Twenty

Twenty

One night, Juana had a nightmare-She was going to meet her dad, mom and granny where they were gathered under a tree, but Jasmine stopped her and asked her to go home.

"Why?" She asked in the dream

"They all need you. They're all dying. You need to go home and think of rescuing them"

She woke up feeling relieved, not scared like expected. She was relieved that the dream was understandable. But how was she going to help them? She was just a little girl depending on all of them for survival. She prayed and after praying began to write in her book:

To help dad

1. Cook for him

2. Do his laundry

3. Say "I love you" every now and then

4. Spend more time with him/make him spend more time at home

5. Help him on the ranch

6. Ask him carefully why he's always out

To help mom

1. Pray for her

2. Visit her

3. Say "I love you" even if she doesn't reply

4. Tell her about how much I miss her

To help granny

1. Cook for her

2. Visit her

3. Sing to her

4. Remind her of good memories

5. Say "i love you"

Juana smiled and closed the book. She had to take a walk now. And she needed a big hug, and a pat on the back. So she called Colin. He was resting when she called him. So he happily agreed to meet her. Colin rode her bicycle and she sat behind him, clutching his waist tightly. He rode fast and Juana laughed and yelled. Her hair was dancing in the wind. She didn't know where he was riding her to, and she didn't care. After thirty minutes of riding, he stopped. 

"Why did you stop?"

"I want to show you something" he said "Follow me". He held her hands and took her round some houses until they got to the yard of an unoccupied house. It was quiet and very cool. There were many tall trees there that formed shade from the sun. 

There was no sun actually. The air was cool. And that area was facing a stream with water so pure that just looking at it makes you relax. It was a very conducive place for anything, name it-yoga, meditation, reading, napping, eating, lovers' meeting etc. 

"Wow" Juana exclaimed smiling.

"How long have you been waiting to show me this beautiful scenery?" 

"Since forever" he said. Juana stared at the stream and the little rocks in it, the hills from where water was falling and gathering underneath and the trees near it. It was so beautiful

"Do you like it?" He smiled. Juana looked at his teeth and face and smiled a big smile; her worries faded away just by looking at his face.

"It's just as lovely as your smile" she said and he laughed. She was already used to his laugh-it always sounded happy and cheerful and it  was infectious.

"I'm glad you like it" he said finally. She kept her gaze on the scenery before her. Colin wrapped his arms around her waist and they both faced the same direction. They stood like that for a long time, saying nothing, just taking in the splendour of their environment.

After a while, She said "I wanna go play with the water"

"What?"

"Yeah, maybe climb too"

"No.you'll get cold" he said

"I really want to" she turned to face him pleading with her eyes. So he took her hands and led her to the other side, towards the stream. They sat on a rock laying in the shallow part of the water and splashed water on each other. There was much laughter and giggles. After a while, they returned to the open yard where Colin wrapped her in his arms because she was cold.

"Tell me about your dreams" he said

"The nightmares?"

"Yes"

So she told him everything. And then she told him about Ella

"What about her?"

"I need to know where she lives"

"Why don't you just ask?"

"She doesn't wanna tell. I want to find out, Colin join me please. Join me on this adventure"

"You're crazy"

"Whatever. I just need to find out"

"Okay. Is that all you need to find out?"

"I need to find out if Dad is cheating too. He comes home at eleven every night, smells of something strong I can't place my hand on, and he usually feels exhausted"

"Let's do this" he said

"You'll join me?"

"In finding out about your dad. Not the silly other"

"Please" Juana begged

"On one condition"

"What?"

"You'll come to my place. I mean see what the inside looks like".

" I have to cook for dad before he arrives"

"I'll take you home by six" he promised. 'Okay I'll follow you". So he got up and started the bike, with her clutching his waist. On the way to Colin's.

