Aretha Angelos: A trip to Heminburgh

Chapter 2

Aretha's POV

Damn it! My stupid mouth just messed up again. To be fair to me, the boy was acting like a prick but that was for my mind only. At least, judging by the number of people here, there are very slim chances of me and him meeting again.

I scanned the streets of Heminburgh, looking for a decent place to sleep in. The evening was getting dangerously close, and if I kept on walking I'd probably pass out. On this street, there were about 3 hotels. All but one looked like rat infested shitholes. Obviously, I settled for the nicest one. Gracias Ago Deo was a decent sized average looking hotel. I'd rate it 3.5 stars from the exterior. Evenly trimmed bushes lay by the huge gate like bodyguards. A naked baby spitting water stood in the middle of the parking lot. Not weird at all.

Luckily, the hotel interior was good with a decent bill. I hurried to my room and as soon as I my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.

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Snow, snow, snow. Every day of the god-damn month. Honestly, I think someone realized how wicked the world was and decided to cover it up with the innocent snow. To op it all up, daddy dearest decides to have all his public appearances with me and my mum. Sometimes I wonder how it feels like to be a normal child with actual parents.

It was a normal day, at least as normal as it could get for me. My dad was going too make an appearance at some weird speech. Malcolm, my dad's driver was driving smoothly as usual and the traffic was horrible as always. 

There were cars everywhere, it was so hard to tell who was in what. So, when some hoodlums dropped a bomb on the car handle, nobody noticed a thing. Thankfully, it had a timer so we were able to get away from the place without causing a mass killing but as soon as we got to our street on our way back, the car blew up in flames. The last thing that I remember seeing before passing out is the blood of my parents, lying on the white snow. 

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I woke up panting like I had just won a marathon. The nightmares were a regular occurrence, yet I went through the same fear, every time  I had that particular one- the fear of not being so lucky next time, the fear of death.

Most people would say "The fuck? why are you afraid of death it's freedom from, this horrible world" but my fears of death results from different reasons. What I really fear is leaving this world without anything to be known for and just fading into existence. Imagine dying and being forgotten. The greatest glory lies in the legacies we leave after death, not the riches we leave to rot while we are in an eternal sleep.

The time, I had to check the time. The ugly clock above me read 11:58. Not bad for me.

It was midnight and I was hungry as ever. How convenient! I think the receptionist mentioned 24hr service in the restaurant downstairs. Hopefully the food was good.

I walked down the stairs never-ending stairs (I'm afraid of elevators) and found the restaurant in no time. It reminded me of my grandpa. The dimly lit hall with tables that looked like they were about to topple over smelt of grease. It's rickety chairs told stories that could not be comprehended, from the drawings probably done by some child and the stains of ketchup which had not been wiped away. Oddly, I liked this place- it felt like home.

The waiteress was a middle aged plump woman that reeked of perfume that smelt like baby powder. The bags under her deep blue eyes made her look 10 years older than she probably was. Her rusty nametag read "Caroline".

"What can I get you sweetie?" She says in her high-pitched voice. She was rather friendly.

"I'll have a plate of chicken wings and fries". It may be late but I already knew that I wasn't going to be able to sleep again.

"Coming right up", Caroline says walking away like someone that had been programmed to do so.

5 minutes later, she brings my food. "Enjoy" she says  before leaving the table. It smelt heavenly. Or maybe it's just been so long since I had nice food. I wolfed down the food, trying to subtly lick the bowl. Mother would surely be turning in her grave with the was that I was eating like a starved dog. 

I paid for my order and tipped Caroline.

I half walked half ran back to my room. I was almost there when I heard a muffled screaming by the corner. It was so quiet that if I hadn't focused, it would be impossible to hear. At first I thought it was a couple making out, but it was in the middle of the corridor. Swallowing all my senses, I walked right to the screaming.

As soon as I turned I regretted it. Someone was suffocating a woman with a plastic bag. Without thinking, I screamed for help. The person murmured "Shit" before covering my mouth with a handkerchief. that was all I remembered before darkness clouded my world.