When Secrets Persevere

Part 4

They say that there's a bright side to everything, if one's only willing to see it. And Roya didn't have to seek far enough to begin considering it a blessing that her current events unfolded during summer vacation; because that meant more time and freedom to explore. While her mother was away dealing with work, she had the entire villa to herself.

Roya watched after breakfast, anxious and impatient, as her mother grabbed her purse and keys off the kitchen counter and turned towards the front door. Farrah paused and turned to reassure her daughter, "if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to call me."

Roya nodded absentmindedly, urging her mother to just leave for work already. She had so much planned for that day and she couldn't wait to take the first step towards finding out the truth.

Her utensils clinked and clanked against the plate as she pushed her food around, avoiding her mother's trying gaze. When Farrah realized that lingering by the entryway and staring at her unrelenting daughter's face was not going to provide her with the outcome she had hoped for, she released a melancholic sigh. "Well, alright then. I'll be seeing you at dinner." One of the two plentiful times, she thought to herself in disappointment. Roya mumbled her agreement, continuing to push around the last remaining bite of her French toast.

As Farrah went on her way putting on her heeled flats and heading out the front door, Roya's tapping fingers came to a halt, and she strained her ears to hear as the car tires retreated from the driveway. When the engine's loud revving faded into a distant hum, she dropped her utensils on the plate and jumped off the counter stool.

The room suddenly felt a bit brighter, and a lot lighter.

Roya ran back up the stairs, skipping a step or two in her adrenaline-fueled pursuit. When she made it to her room, she rummaged through her box of school books until she found her dad's hidden journal.

With the notebook tightly clutched between her palm and her rapidly-rising chest, Roya's other hand wrapped around her bedroom door's handle, pushing it open. But just as she was about to walk out, her footsteps came to a halt. Her mind began to race with different scenarios of what could await her on the other end of the tunnel.

But more importantly, of whether or not she'd be able to escape it.

Roya swallowed her nerves away, eyeing the backpack laying by her bedpost. With a new plan in mind, she grabbed ahold of her backpack and emptied its contents on her unmade bed. And then she searched around her room for whatever she felt might aid her in the quest; a flashlight, a protein bar, a half-empty water bottle, and her favorite pair of purple scissors.

Convinced she is now fully prepared to face whatever awaited her on the other side, Roya swung her backpack over one shoulder and left her bedroom.

She trudged down the stairs, skimming through the journal to refresh her mind with the rules of the land, as if she hadn't spent the entire night rereading the same words over and again until she couldn't blink them away from her sight.

The rules of the mystical land sounded fairly simple to Roya, and easy to follow, given that her only purpose of exploring it was to learn more about her dad. It's not like she wanted to stay there.

Within seconds she had gone past the living room, through the basement door, down the creaky wooden stairs, and stood facing the large painting that hung at the end of the dusty basement. Her heart was running a million beats per minute, and she laid her palm flatly against her chest, inhaling some deep breaths that sent tremors through her body.

Adrenaline always did crazy things to her body and mind; but she continued craving the rush, pursuing things she knew she'd be better off without.

When her heart calmed down enough and her trembling fingers stabilized, Roya began pushing the painting to the side, revealing the eerily enticing entrance. She tightened the backpack's straps, bending her neck and beginning her walk into the tunnel. Soon she was surrounded by the darkness of the walls, and for a moment, she felt a goosebump travel down the length of her spine as her discomfort heightened; but she fought against the intruding thoughts and continued in her way.