Kissing The Wind

Just as she stepped inside the old mansion, Sydnee was startled when she met face to face an old woman with stern face. The old woman was holding a small record book in her right hand, and a meter stick in her left hand. Sydnee remembered her terror teachers way back in elementary.

‘Same disposition,’ she thought to herself.

Sheila bowed before the old woman. Sydnee also bowed even though she was not sure who was the woman standing before them. But she had a hint that maybe the woman was the mistress of the old mansion.

“Madam, I got a new girl that wants to stay here. She is a student and is not from Obando.”

The stern woman looked at Sydnee. “Where are you from?” she asked.

Sydnee secretly gulped hard upon hearing the woman’s voice. It was rough, and she could not help thinking that maybe her vocal chord was damaged?

“I-I’m from Consolacion, Madam…” she sighed.

“Consolacion? What are you doing in Obando?” She looked at the big backpack Sydnee was holding. “Did you run away from home?”

Sydnee was stunned upon hearing the old woman’s words. Her body trembled and she immediately lowered her head. “Y-yes.” Even though her action was justified since her foster mother wanted to kill her, Sydnee was still afraid that the old woman would throw her back to Consolacion. She was not ready to face her mother again and also, she could not possibly come back to that hut. Her life would be in danger.

Silence hovered above the three of them for awhile, before she heard the old woman sighed. “I see. Youths today are so bold, aren’t they?” she said and raised her hand to gesture Sydnee.

Her eyes lit up when the old woman turned around and walked away. Sydnee immediately followed the old woman, afraid of taking back the consent. She turned around to look at Sheila and thanked her hurriedly before she ran after the old woman.

Sheila watched as Sydnee and the mistress of the house disappeard before her eyes. She sighed. That new girl was different. Maybe something big will happen in the future. Sheila looked over the entrance and watched as the rain started to pour hard outside of the mansion.

The old woman was named Kris and she was the caretaker of the mansion since three decades ago. The old mansion was owned by the aristocratic Mondragon, Duke Theodore’s grandfather, before their status ascend in the society. The royal insignia on the main door symbolizes the fallen ancient monarch to honor the family’s roots. All these things were told by Madam Kris to Sydnee.

“I notified Duke Theodore that you are here, so he’ll fetch you soon,” Madam Kris said.

Sydnee widened her eyes. “Really?”

“Yes. When Lady Geneva threw you out, the duke notified all his confidants nearby the Duke’s mansion to fetch you whenever you wander near our territory.”

Sydnee thought for a moment before she gasped. “So you send Sheila out?” she asked.

Madam Kris nodded. “The duke wants to make sure nothing bad will happen to you. You’re safe here.” The old woman gestured her to enter a door.

When Sydnee took a step inside, she was astounded by the granduer of the room. The big bed and the carpeted floor overwhelmed her. She never thought that the old mansion had that kind of room.

“You’ll stay here,” said Madam Kris. “I know that you are tired so rest first. You don’t have to work on this mansion. Just wait for the duke to arrive.”

“No,” Sydnee muttered while looking around the room. “I want to work.”

There was a brief silence before the old woman agreed. Not long after, Sydnee was standing alone in the middle of the room. She signed and walked towards the big bed. The style seemed like that of the victorian era and there was a faint fragnance of sandalwood hovering in the air inside the closed door.

No wonder that she felt comfortable by just standing inside for a few seconds. Sydnee did not waste any more minute. She threw her body on the bed and closed her eyes.

When she woke up, she heard her stomach grumbled. She got out of the bed and walked towards the door. Just as she step outside of her room, she heard a loud screetch from the hallway. Then a series of curses followed by a loud bang.

Sydnee peeked to where the noise came from and she saw a boy, older than her for about a year or two, sprawled on the floor while breathing hard. Next to him was a cat. And it had fainted from fright. Her mouth opened in surprise as she gaped at the duo.

The young man felt her undisguised gaze. He raised his head and their eyes met. They both frooze. It took a few minutes before the young man stood up hastily and bowed before her. “I’m sorry for the mess. My cat is playing around.”

Sydnee raised her hand and laughed awkwardly. “No, you don’t have to apologize. Uhm, is your cat alright?”

The young man looked down at the sprawled cat beside his foot. He seemed surprise before he hurriedly picked up the cat. “Ginger? Hey,” he said and poke the cat’s ears. There was some movement from the cat but it did not wake up. The young man sighed in relief and turned to her. He smiled. “There’s nothing to worry. He has fainted from exhaustion… I think?”

Sydnee shrugged her shoulders and walked towards the opposite direction. She did not know the man and did not really care if his cat got injured or not. Looking at the cat, she remembered the stray cat she had fed with her lunchbox whom later got poisoned. Her fists clenched hard. She knew now that someone targeted her in the first place, and that was her foster mother.

She sighed and stepped down the stairs. Looking around the old mansion, Sydnee thought that it was not bad as what she thought in the first place. There was elegance hidden in the old style of things around the place.

“Sydnee?” a familiar voice called her when she stopped in front of a huge painting. It was an abstract painting and according to the signature below, it was painted around the time of Duke Theodore’s grandfather. Indeed, it was an ancestral mansion.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

She turned around and was greeted by a flying saucer towards her. Her eyes widened in surprise and her mouth gaped in shock. Before she could utter a word, someone pulled her to the side.

The saucer clashed with the painting hanging in the wall. There was a crack on the glass protecting the painting. It was unsightly. She grimaced as the saucer fell on the floor.

“What in the world are you doing, Hector!” Madam Kris shouted from upstairs.

Sydnee flinched.