Chapter Two: Who Am I?
he awoke to a strange silence one that bore no resemblance to the familiar stillness of her room, Slowly, she lifted her head, her gaze meeting a decaying ceiling and coarse walls suffocated by dampness.
The room was nearly empty, as if denying her very existence, Nothing occupied the space but a worn-out mattress and a pillow whose color and shape had long been erased by time.
A shiver ran through her spine!
She sat on the ground, helpless.
' Have I been kidnapped?
But no there are no restraints on my hands,
I fell asleep in my own bed, How could anyone have entered without waking me?
My sleep has always been light… it always was '
She began speaking to herself, her voice trembling, trying to soothe the panic.
" Inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale, come on... "
She froze!
Her eyes widened so fiercely she feared they might burst..
She had forgotten her name!!!
She tried desperately to remember... to summon even a single letter,
Nothing!
' Was I struck on the head? But there's no pain... forgetting my own name? is this some cruel joke? it isn't even funny! '
The tears came uninvited, silent... as though ashamed of her weakness.
' Why am I always on the margins of the world? why does everything fall apart just as I begin to rebuild? '
Then… came the sound of rough footsteps drawing near.
Three steps.
Then the door burst open with a violent crash and with it, entered the scent of estrangement.
A man stepped inside, likely in his mid thirties, His clothes were patched and tattered, his brown hair unruly, freckles scattered across a distant, weary face. His brows were thick, his eyes adrift, He was neither fat nor thin, but his presence burned with anger.
' Who is this? my kidnapper? he looks foreign…
Is he going to sell my organs?!
No... no, I was always polite, i never hurt anyone, i had no enemies…
Well, except maybe that teacher ten years ago but surely, she forgot me by now! '
He approached and spoke:
"Xenia, do you have any money?"
The name...
It struck her heart like a bell tolling through the fog, Xenia?
' Is that… my name? '
She stared at him in disbelief, his voice was hoarse, alien yet she understood his words.
This was the first time she had ever heard that language…
And yet... she understood.
She swallowed hard, and muttered,
" Why? "
He shouted in her face, spittle flying with every syllable:
" How dare you ask me that? I'm your husband, The father of your children, And you're asking why I want money? To feed you all, of course! Why are you even hiding it?
Don't you know your father sold you to me?
And I, mercifully, married you! Why are you looking at me like that? Are you stupid? "
' He's so… uncivilized! Why does he curse like this?
Dear God! His wife? Who? Me?
Is he talking about me? '
She gathered her scattered thoughts, decided to play along, her body trembled as if from fear.. she mimicked submission.
" Ah… I-I'm sorry… I don't… have any…"
Her words stumbled as tears soaked her face.
He gave her a look of disdain.
" Why do I even bother asking you? Useless "
Then, as violently as he'd entered, he stormed out, leaving her breathless in a cloud of unanswered questions.
" Xenia… That's what he called me, but why does this man claim to be my husband? he said my father sold me to him!
I have children?
Impossible… I've been single since birth!
Was I kidnapped? Was I experimented on?
Am I being watched? Or is this some twisted reality show? A cruel prank? "
Her spiraling thoughts were interrupted as she stepped outside the room, finding herself in a small courtyard open to the sky,
Clothes danced wildly on a clothesline, the wind tugging at them with greedy hands as though it might carry them away,
And by instinct... like an older sister who had not forgotten her duty..
She stepped forward to secure the line.
And suddenly…
She saw a boy and a girl staring at her with silent eyes...
Eyes she somehow knew.