Alphi searched for the ring in the destroyed house, she found it in the pool of blood, she held it close to her chest as tears rolled down her cheeks. She put it on and vowed to never take it off again, it was the only thing her father left behind and it was also a reminder that she was the one responsible for her father's death.
She sat there thinking of what to do, was there any point in searching for the truth?
Why did her mother do what she did?
Should she hate her mother for this?
And her aunt, what was really the truth behind her aunt?
Where did her aunt even dissappear to?
What happened between her father and his family?
It was all overwhelming, she was so confused and at a loss for what to do.
What if the truth is something she couldn't handle.
What if everything she discovered so far was a lie.
Her powers—were they a curse?
Was she destined to be alone forever?
Was there no one to answer her questions?
A flashback of the cave and how she killed the men surfaced in her mind.
I'm a killer,
Everyone I've come in contact with, dies and it's all my fault.
Maybe I should have never been born,
Yes, if I hadn't been born Dad would still be here,
Those men would still be alive.
I should just die... no one would even know,
If I just died, no one would get hurt because of me,
Everything would be fine.
As she thought about it, her father's voice echoed in her head,
Live and be happy.
How can I do that?
This... this is all too much for me.
All I want is a normal life... is it too much to ask for a life where you, Mom, and I can just live happily?
No powers, just normal people problems.
We would have little fights and arguments.
I would help Mom in the kitchen, learn how to run the restaurant...
She smiled softly.
That would have been nice.
Maybe I would even make some friends,
Or maybe even had some siblings...
At least life wouldn't be sad and lonely.
I didn't ask for this life,
But now I have no choice but to live it.
She got up and walked to her father's body.
The sight of it was heartbreaking.
She closed his eyes slowly.
Her father had died with a smile on his face—almost as if he was satisfied with his life.
She dragged the body to the backyard and dug a grave.
It took her some time before she finally buried it.
She decorated the grave with the most beautiful flowers she could find.
She stood there, her eyes fixed on the grave.
All the memories of him being happy with her mother flooded her mind.
And then...
His dying moments kept replaying over and over.
It felt so unreal.
A person she was speaking to just a while ago—
Was never going to speak again,
Never going to see the world again,
Just gone.
Erased from the earth.
It was ironic, how she was crying her eyes out for someone who she thought she hated.
Well, there was nothing she could do.
She felt so helpless and useless,
That even though she had powers,
She couldn't change what just happened.
He didn't deserve this life, he deserved better,
He was such a gentle soul,
And now I took his life away with these hands.
He took care of me,
He didn't abandon me,
He stayed even after all the criticism...
And this is how I repay him?
By taking away his life?
She felt angry with herself.
I wish I could just go back and change all of this.
The roof of the house finally came down in a loud crash.
The house that held her childhood—
It wasn't a good one,
But it was still hers.
What was once her home
Was now nothing but a pile of broken wood.
Not that it was fancy or beautiful,
But at least it gave her shelter.
Alphi sighed.
The blood had started to dry on her skin,
Leaving an uncomfortable, itchy feeling.
Alphi went back to her aunt's house, devastated.
She headed straight for the bathroom for a shower.
She didn't feel like preparing hot water.
She was afraid that she might cause more damage if she neared a fire in her current state.
The water was cold and had a freezing feeling on her skin.
This is just like that day, she said.
She placed a hand on the wall,
The cold water running through her skin
As she remembered when she escaped into the shower to forget her pain -
The damage had been done,
And it left a permanent scar on her mind.
Regardless of the situation,
She was still a sixteen-year-old girl
Who had just lost her father
And was now alone,
Unsure of whether or not her mother was alive.
Her mind was clouded.
Whenever she looked at her hands,
All she saw was the image of her hands covered in blood.
Alphi felt like throwing up.
It was an unpleasant feeling to look at her hand and feel filthy—
Even though she was in the shower.
Alphi felt disgusted with herself.
She got out of the shower and dressed up quickly.
She couldn't even look at herself in the mirror.
She was quite hungry, so she made her way to the kitchen.
She grabbed some bread and sat at the kitchen table.
As she was about to put the bread in her mouth,
The only thing she could see was the image of her hands covered in blood.
She quickly threw the bread in her hands to the ground.
She had lost her appetite—
And then, in the next minute, she was throwing up.
So this is my life now, she said to herself.
A life where I can no longer enjoy a plate of food.
She sighed, cleaning up the mess she had made,
As tears rolled down her cheeks.
She cleaned her tears.
No more crying,
Crying isn't going to solve anything, she said to herself.
Enough crying,
All you've done is cry and nothing changed.
She then sat at the kitchen table,
Lost in thought of her next step.