Unfamiliarity | Wilhemina Venable

part sixteen| athena

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Her fingers dug into my skin, making sure I couldn't slip away. I'd just met this woman and already I was scared of her. I contemplated on asking a question, but from the previous situation I knew it was best to just stay silent.

Ms Venable led me down a long hallway, practically shoving me as she walked. I felt like a child being swept off to their room because they were caught painting on the walls. I noticed that about Ms Venable. Although she was very tough, and rather scary, she had a sort of motherly figure to her. I'm not sure if it was a feeling or my subconsciousness, but I knew there was someone loving under that façade of hers.

"In here." the woman commanded, taking a firm grip of my wrist and pulling me through a door.

I nearly tripped as I walked in, to which Ms Venable helped steady me. I gave her a slight smile as a way of saying 'thank you'. She nodded with that stone-cold face of hers as a reply.

"Sit." she said.

I did as I was told and took a seat on one of the wine colored chairs in front of her desk. This seemed to be the only room in the entire place with a bit of color. It was nice to look at something other than milky white tile and candlelight for a bit.

There was a long awkward silence before Ms Venable said anything. In the meantime I played with my fingers to distract myself from the painfully evident tension that consumed the both of us.

"Angelique." she started.

I let out a breath of relief, as if i'd been holding it in this entire time.

"How much do you remember?" she inquired.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. She must've known i'd lost my memory.

"Not very much. But it's slowly coming back to me." I replied truthfully.

Ms Venable hitched her breathing and a bit of nervousness creeped through her face for a second., but she quickly got herself together again; straightening out imaginary creases on her dress.

"Alright." she concluded, and stood up.

"Wait Ms Venable." I said.

Her expression softened slightly and she sat back down. She intertwined her fingers and nodded, giving me permission to talk.

"Can I ask about my memory? Or how I got here?" I questioned with a shaky voice.

She zoned out for a moment and bit her lip slightly before responding.

"It will all come back to you within the next week." she said.

I nodded and whispered an "okay".

That concluded our conversation, and Ms Venable stood up. She grabbed a hold of her cane and pushed in her chair.

"Follow me." she ordered, standing in the doorframe.

I jumped to my feet and hurried to her side. She took a firm grip to my arm, and led me back down the hall.

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We had been seated at the dining table and everyone started eating. Most of them were too scared even make a noise while others passed almost silent whispers to each other, not wanting to make Ms Venable angry.

I looked at the small blob on my plate. Ms Venable explained that this had all of the nutrients we needed, although it didn't seem very appetizing. I'd rather starve than eat this slush. But nonetheless I was quite hungry and couldn't recall the last time I actually ate, so I reluctantly cut it into slices and slipped each piece into my mouth. My mouth nearly rejected the cube and I had to focus hard on swallowing so I wouldn't throw it back up.