8

   I stir awake when I felt something pinching on my stomach. My eyes flutter open and my hands swat the unknown that’s causing me pain. All I see is a blur at first until my sight focuses on this strange old woman. She’s familiar.

   “You’re awake, dear.” she smiles lovingly—or she tries to but fails and it looks like she’s doing the chelsea grin. I gulp and I look down on my stomach and my eyes widen. What— I cover myself with my hands, feeling the heat creep on my cheeks and I think my ear are red from embarrassment.

   The woman giggles and softly pushes my hands away, “Don’t hide, child. You are beautiful.” she says.

   “W-what are you…” and she caresses my cheeks. Instead of warmth, it’s cold.

   “My child, you are beautiful.” I gulp and I feel my heart beating fast, I’m scared. What is she going to do and why can’t I move myself? It’s like she freezed me. She leans closer to my face and I swear, when she did, she looked younger than before.

   Like a siren in disguise.

   She locks her lips on mine and I’m too shocked to react. I can hear hums and voices around me—they’re all talking at the same time; different topics, indistinctive voices and they all vary at how old and young they sound.

   “V, hide.”

   “V, please don’t do this.”

   “What’s the problem kid? I thought you saw the news today.”

   “Let’s blast this place up.” and a giggle after it.

   “I don’t know who you are, show ‘em what ya got.” in a foreign accent.

   And all the while I feel my body floating, my mind is clouded with everything and nothing at the same time. The voices don’t help and the hums—oh god, terrible. From the corner of my eyes, I see a white cloud forming into different shapes before changing colors. I’m in awe while looking at it. Like a kid who took drugs, enough to get high from those.

   I can see the walls swaying like jellies and I giggle at the sight of it. That’s fun