to kill him. And kill him they did.
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
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HER STEPS WERE QUIET AND PROCESSING, SLOWLY AS SHE WALKED DOWN THE STAIRS AS IF A SLIGHTEST OF CHANGE OR A TWITCH IN HER KNEE WOULD BE THE END OF HER.
Of course, in this case, she was right to be afraid.
The only way for a stranger to tell a creature was walking down the stairs was her heartbeat that hampered on her chest like young kid jamming their drumsticks against their new drum set. Walking down the stairs always frightened her; no, that wasn't the correct word to put. They always made her feel tense and shaking. She wondered if her life kept on in this pace, Reyna would ever make it to her twenties with a healthy mind.
Somehow, she always felt obligated to keep her footsteps and heart beat quiet. That soft sound stood between the line of her staying calm. It made her vision the calling of an alarm as it went off.
Reyna had never told someone before about her life at home. Most of them probably didn't know that she had an older sister named Hylla. No one knew about her father. How could they when she never brought that up. To make things even easier for her not to tell, no one asked her about her nonexistent family that consisted of only her and Hylla. Her father didn't count of course.
She checked the area to the side of her shoulders to make sure it was clear. Her sister, Hylla was fast asleep in her bed. Their bed. A bed they got off of Craigslist; the only website they could afford to buy furniture from. Old and affordable like everything in their house. Their room; cramped with two twin beds, a chest filled with books and old memories, aside from her vintage carpet, and her fitness equipment.
It felt lonely walking down the stairs, not sure whom she would meet in the corner. Her feet brushed against the hardwood steps, slowly as to not make a noise. She could hear the screeching noise of something being peeled off from the wall. Sweat prickled down her forehead. She should have run back in her bedroom, hiding in her closet but her feet were glued to the ground.
"Father, are you in there?" Reyna wanted to ask but she dare not speak. Even if she didn't, her breath was too busy caught in her throat. Her hands felt wet and shaky. She wondered if this was all worth it just to get a glass of water.
No one answered. She could hear mumbing from the other side, but that was all she was getting. Reyna watched the closet next to the stairs were it had always been and looked at the door knob warningly. She imagined the door knob turning. Her body grew tense. It was only her imagination, she told herself and shook her head. Reyna walked over carefully to the door, knowing in the next morning she would regret what she was going to do. of course, if she managed to make it through the next morning.
She rested her ear against the cupboard. Someone's nails clawed against the wall. There was short but quiet mumbling; to quiet for her to comprehend what he was whispering. Reyna relaxed her sore arm on the door and winced as it made a slight of movement that interacted on the door and squeaked. The mumbling immediately stopped as Reyna checked her breathing pace to stop the beating in her heart.
"I know you're out there Reyna," He said to her and she could imagine his pupils staring straight through the door. "Open the door Reyna and let me out." His voice was quiet so only she could hear. Reyna closed her eyes and wished that her sister would come downstairs and help her.
"Open the door," He said; more sterner.
Then, her eyelids shut open and she rushed away from the door, scurrying toward the kitchen. Reyna scurried down the hardwood floors, her footsteps thumping on the ground. She made it to the fridge and took out a bottle of water and relished the essence as it went down her throat. Reyna let out a gasp. Was it really worth it? Every sip of it, she murmured to herself.
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HER FEARS BURIED HER UNDER HER CLOAK that was once her comforting, blanket. The ticking of the clock kept her up. It ticked inside her head, beating faster than a heartbeat as it clogged her chest.The ticking got louder. Reyna groaned and wiped the crust in her eyes not getting a day's worth of sleep.
She braided and rebraided her hair to keep her hands occupied. She needed to focus and keep her mind off of everything that was happening. It was too much to process. No matter how many times this happened, she was never ready. Her hands blocked his ears, but the noise was not coming from outside. There was no point. She pulled her hand down. It was final. Reyna was not going to get any sleep.
Hylla was asleep in the bed aside of her. She was snoring; more like moaning, Reyna thought to herself and couldn't help but chuckle. Tangles of her black hair covered her face and there was drool on her cheek. She turned her body to the other side and her pillow flopped to the floor. Reyna got out of her bed and grabbed the pillow for her, sliding it under Hylla's head.
After walking up that morning, she rinsed her face off. Pimples started to show more clearly then it did last night. She lightly, scrubbed her face with soap as water brushed against her skin. Reyna brushed her fingers across her cheeks and let a groan of protest.
Bags stayed under her eyes, purple against her olive skin. She rubbed her eyes. Her hair was loose and messy. Strands of her wavy hair stuck to the soap on her face as she brushed them away. Hylla had left early to work at a Cici's Spa. Reyna went to her work countless of times waiting in the store until her sister finished her shift. She didn't own a car so she usually took a bus to the street Cici's Spa was filled with countless of ladies.
The main type of people Cici's Spa was advertising for were old women who ate up all their sales and spent countless of money on their hair shampoos and getting their feet and nails done every week. A few girls from her school went to the store and whenever she saw them, Reyna hid in the back since else didn't want to communicate with them. She had become good friends with the hamster pets and a few times brought them lettuce until the owner of the shop told her to stop. Reyna still did anyways.
She worked long shifts for a short pay to keep them going. It was her sisters last year of High School but she had to drop out. Reyna sometimes forgot how much she took things for granted. Everything she took was for granted from her sister to the limbs on her bodies. Everyone took everything for granted until the thing they took for granted was what they lost. Her eyes wandered around her bedroom. A pair of track shirt, shorts, football equipment and cleats, and an old vintage photo of their family in Puerto Rico.They had a beautiful house, an amazing father, and a big garden in Puerto Rico. Reyna held her breath and wiped her face with her towel. Drips of liquid fell down her cheeks that was unlike the water sinking down the drain.
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~End of chapter one~
Upcoming next, Piper I
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Ta Ta Mortals