Chapter 2 The Awakening

I'm sure, I am in a strange place, in a strange time, in a strange house, and I feel strange too. I can barely remember what happened last night, and I don't even know how I ended up in this place. Opening my eyes is not as easy as either. I want to see the place where I'm at. Why do I feel running from place to place for the past three days? I can feel my whole body aching; it's like I was in a marathon last night. However, I cannot remember if I was in a marathon or if I ran miles and miles, which makes me tired today. I can't remember joining a marathon. As I know, I am not that athletic.

I try to open my eyes again, but my eyelids weigh a hundred tons. Since I can't open my eyes even when I try to, I try to listen to the place instead. Not so long I smell someone cooking bacon. I couldn't hear anything but just a crumbling on the table, the sound and the smell of the burning bacon, the humming of a lady, and a distant beeping noise of cars. By just listening to the sound of the place and the smell of the place, I know I am not home.

My parents' house is on the nearby road, so hearing a far beeping sound of vehicles is an indication that I'm not home. We have a big fruit store, so this kind of quiet place would not make sense.

Am I kidnapped? I guess no one will cook bacon for their hostage. Is the bacon for me? I can't remember if I ate anything last night, but I'm not hungry at all. I fell asleep again with the heaviness of my body. I think I couldn't be awakened for another hour or two. I guess I need at least more than 40 hours of sleep with the pain I feel all over my body and the tonsils above my eyelids.

...

I am awakened again by the sound of a hard object hitting the ground. This time, I can open my eyes. I look around. Nothing looks familiar in my eyes: there's a huge fan on the ceiling slowly spinning its propeller, a huge mirror on the wall next to the window, there is a small coffee table in front of me with a lot of boring magazines, a big TV, and windows with blinds. Then I see the woman I heard humming a while ago in a far room that looks like a kitchen. I try to look at her clearly, but she's too far from me to see her face. She's standing next to the table. I ignore her and look around. I turn my head to my left, and I feel a pang in my neck. I decided to stand in the living room, but my legs were wiggling, making it too hard for me to stand. I place my hands on the table to place all my pressure by just standing, but I fall to my knees on the floor. I managed to be in a crawling position, despite the pain in both of my arms. I slowly drag my heavy body. When I make it to the middle of the room then I realize she has her back to me. I feel the urge to leave the place, but where would I go with my tired and battered body? I found myself crawling back. I sit back, slouching my back on the sofa.

Where am I? What am I doing here? Who is this lady? I try to remember what happened last night, but I can't come up with a scene in my head. I don't know what to do and I fear I'm in a bad hand, though I'm so relaxed and feel welcome. I clear my throat when I finally find my voice. I try to speak. My mouth is so dry, and my throat is sore.

"Hey." I say, turning out a whisper.

The lady seems to turn around, so she heard my whisper.

"You're awake!" she exclaims.

She runs to me. On a closer look, she is not too old nor close to my mother's age. She looks younger than I expected her to be.

"Who are you? And where am I?" I ask. It is so hard for me to speak, but I manage to come up with the words.

"I'm Sarah." she says sweetly. She doesn't look like the bad person my mom used to warn me not to talk to. She smiles so sweetly and kindly, she's also beautiful like an angel. "Last night, I saw you sleeping on the sidewalk. I brought you here with me to keep you safe." she explains.

I furrow my forehead, trying to remember something, but come up empty. I couldn't remember anything that happened.

"Do you always bring home all the kids you saw sleeping on the sidewalk?" I ask her.

She gives me a sly smile, trying to stop her laughter. "You're kind of a witty kid." She pats my head. "Why are you sleeping on the sidewalk? Where are your parents?"

"Are you a kidnapper?" I ask her. "A good kidnapper."

She laughs at me.

"Anyway, I am sure that I was not sleeping on the sidewalk." I think again, trying to remember. I frown and then look at her with sadness in my eyes. "I can't remember what happened last night. All I can think of is grass. I guess I was sleeping in the grass and not on the sidewalk."

"Why can't you remember last night? Can you remember the day before?" she asks.

I look at her and then look outside the window. I shake my head as a no.

"You're sure that you're not sleeping on the sidewalk, but you can't even remember the night before." She looks worried at me when she doesn't even know me.

"I don't know, but you're so kind." I retort.

I look around, finally able to see the whole house. It is big and clean, and there are two rooms on the second floor. One of the rooms is open so that I can peek inside and see a white grand piano. The pain was gone miraculously.

"Your house is big, very big. You look rich, are you rich?" I ask her.

"I don't know if I'm rich." She replies, enjoying my ignorance.

"I can see the piano in your room." I swallow my saliva just to realize that the pain in my throat is gone. "I can play the piano. My mom made me go to this piano school when I was six. It was so expensive that my parents could only afford a year of the lesson."

"That's so nice, but where are your parents now? Aren't they worried about you?" she asks again.

I look around again and see a sandwich on the table in front of me. I can't remember seeing a sandwich earlier.

"Can I eat this?" I ask, holding the sandwich while looking at her.

She smiles again. "Of course. I made that for you earlier."

"Ooh, you are really a good person. Your kids are so lucky to have a loving mom like you." I say with my mouth full.

She giggles. "May I know your name?"

"My name is Kasey, K. A. S. E. Y. – it's K and not C." I explain. "I'm sorry for looking like this and speaking with my mouth full. I haven't had dinner last night." I say. "Maybe I haven't eaten anything last night because I feel starving."

A while ago, I felt every pain in my body but did not feel hungry. Maybe because my body was aching, I couldn't feel my hunger.

"Don't worry. I don't mind." Sarah says.

She's not bothered that I'm eating with my mouth full and speaking at the same time. My mom would be furious with me if I did this in front of her. After I finish the sandwich, she invites me to eat again, then I remember the bacon, and my mouth immediately waters at the thought of it.

...

After we ate, I asked her to show me around her house. She has a huge swimming pool and a music room with a piano, guitar, and cello. A balcony that looks like a fairytale movie set, and she has a beautiful garden with big trees, colorful flowers, and delicious spices. We sat on the bench in the garden; it's under the hibiscus flowers where she planted them. It is facing the small fountain, but I guess it's not really a fountain because the fountain I'm talking about is actually a statue of a woman holding a bucket with water flowing from it.

"Where is your husband?" I ask.

"I don't have a family." She replies, looking out at the water in the fountain.

"But you're old, aren't you?"

She laughs again. "I'm 37, so if you think 37 is old, then I am old."

"Do you think you want to have a family someday?"

"How old are you, Kasey?" she turns to look at me, waiting for my reply.

"I'm 10 years old."

"You talk older than your age."

"I think I'm turning 11 this month."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asks.