Freyas pov
I ran into the room fast.
"Zara!" I shouted.
She was on the floor. The vase had broken around her. There was glass, so much sharp glass scattered everywhere. Her little hand was red. Blood scattered everywhere.
"No, no, no…" I collapsed down beside her. She was screaming so hard that her face was red too. I carried her up immediately.
"Shh, it's okay baby, it's okay," I whispered as my hands shook.
She cried into my chest with scared little cries. My shirt was wet where her tears fell but I didn't care.
I carried her to the bed and set her on it. I got a rag, water and some bandages. My hands felt all shaky but I tried to steady it and I had to because she was looking at me with big wet eyes thinking maybe I would be mad at how she had broken the vase.
"Stay still," I said in a calm way. "It just stings a little."
I cleaned the cut. She screamed louder when the water hit it. "Shhh… shhh… I know, I know," I said, holding her.
I put the band-aid on her hand slowly and softly before I kissed her forehead. "There you go."
She sniffed. Her little lip trembled. "Mummy… will I be punished?"
That question was deep.
I shook my head side by side. "No, no, baby. Never. Not for this. It was an accident."
"But… the madam…" Her voice was so small.
I hugged her tight. "She's not here. And she will never be here again. You hear me? You will never be punished for a mistake."
She cried as I cleaned her face and looked into her eyes.
"Now… come eat. Food is ready."
Her tummy gave out a small growl as she let out a shy giggle, that sound made something in my chest loose for a bit.
I took her to the kitchen and sat her down and put food in front of her.
"Do you know there was once a strong girl?" I said. "This girl had cut her hand one day. But guess what?"
"What?" Zara whispered.
"She didn't cry. She smiled. She said, 'This little cut won't stop me.' She was brave."
"Braver than me?"
I pushed her back, but only enough that I can look her in the eyes. "No. Because that girl isn't real. You are. You are the strong one."
"I am strong?"
"Yes," I said.
"But I cried."
"And you stopped crying. Plus you're real."
Sha laughed while I fed her a bit and cleaned her face before letting her continue from where I stopped.
We finished eating before she started to feel drowsy as I took her into her room to sleep.
I came out and headed into the living room where she had broken the vase to clean up whatever mess was made.
When I was done, a knock came on the door. I went to open it to see a woman standing before me.
She was from my high school in the past and now she was… bigger.
I froze in place. What was she doing here?
Her hair was tied back, her eyes were open wide in what looked like shock and her mouth was tensed as though she would be about to scream.
"Freya?" she whispered.
I blinked. My throat felt dry all of a sudden.
She stepped inside without waiting, her hand fastening around my arm. "It is you. I thought… I thought you were gone. The way you ran from the party… I really wanted to come see you but I couldn't as I didn't know if you were here or maybe you had run away."
I opened my mouth and found no words.
It took me a while to control myself.
"Why… why are you here?" I said, my voice in a low way.
"I should be asking you that. You vanished, Freya. We all believed you…" She stopped herself, shaking her head and biting the inside of her cheek. "I searched for you. I promise I did."
I took a step back, as the door leading to the inner rooms opened with Zara coming in.
"Mummy?" Zara peeked.
The woman's eyes snapped to her, then back to me. Questions filled her face, but she didn't ask them.
I turned to Zara. "Hey sweetie. Why don't you just go back to bed?"
She blinked at me with groggy eyes. "Okay."
Zara walked in slowly as I closed the door.
I turned back to the woman. I hadn't told her who Zara was to me. Not yet. My lips felt heavy.
She walked in more and sat down on a chair. I sat across from her.
"So?" I asked while folding my arms. "What are you doing here?"
"That night… well… let's just say that what happened five years ago was bad. Zac and his friends…"
"I don't like talking about that night," I sighed.
But I could still remember everything. The whispers, the laughter and the way they had cornered me, humiliated me, left me broken in front of everyone.
She looked at me again. "I was there, Freya. And I hate myself for not doing more. For not stopping them."
"Everything turned out fine I guess."
She nodded. "I'm so glad you have it all figured out. I mean you have a daughter and you don't look as weak as you did back then."
She didn't ask who Zara's father was. She didn't ask anything. Maybe she knew not to. Maybe she was scared of the answer.
So I asked about her instead. "How's your life? What have you been doing?"
"I'm okay. Things are good. I have a shop now… It's small but it's mine. I sell fabrics, dresses, little things.. It keeps me busy."
"Oh that's wonderful. Maybe one day I can patronize you."
She nodded as she looked around before stopping. She pointed to the counter. "There used to be a case there."
"It… it broke today," I said slowly in a not caring way. "Zara… she was cut by it."
Her face turned into something I had not seen before. Her lips shook open, then she gasped bringing her hand to her mouth "Oh no."
I repeated myself like a chant, "It's fine. She's fine. Just a little cut. I bandaged her up. It stopped bleeding."
But she didn't relax. "No, Freya. This is bad. Very, very bad."
Now she was scaring me. "What are you saying?"
She swallowed as her voice dropped low. "That vase… Zac is obsessed with it."
I blinked. "What?"
She nodded, her eyes suddenly serious, almost scared. "And now you're telling me… it broke? You broke it?"
"I… I didn't mean it."
"Freya... do you even realise what this means?"