Chapter 116: Azalea’s story

Azalea [3 Years old]

Hazy.

My memories of that time are quite hazy.

But still, I can remember myself in the arms of my sister as she went around knocking at the doors of people to let us in.

I don't know if she knocked at the doors of random people or people who knew us.

Either way the result was the same and either way I understood why those doors didn't open for us.

If they didn't know us, it's a given that no one would let us in.

If they knew us, they had more of a reason not to open their doors. We were the daughters of gangsters and we were on the run when the four clans were at war.

Dahlia, my older sister was now panicking. Even though she was lacking, she knew she had someone she had to keep safe.

She banged on doors, "Please! Just for one night!" She begged but soon realized no one was going to help her out.

It didn't cross her mind that the people living near the Violet's main house would be reluctant to help and that it was a very bad idea to stay there too.

As the sun started allowing the moon to take its place Dahlia realized it was best run away. Somewhere far far away.

We both had managed to run away before the fight began as the family was secretly informed of the incoming attack.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, somewhere in the very dark depths I have this image of a couple sitting gracefully in a room, ready for whatever there is to come. They were my parents.

As the orange glow in the sky began to fade Dahlia carried me on her back as she ran through dark allies.

Things weren't processing in my mind. I did not know of the dangers back home or the threats that lay outside. I was just a child enjoying a piggy back ride from her sister.

Occasionally I laughed and I guess that made Dahlia feel a bit better that I did not know what was happening around us.

In the end she was unable to find any place for us to stay and eventually darkness loomed around us.

It was a silent night.

Dahlia put me down and held my hand as we walked the streets.

"I wanna ko hom." I looked at my sister who refused to look down at me.

She walked a bit off but it had been like that ever since she got in the accident. Her style of running was even weirder.

"Lia? I'm hungry…" I stomped my feet on the ground.

"I'm sorry Azu." She said, "I'll get some food." We stopped at a park and she opened her hands in front of me, "Where's the bag I gave you?"

"Bag?" I looked at my empty hands and looked back at her confused, "Wat bag?"

She was surprised, "The one I gave you when we left home!"

She gave me a bag? I looked at my empty hands. I had a bag? I tried thinking about it. Maybe I did have a bag when we left.

I opened and closed my hands. They were still empty.

Where did the bag go?

"I don't know." I probably dropped it somewhere without realizing it.

"Oh no…"

"Li-ah!?" I said her name like that often when I was curious. She looked at me and I stared back at her with big eyes. She seemed rather worried and anxious. She kept fiddling with her fingers. I grabbed her jacket and pulled, "Lia! I'm hungry."

She contemplated whether to take me along with her or leave me there for a while to get something to eat, then stood up and held my hand, "Come with me." She took me to a covered slide and made me stay in there.

"Come out only when I say. Okay?"

"Whyy?"

"Just stay there." She told me and ran off.

The night was silent, The only thing I heard were the cicadas and the occasional passing of a car or a bike.

It was really boring just sitting there in the slide so I climb up to the top and took the slide down. It was fun.

So I did it again and again until I got tired of that too.

I sighed and took my place in the middle of the slide meanwhile my tummy growled. I was really hungry. I only had a meal in the morning before we left.

I really wanna go back home…

I'm getting sleepy too...

Frustrated I peeked out at the empty playground, then crawled out and made my way to the main entrance.

"Lia?" I looked around at the empty street light lit roads.

The atmosphere was spooking me out. One of the street lights flickered and was making the scene more scarier.

I wanted to cry at that moment when I found myself all alone in the middle of God knows where.

Tears started forming in my eyes when I heard a voice, "Hey little girl."

I looked to the side and saw a man on a bike. His appearance seemed quite exotic with his line of pierced ears and spiky red hair. He had a long face while he wore all black.

I faced him and somehow stopped crying.

He hopped off his bike and started walking towards me. I don't know why but he creeped me out so I walked back in.

"Kiddo where are you going?" He walked behind me, "I can help you."

I started running back to the slide but he caught me easily and picked me up.

I started crying immediately and started throwing out my arms and legs to resist.

That got him mad and he slapped me.

In the moment of shock I stopped, "That's right. Keep quiet." He said but as the pain started radiating in my cheek tears started brimming down my face and I started screaming.

He placed his hand on my mouth tightly and started walking towards his bike.

Just then I heard something crash over his head.

Shards of glass sprinkled down after shattering over his head. He lost his balance and staggered to the ground.

"Azu!" I heard Dahlia's voice and saw her behind him. She had a broken bottle in her hands which she threw away after seeing me.

As soon as the man fell to the ground she came forward and pulled me out of his grip.

After taking me in her arms, she turned around to run. But just a few steps forward she screamed and fell on the ground dropping me down as well.

I landed on my head and felt the world around me spin for a few moments.

Dahlia screamed again and I sat up to see that the man was pulling her hair from the back, a knife in his other hand. His head was bleeding but he still looked very angry.

Dahlia's right lower leg had a cut on it.

He yanked her up when she kicked his shin making him lose his balance again. He fell over her.

Dahlia grabbed his knife but he gripped it tight too.

They both had a battle of snatching the knife away from the other. Dahlia managed to win but as soon as she got the knife, the man punched her face.

The impact made her face turn and slip down a bit but she kept her grip on the knife strong, turned back and struck him in the gut.

But as the realization hit her she got scared, not thinking straight she pulled out the knife, making blood gush out of his stomach.

Whoever that man was, was not an easy opponent. Even after the damage he had received he managed to pick up a sharp edged rock from the ground and hit her on the side of her head.

Dahlia's world spun and her vision got distorted. She fell to the ground and closed her eyes.

The man looked at me, his head and gut bleeding from the attacks, yet still he started coming after me.

This time though I managed to run and take cover in the slide all the while screaming like a maniac.

It was for kids. A man his size could never fit in, but he still tried getting his arm in to grab me. I got up as much higher as I could to keep myself away.

I kept yelling and crying as his hands searched for me in the covered slide. He left blood prints with his hands when he switched between them and it was scaring me even more.

After a while he retreated.

His hands didn't come back in and I stopped screaming. At this point my throat was dry and it hurt as well.

I didn't stop crying but it had reduced to whimpers now.

I stayed in for quite some time and then poked my head from the start of the tunnel to look around from a higher position.

The place was empty. I saw a trail of blood leaving the playground.

I didn't want to leave the slide but I wanted to go to Dahlia so I got down from the stairs while shaking.

I was trembling as I walked towards her.

I reached Dahlia and crouched down next to her.

"L-lia…" I sniffled, "Let's ko hom." She didn't move. There was a thin stream of blood coming out of the side of her head, "Lia?" I shook her but she still wouldn't wake up.

I didn't understand why.

She always woke up pretty easily.

I shot my head around but the place was empty. I wiped my wet cheeks with my sleeves as my stomach growled again.

I didn't know the way back home.

I had nothing to eat.

No place to take shelter under.

My sister wasn't waking up and there was no one I could ask for help.

When nothing came to mind I pulled out Dahlia's arm and placed my head on it as I laid down next to her.

Although being on an empty stomach made it hard, eventually I did fall asleep.

All the while hoping mommy and daddy would come and take us back home in the morning.