short story: Are You Still Suffering? (4/7)

4

The singer had made her way toward Mina’s shower after the pond incident but her friend blocked  her with more harsh words and her body.

"Actually, we have to go now or we'll be late."

"We just jumped in a dirty pond. And you pissed in it."

"Look. I don't know why we're at each other's throats. But we have to go now, okay? We're going to be late."

The musician washed up in the sink, grabbed her things and threw them into her car, slamming the door. Following Mina’s car was like following an army of ants into a nest where she knew she would be devoured. Several times she considered turning around and driving back to her apartment. But the pills that sat in her pocket reminded her that she needed to be surrounded by people, even those who drove her insane.

She reached into her pill case and yanked out one of the speckled candy-like pills. Without hesitation she tossed it out the window of her car. Today's dosage gone.

Mina’s country house loomed in the distance.

Up close it frightened the singer. She turned to Mina when the rotting wood of the house cued her to its condition.

"Mina, no offense. But this looks like a haunted house."

"It's just a house, your majesty. Sorry it's not a five-star inn."

In the house itself Mina embraced her father and mother and they waved to the musician.

"It's been a while."

"It has been," she answered, eyes on the wooden walls. Termites ran in and out of the small holes.

Mina led her friend to a room where she could set her suitcase down. Unlike the rest of the house, it was organized and the walls painted over with a cool blue.

"This is my room," Mina announced. "One moment."

The musician's fear returned as Mina set her things down and then proceeded to lead her to another room. It was cell-sized.

"There's no fan. And the door lock is broken. Just push a chair in front of it."

"Is this the guest room?"

"Yeah."

In the distance, the soft sound of a familiar voice caught the singer's attention. When she spun around  her own aunt and uncle were in the doorway. They waved and her aunt stepped forward to hug her.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.

What on earth her family was doing at Mina’s summer house was a question her aunt did not answer. Instead she began to list all the chores that needed to be done around the house.

As the musician wandered the rickety mansion she spotted more and more of Mina’s family and several members of her own. There were no answers to her questions.

The hanging scent of mud and piss drove the musician to the only restroom she could find in the house. The rusting pipes and smell of metal did not scare her away. She had bathed in worst showers, the kind with cameras and no razors allowed. But the moment she opened the door she was met with the gaze of three children and a teenager. The children sat at the edge of the tub and the teenager was gazing into the stained mirror. All four of them turned to her as if she had intruded.

"Excuse me...can I use the bathroom to shower please?"

One of the children opened her mouth and the words that fell out were not English. A second one replied and again they were not words that the musician knew.

"I have to shower!" she raised her voice.

The teenager snapped at the children and the three stood, following him out of the bathroom.
The singer slammed the door shut and turned the knob to lock it. When there was no click to signal its locking, she kicked at the door in fury and stomped to the shower. Tearing her clothes off, she hopped into the rusty tub and turned the knobs. A waterfall of cold, metallic liquid hit her but she cleansed herself the best she could. When finished washing her face and the water ran down her body, she could see from the corner of her eye the shadows from behind the curtain. The three children and the teenager had returned while she showered, watching her shadow as she feared theirs.