The Phantom School - 116 Semra

Melis stopped talking. She was looking tired. As for me… With everything I was learning about her, I was getting more and more curious.

Melis catched her breath and continued telling the rest of the story.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to know my mother so well when we were living together. But I could at least tell that she wasn’t a bad person like my biological mother. Well… Of course it wasn’t all lovey-dovey all the time, but she wouldn’t yell at me for no reason, and I could actually feel her love. She really did care about me.”

“So… How did she become… you know, the thing she is now?” I asked. “And how did you find this out?”

“She was a really good person. All her neigbours liked her. People called the mother ‘Aunt Semra’. She was someone respected, with good reasons. Despite her poverty, she would try to help everyone in need. She wouldn’t hesitate to buy things for me. Maybe I couldn’t leave the table with a full stomach, but I wouldn’t be under constant stress like before.” Melis’ eyes rolled down before she continued. “However, this happiness didn’t last long.”

“What happened?”

“One evening, I was playing with neighbours’ children. My mother had called me home already, but I just couldn’t leave the playground. I was having too much fun…”

“Then?”

“A strange man walked towards me and held my arm. My friends ran away. I can’t blame anyone, in fact, I think that was the right thing to do. We were too little… Anyway, I looked at him. His face was injured, and he was using sunglasses even though the sun was setting already.”

“Did your mother see it?”

“Not until I screamed. He looked down to me and said ‘We are going home, honey.’”

“He was-”

“Yes. He was my so-called father.” Melis said. “I screamed my lungs out. Mother saw me from the window, and suddenly disappeared. My… father tried to pull me with him, but I didn’t want to go. I resisted, but like I said, I was just a little girl. I had no chance. But then, my mother cut his path.”

“She confronted him?”

“She threatened him to let me go. My father didn’t. They started yelling at each other in the middle of the street. People were watching us from the windows. After a while, my father started walking again, practically dragging me with him.”

“And your mother-”

“My mother shot him in the chest.”

This was an unexpected turn.

“My mother shot him in the chest, using the gun inherited from her long-dead husband.” she completed the sentence with greater detail.

“What happened then? Did everyone see it?” I asked.

“A lot of people saw it. My mother told me to get into the house and hide in the best place I could find. I ran to her home, hid myself under a bed and pulled some cardboard in front of me to hide myself. This was the last time I saw my mother. I think the police took her.”

“What happened to you?”

“I hid under my bed for a very, very long time; until one of the neighbours got curious about me. She entered through the open door. She knew Aunt Semra’s house very well since they would usually go to each other’s houses. When I noticed her searching the room, I got out of my hiding place. I was starving. She took me to her own home and our neigbours took care of me for some time.”

“You are living with your neighbours now?”

“I eventually grew up, and started using mother’s house. I began taking care of most of my own needs. Despite my age, I started working in my free time. Sometimes I worked at markets, sometimes I cleaned people’s houses… The money was barely enough to keep me alive, but I didn’t like depending on others too much. But, even then, my neighbours helped me a lot. They gave me money without expecting anything in return. They took me to doctors when I got sick. Even though it was a year or two late, they even sent me to school.”

Melis sighed. It was not easy to talk about these things.

“But something very peculiar happened when I started high school. Something I wouldn’t believe if someone else told me. My mother… After all those years, she contacted me.”

“How?”

“Just like how you two talked to each other minutes ago.” Melis said. “Strange, I instantly knew it was her. With time, I got to know her better. And, well, I think I don’t need to tell the rest.”

Everything was coming together. Pieces of the puzzle were connecting. Now, it was my time to talk.

“Did you know…” I started speaking. “This high school building has been converted from a former prison.”

“…And?” Melis was confused. She was searching for a correlation between her story and what I was trying to say.

“What are the chances…” I continued. “…that she was sent here when, or if, the police had caught her after she shot your father?”

Melis went silent. This was an interesting thought.

“Probable.” she said. “Maybe we should ask her.”

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“You are not wrong.” this was the voice of the mother. She had finally spoken again. “I drew my last breath here. In a riot. Long time ago. With a lot of people.”

“But the real question remains unanswered.” I said. “How did you contact her?”

“With a bond of love strong enough, and the will of a pure blood.” the voice answered.

“Hold on.” I said. “Something doesn’t add up. This building has been serving as a school since the 70s. It is impossible for you to start high school this late!”

The mother laughed. Melis also began laughing.

“You have no idea what we can do with the powers we have.” the mother said. “From within the realms of the dead, we can give life to people we wish.”

“You can defy… death? You can resurrect?” I asked.

“No.” the mother answered. “Defying death, as it is an essential part of life, is impossible. But manipulating spacetime… That is possible.”