La Cometa 1892

Chapter 18

JULIETTE WOKE UP with an agonizing pain piercing through every part of her. It's pulsing through every vein, gnawing every drop of strength left within her. Rest. Her body's screaming for rest. She's sitting on a chair, balot ng tali ang buo niyang katawan. She tried to move, but that only made everything worse. She winced, every fibre in her body protested.

'Where am I?' she thought.

She scanned the room. It was a field with towering boxes. Its walls are made up of concrete, its floor of cobblestones. The place was double the size of their room in Dyo's house.

She tried to recall the time, but she completely lost track of it. Wala ring bintana o kahit anong espasyo sa loob na makapagbibigay sa kanya ng posibleng oras. The cell was dark, at ang tanging nagbibigay liwanag dito ay ang mga sulo na nakalagay apat na sulok nito. The place was too wide to contain her, but she still feel suffocated.

The next thing that she scanned is her body. Wala siyang maramdamang hapdi, that made her think that she doesn't have wounds. But her bones are heavy with exhaustion. It seems like the pain is coming from the inside. For a second, she considered her soul. Perhaps the ache that's consuming her is coming from her soul that has been in terrible pain for a long time.

Pinalitan nila ang damit na kanyang suot. She's now wearing an ill-fitted white dress. Her arms are covered with painted symbols that she doesn't recognize. A necklace is dangling from her neck. She took a closer look. Her stomach twisted her as soon as she realized that it was made up of teeth and bones.

She wants to scream but that will just waste her energy. Panic and fear started escalating when she remembered them. 'Nasaan kaya sila? Sinaktan kaya sila nang mga dumukot sa akin?' The last thing that she could remember is that night when her body betrayed her.

Her mind started whispering to her. This is all her fault. Kung hindi niya sinundan si Dyo noong gabing 'yon, kung tumakas nalang sana siya sa Soluna o kaya'y hinayaan na lamang niyang mangyari ang mga dapat mangyari, sana'y hindi na sila nadamay pa. She always wished that she's strong enough to defend and fight for herself, that her light is stronger than the shadows surrounding her.

Then the waves of memories began crashing through her mind—a compilation of the worst moments of her life, a book filled with despair and darkness. Her life became all about losing people and losing herself. Eternity is not enough to heal every wound and bruises that her soul has.

She allowed her mind to drop in the pool of memories. Slow mornings when her dad will take to a walk, Sundays when they will share laughter and stories while sitting on a picnic mat, nights when her mother would read bedtime stories, tales of how the light always wins over darkness, and the lullabies that will pull her to sleep. She still remembers everything, she promised that she won't forget.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed. She can barely recognize her own voice. That was the last thing that she said before the door creaked open, revealing a man with skin as white as ivory, shadows dancing around him. The man's mere existence is oozing with danger. Juliette shivered when her eyes met his gaze. His eyes are as white as milk.

Run. Juliette's mind tells her.

Sigrid smiled. "Beautiful. I can feel life running through your veins." Lumakad ito papalapit sa kanya. He touched her cheeks. She flinched, his hands were too cold.

"Don't worry. You won't feel any pain, I promise," he said, his voice is terrifyingly gentle. That was the last thing that she heard before darkness started singing over her, lulling her to a deep sleep.

AELIA WAS awakened by the sound of footsteps. Her world started spinning as soon as she opened her eyes. She feels like every inch of her is bruised and swollen. Nakagapos ang kanyang mga kamay at paa habang nakaupo sa isang silya.