Chapter 28: Twenty eight

Vague.

I have very vague memories of when I was a child, but I remember being dragged forcefully by a woman in her mid thirties as sirens rang behind us. Her grip on my arm was so strong that it left a mark. I remember her dragging me along as she ran with her son, 2 years younger than me, in her arm, he was clinging to her neck, his eyes staring at me, unblinking while I stumbled to catch up.

***

"Why did we run away? What about grandma?" I was too young to understand anything. Why did this woman, Lizzie, daughter of grandma drag me with her and her son but left grandma there? Grandma wasn't my real relative but she cared for me like one.

"We had no other choice. Your grandma will no longer be able to help you."

"But I want grandma..." I sniffled. I didn't like Lizzie, I wanted grandma. Grandma was kind. Tears started dwelling in my eyes and I was about to cry when something hard landed against my cheek.

"Don't you dare utter a single cry. You should be grateful I brought you along with me."

I bit my lower lip to stop myself from making any sound as I clung onto my shirt.

My cheeks stung and though the tears still rolled down my cheeks, since I was quite. Lizzie didn't say anything to me.

Lizzie is cruel. She is a bad person. She even left grandma, who is her mother, back at home all alone.

***

I waited in the dark place like usual. It was about time Lizzie came back but she still hadn't. I peeked out from the hole of the box I was in, large enough only to fit in a kid like me. I peeked out but no sign of her. I sighed and slumped, not that there was much space to move around but I had grown accustomed to it.

The place where we were living was near the mountains and hills.

"Rosy?" I heard Alios, Lizzie's son, call me from the other box, "I'm hungry."

"Me too." I replied back. I don't know why Lizzie kept both of us in boxes as she left for work. We weren't allowed to go out to play, well we couldn't even if we wanted to since she locked the box lid from the outside.

The house door opened and we both held our breaths. Unless Lizzie says it's her we aren't supposed to talk.

I heard the other box get unlocked.

"Mama" Alios exclaimed.

Soon I heard the lock on my box click and I saw proper light.

"Let's eat." She said and I jumped out of the box.

This was our daily routine for months. Lizzie worked for four days and those days we spent in the box. The other three days a neighbor came to teach us since we didn't go to school and in the rest of the free time I was allowed to play with Alios.

All that time I didn't forget grandma and her grandson. The two people who gave me love.

No doubt Lizzie loved her son. She treated Alios with great care but, I was just a pet to feed. Countless times she would tell me that I should be grateful that she didn't leave me there but I wished she had. But I learned to behave because if I didn't. I had to spend the night in the box without any food. Alios, on the other hand, was spared from such a treatment. Maybe because he was her child.

But still I didn't hate Alios. He was my only friend. No matter how Lizzie was, Alios was a good kid. Quite and conserved.

Years passed like this and the winter of 10th year arrived. My birthday was 27 December a few days from today. Not that I was looking forward to it. I hadn't celebrated for the past 3 years and it wasn't gonna happen this time either. I clutched onto the ring around my neck.

"Rosy." Alios called me from the other box.

"Yea?"

"Isn't this box too cramped?"

"Hmm."

Obviously. We both had grown but still even though Alios was younger than me, he was my height. He was growing pretty past.

Suddenly I heard the door open. Alios and I zipped our lips. It had only been two hours since she left.

Someone frantically ran in, I heard the person go to the kitchen and then to the store room, and eventually I heard the trolley being pulled out. It stopped right next to us.

Then I heard the locks being clicked open.

"Get out both of you!" It was Lizzie but her voice was strange.

We both got out of the box and she frantically started loading them on the box trolley. As I stared at her fear filled face, I couldn't decipher what was wrong. It looked like she had seen a ghost but then again she was sweating pretty bad even though it was winter.

As she finished loading the boxes on the trolley she looked at us.

"No questions. Get in. We're leaving."

Alios and I looked at each other when she yelled, "NOW!!"

We both got in and she locked the lid.

"Not a sound." She demanded and began pushing the trolley out. Soon enough I realized we weren't going to the city or anywhere near it. Lizzie had decided to take the hilly path. I could tell because of how uneven it was. Everything was fine for the first hour but then I heard sirens.

"Shit!" I heard her curse and she sped up. Trying to run as fast as she could.

It wasn't a normal siren of police or an ambulance. It was different. Only there for a few seconds before it finished. More like a signal. I think I've heard it before but I can't recall where.

Then I heard some vehicles approaching. They were far but getting near.

"No. No. No!!!" Was Lizzie crying? I couldn't tell since I couldn't see her.

I could see the vehicles get close. The sound of engines were a little closer.

"Rose.." Her voice trembled. "I'm sorry but I can't save both of you."

"Lizzie?" I didn't know what she meant till the cart suddenly stopped. She took Alios out of his box which I realized wasn't locked and then she ran away.

"Lizzie?" No one answered. "Lizzie!!" Did she leave me? "Lizzie!!!!??"

"Alios...?"

I heard the vehicles approach. Most of them just passed by me.

Leaving me there locked in a cramped box.