Promise

AINA

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" I moved closer to her.

"Everyone in my family went to the music festival except for me. My cousin brothers never take me anywhere."

"You have cousin brothers?"

"Five cousin brothers." She nodded her head.

"Ever since my elder sister was locked in this orphanage, my mother has completely distanced herself from the family."

"She sometimes talks to me."

"The other members in the family call me a jinx because of what my sister did. They say we share the same blood."

Sera and I were similar in many ways. We both had faced the same situation in life. Her family always ignored her.

Her elder sister lost her mind at a young age and set fire to the maids' quarters. She was then forcibly sent here, locked in a room on the third floor in the east wing.

We are all forbidden to enter that room.

Sera had to bear the consequences of her sister's actions. She was called a jinx, abandoned by her cousin brothers, Uncle, Aunt, and Father.

Her mother never cared for her either. She was only grieving for her elder daughter.

In the Ryu family, Sera's father had the real power, yet he refused to stand up for his daughter. Power and reputation meant everything to him.

He favored her five cousin brothers over her.

Her uncle and aunt respected her father but hated her to the core. She was living alone despite having a big family.

Her father hired many tutors to turn her into a perfect lady, so one day, he could marry her off to a rich and influential family.

"Is your sister really crazy?" I asked.

"Maybe." She shrugged her shoulders.

After that night, we dug a hole in the wall and became best friends. She was my only family.

We promised to stay by each other's side for the rest of our lives. Even after years, our friendship was a secret but unshaken…Until she was killed last night.

I sit on the floor, leaning against the wall, crying and remembering her last smile.

"She was murdered. Someone killed her."

"Someone took her life."

"Open the door. Her family needs to know."

My lips kept shouting those words in my room, but not a soul responded.

In the blink of an eye, a week passed by.

A nun, around forty, stepped into my room. She was trusted by Miss. Song.

"How are you, Aina?"

I am no different from a corpse, sitting on the cold floor, staring at the ceiling fan with my empty, swollen eyes.

She comes closer and kneels on the floor.

"What have you done to yourself, child?"

"Did they bury her?"

"Yes. Sera is now at peace." She brushes her palm through my long red hair.

"Peace? She was killed."

Her fingers quickly pull away from my hair.

"Stop saying these things or you'll get punished." She whispers.

My voice falls to silence.

"I trust you."

"What?" My gaze looks up and meets her eyes.

"The Ryu family is complicated. They're trying to hide it to protect their reputation. Sera's father and uncle are conservative people."

"We can't do anything?"

"I am sorry child." She kisses my forehead.

After three months of isolation, Miss. Song allowed me to step out of my room.

The rules are now even stricter.

Miss. Rachel, the nun who came to my room, took me under her wing for the kitchen duties.

"You need to become tough, Aina."

"How?"

"I know you want to reveal the truth behind Sera's death but you can't do it without intelligence and strength."

"You have to learn to hide your emotions, then wait for the right time to attack."

"Why are you helping me, Miss. Rachel?"

"You remind me of my childhood." A smile glints on her lips.

"When I was five, my father was wrongly framed and was killed by a relative. We were poor back then and the cops covered up the case as a mere accident."

"I couldn't do anything for my father but I hope you can do something for Sera. Honestly, I have always known about your friendship with her and the hole in the wall."

"You knew?"

"Your friendship with her was so pure and so beautiful." She chuckles.

"Get ready, I will take you somewhere."

"Miss. Song…"

"We can just say we're going to the market for vegetables and fruits."

As soon as we finished with the kitchen duties, Miss. Rachel took permission from Miss. Song and I left in a cab.

The cab brought us far from the orphanage to a quiet place near the hills.

"Where are we?" My gaze scans through the dark fog shrouding the hills and the trees. A cold breeze caresses my skin, sending a shiver down my spine.

Miss. Rachel holds my palm and we walk into the woods, deeper and deeper.

Suddenly, her feet pause before a cherry tree in the middle of the maple trees. It's so beautiful and calm.

"They buried Sera here."

My heart drops to my stomach.

"Here? Why?" I slowly approach the tree.

"Her family didn't want to bury her in the cemetery or anywhere near the mansion."

Tears stream down my face.

"She must be so lonely." My palm gently touches the wood.

"I planted the tree in her grave, so you can talk to her whenever you want."

"Thank you, Miss. Rachel."

"You can talk to her." She whispers.

As Miss. Rachel leaves us alone, my head turns to the tree.

"How are you, Sera?"

"You know…I miss you every day."

"Do you miss me?"

The white cherry flowers shower upon me as if she's responding.

"I know something happened to you that night. Someone killed you, and trust me, I will find your killer no matter what happens."

"This is my promise to you, Sera."

A breath slips free of my lips and I roughly brush off the tears from my eyes.

"I will avenge your death."