Juliana’s Pov:
Couldn’t control the urge again. I puked inside the shabby and worn-out kitchen, still throwing up, the door was instantly pulled open standing there was an old woman around her forty who coldly snapped her eyes at me with irritation and disgust.
“Hello, good evening….” I muttered shortly with a smiley face while still battling to control myself from puking the whole place.
“I am greeting…..” She ignored me as she shifted to the other standpoint.
“Excuse me, ma…. I am greeting,” but she still spurned me with her hands and that’s when it dawned on me on the rules that I wasn’t supposed to talk with my mouth but with signs and body language.
“Hmm……” I nervously smiled as she brought a bucket of water and the frayed mob and kept it in front of me. Glancing at her with confusion, she gestured for me to clean up the area.
“Excuse me…..” I asked her as I couldn’t understand because the tattered and worn-out mop couldn’t hold or clean anything. It was more like she should inform me better to use my bare hands and clean away my mess than telling me to use this shabby mop that couldn’t do anything.
She instructed again, her constant use of her body language and signs annoys the shit out of me because I can’t get a thing or make out what she was trying to say. Standing there I kept giving her a confused look, she coldly glared at me as she lost the patience of notifying me what to do. I so much wanted her to talk but that means that she might lose her life at the price. I just wonder how I will be able to cope here without talking. This is going to be hard though since my birth I have always been maltreated but not taking isn’t part of it.
Sighing, I slowly bent down and picked up the mop since I discovered that she wasn’t going to say a word, firmly holding the shabby mop to avoid it breaking. I started ripping the area. I glimpsed and noticed the old woman smiling tenderly at me which still baffles me on why she was giving me that kind look.
Once I was done scrubbing and cleaning the area, she gave me a thumbs up before directing me to open the upper cabinet. Carefully striding toward there, I slowly opened the dusty cabinet. I coughed as the dust seemed too much. The cabinet looks like something that might fall out sooner.
Turning to face her after unlocking the cabinet, nodding her head she prodded for me to bring out the stuff in there with a tired expression I sighed before swirling around to bring in the items.
“Here,” I said annoyingly, holding my hands across my lips with my eyes widely open. I pleaded with her not to take my attitude seriously.
Bobbing her head she pointed at the white or could I say yellow deep freezer in front of me, with my brow caressing up in confusion I stared at her like she just popped another head overnight. After different failed attempts at making me understand or comply she angrily strides toward the freezer, forcefully pulling some junk. Merely looking at them makes me want to empty my stomach.
“What’s this?” The words slipped out of my lips before I knew it. She went and brought out a knife, placing it beside the junk of meat she instructed me to slice it. With an irritated expression, I pick up the kitchen knife.
The smell coming out of the meat is enough to make you empty what you have eaten for years, it was slippery to touch which makes me wonder how these people were able to eat all those things without poaching. I kicked in courage with a determined face. I started slicing the meats bit by bit into a brown dirty bowl, and after shredding them I took the bowl full of meat to the sink to watch it to know if by any chance the smell could be reduced. Slightly opening the tap, I noticed that the water that was rushing out of it was not clean but brownish which horrifies me. Swiveling forcefully as I noticed someone tapping my back, staring back at me was the woman.
My eyes caressed up in confusion, using her hands she told me not to watch the meat that those mean like their meat smelling. The pieces of information horrify my being, who in this world likes their meat smelling? It is the most stupid thing I have heard on this earth.
As we stood in the kitchen simmering the meat, the atmosphere was awkward because I so much wanted to talk but the woman seemed the opposite and you could barely notice her presence or even acknowledge that you were with someone. I have attempted several times to talk but she has always ended up rebuffing or dismissing me with her bare hands.
Deciding to cook this food and go rest since I seemed tired and weak, I stumbled. Slowly opening one eye I noticed that I wasn’t on the floor but that I was hanging in the air, fear flickered in my eyes because I thought the mysterious powers has resurfaced again but my nervousness was wiped out of my face as I noticed a hand holding me still from reaching to the ground and that’s when it dawn on me that it was no other but the old woman. A smile curled up on my lips, noticing my silly smile she irritatedly plopped me on the ground.
“Ouch….. that hurt,” rubbing my butt, I expressed.
“Next time, be careful,” she quietly mumbled.
My smile widened as I noticed her talk, I gaped at her before erupting into a tremendous laugh.
“Shut up, they might hear you,” she flinched
“Really? So you can talk?” I laugh out loud.
“Yeah I can talk but please lower your voice,” using her hand, she hunched me to keep quiet.
“Fine, but how long have you been here?” I asked.
Smiling sadly, she responds “I have lost count of how many years I have been living in this ungodly place….”
“How! If you have lost count that means that you have stayed here for long then,” she nods in response.
“You were abducted?” I asked again, I don’t care if she sees it like I asked too many questions but all I know is that I wanted to talk and with her having stayed here for long I think it will be in my favor because making friends and being on good terms with her is going to favor me. With her, I am going to get more information about this place and how to escape without revealing my true identity, which I know isn’t going to be easy but I won’t back out without giving it a try.