The Figure In Rage

"ALICE!"

"Mama!"

Mrs. Anderson quickly dropped the broomstick on the floor and hurried to her beloved daughter.

"Arghh..."

"Oh dear, what have you done to yourself?"

Alicia heard her mother's murmur and helped her to her feet.

Her mother pushed her quickly toward the direction where the bathroom and turned on the water as soon as they entered. She turned on the shower and let the water run over her burnt skin.

Alicia let the water flow over her body that had been covered in the scalding soup. She was writhing in pain with the exposed skin.

"Take off your clothes while I get you some fresh ones."

She heard her mom speak through the splashing of the water and shook her head in agreement.

"Don't step out till you feel the stinging pain reduce. You get what I say, Alice?" warned her mother before she left, shutting the bathroom door.

"Off! What have I gotten myself into?"

Alicia could not believe what had happened in the little spec of time. Everything was fine until the mouse had to expose its mass entry with its little squeak to turn the whole house upside-down.

Her mother pushed her quickly toward the direction where the bathroom was and turned on the water as soon as they entered. She turned on the shower and let the water run over her burned skin.

Alicia let the water flow over her body, which had been covered in the scalding soup. She was writhing in pain from the exposed skin.

"Take off your clothes while I get you some fresh ones."

She heard her mom speak through the splashing of the water and shook her head in agreement.

"Don't step out till you feel the stinging pain reduce. Did you get what I said, Alice?" warned her mother before she left, shutting the bathroom door.

"Off! What have I gotten myself into?" muttered Alice as she gazed up at the ceiling.

Alicia could not believe what had happened in that little speck of time. Everything was fine until the mouse had to expose its mass entry with its little squeak to turn the whole house upside-down.

"Great! I'm already late," she mumbled, cursing to herself.

She unbuttoned her top, letting it fall onto the wet tile, and stood sparkly naked, still murmuring and cursing to herself.

"I wonder what Gloria is doing? She must be broken. How am I a friend when I'm not there when my friend is in need of me?"

Alicia gazed at her reddened skin with the urge to run her hands over it, which she did only to hiss out loudly in pain.

The running water was relieving the burning sensation, and she was more than thankful for it.

"Mom!" she called out loud from the bathroom and continued, "How long do I have to stand under the water?"

Her voice echoed too loudly for her to shut her eyes.

"10 to 20 minutes would do, dear," she heard her mom speak from the other side of the wall.

Her mother was standing right outside the door, leaving a set of clothes and her towel, so that Alicia could come and get them with no problem.

"I've left necessary things right at the door. You can come and take it. I'll be in the kitchen," informed Mrs. Anderson before she walked away from the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes passed, and Alica was back, knotting her shoelaces and bidding farewell to her mother.

"Take care, baby."

"Sure, I will, Mom. Worry not, my Mama Bear." Alicia placed a loud kiss on her mother's cheeks before opening the door and stepping out.

She stepped on the little slabs, taking out her bike keys from her pocket, but then her mom stopped her from calling out.

"Where is your bike, Alice?"

Damn, it!

How could this thing slip out of my head?

There were too many things going on in her head for this information to slip out. She was contemplating what to say only to spot Miss Lily stepping out of her house at the same time with her little plant-watering kettle.

Alicia turned around and stuttered nervously, hoping her neighbor would do the honorable thing and interrupt them in the middle as usual.

"What are you-"

"Well, hello there, my dear lovely neighbors!" came the squealing voice of a lady who was no one but Miss Lily, who stood on the other side of the fence.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Lily."

Alicia sighed not so loudly with relief and greeted the lady with all the smiles on her face. She was more than thankful, unlike any other day.

Her mother greeted the lady too.

"What was that noise I heard earlier?" questioned Mrs. Lily with such wide eyes. Curiosity was written all over her face in big, bold font letters.

"Just a mouse's chaos," said Mrs. Anderson simply, and they heard the loud gasp of Miss Lily. She had her eyes nearly thrown out of their sockets.

"A mouse? Where is it now?" questioned Miss Lily, her hands still over her mouth.

Taking this as a cue, Alicia waved goodbye and headed toward the opposite lane.

"We are not yet done, Alicia," she heard her mom yell at her back.

"Catch you later, Mom," she yelled back. "Bye, Miss Lily," she waved.

"Bye, darling."

Alicia ran down the lane and stood at the bus stand, waiting for the public bus.

"Phew! That was close," she panted, wiping away the sweat that slid down her temple.

As soon as she reached the hospital, she sprinted toward the emergency room and got to know that Diego had been shifted to another ward, away from the emergency department.

"Gloria!"

The call of hers reverberated throughout the hospital hall louder than Alicia had expected, gaining the attention of passersby and a stern look from the security guard who stood at the doorframe.

Gloria, who was seated on the bench and had her head hunched in her palms, immediately stirred up and snapped her head at her with a surprised look.

"L-lise," she stuttered, sounding weak.

Alicia ran up to her and embraced her weak frame.

"Oh, mon Dieu. Look at you," she murmured and kissed her friend's forehead worriedly.

"I'm sorry I could not make it to see you last night, Ria," she apologized as she gazed at her friend.

"That's alright," came the low voice of Gloria.

"How's Di?"

She asked but regretted it as soon as she saw the tears that welled up fall down Ria's already tear-stricken cheeks as she shook her head and sobbed.

"Oh my gosh, Ria. It's alright. Everything's going to be alright, okay?"

She nudged her to sit down and tried her best to console her sobbing friend, who kept murmuring and blaming herself for all that had happened.

"I-I shh-shouldn't have run to the cafe, Lise."

"It should have been me, not them."

"Why am I not injured?"

"Shhh... That's enough." Alicia shushed her friend and hugged her once more, patting her back. "Stop blaming yourself. What happened has happened. It is of no use to blame yourself. I'm sure Diego will recover in no time. You need not worry about it too much."

"Recover in no time, you say?!" came a voice from behind, startling both the girls out of their seats.

"You need not worry about it, you say?"

"Do you hear yourself, Mrs. Anderson?"

Alicia stood up from the bench immediately and turned around only to face the storm of rage that stood all in a figure in front of her, chilling her bones to no end.