The morning was not far from arriving as a young girl stayed sleepless on her bed. The curtain of the room was slightly open, revealing the still-dark sky with a faint strip of dark blue gracing it indicating the arrival of a new day but she looked far from energised. She was mindlessly scrolling on her phone as a blanket completely covered her body. The dim light in the room created a cozy atmosphere as the fragrance candle she lit filled the room with a lavender scent that failed to mask its chemical undertone. Still, the girl didn't seem bothered by it as she was immersed in what she was watching on her phone.
The morning slowly crept in without her knowledge as the birds' chirping caught her attention. Her eyes darted to the upper corner of her phone screen, where the time was visible as she sighed. The time indicated five in the morning. she put the phone away slowly getting up. The heavy silence in the house despite the sounds of the birds felt taunting as she was yet to get used to that loneliness.
She waddled towards the bathroom lazily mentally preparing herself for the day which she wasn't even slightly ready to face. She walked into the shower area looking up at the shower as she sighed again, remembering that there was no hot water like she used to have at her home so she had to rely on the icy-cold water to shower. Well, on the positive side it will help her stay awake. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the upcoming cold shower then swiftly turned the shower on, instantly regretting her choices as the cold water hit her bare skin. She shivered as she mentally cursed the cold water now engulfing her. The shower was short as she walked out shivering, wrapping herself with the towel desperately trying to warm herself.
She carried her shivering body to the closet and picked up an outfit for the day. She picked a dark red crop top and high-waisted jeans. She changed her clothes quickly, hoping the lingering cold would vanish and yes, it did help her but now she was facing another issue. She was staring at the body-size mirror standing proudly in the corner of the room, silently judging her. Her eyes scanned her body up and down. She didn't have the body of those skinny girls. Her eyes would stop on her plump stomach, bigger thighs and arms, which instantly made her insecure, but little did she know those insecurities really shouldn't be insecurities at all. Still, in her mind, those were the ugliest. She rummages through her never-ending closet of clothes finding a baggy t-shirt, and that's her way of covering her 'insecurities'. She changed her clothes and looked at the mirror, nodding at herself approvingly.
"Arghh, I should start working out "
She mumbled to herself as she plugged in her hair iron, then moved around to get her makeup tools. She looked at her face which had a huge pair of dark eye bags accompanying her eyes. She sighed, rather disappointed in herself as she grabbed her makeup pouch and applied makeup to her face successfully covering the dark circles she had gained from many sleepless nights, then she styled her hair with the hair iron she had heated earlier. She looked at herself approvingly, then looked at the time to see that it was almost seven. She panicked visibly because she might be late for her first class of the semester. She ran around the room like a headless chicken gathering her books, laptop, phone and everything she needed for the day. She took one final glance at herself in the mirror and ran out of her small room to catch a bus to her university.
On her way to the bus stop, she made a quick stop at the cafe nearby as she was desperately craving a cup of coffee and a light breakfast. She ordered her coffee and her favourite chocolate chip muffin to go.
She hurried out of the cafe and was again on the road, walking more like swiftly running as her footsteps were rather fast. She pulled out her phone to check the time in a hurry diverting her attention from the sidewalk. She collided with someone making her stumble backwards and her bag fell to the floor. She cursed herself as she bent down, apologising to the other repeatedly without looking up as she clearly knew that it was her fault.
The other stayed silent, making her uncomfortable as she looked up, only to see an old woman probably in her 80s staring down at her. She was wearing an old rather ragged dress. Her white, messy hair was tied in a loose bun. She was short and had a hunched back, indicating her old age. Still, it won't hide a certain noble aura from her along with a certain creepiness, specifically the way she stared at her. Those eyes looked lifeless and there was definitely something different in her eyes. Her pupils were covered with a thin white layer as if it were a see-through curtain. At the same time, she held a white stick with a red line at the end, making the girl realise she had just bumped into an innocent blind woman. She stood up immediately, panicking as she kept apologising.
"I-i- i'm really sorry that was my fault. Oh my god! I'm so careless, I'm truly sorry. I hope I didn't hurt you. Are you okay?"
