Chapter 116 - 117. Ginger
Chapter 116 – 117. Ginger
I realized that the problems I was facing in the last few months had changed me. There were things that made me change. All that had happened to me gradually pulled me and made me realize to see from different angles and solve it on, my trauma, my relationship with my mom, and my acceptance of myself.
I started realizing that I was different from people around me and of course the problems I was facing were different from them. I would not protest it anymore. I thought that in every problem I had, there would be good things as a reward. I simply needed to be myself, and face it my way.
Erick texted me and said that he would be late because there were some marionettes that got broken and needed to be fixed. Since it was quite late at night and I was afraid of staying in the park alone, I decided to go out of the park and chose to wait for him in a courtyard of a building that was still bright.
I called Winnter, and wanted to tell her that I would come home late. I tried to call her several times but she didn't pick it up. So, I finally called the home phone, hoping that Mirai was still awake and picked up my call.
"Mirai?," as soon as someone picked up the phone, I called her name.
"Sis, when are you going home?" Her voice sounded worried. "I am alone, and it is very dark outside," I frowned, listening to that girl's complaint.
"Where is Winnter??" I wanted to make sure that Mirai was not alone.
"Sis, Winnter has been out some time ago. She hasn't been back until now." It was true. Mirai was alone. I hang up the phone after I said I would go home as soon as possible.
Then I called Erick, telling him that I would take a taxi to go home and not wait for him. Mirai was alone and Winnter's phone could not be reached. That man asked me to wait, but I thought I had to go right away. I felt uncomfortable leaving that little girl alone at home.
I wondered why Winnter didn't tell me if she would go. Leaving Mirai at home alone with Mickey was just like asking two little kids who knew nothing to cross the heavy street. I looked for a taxi despite Erick's request to wait for him.
The streets were dark and quiet because the street lights were all turned off. This was to prevent people from going out past nine at night. The city that previously was very noisy turned out to be like a dead city. I saw that only a few public transportations were still operating. The driver complained about the number of passengers that dropped drastically over that policy.
…
Someone was standing by the gate of the park of my school academy. I felt familiar with that person and was sure it was Winnter. I asked the driver to drop me off in a place a bit far from that park. The urge to go home as soon as possible fell through due to the stronger curiosity to find out what that woman did outside there.
I called Erick and asked him to check the house and accompany Mirai for a while if I hadn't reached the house by eleven at night. Again Erick chirped on that side that it was not shocking to see me not arriving home at eleven, and kept asking where I was going. I hang up the call because his noise hurt my ears.
Meanwhile, right in front of me, a few meters away, Winnter was still standing by the gate of the park and checking her watch on and off. It was quite sure she was waiting for someone. The dark streets made it hard for me to see it clearly but the advantage was she might not see me watching her. When I saw her go into the park, I sneaked in there too.
Winnter was sitting on one of the swings in there, and on the other side, the swing by her side slightly moved. I could not see anyone who moved that swing. She seemed to talk with someone but who she was talking with was not visible.
When my eyes could adjust well with the darkness, I could see a shadow, something like black smoke in the shape of a human body was sitting on the swing next to Winnter. She was talking to that creature as if it was human.
I tried to see it closely. It was the creature that was walking here and there outside the door at that time. I started smelling that awful scent, perhaps I was close enough with them.
That creature carried humans' organs in its body. I supposed that all the organs were the ones the creature took from the victims is killed. Having carried all those organs for long, the organs went rotten.
Winnter looked so comfortable with that creature. They talked to each other as if they had known for a long time and understood each other well. They joked and laughed together. When I could hear quite well I recognized it was the voice of a girl. She joked and laughed like a human.
Some minutes passed, Winnter got up from the bench of the swing and listened to something. She checked her watch and gestured to that creature to leave.
Not long after that, Aras came angrily. He ambushed Winnter but that woman could avoid him. Then, the second attack came after the first one failed. The fight between the two could not be avoided.
I could see here that the horned creature didn't like her. This reminded me of the incident in that desert that night when that woman was about to be attacked by Aras, but Zie sent him away. It meant that the incident that night was not an intention if Aras attacked Winnter, nor because he was threatened by our present, but there was something more than that which I didn't know about.
Aras was ready to kick her with his hind legs but that woman tried to avoid again by shifting aside from where she stood. Unfortunately, she even fell down, instead.
That horned creature didn't seem to let go of her this time. He stood up with his hind legs, and it looked like he was about to stomp her. I could not do anything since I didn't know on which side I had to stand.
I was not sure how long that fight lasted, but it seemed it invited patrol policemen to see and check that place. I saw Winnter leave as soon as possible, while Aras evaporated like boiled water.
After making sure all was safe and no one saw me, I walked home right away. A lot of questions were in my mind. 'What's Winnter's relationship with that creature? Why are they looking so close to each other? I am wondering why she can not smell that rotten odour, even at such a close distance?
Mirai ran out and opened the gate for me as soon as I rang the bell. Winter was standing at the door, she had changed clothes, and her expression was flat. I didn't know how to behave in front of her. 'Should I rather pretend not to know things?'
I planned to go to bed after I put the burgers I bought for them, and the mouse mug from my mom. Until then someone asked, "Sister, can I have this burger?" I nodded. And Mirai sat on the chair and opened one of them.
On the other side, Winnter looked calm and unaffected by the incident I saw in the park. I believed she had not known if I had known what she was doing with that creature in the park. Now I was sure that she hid something from us, about her relationship with that creature. And the most confusing for me was how she behaved so normal and spoke with that creature.
…
"Sis, what's for breakfast?" Mirai had been ready on the table although I just got up for fixing breakfast.
"Karage and teriyaki sauce," I replied and continued taking out some ingredients I wanted to cook.
"Child, have you brushed your teeth and washed your face? How come want to have breakfast right away?" Winnter sounded sharp and slapped that little girl's back. Mirai pouted her lips and ran to the bathroom.
"Winnter, please pass me the ginger. I pointed to a place near the cupboard where I put a container to put my herbs. "In the green container. Get me one piece, please."
Winnter gave the largest size, it was not ginger but another kind, the family of ginger. I picked up the one I had prepared next to me and made teriyaki sauce for my chicken karage.
Mirai ate a lot. She said she had never eaten such food before. I often cooked fast food for them. Sometimes I made pasta with instant spices.. It was because my schedule was still a mess.