Chapter 48- you
Melody POV
“Are you sure this is the right place?” I asked Lorena as we got to the address given to us by sister Mary. The house was a mansion and I wondered why my aunty would maltreat us when she lives in a house as big as that.
“Wow! Your aunt is a rich woman,” Lorena squealed as we tried to open the gigantic black gate leading to the house. “Why is this not opening?” She hit the gate with force but it didn’t budge.
“Calm down Lorena,” I said to her and pointed towards the house. “Someone is coming.”
“The house looks to be abandoned,” Lorena commented. We heard the clicking of heels and as it grew louder, Lorena and I exchanged looks. A lady appeared at the gate. She was dressed like a maid but she looked sophisticated like she owns the house.
“Who might you be?” She asked as she eyed us like we were ants. I hated the feeling but I decided to mask it off because I needed answers to my past.
“I’m here to see Ruth Glenn,” I announced.
“Who is asking? You’ve no appointment with Ruth.” She answered rudely.
“For a maid, I must say you’ve no manners.” Lorena retorted.
The woman let out a gasped and when she tried to reply to Lorena, she received a call. After speaking to whomsoever she wanted to speak with, she opened the gate. “Seems today is your lucky day.” She commented by clicking her tongue.
Lorena wanted to reply to her but I stopped her and send a signal to her by shaking my head. She seems to understand and kept quiet. We followed the lady through the pathway that leads to the house. The house looked to be abandoned as there were only trees along the pathway. When we got to the entrance of the mansion, I noticed Lorena looking around but I quickly pulled her hand and whispered to her. “Whatever you do, make sure you don’t get my aunt angry,” I begged.
Lorena rolled her eyes before nodding in her agreement. The lady opened the door leading inside and we entered the house. It was dark and looks to be haunted. I could not see a thing until the lights came on. The windows were covered with dark curtains that blocked the sun. The living room looked as if no one was staying in the house. The couches were covered with white clothes and this also include all the items in the living room including the flower vase and the portraits.
“Where are they?” A voice sounded from behind us. A lady in a wheelchair wheeled herself from the room that was just opposite the living room.
“They are here ma’am,” the maid replied.
When the woman got closer to Lorena and me, she gasped as she took her turn in looking from Lorena to me.
“You must be Ruth Glenn,” I broke the silence that was starting in the room.
“It can’t be,” The woman in the wheelchair said. “This can’t be happening. You were supposed to be dead,” she pointed to Lorena. “How are you alive?” She shouted at her.
“Excuse me, ma’am. I have no idea who you are or what you are talking about.” Lorena answered her before I could.
“You looked just like Sophia,” the woman said and pointed towards Lorena. “And you look exactly like Fred. ”
“What’s are you talking about? Who are they?” Did I ask?
She looked at both of us and began to tremble in her wheelchair while whispering the word. “It can’t be!”
“You have to leave. You have annoyed my madam. She hasn’t been like this for years.” The maid pointed to the door. “Leave now!”
“But we came here to see her. I need to ask her something.” I told her.
“But you can’t,” the maid disagreed and pointed to the door. “Leave now before I call the police.” She threatened.
I looked at Lorena who seems to be having an eye to eye contact with my aunt. The way they stared at each other makes it looks like they knew each other but, there was no way they could have met. Lorena spent all her life in Italy.
“You are not supposed to be alive Harmony, you are supposed to be dead. I killed you myself.” Ruth shouted at Lorena.
Lorena threw her a glare and also replied, “you keep saying that but I have no idea who you are.”
“You don’t remember?” She asked Lorena who shook her head. “Thank God,” she sighed. “Welcome, I’m Ruth Glenn and I must say that you are welcome to my home.” She bows her head.
The way Ruth switched her personality was uncanny. I didn’t believe that someone who acted fearful a few minutes ago could be so carefree. From her actions, I knew she was hiding something.
“Are you okay ma’am?” The maid asked her and instead of replying to her, Ruth whispered into her ears. “You may have your seats. My madam is having a redecoration of the house so things are a mess now. ” the maid explained the situation for the covering of all the items in the room.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
Lorena and I took our seats and faced the woman in the wheelchair. “It so nice to have someone come to visit,” Ruth commented. “How may I help you?”
“I’m here to see you because I found out you were my aunt. I’m melody, Davis.” I introduced myself.
“Really?” Ruth burst into laughter. “I’m sorry but you’ve come into the wrong house. I have no idea who you are. I don’t have a niece. ”
“But I was told by my foster mother that you are my aunt. She gave me your address. I wanted to ask if you knew my parents.” I argued refusing to believe that she didn’t know me. “If you are Ruth Glenn then you might know something.”
