Echoes of Our Hearts: Chapter 3

If time can never pass any faster in school for anyone, it’s for Alice. During Biology class, Alice finds herself losing attention, her mind slowly drifting off elsewhere. The whole world seems to fade out for a moment.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees a portly man standing outside the classroom’s window. She turned her head to get a better look but it’s too late. The man looks like it has disappeared.

By the window inside, she can see a small piece of paper laying askew on the window sill. Slowly, she picks it up without trying to get any attention from anyone in the class.

She unfolds it and read the message inside it: The future is not lost but waiting. Look to the crystals, they will whisper your fate.

Alice’s eyes narrows as she reads the cryptic message over and over again. ‘What does it mean? Who is this from?’

She is so obsessed with trying to solve the ominous message, she did not notice how snowflakes are starting to fall around her. The snow gets heavier it was so noticeable, Alice sits up straight to see what’s happening. Everyone in her class is covered in snow except for her.

Her biology teacher drones on and on. Alice is unable to hear what her biology teacher is saying. Then the soft knocking on the window came. Tap tap tap, softly at first – so soft Alice did not hear it at first.

Then it gets louder – tap tap tap!

Alice turns to where the tapping is from, and she saw him. The portly man, standing outside the window to her biology classroom. The portly man is dressed in a strange deep purple robe. His greying hair pulled back into a neat bun and his skin looks weathered. He seems like he is trying to tell her something but she can’t hear him.

“Alice?” a female voice came. “Alice are you paying attention to my class at all?”

Alice finds herself pulled back into reality and face her teacher, Mrs. Lee. “Alice we have had this conversation many times. You are always day dreaming and your mind is always wondering elsewhere. Do I need to be your nanny?”

Mrs. Lee’s face turns sour as she continues berating Alice for not paying attention. Alice pulls a face and lets out a deep, long-drawn sigh.

“What is that? Do I sense ignorance and lack of interests coming from you, Alice?”

“I’m sorry Mrs. Lee. I just didn’t sleep enough last night,” Alice says, trying to smooth over the situation but to no avail. It has only made Mrs. Lee even angrier.

“Don’t answer me back, Ms. Watson. I will have none of that in my class ever. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Do you understand?” Mrs. Lee says firmly.

That is not a question. It was an order, and one that Mrs. Lee will not see lifted.

She turns her back to the whiteboard and continues teaching the lesson for the day. For Alice, it’s just another boring day in college.

‘As if my life is any less boring outside of college. I have no real friends, my only source of contact is with my sister whom we barely talk. My love life? Never mind having a love life. Even that is in shambles!’

Alice lets out a tiny sigh so soft no one is able to hear her. ‘Who am I kidding? When I’ve finished my A levels, I will most likely work a boring job and earn a mediocre income. When I die, no one will remember me. No one will cry over me at all.’

She looks back at the window to see if the strange portly man is still there. He isn’t anymore. ‘Guess it was just my imagination. I’ve probably not slept enough that’s why I’m seeing him.’

Alice turns her attention back to the classroom that she’s in. ‘The snow is gone too. Again, it must have been my imagination. I really need to get ahold of myself!’

She reaches for her pen when she notices the small slip of paper in her hands. ‘The note! The ominous note from the portly man!’

She quickly folds it up and stash it into her pocket. ‘Nobody must know what I’ve seen today. Absolutely no one!’

And it’s back to the same monotonous lesson again for Alice.

~.~

Over at The Nest Café where Julie works as a waitress, things are as hectic as always. Working in one of the most popular cafes in town means that Julie will always be on her feet, running around getting food served and taking orders. There is hardly ever a slow day for Julie at The Nest Café.

Occasionally she may run into a few difficult patrons, but nothing she cannot handle. Today is one of those days. Every patron that comes in looks like they are in a foul mood.

‘Strange. Perhaps today is not my lucky day,’ Julie thought to herself.

A new group of patron enters the café’s premises, a family of four. They make their way to an empty table and sit down, waiting for any waiters to come serve them.

Julie makes her way over and handed out the menus to each and every one of them. While looking through the menus, one of the young boys look up at Julie.

“What will you have…” Before Julie can finish her sentence, the young boy stops her.

“Your sister is a freak!” the boy calls out.

Everyone within earshot looks up in their direction. The parents look up at Julie as her jaws hang open in shock.

The mother turns to the young boy and berates him. “Don’t say that, it’s rude! We don’t even know her and her family!”

But the young boy will not hold back. “Your sister will do things you will never understand. You will never have a normal life and neither will your sister. You and your sister are cursed.”

“Stop it, Jude. That’s very rude of you!” the boy’s father says.

Turing to Julie, the boy’s parents apologized to her. “We are sorry. He’s normally not like that.”

Julie shuts her mouth and smiles. She shakes her head and says, “It’s all right. He’s only young.”

However, Julie does not know what the boy means. She will never know what’s headed her way.

For Julie, she has always been in the comfort thinking that escaping her parents’ claws means she and her sister will be safe forever. Though a naïve belief, she still hold on to that idea like a fairy tale. ‘Or am I wrong? What can possibly go wrong for Alice and me?’

‘Good lord, please don’t let shit happen to us!’

Her mind wanders off as she watches the family picking out what they want to order from the menu. To Julie, this is the very epitome of the perfect family, Parents are still together with a clean slate. The kids are able to be with their parents safely, not having to face problems and whatever. They can even have a good day out having lunch together in a café. What is so hard to ask for in life – a family that is still together, that is.

“Are you all ready to order?” Julie asks as she smiles brightly at them.

“Yes, of course!” the mom says as she starts ordering away for herself and her kids.

~.~

After school that day, things did not get any better for Alice. As soon as she leaves class and makes for the exit, James yelled out at her.

‘Oh hell no, not again today!’ Alice crumbles internally into herself. As if her self-esteem for that day is already bad enough, this guy just has to show up again with his goons. It’s like to James, she’s an easy target.

James grabs on to Alice’s backpack and pulls her back. “Did you hear me, Alice? Or are you deaf?”

Ryan and Daniel both laugh away lividly like no one’s watching. “She’s probably gone deaf after we shoved her this morning!” Ryan chortles gleefully. There is nothing more hateful in the world than these three boys.

Alice pulls away and heads for the entrance. Trying not to let her voice break, she hits back, “Leave me alone!”

She edges towards the exit and made a dash for the park across her school. The boys ran after her like it’s some sort of game. Ryan is the faster runner among all the three boys, so naturally he’d catch up with Alice pretty fast. Alice can feel Ryan grasping on to her backpack.

She can feel the yank coming on like some sort of premonition. Before she can do anything, she saw the portly man again.

“Stop right there. All of you!” he calls out. Everyone – Alice and the three boys - all turn to the man.

The portly man steps towards the four of them. “What are you doing picking on a girl?”

James and the boys stare at the man. His appearance does come across as odd yet commanding. There’s something about this man that turns people’s heads, capturing their attention and all.

“Who are you, man?” Daniel leers at the portly man.

“None of your business. Why are you picking on this girl? What has she done to warrant such attention and treatment from all of you?”

“Why does it concern…” Daniel starts on the man but find himself frozen in place.

“Leave her alone. It’s all she ask for. Is that so hard to do?”

Daniel loosens up but starts panicking. “Guys let’s go. This man is a freak!”

Daniel grabs on to James and Ryan and make a mad dash back to their campus, leaving Alice behind.

Alice was about to thank the portly man. Before she knows it, he’s disappeared into nowhere.

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