Rebirth of Faye

Chapter 3

The rain finally stopped, and she continued walking barefoot downtown, not knowing where she was heading. She didn't want to go back. She never wanted to see those people again. She looked down at her dirty feet and said to herself, "silly girl." shaking her head in disbelief. "Forgetting your shoes, just because you wanted to get away from them," she continued muttering to herself before sitting on a bench in the cold chilly night. She knew she had nowhere to go, but she didn't want to go back to those people.

However, she couldn't possibly live on her own, as if anyone would let a 15-year-old girl buy an apartment for herself or get a job without a parent's consent. Then she recalls her grandmother from her mother's side that was barely remembered by the family, as her own daughter (Faye's mother) didn't even care about her mother because all Faye's mother could think of was money. So, she doesn't bother to visit or call.

A bus pulls over, and the door opens as the driver says, "Are you getting on?" Faye didn't respond but entered the bus and sat at the very back, staring out the window as it started to rain again.

Soon the bus driver hollers, "This is the last stop," as she didn't realize the bus had already stopped and they were at the end of the city. The driver saw she was a young child and saw no one at the bus stop to pick her up. The driver took a deep sigh before saying, "kid, where do you live? I'll drop you off." She didn't say anything at first but pointed for him to continue down the road. Soon enough, a mile away, she saw the small house as she got off the bus and into the dark night. The bus turned around and returned to the city.

She walked up to a metal gate. She hesitantly pressed the doorbell as she waited for an answer. Faye leaned against the brick wall and lowered herself to the ground, thinking she must be crazy coming here. Then she heard a tiny whimper as something was heading toward her.

She looked in the direction it was coming from, and soon a dirty, wet little golden retriever appeared. "Hi there. Are you also all alone?" she said softly before the little puppy sniffed her hand. "Here, let me shield you," she said as she used her hands to cover the pup from the rain.

"Look what I found: a little girl and a puppy," said an old woman while holding an umbrella and a flashlight, aiming the light at them. Faye looked up at her forgotten grandmother, who looked old but still looked healthy. Her grandmother froze once she saw Faye's face. She knew immediately who she was, as Faye had the same resemblance when she was young. "What brings you all the way here? What did your mother finally remember about me?" she said coldly; however, Faye didn't answer but stayed quiet.  

Her grandmother did a quick, quiet sigh. "You're not coming?" she said rudely before reopening the metal gates and heading inside. Faye quietly followed behind with the tiny puppy in her arms. Once they were inside, her grandmother opened the guest room door before pulling out a towel and some old clothes for her. "Here, take these, and the bathroom is over there, and tomorrow morning you will be on your way," she said bitterly before leaving the guest room. Faye picked up the clothes and towel before heading to the bathroom. She took a long bath and quietly gazed at each bathroom tile. She did not judge her grandmother for being this way towards her. Her own daughter (Faye's mother) had cut all ties with her grandmother once she entered into wealth. Faye's mother did not even inform her mother. She just stopped visiting and blocked her mother from entering the company as if she was too embarrassed to let anyone know that she was her mother.

Faye continued to reminisce about her past, and she couldn't understand why. She took a deep breath and submerged into the water. She just wanted to drown here and never come out until she heard a high-pitched bark as she resurfaced to find the little golden pup barking at her as if it was yelling at her for being stupid. "You are right. I was given another chance. Why am I wasting it again by ending it here," she said, looking at the little pup who had already stopped barking and was also looking in her eyes. "Fine, I'll live for you," she said before relaxing herself in the tub and shutting her eyes to rest.

During the night in the dark, quiet room, the golden pup was by Faye's head. While she was tossing and turning with her eyes tightly shut and her forehead crinkled up.

Faye was dreaming about her horrifying past replaying over and over. "You must be like Rin! You must try harder!... You are truly worthless of a daughter, wait.... niece ... Why do you keep refusing not to do plastic surgery... *sigh* What's the point? You will never be as pretty as Rin anyway... Why can't you learn anything! I guess you will never be as talented as Rin! No matter how much you tried you can't be compared to her level... What a poor girl, not pretty or talented... such a shame..."

"No stop..." Faye whispered.

"Ahhh ... yes this is my niece from my late brother and sister-in-law... yes such a shame... don't say anything, when we are in public you are to call us, your uncle and aunt got that!" 

"Stop," Faye cried.

"Faye how dare you to push Rin ... how dare you to ruin Rin's dress ... how dare you......."

"Please stop," Faye begged.

"Did you really think Parker loved you.... This isn't the first time... we even got further... you are a plain, boring girl..."

"Stop," Faye said again.

"I only wanted to be me... your husband has been cheating on you with me.... So, we could have your life insurance money.... we poison you every day...... you are a nobody..."

"I said stop!" she shouted before waking up with tears in her eyes. She looked around to find herself still in her grandmother's guest room as she took a deep breath. "Sorry little guy, I didn't mean to wake you up," she said, petting the little pup to sleep, and lay back down. She took a deep breath and muttered to herself before closing her eyes again, "Why? Out of all the dreams, it has to be this one..."

Morning arrived, and she woke up to see that she was still in her grandmother's house. "I truly have gone back in time," she mutters before getting off the bed. She shuts the guest's room door behind her as she smells a warm and homely aroma coming from the kitchen. She heads towards the smell to find her grandmother scooping a bowl of hot soup and placing it on the table. "Aren't you hungry," her grandmother said snappily. "Come eat," she said as Faye sat down and quietly ate the bowl of soup. While Faye was eating, her grandmother watched her eat, and her heart became soft. She recalled that last night, she woke up to check on Faye and saw how this little girl had been through a lot as she was crying alone in the darkroom. She knows how her daughter has turned her back against her, so it wouldn't be a surprise if she did the same to this little girl.

Instead of being sent away by her grandmother, Faye stayed and came to understand her grandmother better.