"Hmm. I see." He said.
"So you do understand?" I asked hopefully.
"I do." He said. "But that doesn't excuse you for the crime you committed. You'll have to come with me and I'll let the authorities handle things."
No way. I couldn't go to jail. I just couldn't. Then, I remembered the item I bought from one of the magic shops we stopped by earlier. I immediately took it out and threw it hard on the floor. A cloud of colorful smoke filled the stables. I grabbed Eliza's hand and we ran away. It was still a little dark outside, but the sun's rays started peeking between the gaps of the clouds. We kept running with no way of knowing where to go. We paused for a while behind a white building with blue curtains on the windows.
"What do we do now? He saw us. He knows what we look like." Eliza said in between her panting.
"Give me a moment to think." I closed my eyes and tried thinking of a plan. Nothing. My head was empty and filled with the instinct to just run away and not get caught. "I have no idea."
"This is bad. Do you think they'll lock us up in jail?" Eliza asked. "What about your family?"
No. I must not get caught. My family was counting on me. "Okay. Let's just go toward the sun's direction and follow this street. Come on."
We followed the street and reached the end. We saw the staircase ahead of us and relief filled my heart. We smiled at each other and ran to the staircase. But, we stopped after seeing the people a couple of steps down the stairs. We stood unmoving. The guys looked at us and became alert. We didn't even need to ask what they wanted. Their expressions said it all.
Then someone spoke from behind. "Stop making this difficult. You're wasting our time." Him again. I hated him.
We were interrogated by the authorities and, thankfully, were only given a warning. But, we got banned from entering the forty-first floor and all the floors above it, as if I would ever want to come again. It was my worst experience. It was a nightmare. I was just happy knowing I won't ever see that man's face again. We went to the madam before going back to our own floor. She wasn't happy with what happened either. She said she was very disappointed at us. She had the right to be. We left without saying anything. Though we were done with our deliveries, it was very unprofessional of us. The truck driver spent hours looking for us before heading back. He got really worried. Madam was also worried, and furious at the same time. She was afraid it would affect her business. As kind as she was, she didn't want to take any risks. She said news might spread about the trouble we caused and people would find out we were working for her.
I was fired on my first day, well on the second actually since we came back the day after. Worst of all, I got my best friend fired with me. It was that butterfly's fault. I lost the job which was supposed to be my good news to my family after getting fired from the factory. I also lost the magic item I was supposed to give my brother as an advance birthday present. We got an earful from the authorities. We got an earful from the madam. Getting an earful from my parents was bound to be the cherry on top.
When I arrived home, everyone was waiting by the door. My mother was supposed to be on the factory already but she just couldn't go to work without seeing me returning safely. It was my father's day off and he was there sitting with his arms crossed. My brother was also there though he usually leaves early to find customers who needed to have their shoes cleaned and shined. They were all waiting for me. The worry on their faces made the guilt inside of me grow bigger.
"Are you alright?" My mother asked as soon as I reached them. She should have just screamed at me or slapped me instead, like how other normal mothers would react.
"I'm fine now." I said. "I was…."
"What is it? Did someone hurt you?" My father asked.
"I got in trouble with the authorities." I said.
I saw their expressions change from worry to confusion to disappointment.
"What do you mean by that?" My father asked. His voice grew louder. He always told me that it didn't matter whether we were poor, as long as we abide by the laws and not do anything criminal. "What did you do?"
"Big sister, did you punch an officer in the face again?" My brother asked jokingly. He was probably trying to lighten the mood.
"No, silly." I told him and patted his head. Then I faced my parents. "Eliza and I went to Phantasia without permission." I announced.
"What?!" They all asked in unison.
"Why did you do that?" Father asked.
"Have you lost your mind? You know it's against the law." Mother said.
"Cool! Why didn't you bring me along?" Leon said.
"Shut up Leon!" Father snapped at him. Then spoke to me. "You knew it's against the rules. So why did you do it? What were you doing there?"
I didn't know how to explain everything to them without saying anything about the butterfly and the man. "It was….." How do I say it? "An accident." A safe answer.
"How does one accidentally go to the top floor?" Father asked. He wasn't buying it.
"We were doing deliveries on the forty-ninth floor, and we got curious about Phantasia."
"So you just thought, let's go since we're already here?"
"Why were you doing deliveries?" Mother asked the question I was really dreading. "Why weren't you at the factory?"
"That's another bad news." I said. My voice sounded sad even to me. "I got fired from the factory."
My mother didn't hide her frustration. It was shown all over her face. "Why? What did you do? I warn you every day not to pick a fight with anyone, especially your boss, and just do what you're told."
"No. I didn't do anything at the factory. I was fired for being late." I said.
"How were you late? You left the house early."
"I got into a slight scuffle on the way." I said. "I really am sorry. I promise. I'll find a new job tomorrow, first thing in the morning. I swear."
"It's not just about the job." Mother said. She looked at me intently in the eyes. "I just feel like you keep collecting enemies every day. I'm just scared that one day, one of those people you've argued with in the past will come for revenge."
"Mother, I don't think we can do anything about that." Leon said. "Big sister's a magnet for trouble."
"What did you say?" I grabbed his hair jokingly. He laughed and moved away.
"And that's why you need to even be more self-conscious." Mother said. "Do you understand?"
"Yes. From now on, I won't ever involve myself in any trouble, big or small." I raised my right hand as an act of pledge.
"That's enough. That's that. Let's end this discussion."
It wasn't the end. Mother said to not talk about what happened ever again but she spent the rest of the day scolding me, nagging me, and telling me all those moral lessons I've heard countless of times growing up. She didn't go to work and spent the day doing chores at home. She let me rest the entire afternoon that my body felt sore when I got up in the evening to help prepare dinner. We were eating dinner in peace when the house owner came and made us loose not just our appetites but the roof over our heads.
"Why are you kicking us out?" I asked. "We already made our payments. I even paid you for another month in advance."
"What payments? I didn't receive anything." Liar. She just wanted to drive us away.
"I did pay you." I said. I raised my voice in irritation. "I just paid you three days ago. How can you forget that?"
"Do you have proof?" She said. "If you don't, just pack your bags and leave!"
It really was an unlucky day, the worst day ever. I grabbed her collar and pulled her face close to mine. "What are you up to? Why are doing this to us?" I saw the panic in her eyes. She was afraid of getting beaten. If I was a gangster, I would have.
She tried to break free a couple of times. I sighed and let her go. She moved away from me. "This is why your life will never improve. That temper of yours will always get you in trouble."
"And whose fault do you think it is?"
"Kira, that's enough." Mother said. She grabbed my arm and rubbed them slowly as if in an attempt to calm me down. "Don't cause more trouble. Let's just go for now." Our neighbors were already watching the commotion.
"But where will we go?" I asked. "You won't survive in the streets. You and father are already weak and Leon is sickly."
"We'll figure something out. You've been in so much trouble in one day. Let's not add more."
"Good decision." The villainess said. "Leave now or I'll call the authorities."
The authorities. My blood boiled after remembering the nightmare. I thought that was the end of it. Apparently, the nightmare wasn't over yet.
Eliza appeared by the door while we were packing our things. "I heard what happened. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, but…" I trailed off. I felt like crying. "I don't know anymore. Where will we go? What do I do?"
She put her arm around my shoulder and grinned widely. "You live with me, of course."