121 Intermission (1/2)

I slowly felt my consciousness return, yet there was no world that I saw other than the slight pink of the inside of my eyelids as they covered over my eyes. As I slowly stirred, I felt the light weight of bed sheets over my body as well as the warmth they provided. It was a soft and tranquil feeling that surrounded me, almost as if I was laying in the clouds, basking in the warmth of the sunlight.

I gradually opened my eyes, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. I tried to recall what had occurred the day before, and everything came back to me. I remembered what I had done, and I was extremely disappointed in myself, knowing that I had almost succumbed to lust and take advantage of the older sister that Muria loved so dearly.

Slowly, I sat up on the bed, and looked around to see where I was. There, sitting on a chair to my right was the very same woman that I had attempted to take advantage of. Our eyes met and an awkward silence then ensued. I wasn't sure what to say, so I looked down at the white bed sheets with great shame in my eyes.

I wasn't sure what to say, so I looked down at the white bed sheets with great shame in my eyes

”Last night,” Mura finally started speaking, ”it wasn't your fault.”

”...” I remained mute and listened attentively to what she was saying. However, even then I could not wash away the guilt and shame that ravaged my mind.

”I was... weird,” she sighed. ”Maybe it's because of the alcohol or something...”

Yeah... It was the drugs that those two men had dissolved in her drink...

”But um...” she continued. ”Once you lost conscious... I didn't do anything.”

I looked over at her without raising my head, simply observing her. I wanted to see if truly nothing had happened between us. The reason why I needed to know was because.. well, it's out of curiosity and the second thing is if something were to happen, my relationship with both her and Muria would definitely change for the worse. It might not be that obvious at first, but things will fall apart.

”I took care of it myself,” she continued speaking in a soft and ashamed voice, and her face seemed to be quite red when talking about that. ”So... we never did it last night.”

I nodded my head to tell her that I heard what she had said.

”So just forget what happened.” She then sighed. ”You should hurry up and return back to your room. You can take a shower first if you want.”

”...” I didn't say anything. The only reaction I had was a simple nod to signify to her that I heard what she was saying.

”Remember to be at the lobby before 5:00 P.M.” she reminded me.

I did as she suggested and took a quick shower before leaving her room and returning back to mine. The warm water that flowed from the shower head and down my body cleansed me physically, washing away the stickiness that resulted from sweat. After I finished showering, I dried myself with a towel and put on once again the clothes that I had stripped myself from earlier. Then, I walked up to the bathroom mirror and gazed into those fatigued eyes.

It doesn't matter how much water or soap I used, nothing can wash away this darkness of my heart.

I then left Mura's hotel room and walked down the hallway to the elevator in order to return back to my own room. On the way though, I felt a mysterious anticipation, almost as if I was searching for somebody, and that somebody I believe was Luna. Only when I'm with her can I truly appreciate the small patch of flowers that aren't dyed black in this garden of mine.

I didn't encounter Luna or anyone else on my way back to my room. Even when I did enter my hotel room, the others were no where to be seen. I checked my phone for any possible messages they might've sent me, but what am I thinking? Why should I even expect to have a single notification from people?

I placed my phone on the charging stand before I walked up to my duffel bag and searched for my school uniform, which was what the students are required to wear later on today when we gather at the lobby. In addition to that, I also had to make sure that all my belongings were placed away so that when we do leave, I wouldn't accidentally leave anything here.