"I ran away from home because… first of all, I know you're going to say I'm crazy, blah blah blah, but… yes, I ran away from home because my parents want me to marry a stranger for money," she said.
"What? Your parents want you to marry a stranger? You're only seventeen. Things have completely changed; we're in the twenty-first century," I said through gritted teeth, suddenly realising my life was not as bad as hers.
She took a deep breath before going on. "My mother got married when she was seventeen. You have a point though, girls my age are too young to be married these days."
"Are they out of their minds? I'm sorry to say this, but... What? Why are they doing this to you? It's the most hurtful thing ever. It's so painful, and it's against your choice. You have a valid reason to run away, unlike me. I just ran away because I couldn't face my fears. I could have solved it in a better way. I could have told them, 'Oh, Mom. Oh, Dad. I will not choose between you. I will visit each of you whenever I want.' I wish I had said that."
"Did they try to stop you when you walked away?" she questioned.
"Yeah. They did try. Both sat me down and talked to me separately about choosing one of them and cutting ties with the other, but I didn't listen. They weren't ready to come back together or let me hear them or accept both of them as my parents if the divorce took place, instead of picking one and cutting the other out of my life."
"Sandra, you're a strong lady, but when two lovers think about that, then let them be, their love failed and their selfishness was still tangling them with you. In my case I ran away overnight. I'm currently not going to school, but you do part-time work and pay tuition fees all by yourself. I'm just stuck here. I just want to be here for now to think more about my life and about jobs. I'm seventeen, no longer sixteen. I'm old enough to take care of myself. I don't need people who are trying to sell me off to a stranger for the sake of their selfish interests."
I quickly hugged her tightly. "I can't believe you had the courage to do that. It's really inspiring. But aren't you scared they might still find you? I'm scared my parents might find me as well, I ditched my surname, and I'm using my first name only. When people ask, I tell them I'm an orphan. You ran away from a forced marriage. That takes guts."
"Since both of us have similar pasts, how about we live together?" Anna whispered.
"Yes, I really want you to live here with me, but..." I remembered I'm currently not on good terms with some people and was sure that she might get hurt if she kept on getting close to me.
"Is it because you are scared of the gunshots that I never witnessed?" Anna teased.
"Well, that might be part of the reason," I smiled.
"I need to speak with Sandra," a voice and a knock on the door interrupted our conversation.
"Oh, you didn't tell me you had a lover?" Anna teased, and I rolled my eyes as I opened the door. But nobody was there.
I saw a note on the floor that read, >>>> meet me outside the gate. I went back in and went straight to the kitchen, before stylishly sneaking a knife into my sleeve without Anna suspecting me.
"Didn't you see him?" Anna asked.
"He said I should meet him in front of the gate," I replied and left immediately.
When I was in front of the gate, no one was there.
Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me. "Ahhhhhhhh!" I screamed, as I immediately pointed the knife towards him.
"Wait, listen. I'm not going to harm you, okay? Calm down and lower your hands," he said.
He wore a grey suit with a white short and no tie. His shoes were patent leather, and a pair of dark sunglasses concealed his eyes. His appearance was rather out of keeping with modern fashion.
"Excuse me, do you live around here?" I asked.
"Sandra," he called in a husky voice.
The voice was so familiar, still I could not quite place where I had heard it before.
"You know my name? Are you from Zen College?" I asked, trying to catch his eyes, but the sunglasses was thick to see his eyes.
"It's been ages, Niamon," he said, and I swear my soul nearly legged it out of my body. My heart did a proper skip and I started burning up.
"Ni... Nia... Niamon?" I stammered, with frequent pauses as I struggled to find the right words. "Niamon? That's the weirdest name I have ever heard. I am sorry, I am not Niamon," I said as I turned to go back to the gate.