SWNOVELS Chapter 5 - First Meet
Liana's mind instantly traveled back to the time when she had first found her adopted son, her life, her Damian -
Liana was sitting by the window, gazing at the bright red moon.It wasn't very often that one got to catch a glimpse of the crimson ball. The sky was crispy clear too. It looked magical from every angle.She had found herself drawn to another dimension, simply by staring at it.
Things weren't very good at home either. She had just hung up after yet another heated argument with her mother. Ever since her father died, her mother had been a totally different person. She had left Liana in the care of workers and set off, wanting to make a fortune for herself. She sure was successful in multiplying the wealth her father had left behind. But she had no room or space for Liana in her world anymore. Liana was just another liability for her. The only time she had for Liana was to sign her monthly allowance cheque. At first, it deeply disturbed Liana. She was very close with her father as it was. His death had shattered her from within. It was the perfect time for her mother to fill in, but she chose to abandon her right at that point when she needed her the most. Over time, Liana didn't actually care about it anymore. She got herself busy in her own world. However, things turned a little different after she joined college. Ever since she moved into her new home, her mother wouldn't let her be. She would often try to interrupt Liana's plan of action. She would interfere in Liana's social life. She interfered with Liana's position in her college with lump sum donations. She would even get Liana followed by bodyguards sometimes. Liana was getting frustrated with her mother's sudden overflow of concerns. This led to the two often arguing whether in person or over the phone.
It wasn't that Liana didn't want her mother to be present in her life. In fact that was what she had always wanted. But the fact that she was always judgemental without giving Liana a chance to explain herself, drove Liana crazy. She had grown to be self-dependent over time after her mother had left. Now she suddenly wants to control everything in Liana's world. This made the rift between the two, even wider.
Liana had put on her jacket and decided to go for a walk. Walks were excellent for clearing her mind. She had taken some energy bars in her pocket. Put the music on loud in her headphones. Pulled the hoodie over her head and started walking. It was like she was invisible to the world. Neither did she notice anybody nor did anybody register her.
A few miles down the road, she had found the perfect view to sit and admire. The mountains had met the ocean with its head bowed down in submission. It was a picture of a perfect union between the high and the low, the rugged with the lively.
She had sat there for a while, hanging her legs down the cliff, dangling it to the beat of the ocean splashing its water against the walls of those mountains. She was so engrossed in grooving, she hadn't even noticed what the time was or that the bright moon was already shadowed by huge clouds. It wasn't till a few drops had fallen on her that she had noticed the overcast over her head.
She remembered looking up at the sky. At that moment she had seen something glittery and shiny move right past her like a shooting star and fall somewhere across the horizon. But it wasn't exactly like a shooting star. It was much smaller and less bright. The place it fell on didn't seem very far from where she was. But before she could have pondered more over it, a few more drops had drizzled over her eyes and face.
"Shit," She had closed the zipper of her coat and started running towards her home. By the time she reached, it was already raining quite heavily. She herself was drenched too. So without wasting any time she had to run to the washroom to get cleaned and changed.
"The rain sure felt refreshing," She had thought to herself looking for something to eat while towel-drying her hair.
Suddenly, she was distracted by some strange howling of the dogs. It wasn't that strange though. They would often fight late in the hours of the night while scavenging for food. It was due to their overbreeding in the area. Liana hadn't paid much attention and got back to looking for her food.
"Here, what do I have here? Oh, eggs. And, bread? No bread, Damn." She remembered closing the fridge with a bang and continuing towards the kitchen, "Instant raven to the rescue, then."
She had happily hummed as the food got prepared. Her mood seemed to have been lifted.
"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" a sudden cry-like shriek had caught Liana's attention.
'Are those cats fighting again?' she thought.
Then it happened again. It was a combination of the crying and the howling of dogs. And it was getting more and more intense. Liana immediately looked out of her window. There sure was something going on in the waste bin area. She had the thought that it was none of her business, but curiosity had got the better of her and she had hurried outside, tossing over her raincoat. She had taken a walking stick along too.
The nearer she had gone the more human like the cry had seemed. She had to hurry and run towards the bin, keeping those dogs at bay with her stick. Liana had to strain her head inside and immediately took a few steps backward. There sure was a baby inside. As white as milk. Unclothed, with dirt all over its perfect little body.
At first Liana couldn't react. She didn't know how exactly she should have reacted. But the child's cry had brought her back to reality. As soon as the child cried the dogs had started going rabid yet again.
Liana had to quickly gather her wits and had picked the baby up. She had it covered with both her hands and had run inside.
Strangely enough, the dogs hadn't followed her. She was expecting a full chase but none of the canines had budged from their places. Liana had closed the door behind her,after taking one last look at the dogs who were standing in perfect silence, staring in her direction.