Rosangela: The Half-Blood Princess

17 years later

“Rosanne!” I heard Rosetta, my adoptive mother screaming from downstairs, “Dinner is ready. Come downstairs now!”

“Okay Mom, I’ll be right there,” I shouted.

“So are you going to come to the party tonight?” Valerie, my best friend, repeated her question over the phone.

Yeah, I was talking on the phone with Valerie in my bedroom when my mother interjected us.

“I don’t know, Val,” I admitted, “You know how my parents are. They will never let me to go to the party.”

“Come on, Rosanne! They are not even your real parents. They don’t have a right to tell you what to do,” she provoked me.

“I know,” I said, “but I understand why they are worried. You have heard about the mysterious disappearance of girls all over the world, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah, I have heard about it. Why?”

“My parents are freaking out that I will suddenly disappear too. That’s why they won’t allow me and Marie to stay out late.”

Marie whom I mentioned was my adoptive sister. Her full name was Marirosa Sinclair. She was the biological daughter of my adoptive parents and was a year younger than me.

“But we’re just going out to the party at Josh’s house, It’s only a couple blocks away from your home, where’s the harm in that?”

Josh was my and Valerie’s schoolmate. He lived 5 blocks away from my parents’ house. Tomorrow is Josh’s birthday. Tonight, he is hosting a party at his house to celebrate his 17th birthday. All of his schoolmates were invited to his party, including me and Valerie. Valerie kept trying to persuade me to come to Josh’s party. But I was afraid my adopted parents wouldn’t allow me to go.

“You’re right. But I don’t think my parents will agree with you.” I sighed.

“You should at least try to talk to them. Maybe they will allow you to go this time,” Valerie suggested.

“I think it’s useless. They—”

“Rosangela Sinclair,” my mother yelled my full name, interrupting me. She always did it when she was angry. And I had to admit that it was a bit scary.

“Come downstairs now or I’ll get you myself,” she threatened.

“Okay, I’m coming. I’m coming,” I shouted.

“Sorry I have to go, Val,” I told her.

“But Rosanne—”

“I’ll call you later,” I cut her off before hanging up the phone.

Putting my mobile phone on the bedside table, I walked out of my bedroom and rushed downstairs.

When I reached the living room, I found my adoptive father watching some news about the mysterious disappearance of young girls that happened recently in many parts of the world.

It had been in the news for weeks. The first girl who vanished was from Bucharest, Romania. It happened a couple of weeks ago. And then, the last girl reported missing 2 days ago was from Paris, France.

Many theories were formed to explain the cause of the disappearance of those poor girls, such as: they were kidnapped by a serial killer, they were sold in human trafficking, they simply ran away from home, until they were abducted by aliens.

Nobody knew what happened to them after they disappeared either. Some believed they were already dead. But the police never found their bodies. The others thought they were still alive and being hidden somewhere.

“Marlon, turn the telly off now!” my adopted mother scolded her husband from the dining room, “It’s time for dinner.”

“Okay, okay.” Taking the remote control from the coffee table in front of him, my father turned off the television. He then got to his feet and strolled to the dining room.

I followed after him.

My mother was setting the plates and glasses on the table when we arrived in the dining room. My younger sister, Marirosa, who was already in the dining room, helped mom.

My father sat at the head of the table. The other head was for my mother. Marirosa sat at the right side of my father. Lastly, I sat opposite of Marie.

“The disappearance continues. A girl was reported missing again two days ago in Paris,” my father told us.

“Honey, it’s not a good time to talk about it,” Mom reminded Dad.

“Sorry,” Dad uttered.

I looked at the food served in my plate. The menus for dinner tonight were smoked salmon with chips and salad

I took the fork and knife that were set beside my plate. Then I cut the salmon into thin slices, and finally forked a piece of salmon into my mouth.

Mom, Dad, and Marie started eating too. No one uttered a word during dinner.

“Mom, Dad,” I broke the silence that lapsed among us.

“Yes?” Mom and Dad stared at me in unison.

“I... I... I have something to tell you,” I said hesitantly.

“What’s wrong, Rosanne?” asked my father.

“Valerie called me a few minutes ago,” I told them.

