by Yume
* * *
As the chiming bells rang for the last time, Agatha scurried down the hallway and into the homeroom, just in time to join the class before the lesson began. As usual, there were paints all over her seat. She placed a handkerchief on the chair. The others laughed when Agatha sat down.
The day lasted long. She had never liked school. Not only was it a place of boredom, she could hardly learn a thing with all the teasing and bullying going on. On top of that, she had to handle chores which left no time for her to deal with schoolwork. As a result, her grades were always at the bottom and that just seemed to provoke the teachers more.
When the lesson finally ended, Agatha ran out of the homeroom before anyone could play a prank on her. She headed back home to have her lunch.
Sitting near the river, she took a sip of her milk. She never could have anything more delicious than a piece of bread. As for Elisa, there were always roasted chickens, beef and pasta. Agatha did not mind though, as long as she could sit peacefully on the moors and swung her leg in the cool water.
“Eating alone?” A familiar voice said sarcastically.
Agatha turned to meet her sister.
“Hello, Elisa.”
“Stop pretending.” Elisa crossed her arms. “You know very well we both hate each other.”
“I never said that.” Agatha said. “In fact, I don’t hate you, sis.”
“What a great liar you are!” Elisa shouted.
“I’m not a liar.” Agatha retorted. “You are!”
“See? This is your true face!” Elisa cried. “How dare you talk to me like that!”
“I…” Before Agatha could say anything, Elisa had already clasped her curly brown hair and pulled hard.
“Ouch!” Agatha cried in pain.
“I hate you! I hate you!” Elisa shrieked repeatedly. Agatha started to struggle. She took hold of her sister as well and the two fought in a bundle.
No one remembered who slipped first. Somehow, the two fell into the water. Soaked with wetness and struck by fear, Agatha kicked and tapped her arms.
Elisa was in the same dreadful condition, for neither of them knew how to swim. The water was deep and the current was fast. Within seconds, they were washed away from the shore.
“Help!” The two sisters cried.
“Oh my dear!” Their mother arrived. She called for help and eventually came a few men. Yet, only one of them knew how to swim.
“Please, save my daughter!” By no mistake, she said ‘daughter’, not ‘daughters’.
The man nodded and jumped into the water. With one hand, he held Elisa and with other, he tried to reach for Agatha. However, she was too far away.
“Save Elisa first!” In her vague consciousness, Agatha heard her mother say.
“Save Elisa!”
It was as though her heart was being torn into pieces. With one hit, her heart shattered like a fragile glass. She had never thought she would live to hear what her mother said. Her mother, without hesitation, had abandoned her life to save Elisa’s. In her eyes, she was never a real human being to be cherished, not even when death was involved.
Tears filled up her eyes. As the current further carried her away, she sank lower into the water. Soon, suffocation struck her and all senses were lost.
Am I dead? She thought. Yet, no one answered her.
And then, she was suddenly standing under an enormous oak tree. It was as though her soul had left her body. Everything looked familiar enough. She saw her own house, a small red cabin. On the other side was a long river of turquoise. In the water were two little girls wailing. Yes, they were Elisa and her.
“Save Elisa first!” Her mother’s line still lingered in her head. As the man gave up trying to reach her and swam back to the shore, her mother sighed with relief to see Elisa safe. What about her? She was buried by the water, sinking. No one seemed to hear her cry anymore. A few minutes later, when the man wanted to dive into the river again, her mother stopped him.
“She’s probably drowned by now.” She said, shaking her head. There was no remorse or sorrow on her face, which sort of surprised the man.
“Are you sure, madam?” He asked.
“You don’t have to risk your life saving that girl anyway.” Her mother replied. “It’s just a tragedy. She pushed her sister into the river and fell along. What a wicked girl.”
Agatha was frozen as she listened.
“A mother always cares for her child, doesn’t she?” She used to ask herself the same question over and over again. Today, she got her answer. She had no place in her mother’s heart. She was long a forgotten and neglected existence whose life was not taken into any account. Still, she felt angry. Tricked. She did not want this to end. She wished for a second chance to live. When she did, she wanted to let her family know she was not their toy but a real living being. She wanted them to regret ever having maltreated her like that.
And so, her wish was granted. Miraculously. Impossibly. Inexplicably.