DURING my stay in Bright's condominium, I have gotten used to many interactions throughout the place. I guess it was inevitable for me to think that I could avoid encountering Sam when he was just a few feet away from where I was.
During those times I saw him in the hallway, we would only have short conversations, and if not, we would just plainly ignore each other. It's not like we're friends or anything, anyway. Plus, the two of us have no topics to talk about. Amanda continues to deliver food through the door every other day, and, most of the time, she asks the same man to bring it to my doorstep. "Here's the freshly baked macarons, my grandma baked." Those were the immediate words I heard the moment I opened the door to the sound of his knock. "Yes, thank you," I shortly commented, and then grabbed the bag of pastry."You like sweets, don't you?" Sam immediately adds, which makes me raise one of my eyebrows. "And?" I ask, crossing my arms in front of her. I probably got used to his looks and voice the more I interacted with him, which is why I don't find him as dazzling as I used to. "Nothing," the man says. "You just look childish, that's all," he adds, which makes my cheeks flush red immediately. "What the hell?" I retaliate by lightly punching him on the arm. "Fuck you!" I add, and then slam the door in his face again. That was the normal routine I had with the so-called man living not too far from my place. Once I put the pastry on top of the kitchen counter, I cleaned the floor as usual. By the afternoon, just like Ma'am Bright has mentioned, she said that she'd be coming home to take me out. I'm not actually looking forward to it much, but it's not even something I can argue about. After an hour of just snacking on the pastries Amanda brought, I received a phone call from my employer. "Hey, are you ready? I did mention before that we'll be going out today, right?" she asked on the other side of the phone. I involuntarily nodded my head. "Yes, Ma'am," I reply. "Good! Have you dressed up already? Meet me at the ground floor," she said, which made me perplexed. Where could we be going? After I finished the cleaning in the whole room, I started checking the locks on the door. I only brought a small backpack that I had kept since she took me in, and I wore a regular tee shirt and jogging pants to my slippers.Once I closed the door to the room, I hurried towards the elevator only to meet him again. "Going somewhere, I presume?" Sam asks, which makes me crease my forehead. "Yes," I say, rummaging through my belongings as if looking for something."Where?" I glanced at him for a second before giving him a dumbfounded look. "What do you need to know for?" "Nothing?" the man answers, as though he is unsure of himself. Afterwards, he scratches the back of his head. "Whatever," I say, and then immediately, when the door clicks open, I quickly go out. "Bye," I say before walking away.The first thing that welcomed me at the exit of the building was the scorching heat that slowly reminded me of my past. Buds of sweat immediately run down my forehead as I walk towards the entrance of the condominium. There were a lot of cars moving back and forth and busy people walking down the streets. However, what caught my eyes the most was a luxurious red vehicle with a passenger sitting in the driver's seat. "Hey, over here, Queen!" Bright exclaims while waving her hand into the thin air. She wore her hair in a high ponytail with a bit of makeup that made her face stand out more. She looks like a model from the magazines I see. I walk in her direction only to be welcomed by the car's door automatically opening. "Get inside and we're going," she commands, and I quickly follow suit. When compared to how she dresses, I look like her maid. I felt a little silly and embarrassed. "It seems like you've dressed your best today. I'm happy!" Bright comments and then looks at me for a second. She has her lips curled up into a sincere smile, which makes me feel confused. "But anyway, I wanted to take you out shopping. Is that alright?" she asks. "Y-Yes, you don't hmm . . . have to ask for my permission, Ma'am," I reply, and then lower my head in embarrassment."What? Why would I not ask for your permission? If I take you shopping and you don't enjoy it, then what's the point, right?" she points out, and then, before she starts the engine of her vehicle, she looks at me again. "Also, drop the formalities. Call me Bright."My eyes widened for a second, followed by my head shaking with my hands waving. "N-No way! I would never–""Ugh, fine," she comments and then rolls her eyes on the other side. I shut my mouth tightly. "Anyway, let's forget all about this boundary and such. Treat me as a friend of yours and let's enjoy ourselves!"And with that, she starts the engine of her car and proceeds to roam around the city of New Yorkin. Throughout the whole trip inside the car, I remained silent. I didn't know how to interact with her despite her efforts to make short conversations. I mean . . . how am I supposed to treat her? She says I should act comfortable around her, but she's my employer. If I say something offensive, she might kick me out immediately, or worse, she could have to ask me to bring back all the money she would have spent on me. I gulped. I am overthinking, aren't I?"Queen, are you hungry?" I was pulled from my own thoughts when I heard her speak. I turned to look at her, only to see her gazing at the rear-view mirror. "Kinda?" I answer, a little unsure. Maybe because I was nervous, I didn't even notice my stomach growling. It's already time for lunch. "We should probably have our food first before we go to our first destination," she comments, and then maneuvers the car towards the north. "I'm not sure if you'd like this place, but I sure enjoyed this before!" she exclaims until we reach a small building with a cafe written on it. "A cafe?" I asked. This is the first time I've seen one and I had to enter and eat inside. I grew up to be more than just a simple country bumpkin. I was stripped of all of this privilege. That is why I looked like a tamed lamb with no knowledge at