HAVE YOU SEEN THE CITY?

"Have you seen the city? What does it look like?"

Sometimes it's really hard to imagine things especially when you're not able to see them for yourself, and you just rely on what other people are telling you.

I keep on wondering what the outside world really looks like. Is it really full of amazing things? Or just the usual things that aren't worth of getting excited about.

"Be a good girl now, we will be back in a few days. Just stay here and wait for us," my mother's soft and soothing voice gently whispered in my ear.

I nodded. "Can't I come? I always get so lonely when you're in the city," I suddenly complained.

My mother smiled. "You know you can't come. And you know the reason why."

I let out a deep sigh. "I know… I am sick. And I am not supposed to go to the city because of the pollution and other stuffs that is making my health deteriorate, " I uttered with a low voice.

My mother nodded then smiled. "That's my girl. Now go into your room and just wait for us until we return. We already fixed everything you need here. So you shouldn't have any problem, even if we're away."

Sadly, I nodded. This is my life…

****It was already a few hours after my parents left when I unexpectedly looked at the picture hanging on the wall of my room. It was a picture of a city taken from a top view. Whenever I looked at it, somehow I get the feeling that I was looking at it from a place far away and that I was just sneaking a peek at something that I wasn't supposed to see. I really liked its black and white theme. It had its very unique and eerie touch that really gets a person's attention.

I never really understood what the picture meant. All I knew was that I liked it. It was the only thing that could give me a quick glance at what the outside world looks like.

I know it's strange… I am already 16 years old but all I can remember is growing up in this small secluded home hidden in a forest, hours away from the city… with the same and boring things each and every day.

My parents both work in the city so they stay there on week days and just come home on weekends. Most of the time I am all alone in the house with only a TV and a radio to keep me company. Most girls my age would surely be afraid of being left alone, but not me. I have been used to this kind of situation for years now. I have been taking care of myself for almost a year now, or maybe two or maybe three… Honestly I can't really tell because it has really been so long. Every time my parents leave for work, there is that certain calmness in my soul. I always get so excited for the next weekend wherein they will surely be giving me another present.

"Sometimes just when you thought that you already know everything, it is just then that you realize that you really don't know anything at all…"

****It has been over a week but my parents haven't returned. I was already very worried.

Where have they gone to? Why didn't they come home? I kept on asking myself.

I suddenly looked around the house. Somehow I was already in a panic. "What if something happened to them? Maybe they're both hurt somewhere… Maybe they need me," the words just kept on repeating in my mind.

Again I looked around… but I don't know where they are. Reality suddenly hit me. I don't even know the address where my parents live in the city, or where they work.

Tears suddenly started to rush out of my eyes. I was feeling so desperate and frustrated. "What am I supposed to do now?" I asked myself again in between sobs.

A day passed, then another until I can no longer count how long it has been since I last saw my parents. I just waited patiently, day after day… after day…

With tears streaming from my eyes, I looked at the picture hanging on the wall of my room. My favorite picture in the whole wide world…

"Mama, Papa… where are you?" I cried out while staring at the picture.

Day turned into night, night turned into day…. I continued to wait.

Until…

"Honey, are you sure it's all right to come here?" a woman in her late 30's entered the small but well-kept home.

"Of course. I already bought this place. It's ours now," a man happily answered as he walked into the living room with two large bags in his hands.

I was already sleeping in my room when I heard voices. Excited and happy, I rushed out to meet the people I had been waiting for. But as soon as I entered the living room, I was shocked because the couple standing in front of me were not my parents.

"Who are you?" I quickly shouted.

The woman suddenly looked at my direction. "Honey, did you hear something?" she asked the man standing just a few inches away from her.

The man quickly shook his head and smiled. "Nope, maybe it's just the wind. There's no one here honey. This place has been deserted for years."

No one?

"No one? No one? And what do you call me?" I asked angrily as I grabbed the vase near me and threw it towards the couple.

But…

As I grabbed the vase, my hand suddenly just passed through it.

Confusion and horror instantly gripped me.

"What's happening? What's happening?" I kept on repeating.

The woman slowly sat down on the couch. "You know this place is really beautiful. No wonder the old couple didn't really want to give this place up."

"Yes, this place is really something. I heard the real reason why they didn't want to sell this place is because this is their daughter's favorite place. They used to come here when she was still alive. They spent the entire time while she was alive here in this place. And I also heard another important thing about this house," the man said with a teasing voice.

"What?" the woman asked.

"They say… this is where the old couple's daughter died. They say she was very fragile ever since she was a child. She always gets sick when they were still in the city. So the couple decided to buy this place so they could hide their daughter here. I think their doctor suggested some fresh air and a quiet place would be very good for the girl," the man started to narrate.

"DIED? Who died? I am not dead!" I screamed right in front of them.

"And? What happened to the girl?" the woman asked curiously.

"Well the girl was already very sick when they moved here. And even though they tried everything to make the girl better, she was already very weak and was somehow just waiting for her time. They lived here until the day came… She died while sleeping," the man answered.

"Oh, that's so sad. Poor girl," the woman uttered.

The man nodded. "Not just poor girl, but also poor couple. It seems right after the girl died, the couple continued to come here as if making believe that their daughter was still here. Some of their friends even thought that they were already going insane. Because one of their friends even heard the woman say that they needed to get back here every week since their daughter was left alone in the house."

The woman suddenly shivered. "Are you saying the couple went crazy?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well yes… the woman is already in an institution while the man…. well he got into an accident last month and now he's still in the hospital… Their relatives are the ones who helped us in getting this house from them… since the couple needs the money for their medication and medical bills so they had to sell this place," the man added.

"What are you doing here? I am not dead! Do you hear me? Do you hear me?" I repeated over and over again with anger.

The woman suddenly stood up and unexpectedly walked straight into my direction. And as if to finally make me realize the truth… she unexpectedly walked right through me….

I immediately fell down on the floor. I felt weak. So it was all true… I tried to think and remember. And flashbacks started to appear… It was then I finally knew who and what I am.

I was already gone… And I was just staying in a place that I no longer belong. A lonely wandering ghost still trying to hold on to her memory.

The woman slowly entered my room. She then started to look around as if trying to reminisce… She then stopped right in front of my favorite picture.

She slowly ran her fingers on the picture. "What a sad picture… "

As I stared at the woman while she continuously looked at the picture, it was then I finally realized why I liked it.

I liked it because it represented my life. Ever since I was a child I had always been sheltered and was never allowed to explore. I was always told that I can watch things from afar but I was never allowed to touch. I was given beautiful things but everything was wrapped up and I was never allowed to enjoy them. My parents were too afraid that I would get sick. So they made so many restrictions just to be sure that I was always safe. But in their simple and loving gesture, they didn't realize that they had already condemned me in a black and white environment. Everything had already lost its color and all its excitement. The beauty of things around me was already lost.

I stared at the picture one last time… Now I knew it was time to move on… It was time to see the world in a new color.

I slowly turned towards the door… I was going out now… I was no longer afraid.