Colin's was a conducive place to be. It was as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside. Colin showed her his living room, balcony, kitchen, bathroom and toilet, lounge, and dining room. Then he prepared some food for the both of them to eat. She joined him to bake some cupcakes in the kitchen. They talked while they worked. And when they sat down to eat, he opened the conversation:

"When I was a kid, there was one girl I used to like. We were very close. Our mothers were neighbours but our fathers didn't know each other. We were so close that it was hard to separate us. If one of us was crying, he'd be shown the other, and the crying would stop immediately. Her name's Helen, we used to eat from the same bowl like this and make sand buildings together" he said to her

"That's nice. She must be grown up now too"

"Yes she would have been 20"

"What do you mean she would have?" 

"She died."

"Oh I'm sorry" Juana said "That must have been really heartbreaking-losing a childhood friend"

"She died when I was thirteen and she was fourteen. It was a sad day for me. I'm going to tell you a story about how she died" Colin said. He stopped stuffing cereals into his mouth. Juana was eating some cupcakes they had made together. But then she stopped when she saw the frown on his face

"It's okay if you don't wanna talk about it now, Colin. I can see that you're still grieving" she said

"No, I'm okay now. It's just foolish-her death that is" he said shaking his head and picking his spoon again

"Foolish?"

"Yes, in a way, she caused her death. She was stubborn" he sighed

"That's something" Juana sighed too

"Yeah. The thing is Helen was murdered"

"How? Tell me about it" Juana said listening attentively. Staying with Colin was starting to bring more fun. She hasn't regretted coming to his house so far.

"I was too young to know what love meant, and obviously she was too. But I knew one thing, that I cared about her, and if she was hurt, I cried. I remember when she was hospitalized for catching a bad cold, I stayed with her in the hospital a couple of days. I ate only what she ate. Our mothers never tried to separate us. The thought of us growing up to fall in love with each other and maybe get married was in their minds, I could tell."

"Owww that sounds lovely" Juana mumbled and watched his eyes drop, like he was focusing on his imagination and refusing to stare at the present.

"It turned out that Helen was in love with another guy. I shouldn't call it love because she was just ten and I was nine. I didn't know for a while, and I didn't suspect anything. Then she walked into my room one evening and began to cry. I calmed her nerves and then ask her to tell me what's wrong, then she told me that someone stole her heart. I remember laughing because I thought she was kidding. I mean I thought she meant it literally."

"Hmmm"

"I didn't feel too bad. I just wanted her to be happy. I asked if the guy was caring like I was, and she said yes. I asked if he was kind to people like we taught ourselves to be, and she replied in the affirmative. Then I smiled and hugged her and asked her not to cry, that I was okay with it"

"Wow that's love" Juana mumbled "So what happened?"

"We continued being friends and I never saw the guy. She said he was always working hard, so has no time to visit her or anything. He bought her a phone and jewelries. Her mom found out about him and they fought everyday over it. She threatened to arrest the guy and beat her up. She said she was too young to date. She chastised me for supporting her, but what did I know? I only wanted her to be happy. She said she'd not allow their relationship to continue, that he was much older than she was"

"How old was he?"

"He was eighteen and she was just ten. Very smart but still ten" Colin said and sighed.

"I wonder if he hypnotized her" Juana said

"I sometimes think of that too, because she became rude and wild when her mom didn't support their relationship. One day she came to me, crying as usual telling me that her boyfriend and her were going to live together"

"What?"

"Yeah. I could not stop her. No one was at home to tell then. I begged her not to go. I saw the guy just once and he looked fierce, bigger than his age. He had scars all over his back because when I saw him, he was shirtless. He smoked and drank alcohol too. I don't see any reason why Helen would be attracted to him. I knew he was dangerous. I always knew that and I feel like I didn't protect her enough from him"

"You did your best. Don't feel bad, Colin. She did what she wanted to do" Juana said

