Try and Catch Me

The bad girl (3)
Lia sunk back to her book. A sigh of relief escaped from her, grateful for the silence.

Yet the world seemed to conspire against her solitude. It was not long before another noise disturbed her. This time the sound was near her that it almost made her jump out of the couch. She turned to the source of the noise and found a little girl staring back at her. The child looked like a thief caught in the act of stealing when all she ever did was to bump on a coffee table. The content on the top spilled which made a huge noise.

She was the same child Lia saw earlier down at the hall. But this time, she was alone. Lia wondered about the child’s mother as she considered what she would do next.

The girl seemed to have frozen on her spot as she did not make any more sound nor movement. She stood very still, her eyes fixed at Lia’s. Lia did the same. They stared at each other, watching the other closely. No one seemed to breathe for a single hiss of air would the solemn mood.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Lia thought so she decided to be the one to break the silence. “What are you doing here? Are you lost? Where is your mother? ”

There was no response as the child continued to stare at Lia.

Lia chewed the insides of her cheek. She could not tell if the child understood or heard her. She carefully chose her next words. “You are not allowed here,” Lia added hand gestures, hoping and praying that the child would somehow get her meaning and leave her alone.

But to her dismay, the child only flinched a bit but otherwise, remained rooted in her spot. She even took a step closer.

Just when Lia thought that they had reached an impasse, another person stumbled inside.

“Alice!” The person cried.

Lia watched as the woman she had seen before rushed to her daughter, pale and frantic. “I’m sorry,” she said to Lia as the woman pulled her daughter to a hug.

“You really shouldn’t be here,” Lia said as flat as she could, praying with all her heart that they would soon leave her in peace. The idea of being left alone with someone from the town made her shiver and it was not from the cold.

The woman bowed her head and muttered words of apology, dragging her daughter towards the door. But the child kept on looking back at Lia. Lia followed the child’s line of sight and realized that she was not looking at Lia at all. Instead, her eyes were drawn towards the untouched foods on the table.

“You can have these.” Lia pushed the plate away from her and towards the direction of the child.

The child widened her eyes by a fraction, pulled her arm from her mother’s grasp and ran towards the food. She stuffed her mouth with such vigor that Lia was afraid she would choke. Discreetly, Lia pushed a glass of water towards the child.

Bewildered, the mother stood frozen on her position before coming back to her senses and rushed to try to stop her kid.