all. I bit my lip. I'm embarrassed."What are you waiting for? Let's have our lunch!" Bright comes forward and grabs me by the hand. She intertwines her soft and smooth porcelain fingers into mine, which makes me feel ticklish from the inside. I bet she feels disgusted by my rough-like hands. She pulls me towards the entrance of the building, and immediately, the staff inside greets her. They filled the establishment with aesthetic decoration that looks pleasant to the eyes. The paintings were minimalist drawings of different objects, but most likely centered on coffee and pastries. The walls and floor of the cafe were painted cream and white. The lights that illuminated the place were just at the right position, and at the counter close to the cashier had decorations of pastries and a menu for their recommendations. "This place looks majestic," I murmur as I roam my eyes around the place. "I know, right," Bright said, as if she had overheard me talking to myself. "Let's have a seat, shall we?" she says and immediately pulls me towards one of the best spots in the cafe. I don't know what's up with her, but she hasn't removed her fingers from mine the whole time. "I'm a regular customer here. That's why you won't need to worry about a thing. Plus, I don't plan on charging this on your salary, so eat food as much as you want," she comments and then picks up one menu at the table. "B-But, Ma'am—"She suddenly pulls her hand away from mine and then blocks it in front of me. "What did I tell you earlier?" she asks, which makes me gulp. "But . . . Bright, this is too much. We can just split the bill if you'd like," I say, out of courtesy. "Af, loosen up, alright? This is your first time. That's why I want you to enjoy it to your heart's content." She gives me one copy of the menu and then, in an instance, when my eyes see the prices per food item, it makes me want to vomit. "However, this is—"Should I add rules to our contract? No buts!" Bright immediately cuts me off and then points at the menu in front of us. "Don't worry about a thing and just enjoy," she tries to reassure me. I gulped. That's difficult to do. I'm always the one at the receiving end, and it makes me uncomfortable not being able to do anything. However, just like what she's doing, it's not like I can argue much. I only heaved a sigh before I picked up the food that I wanted. Most of them were unfamiliar to me, so I picked the most common one: spaghetti."Are you sure about that?" she asks me. It looks like she does not trust my choice. "I'm sorry, I don't know most of the food here," I said truthfully, to which she relaxed her shoulders. "I see then. Can I pick food for you? Are you allergic to any foods or ingredients?" she asks, one after the other. I shook my head. "Alright." Bright suddenly stands up out of nowhere. "W-Where are you going?" I asked, a little dumbfounded. She confidently says, "To order our food," which made me widen my eyes. "N-No, let me do it instead–"Again, she tries to block me with her hand. "Just let me do this, alright? I'll be back in a few minutes." And with that, she quickly walks toward the cashier and starts ordering the food for the two of us. I don't really know why she's doing all of this, but I still ended up dancing in the palm of her hands. Once the food was brought to our table, my eyes almost sparkled at the sight of the unfamiliar food. It just made my stomach rumble. The whole time I was eating, Bright was explaining the food in front of me. Most of them have the same ingredients but taste so different that I couldn't get enough. After our first trip to the cafe, we navigate through the day. She brought me to one of the popular malls and shopped for me with clothes that would make me feel comfortable. Of course, I was the type to refuse most of her kindness. I ended up taking them by force. She took me to try out a lot of clothing, from tee-shirts to jeans, skirts, dresses, and sleeveless. Once we were done, she also took me to eat snacks and, afterwards, a place called the arcade. Our day was especially spent at that place where we try to win prizes by ourselves. "I'm glad you ended up enjoying it, Queen," Bright suddenly exclaims, once I won a stuffed animal inside a machine. A genuine smile forms on her lips, as if all she wants is for me to feel at ease with her."Thank you," I reply.AWAKENED by the sound of screaming, I rose from my bed only to discover myself dripping wet with sweat. A terrifying nightmare again victimized me. I couldn't help but catch my breath. It was a good thing that I wasn't screaming in my sleep, or else I would have woken Bright. I immediately got up from where I was lying and walked towards the kitchen area of the room. I pulled the refrigerator door open and then grabbed a glass of water to drink. "You were still awake?" A voice from behind me suddenly spoke, and so I almost let go of the glass. "I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" Bright immediately follows, which makes me put on a wry smile. I put the glass on the kitchen counter, only to notice she was wearing a nightgown with messy hair. "I only grabbed a glass of water," I say. "I see, then good night," she answers, and quickly enough, her attention switched from me to the television, flashing another movie. I walked back towards my room and closed the door. When morning comes
THE SKY is painted sky blue with flying white cotton clouds that engulf the background. Around the area of the vast park, you can easily distinguish the people who are coming back and forth with desserts and different things in their hands.My eyes gazed towards the rides that people had come on and tried. There are a lot of them who look excited with gaping smiles flashing through their lips while holding hands with their loved ones.I licked the ice cream in my hand as I waited for Bright to come and pick me up."Did you wait long? The takoyaki stand was booming with customers, and it took me over ten minutes to get here," she said, and then put the food on top of the table."It's fine," I say with a smile.The two of us took a short break after we started off with the shooting game not too long ago. Bright takes me on another trip in which she introduces me to different places, such as today's event, an amusement theme park.She made me wear the same outfit she did; matching tee-sh
