k a l o n.

o n e

    "How the fuck was I supposed to know it would drown?" Nefera questioned as she watched her friend comfort the little creature.

    "You really are stupid sometimes, Nefera. It's common knowledge that cats hate water. Look at the poor thing..it's shaking." Aruna stroked the top of the feline's head and whispered soft words of affirmation in its ear, all the while suppressing a laugh. The cat, not very amused, hissed at her and took off beyond the hill. "Now look, our friend abandoned us and it's all your fault," she crossed her arms and pretended to be upset with her best friend.

    "Oh my gods, Aruna, you've got to be the most dramatic human being on earth. I only wanted to swim with the little shit. Besides, you don't need anymore friends! You have me and my twelve different personalities," Nefera said, with a cheesy grin.

    The shorter girl giggled and nodded her head. "You really are something, huh?"

    Nefera grinned. "I think we should head out now, my fingers are starting to prune."

    "Yeah... although it was nice to be away from my aunt for a little while. Not to mention Flavian."

    Nefera grimaced,"Your aunt always has a stick up her butt and Flavian has to be the most annoying, revolting, and stupid little brat in the entirety of Rome!"

    The friends swam to the shore, giggling and talking about anything and everything.

    They sat on the cloths they brought to dry themselves off after they had their bath. They chose to bathe in the small lake by the countryside because both of the girls hated the communal baths. Men stared at the women as if they were pieces of meat and women would give a disgusting little show back. It felt creepy to watch the interactions and don't even get them started on the smell inside of the facilities.

    Once they were all dry and dressed, Aruna rested on a rock and gazed at the horizon with a far away look. Nefera was busy braiding the girl's hair for her.

    "Do you ever think about all the different places you could see, all the mouth-watering food you could eat, the diverse group of people you could meet...but you're stuck here. Waking up everyday, just to do the usual things. Have meals with the same people, watch the same spectacles, worry about who you're going to marry and how many kids you're going to have...it's sad, isn't it? You'll never get to experience complete freedom or discover the unknown. It's like your life isn't yours and everyone expects something from you."

    Nefera's hands stopped for a second to think about Aruna's question. "I mean... I guess I haven't given it much thought. Although if I were to describe it, I would probably word it like you just did."

    "Hmm," she acknowledged. They sat there for a couple more moments, the sun still high in the sky, but thunderclouds were beginning to form.

    "There! All done. My, my, don't you just look like a little nymph," Nefera teased. She looked up at the sky and furrowed her brows when she saw the nasty looking clouds. "Hey, maybe we should get going. It looks like a storm's coming."

    "Yeah, I know...do you want to come over for a while? Just to keep each other company?" she asked hopefully. Aruna hated being alone with her aunt. She was eccentric and nosey, and mean. It's like all she cared about were men and money. She asked uncomfortable questions and went too into detail about her experiences with her lovers, always saying that if she does not open up and start making an effort to try to make "male friends" or accept the ones already over her, she'd die alone with no one to love her.

    She never saw the appeal of just sleeping with someone or flirting with someone without having feelings for them. She didn't judge the people who did indulge in those particular activities, but she surely didn't understand them. She also wasn't interested in trying too hard in love, like dressing up for someone to pay attention to her, or speaking in a higher voice than her normal one. She saw that as self-disrespect, changing yourself for someone who would only fall in love with a version of yourself you created out of insecurity.

    "Ugh, I wish I could but I have to help my parents bring stuff in from the market, before the storm comes and wipes it all," the dark-skinned girl whined.

    Aruna sighed softly, "Alright, I'll see you later then?"

    "Yeah. Stay safe, alright? Love you, Runa." she took the small girl into her arms and lightly kissed her temple. She ran off as soon as the clouds formed a shadow over them.

    The girl watched her friends back retreating into the trees and sighed.

☾ ☾ ☾

    Aruna made her way home to the villa, where her aunt and the servants awaited her. As soon as she entered the atrium, she saw the rain falling down hard from the compluvium. It was strong and wild, foreshadowing the storm to come. She was a little wet, since it had started to drizzle a bit on her way back, only worsening when she was a few feet form the entrance.

    "Oh my, young mistress! Where have you been? You should have come home as soon as you saw how grey the sky was getting!" Melissa, one of the younger servants, was trying to pat her dry with a towel. "Stop squirming! You'll catch a cold if you don't dry up."

    "I will...I can do it myself," the little lady whined. She took the towel and started gently drying herself with it.

    "If you keep pouting like that anytime you don't like something, your lips are going to stay that way!" Melissa exclaimed as she left the room.

    "HUH? That's not true..." Aruna took her fingers to her lips and pushed them, until they were back to normal. She chuckled a bit, she wasn't the only person who saw how silly she was. Nefera and the servants were always reminding her, although they always said it with a soft tone, like there was nothing to do about it. In fact, they found the little nymph and her quirks quite charming.

    She jumped when she heard thunder, and realized she had been standing in the atrium for a little while, lost in her thoughts.

    Towel in hand, Aruna walked upstairs to her bedroom and placed the towel on her wooden chair in front of her desk.

    She plopped on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, she saw from her window that the storm was quite severe. Thunder and lightning dancing around the dark sky, as if putting on a show for the city. She shrugged and turned on her side, placing her head on her fluffy, pink pillow. Before she knew it, she had drifted of to sleep.

☾ ☾ ☾

    She woke up around an hour later when she heard people whispering in the hallway. The sounds seemed to be coming from her aunt's room, which was pretty close to hers.

    "They...atrium? We...them? Who?" her aunt spoke in a hurry.

    Was someone outside?

    She opened her door and poked her head out. Her aunt was just about to go down the stairs with a servant, when she turned her head.

    "Aruna, stay in your room and don't come out."

    "But wait! Is there someone outside?" she asked desperately. "Who are they?"

    "Aruna! We will talk tomorrow, now go inside!" the older woman scolded. She turned again, finally making her way downstairs. She heard her greeting someone a moment later. Saying something about being caught?

    Aruna couldn't hear very well with the storm just outside her window, but as soon as she heard multiple footsteps coming up the stairs. She shut her door, accidentally making a huge bang.

    She cringed and instantly regretted having been curious as to who was downstairs and eavesdropping. Sighing for the hundredth time that day, she made her way over to her bed.

    As she fell asleep, she couldn't help but wonder who was at the door and if she would catch a glimpse before they left tomorrow.