Darkness Dissolves When the Door Opens

The Maid

For the first time in a year, the food they ate didn’t taste like bread with water. For the first time in a year, they finally ate something green, and cooked perfectly. For the first time in a year, a woman appeared by their faces. Her face was golden, and her cheeks were like made out of pure cotton. She stepped in to the filthy prison like an angel in the middle of hell. Her unstained clothes were pure.

First, she would be escorted by a guard who would unlock the cell doors for her. Then, with the most graceful attitude ever, she refilled the bowls of water and replaced the empty plates with the new ones and took the plastic bags full of feces and smiled to each prisoner. The smile was always so genuine. It was neither faked nor fouled. She was like a warm sun inside a dark, mysterious, horror chamber. Her existence was like a light for the hopeless men.

She would exit the cells and returned upstairs with the most unpleasant urge and the guard would lock the dungeon’s door behind them.

She reminded Jules of her, of Ava, his sister.

The dusty doll crawled on Jules’ open palm. His nine fingers curved upon the doll. It played around, and it talked to him.

“She is pretty,” the doll said.

“She is the enemy. She’s Japanese,” Jules responded.

“But you can’t deny that she is indeed pretty.”

Jules sighed. “She is. She also reminded me of you.”

“Ask for her name.”

“She won’t understand me.”

“She might.”

“If she does, though, the guard would punish me for speaking to her.”

“Yes, perhaps, but try anyway.”

“Hmm.”

First try wasn’t very pleasant. The woman only smiled when Jules asked her “What’s your name?” with the faintest voice ever. The armed guard grumbled and shot him with the sadistic eyes. Jules’ friends shot him the looks of concern.

Second try wasn’t successful either. She smiled also and the guard barked a Japanese word to Jules.

Third try, the guard was not the usual and when he asked her name, she patted Jules’ shoulder. It was the most wholesome thing ever. A pat on the shoulder was very different from a kick or a punch. The gentle touch reminded Jules of the subtlety of life.

That day, Jules didn’t ask her. But that day, she enthusiastically answered.

She smiled. “Himari. My name is Himari.”

Then she exited the dungeon and Jules’ heart melted.

“She is truly an angel,” Jules stated.

“She’s a disguised devil,” Jai adjusted.

“No, I think a humble girl like that is very innocent,” Blake commented.

“She’s still the Japanese,” Roger shot.

“She’s only a goddamn cook,” Glenn said dryly. “She isn’t innocent and she isn’t the devil. She is a cook. Why bother to argue ‘bout this?”

“Because we never witness a true angel before,” John murmured.

“It’s true. When she refilled my bowl and stood near me, it’s like… it’s like I’m somehow safer, you know? It’s like hope itself presented to us. It’s magical really.”

“Hal, you fantasied things a bit too much,” said Jai.

“It’s good that we have hope, you know,” John added. “Whether she actually meant her smiles or not, they are still great amusements.”

“I still can’t believe Jules actually got her name,” said Roger, distracting.

“Yeah. What is her name again?” Jai asked from across.

“Himari. She speaks English too.”

“That’s very rare. A Japanese woman speaking English. I don’t believe it if I don’t hear it, but apparently she does speak English,” John answered. “Let’s just hope ‘my name is Himari’ isn’t the only English she can spit.”

She entered the dungeon once more. She smiled to Jules, again. Then, the most unexpected thing happened.

“What is your name?” She asked.