"A long endless nightmare."• • •The stars were swallowed by the darkness of the night sky. Only the reflecting light from the scarring moon illuminated the small window of the room.My eyes blinked several times. At the same time, I felt a small throbbing on the back of my head."Finally awake?" A woman whose hair was dancing through the air, wrapped in a fitted tube dress and five-inch heels, stood in front of me. She had one of her hands right across her waist while the other was holding onto something sharp—a knife.She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, bathed in blood-red liquid.However, I growled at the sight of her."What did you do to me? Where is Amanda?" The moment I opened my mouth, I could feel the dryness in my throat. The words that escaped my lips were as cracked as the slim chance of escape in this apartment.She only ogled right at me with a narrow smile flashing through her lips.It was like staring right through the devil."Amanda? Who is that?" She slow
"MAMA." A soothing child-like voice started to wring me from my long eternal sleep. The sound of a wailing baby starts to reach out to me, slowly pulling me towards my waking state.When I opened my eyes, for a second there, I thought I saw a vision of the same child in front of me, tears rolling down his small chubby cheeks, staring into my eyes.If only I could move, I would have immediately held him in my arms.In one instance, I suddenly woke up. The baby disappeared in front of me, and what engulfed my view was the same nightmare.My forehead crunches as I see myself lying in a bed with a red satin blanket. It was only a dream.I turned my eyes toward the whole place and took notice of the same face I had started to feel disgusted with.Bright was lying beside me, wearing a see-through night gown, asleep as though she had no care about the world. My eyes then glanced toward myself and took notice of my body.A toned, petite body with scars and bruises all over.I wasn't wearing a
THE SOUND of wheels rolling on the floor engulfs the hallway as footsteps begin to follow from behind.For a moment there, the sensation of being pushed stopped for a moment, and my eyes locked with Bright's and I saw the huge grin flashed through her lips."Are you ready?" she enthusiastically exclaimed, her eyes squinting in delight.I only looked at her with lifeless eyes, as though the life out of mine had been drained."Alright, here we go!"I wanted to shout at her, scream, or yell, but it didn't seem like my body could do so.I already lost my will a few days back.She pushed the wheelchair towards the elevator near the staircase, and in one instance, we were already on our way to the ground floor.As minutes passed by while we were inside the small spacious box, I couldn't help but reminisce about the past.The sky was gray, and the sound of heavy rain engulfed the entire area as my drenched body filled a bench at a nearby bus stop.I was cold, starving, and tired. I've been s
"WHAT ARE you doing? Sit still," Bright ordered me, clicking on a button she had in her pocket.I yelled, biting my lower lip at what she had just done. Before we came out of the stall, Bright managed to slip in something from inside of me."B-Bright," I called out to her, holding onto the hem of her dress. I couldn't explain the feeling inside of me as I felt the device stir my insides."Quiet, Queen," she responded, and immediately pushed the wheelchair towards the lounge of the mall.Damn, she's doing this on purpose.My face was flashing red, my chest gasping for air. At any moment, I'm sure a squeak will come out of my mouth, and I won't be able to keep my voice from moaning.I grasped onto her forearm this time, but coincidentally, a man dressed in a police uniform came towards our direction."Good day, ladies," the policeman says and looks at us two. "May I have a few minutes of your time?" he adds which makes me unable to speak."F . . . fuck," I stutteringly muttered to mysel
THE SOUND of the heavy rain pouring down the sky engulfed the rooftops of each and every corner of the condominium.As I yielded towards the window pane close to Bright's room, I saw people dressed in raincoats, uniforms, and casual clothing walking past the streets with umbrellas strapped to their bodies."Alright, I'm off, darling," Bright suddenly says before walking towards my direction. She then leans towards my head, her hand gently lifting my chin as she presses her lips against my forehead.As she pulls away slowly, my eyes manage to stare at those same orbs, but unlike the first time I saw them, they are staring at me indifferently.Strangely enough, it was like staring into the eyes of a stranger . . . a demon.Her long eyelashes blinked together with her eyes before strands of her smooth silky hair brushed past my skin.Indeed, Bright is beautiful.I didn't resist her actions and just merely stared at her with a blank expression on my face. There was no use resisting anyway
I STARED at the crowd walking past us as Bright pulled me gently towards her side. My legs are now recovering from the infliction of injuries. However, it is still obvious that I can't walk for too long, nor can I walk straight without getting off-balanced.She held my hand tight, her long slim fingers intertwined with mine as she navigated through the people."Darling, what would you like to visit first?" she says this under her breath before turning her gaze towards me. We were currently in another mall past the previous one, and unlike the other, there were more stalls, boutiques, and entertainment places in this establishment.I only stared at her blankly before she managed to point at the stall close to us."How about eating tacos at Taco Bell?" she suggested, before pulling me towards its direction. She then let me sit at one of the tables and immediately ordered food for the two of us.Truth be told, I could have escaped her immediately upon her turning her back on me. However