Chapter II

10years ago

"Are you sure about this? You know my parents will kill me if I don't go home before sunset" She panicked.

"Just chill, will you? This will only take a sec. Don't you trust me Rose?" He asked innocently holding her hand. She nods her head while tightening her hold as both of them went near the lake.

Later that evening, Rose was on her way home after meeting her best friend in the Lake Gardens, when she saw thick black smoke billowing upwards some distance from me. It was twilight time and the dirty black smoke rising against a brilliant red western sky presented quite a spectacle. Knew that a fire was raging and judging by the color and fury of the smoke she reasoned that it was probably caused by the burning of rubber and diesel oil. But she continued to home but then she noticed that the smoke was getting closer. The column of black smoke was both magnificent and ominous. Then as she rounded a bend along the road she saw the fire. The glow of fifty-foot flames shooting upwards was blinding. She blinked her eyes to let it adjust to the sudden brightness. After a while, she could see that a row of houses were on fire. I knew these houses well because they were only a few hundred yards away from my house, fortunately on the other side of the road.

The heat was so intense that she could not even approach the fire much less try to extinguish it. A huge smoke covers the skies and the flame dances through the air as it gets bigger. Rose coughs as she smelled fire from afar. "Where is it coming from?" She mumbled as she draws near her house. '' The house ! It's burning. What should I do now? Mom? Dad? " She fell down on her knees and began to cry.

She didn't move nor speak ; she helplessly watched the flames burnt her house. The distance to where she was at, dried her tears. She was starting to calm down as a mysterious figure startled her. The mysterious figure resembles a male human laughing from the distant hysterically. She froze in terror, she wanted to run but couldn't. The mysterious figure faced her and shouted, "Isn't beautiful? Can you feel freedom? How does it feel to be free from your cage? Smell that burning love. Look how beautiful and calm the flames are.

She couldn't move, she was too terrified of him. His laughter send shivers down her spine. She wanted to run, she took a few step backwards. She had to run but she doesn't know what to do as she was froze on her spot. The man lowered his arms and something blinded her. 'Knife! He's going to kill me. Help! The mysterious man hysterically laughs as he walks near her ; with all strength, she stood up and ran away from him. She ran vigorously non-stop ; she could still hear his voice, his laughter. "You can't hide from me. You're free now. No need to thank me though!" the mysterious shouted. Rose hid behind the brushes, grasping for air. She was trebleming like a leaf and her heart was throbbing.

Minutes later, the mysterious man is nowhere to be found or heard. 'Is he gone?' Rose calmed herself then slowly stood up.

In a matter of seconds, she felt someone is lurking behind her ; she spun around and saw the killer behind her smirking.

The killer shouted, "YOU'RE FREE ROSE, YOU'RE FREE!!!!" and draws the knife above his head, about to stab her. She covered herself by raising her arms as a shield and shrieked "NOO...NOOO!!!" . Half of her words were lost in the noise of a thunderchap that echoed through the sky.

That was a cursed day, her pleads, her screams everything ecohed through the forest, full of pain and despair.

Her eyes snapped open, she was covered in a cold sweat, shaking. Her heart was pounding inside chest. Looking around suspiciously, she paranoid that her horror might have followed her here. She gets up cautiously, shivering. She rubs her hands and eyes and tries to fully awaken.

With her stumbling steps, she sat down near the lake, and with her head in hands, she cried. Cried untill she laughed. She noticed that the cold began to fade, warmed by the light of a burning bridge.

"It's the time that you spent on your rose, that makes your rose so important.

People have forgotten this truth, but you mustn't forget it. You become responsible forever for what you've tamed. You're responsible for your rose."