“Don’t tell me she asked you to go to a party again with her!” Mom guessed in annoyance.

“Yes. It’s Josh’s birthday party this time. All of my friends are coming to the party tonight. And I want to go there too,” I explained.

“No. You may not go to the party,” my mother said firmly.

“I agree with your mother,” added my father, “You have watched it in the news yourself, haven’t you? Almost every night a girl was missing in many parts of the world. A serial kidnapper is on the loose now. It’s too dangerous for a girl to go out at night. That’s why we don’t want you to go to the party.”

“But Josh’s house is only a couple blocks away from here, where’s the harm in that?” I argued.

“We can’t take the risk, Rosanne. We never know when and where a danger will come. We just don’t want something bad happens to you,” my father said.

“But Mom, Dad—”

“You can’t go—do you hear me?” Mom snapped at me.

I laid down my knife and fork and pushed my plate away. “I’m full up.”

I took a drink from the glass and then put it down. After that, I pushed back my chair and stood up.

“Excuse me.” Without another word, I walked out of the dining room.

“Rosanne?” My mom called after me.

I ignored her and carried on walking away.

“Let her be,” I heard my father say, “She needs time to think.”

I ran upstairs and went to my bedroom. When I entered my bedroom, I heard my mobile phone ringing. I took the phone and picked it up.

“Have you talked to your parents?”asked Valerie.

“Yes,” I replied, “I have asked their permission to go to the party with you, but they wouldn’t hear of it.”

“Why don’t you just sneak out of the house?” she suggested.

“What?!” I was startled by her idea. “Are you crazy? My parents will skin me alive if they find out.”

“So don’t let them find out!” Valerie said, “You won’t get punished if you weren’t got caught.”

“That’s an idea! I’ll try to sneak out tonight,” I responded.

“Good! See you at the party then.” Valerie hung up the phone.

I waited until my parents and sister returned to their bedrooms and were all fast asleep. When the clock struck ten, I slipped out of the bed, went for the door, and slid out of my bedroom.

I tiptoed down the stairs cautiously. I was careful not to make any noise so I wouldn’t wake up anyone.

Reaching the ground floor, I didn’t turn on the light, but groped my way across the room towards the front door.

Carefully, I unlocked the front door. I was about to walk out of the house when all of a sudden the light was switched on.

“Where do you think you are going, Rosanne?” someone asked.

I gulped. I turned around and found my mother standing behind me with akimbo.

“Mom?”

“I asked you. Where are you going, Rosanne?” Mom repeated her question angrily.

“I... I...” I stuttered.

“You’re going to the party, aren’t you?” she inquired accusingly.

I bowed my head and admitted, “Yes.”

“Rosangela, how many times do I have to tell you that you must not go to the party?” Mom reprimanded me.

“Everyone may go, why can’t I?” I talked back.

“You don’t understand, Rosanne. It’s dangerous to go out at night nowadays,” she reasoned.

“Stop pretending like you care! I know you are not concerned for my safety, but you just want to control me,” I accused her.

“What are you talking about, Rosanne? You know I am not like that. I do care about you,” Mom said.

“Stop talking nonsense! I know you don’t care about me. You only care of yourself,” I remarked fiercely.

“Rosanne, you—”

“Look!” I barged in, “I’m going to the party whether you like it or not, and you can’t stop me.”

I intended to go, but my mother grabbed my arm, holding me back.

“No, you’re not going anywhere. Do I make myself clear?” she said firmly.

I shook her off and yelled at her, “You’re not my mother. You don’t have a right to tell me what to do.”

My mother’s face fell. Hurt showed in her eyes. I felt a pang of guilt about the way I spoke to her. But I pushed the feeling aside. Without a backward glance, I stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind me.

While I was running down the stairs in the porch, I heard the door creak open. I don’t have to look back to know that my mother was the one who opened it and then she ran after me.

Mom shouted, “Rosanne, come back here or else—”

I turned around angrily and retorted, interrupting her, “Or what? What are you gonna do? Are you going to send me back to the orphanage? Then go ahead. I would be very happy if I could get away from this overprotective family.”

It silenced my mother.

I turned about again and began walking away.

“Rosanne, wait!” My mother called after me. But I ignored her and kept running into the night.