She asked, but the old woman just kept looking at her without a word as silence crept over them, making the young girl feel rather awkward. She shifted, not knowing what to do, so after a minute or so she decided to leave with a final apology as the woman's stare truly made her uncomfortable. Still, before she uttered a single word, the woman spoke in a calm, deity-like voice. Soothing yet mysterious.
"Your name child?"
She asked, making the girl a bit stunned. She took a second to contemplate whether to tell her real name or not but she eventually decided to tell her real name despite her better judgement. It's just an old blind lady, what harm can she cause?
"I'm Aveline"
She said with a hesitant tone as a small, thin smile appeared on the old woman's face as she looked up at the sky.
"It's about to rain"
Then she looked back at the young girl.
"Aveline, do you believe in fate?"
She asked, making Aveline confused with the random questions, plus she's getting late and she really really needs to leave but she couldn't help but be polite.
"I... don't know."
She answered in a low tone. she had never really believed in fate. Was it real? Or was it simply a comforting excuse people used when life became unbearable? She didn't know. Right now, she only knew she was running late.
The old woman smiled again as she looked at Aveline. Though blind, her pale eyes possessed a chilling stillness, like a dead night wrapped in fog.
"Someone is waiting for you. Waiting to take hold of your fate."
A slight wind brushed over them as she continued.
" His greedy eyes are following you, waiting for his chance. Your deepest desires will open a road where there's no return."
The old women's eyes grew colder by the moment as she
"Be careful my child what you see as beautiful might turn bitter. Not everyone and everything in this world is bound by truth. Make your decisions carefully, good luck, my child"
She said with a certain ominous tone lacing her words as she stepped past Aveline while she stood there like a statue, still processing the old woman's words. She turned around to tell the woman to explain, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"What the hell, am I dreaming!?"
She uttered to herself while pinching her arm swiftly.
"Maybe I'm hallucinating. I really need some sleep"
She mumbled again, still somewhat startled by the encounter she had just faced.
She shrugged it off although a deep, unsettled feelings completely took over her. As she was walking, she saw a crowd gathered around the mental health facility that was in the corner of the city. Aside from the crowd, there were numerous police cars and ambulances. people in different uniforms running around in a hurry.
The facility was known to provide housing and treatments to people with extreme mental health issues that are deemed quite dangerous. Aveline had seen staff going in and out of the facility, but only a few who were around the area. As far as she heard, many of those people are living in the facility itself because the majority of the staff are not from around here. In the beginning, this very facility caused many problems among the locals, as they refused to see such a facility in their community which was renowned for being safe and family-friendly. They were heavily opposed to it, but eventually it died down 'cause nobody really cared about a small town opposing it.
Aveline was indeed late, but her curiosity got the best of her as she walked towards the small crowd to have a glimpse of what was happening. She struggled in the crowd, swiftly making her way towards the front, craning her head up time to time to see the chaos happening. She finally made it to the front of the crowd after a great struggle, but what she saw there shocked her to the core.
There, in front of her, was the yellow tape of a crime scene, with many officers in the area taking photos and writing down important details, while some were talking among themselves, but what really caught her attention was the huge gate of the facility.
The iron gate was rising high and completely black and proud but today that dark black was covered in crimson as there was a red liquid dripping down on the gate.
There was something on the gate and it was covered in a small white cloth, underneath that piece of clothing the crimson color liquid stains were heavy and visible.
She squinted her eyes for a clear look and the object looked round underneath the cloth. Suddenly as the sky got darkened preparing itself for heavy rain. The cold and strong wind carrying the news of the rain flew pass that object covered in white as it swiftly moved the cloth
And
She saw it
Her eyes went wide with realization
It was a human head!
It was steadily placed on the iron hook of the gate. underneath that head, on the floor covered by a white cloth now soaked in crimson blood was the rest of the body. The sight was extremely disturbing as she felt her stomach forming a weird knot.
"My god"
She muttered under her breath as her wide eyes kept scanning the scene with a morbid curiosity, somewhat drawn to it despite the heavy uneasiness she felt.
"What happened here?"