My eyes fell on the wooden clock on the wall. It read 12:30 a.m. Oh my gosh—I had lost track of time. I wiped my tears and got up to leave my neighbor's house. All of a sudden, I caught my reflection in a glass pane.
I froze, shocked and stumbling back from the glass.
This wasn't me. It couldn't be.
They say mirrors don't lie, but this one was clearly playing tricks on me. My hair was now completely red, and my blue eyes glowed with a light that had never been there before.
A rush of emotions flooded me, too overwhelming to contain. I had never been more confused in my entire life. And that was saying something, coming from a girl whose whole existence up until now had been nothing but questions and mystery.
I was so scared, I didn't realize when the words,
"I can't go back. He'll kill me," left my mouth.
There was no question on what to do next, it was so obvious, in fact it was the only thing I could do—run. I didn't know where to go or how I would survive. All I knew was that going home was not an option.
What would Father say—no, do—if he saw me with complete red hair?
I took one last look around my neighbor's house, and my mind was set. After all, what was there to lose? The only person who took care of me seemed to have vanished, and besides, Father probably wouldn't care or bother to look for me.
I took off into the cold, dark forest. The sounds of crickets and strong wind only made things worse. I ran for a few kilometers before arriving at a small cave. My feet trembled, I was cold, exhausted, confused, and in the middle of nowhere, so I decided to rest just for a little while.
My first question was obvious: Where did you vanish to, Aunt? What happened to you?
I eagerly waited for her answer. She stared at me with a look of remorse, then responded,
"My child, you are not alone. Your aunt will always be with you."
At first, I thought she said my aunt because that was what she asked me to call her, but out of curiosity, I asked, "What is your real name?"
"I am your aunt," was her response.
"My aunt?" I asked.
The words that came out next shocked and broke me at the same time.
"I am your mother's sister, which makes me your aunt. I know it is a lot to take in, but it's the truth, Alphi."
Alphi? I asked, confused about who—or what—that was.
And my self-proclaimed aunt proceeded to tell me that Alphi was my birth name.
That was when I learned my name. Before that, she only called me dear child, while my father simply called me girl.
As you would imagine, I broke down in tears. It was too much to take in. I had always wanted to meet a relative, but I never imagined it like this.
I did what anybody else in my situation would do—I confronted my so-called aunt.
"All this time I thought I was alone. You were actually a relative, and you said nothing. You knew how he treated me, and you kept on playing the role of the nice neighbor. I cried to you, I saw you as my savior. You knew how I had been longing for answers, how I longed to know about my mother. Yet you kept quiet for the last fifteen years."
My aunt, as she called herself, finally spoke up.
"I knew, and I'm sorry. I kept quiet all these years because I had to. I can't tell you why, but I'm truly sorry for all the pain and hardship you had to endure."
Great. More mystery, more confusion.
"You're sorry? Sorry for what exactly? Sorry for keeping me in the dark all these years? Sorry for staying in your big house while I lived in an unkept one? Or maybe you're sorry about the fact that you pretended not to know I was being treated like a punching bag by my beast of a father. What exactly are you sorry for?"
She just stood there, looking at me with that same expression of regret she wore on her face.
"So now you show up here and just randomly tell me that you are my aunt. What were you expecting—that I would rejoice and welcome you with open arms for finally stating the 'important fact' that you are my aunt?"
For a moment, she looked like she was about to speak, but she didn't. She just lowered her head in guilt.
I wiped my tears and asked, fuming with anger, "You must know what is happening with me, right? So explain—who am I?"
She spoke, "A princess."
A princess? I asked.
"Yes. Your birth name is Alphi. You are from a land called Leniva."
Leniva? Where is that?
"That, my dear, is the birthplace of I and your mother—a land forgotten by many. With time, you will understand. I have to go. Be careful, protect your mother's necklace, and remember…I'm always with you."
Once again, she vanished. So what, she feels she can just come and go whenever she pleases? Was I supposed to feel comforted by the fact that she said she's always with me? Well, it wasn't working—I was feeling more scared than comfortable.
Besides, she's been here for practically my whole life, and I still had to go through the hell I did. Most importantly—careful of what? She just dumped the fact that I'm a princess and disappeared. Are people going to come after me now?
And the fact that I'm a princess does not explain my hair color change. If I'm truly a princess, why am I in the forest instead of in the castles I see in stories? Plus, my dad does not seem like king material to me.Besides, there's no valid proof that she's my aunt.
I was still deep in sleep when I was woken up by the sound of laughter.