A GIRL heard a knock on the door of their small house. She hurriedly jumped up from her seat as her snow-colored hair swayed upon the air, she opened the door and a woman stood in front of her. She wore a small smile and had a few wrinkles visible on her face, making her seem older.
"Elliza" the woman called the girl with a gentle voice.
"Yes, mother?" the girl Elliza replied with an excited tone in her voice.
The woman opened her bag and showed Elliza the content. The girl's eyes shone as if she had seen a treasure of gold. She covered her mouth in excitement and hurried to hug her mother.
"Thank you mother!" she exclaimed.
The woman laughed at her daughter and patted her head in a spoiling manner.
"Alright settle down, here are your books you can go and read them now." Elliza nodded at her mother and grinned as she took the bag. She placed the bag on her desk and scanned every title of the book with interest in her eyes.
A FEW years had passed, Elliza is no longer a girl, now, she's a lady. Her white hair had gone past her waist, her body had developed with curves at the right places, and her facial appearance had matured. Her thick, long, and white lashes fluttered as she blinked at the book she was reading.
She gently smiled and caressed the book to feel the texture upon her pale fingers. She raised her head to look upon the view outside the window. The dark green wild forest looked mysteriously beautiful yet Elliza sighed seeing the same view for 18 years had made her numb of its beauty.
She placed the book on her table and laid her head on top of it. She pouted in annoyance, but in the end, she just sighed.
"Will I ever see what's beyond those wild forests? Books are great, but I want to see everything for myself," she murmured to herself.
Elliza once asked her mother when she was younger, why isn't she allowed to go out or even go to the neighborhood? Why isn't she allowed to see other people? Why is she isolated? She once asked those questions and her mother just answered with a simple 'It's not yet the time'.
Clearly, Elliza is confused, but seeing how her mother is always being secretive and protective, she can't help but think that there is more and deeper reason behind those words.
Elliza went to sleep that day full of unanswered thoughts.
The night was dark and quiet, however, unbeknownst to any of the two women. Heavy footsteps started to make their way closer to their house. Their built resembles a man, and they held metal weapons in their hands. The torch they held lit up the area, and they noticed the small house located near the wild forest.
The group of men looked at each other. One man, who has a bigger built than the rest, signaled one of his men to check the house. One of his men made its way to the small house where Elliza and her mother were sleeping.
The man crept up on the window, but he wasn't able to see anything, so he decided to trespass the house. He skillfully removed the house lock and went inside quietly, his dirty boots left footsteps on the wooden floor.
He saw a room and slowly pushed the door. Unknown to him, a woman hid behind the door and as he opened the door, a metal pan made its way to his skull, the man screamed in pain, and he collapsed on the floor holding his head.
The group of men heard the scream and immediately charged to the house.
"Elliza! Wake up! Hurry and leave this place and hide! Elliza! Elliza! Elliza...!!" the woman repeatedly screamed at the top of her lungs. She noticed the on the floor stood up, and she immediately struck him again with the pan she held with her trembling hands.
Elliza who was sleeping quietly was woken up by her mother's scream. She immediately threw her blankets, she stood up from her bed and hesitated whether to check on her mother or to run away by herself.
"Mother!!" Elliza screamed.
"Run Elliza!! Run! Leave now!" she heard her mother scream once more.
Elliza felt adrenaline rush to her body and she shook her head before jumping out of the window. Her bare foot touched the cold moist leaves on the ground and her white nightgown became dirty as she ran past the muddy path.
Elliza's brain isn't working, she can't think of anything but follow her mother's order. Her mother's scream continued to ring in her mind as she continued to run faster.
"There she is!"
Elliza's eyes widened as she heard the loud manly voice coming from behind her. She looked back and saw lit-up torches that made her heartbeat skip for a second. She hurriedly looked ahead and run as fast as she could.
The heavy footsteps became closer and closer...
Until Elliza felt a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes widened, and she immediately pushed the hand from her. The man wrapped her arms upon her petite body as Elliza continued to helplessly struggle.
A loud smack was heard before Elliza felt herself drifting to unconsciousness.
'Mother...' she thought before she was totally wrapped by darkness.
ELLIZA's lashes fluttered as she blinked her eyes, letting her eyes adjust to the light. She lifted her head to look where she is. She was lying on the dirty floor, mud was smeared unto her pale skin, and she felt her hands tied up by a rough rope. Furthermore, she noticed that there is also a cloth tied to her mouth. Her eyes wandered to the surroundings and all she can understand is that they are in a house, it looked old and unused. Sunlight pasts through the holder of the wall and she saw that there are other people who were there with her.
Her eyes widened, it was her first time seeing other people. She imagined her first time being happy, this situation was something she never expected.
The other people were also tied up, and they were wearing old and dirty clothes.
A few seconds later, the door opened, and it revealed a group of men. Elliza recognized them, they were the men who chased after her!
Suddenly, a realization hit her...her mother!
She tried to talk and struggle, yet only muffled sounds were heard from her. The men just ignored her, and Elliza decided to just stop. Her head hang lowly unto the ground and tears fell upon her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and can only mutter 'mother' in her head.
A few moments later, she felt someone removing the tie in her mouth.
"Wha-" she was about to speak yet something liquid flowed unto her mouth. She choked and coughed, yet she swallowed some remnants of the liquid. She blinked her eyes as her visions started to blur, and her body started to lose balance.
And Elliza's body fell on the floor with a thud.