“I’m sorry but you’ve come to the wrong place. I have no idea who you are. If that’s what you came for, I’ll advise you to be on your way. I need to rest.” She announced.
“But….” I stuttered not because I couldn’t form any words but because I was angry. I was mad because I had wasted my time in coming to someone that has no idea who I was. “You might know something so please help me,” I begged.
“My madame already gave you the answer. Please leave,” the maid advised and began to wheel Ruth out of the living room towards the room she came out from.
“Wait, please listen,” I begged but none of them answered me until…
“You are still the same,” Lorena stood up and walked towards them. “You are still a chameleon aunt Ruth.” She chuckled.
I must have misheard Lorena when she said Aunt so I listened to what she had to say.
“I thought you’ve changed. Feel remorse for everything you’ve done but you are still the same. You are the same cunning woman.” Lorena said.
“What’s are you saying, Lorena?” I asked in confusion. I wasn’t getting what was going on again. It felt like I was dreaming except that I wasn’t.
“You ruined my life!” Lorena accused Ruth. She walked to her and pushed the maid away and when the maid tried to protest, Lorena sounded a warning to her. “Stay out of it if you love yourself.”
“So you remembered but you pretended you didn’t.” Ruth burst into laughter. “Is little Harmony still scared of me?”
“It’s you!” I finally understood what was going on. “You are harmony?” I asked Lorena in disbelief. She didn’t reply instead she nodded. “But how?” I asked her again but this time she didn’t reply as she gave Ruth a resounding slap.
“You are a pathetic woman. That’s why your son died!” Lorena mocked her. “You ruined my family. I never thought I’ll meet you again until my sister found out about you.” She said. “Isn’t the life you’ve always wanted. You’ve always wanted to live in a mansion but it is not complete without your beloved son. You are living a miserable life because you will be on that chair for the rest of your life.”
“The mistake I made was not checking properly if you were dead,” Ruth answered back. “You’ve always been a problem child. both of you weren’t supposed to exist!” I listen to both of them as they exchanged more words.
I stood where I was looking dumbfounded at the new information I just found.
Lorena is my sister
Lorena is my sister.
I couldn’t help but keep repeating the words over and over again. It was too much to take in. If Lorena knew about my identity, why did she hid it from me for all those years we’ve been together? Why now? Those were the questions I wanted to ask her over and over again.
“Enough!” I yelled at the two as they were still arguing. “Both of you should just shut up! Please!” I begged. “You ruined our lives and instead of acting like a good aunt, you harassed and abandoned your nieces when they needed you most.” I accused Ruth. “And you,” I pointed an accusing finger towards Lorena. ” I thought you were my friend but you hid the truth from me for all those years. You knew I was your sister but you never told.” I was already on the verge of tears but I hid them. I didn’t want them to see me looking weak.
“Melody,” Lorena called. “I can explain,” she begged.
“Explain what?” Now I was crying,” you knew how hard it was for me and you never told me.”
“I wanted to tell you but you had no memory of me. You had no memory of yourself.” Lorena defended herself. She sounded guilty but I didn’t let it get to me.
“Were you even going to tell me?” I asked.
“I know I lied to you Mel but I did all of that to protect you. I’ll risk my life to protect you.”
“I don’t want you protecting me! ” I shouted her. I ran a hand through my hair and continue shouting. “Everything is wrong because you lied to me. You are no better than Ruth.” I said to her.
“Don’t say that Mel, I love you,” Lorena said while trying to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes. The only thing Lorena was bad at was pretending to be strong while she is not. She must have had a reason not to tell me about her identity but at that moment, I was too angry to understand.
“Thank you both for ruining my life,” I said to both of them and walked out of the house while ignoring the calls of Lorena. When I got to the roadside, I continue to cry as I remembered when Lorena and I first met. I remembered when she stood by me while in Italy and I also remembered when she first holds Hope in her hands. The memories hurt so much that I couldn’t stop crying. The truth is always bitter.
“Mel, listen to me! I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but I need you to know that I did all of that to protect you.” I heard Lorena shouting after me. “You might hate me now but you are still my friend and my little sister. I’m sorry for lying to you. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you the truth. Please melody, I beg of you.” She continued to shout…
I covered my ears to block her voice out. It hurt so much that I didn’t want to see her or bear her voice. While thinking about everything, I tried to cross the road but I didn’t notice the huge truck coming to a full speed towards me. In a blink of an eye, my life flashed before me and I was glued on that spot. While staring at the truck and waiting for my death, I found something peculiar about it. I thought it was finally over until I was pushed out of the way. I landed few feet away from the middle of the road. I struggled to stand up and watched as the truck speed away. There beside the roadside laid Lorena covered in blood.
“It has always been her,” I thought and then I screamed.