"No she was too young, and i still feel like I could have hidden her inside the house and locked her up till my mom came. But I just held her hands and cried " Don't go" Her mom was home when she left. She yelled and cried and ran after her but she took a bus before she got to the bus stop. We talked on phone when she was away sometimes, and on one of the phone calls, she said her boyfriend said he didn't want to see both of us together again. No one knew where her boyfriend lived, where she ran to, until the day she died. The news let us know. He murdered her, I don't know why he did that though and it really hurt me" Colin said

"That's really sad. Was he caught?" Juana asked

"He was never caught. He ran away and left her body there. I could not look twice. It was coldblooded murder. I hope I meet her killer one day and hand him over to the police. Mom automatically relocated us after the incident. Dad got a job in another city, so we had a good excuse for leaving. I was devastated and was withdrawn to myself for two years. I can't stop blaming myself for her death"

"I understand. It's hard, but you must know that it's not your fault. You tried your best"

"Yeah. Mom said that too, and I'm trying to forgive myself" he said

"What happened after you relocated? Do you mind sharing?" Juana asked patting his shoulder. His expression was unreadable. She didn't know if he was sad or not. But he sounded sad, that's why she rubbed his shoulder. He stared into her eyeballs and suddenly looked bright. That's what he did, stared into you. It was more than staring at you. 

"The mystery of the Haunted house" he said

"What's that?" 

"Wouldn't you like to write about that? The mystery of the haunted house, or just the haunted house" he said still facing her

"What are you talking about? I'm starting to get scared you know" Hearing that, Colin burst into laughter, and she soon joined him

"Helen's boyfriend's house is haunted. I know because I once travelled there after we relocated, and a lot of eerie things were happening there. I heard invisible dogs barking and sounds coming from the roof" he said

"Wooh! What sound?" Juana's eyes grew large

"Humans' voices. I didn't believe those things were real until then. I actually wanted to see if he was back so I could report him to the police, but the place was bare. I went in, checking every room for clues, that was when I heard those sounds. I had to run all the way to the park to get a bus home. I didn't go back after then"

He laughed. She did too.

"It wasn't funny then" he said still laughing "I practically peed in my pants. I didn't tell mom about it, until some months later I heard on the news about that house. People confirmed that it was being haunted by some unseen forces. Might be what put Helen's boyfriend on the run, not necessarily the police I guess. The house was put out for sale but no one offered to buy it. It wasn't rented or bought for a long time. He must have murdered a lot of girls there in that house. It's just so sad that Helen was among the list" he said and shook his head.

"Where's this haunted house?" Juana asked. She had eaten up her cupcakes

Colin stared at her for a long time in disbelief.

"What? I'm only asking" she rolled her eyes

"I will not tell you where it is" he said

"Does that mean you framed the whole story?"

"Of course I didn't. It's all real, but I don't want you going there or anything. I don't want you to end up like Helen" Juana kept quiet after that time. They didn't talk about any other thing. They were silent for several minutes. After about twenty minutes, Colin walked her out and they strolled to the balcony of the house.

It was already five pm. 

"I want you to write about Helen" he said

"And the haunted house" she added

"Yes"

"I'll write about it don't worry. I will post it on my timeline. I'll use different names. I will even write a letter to Helen herself" Juana said smiling. The idea of writing a letter to her made her stomach tingle.

"You want to write a letter to Helen?" He asked in bewilderment. 

She nodded. And he just sighed

"Wait a minute. Let me get you something" he went in and returned with a book and a little mat

"This is a dream journal. I got it for you, write your dreams in it, and when we meet, you read them to me. This is a yoga mat, you can use it for breathing exercises and yoga" he said.

"Wow thank you!" Juana was so excited that she hugged him very tightly. 

He disengaged the hug after a while and said while holding her hands, "I love you"

She was speechless.

"I care about you, and I promise to protect you better than I did Helen. Everyday you wake up, just remind yourself that I love and care about you, and I do mean it. I promise to protect you better than I did Helen" he smiled and kissed her.

"Don't go around looking for trouble. Stay at home and stay safe, okay?"

"Okay Colin" she smiled too. The butterflies in her stomach were twice their usual sizes now.

"You should go home now" He said