SIX

1990 , Cape Town , South Africa

D.F MALAN AIRPORT , the board read , was filled with people she never thought she would ever get to sit next to , some clad in what looked like expensive Suits , or was it a tuxedo? The men's formal wear was still a mystery to her , with its subtle variations and unspoken rules , but she's slowly learning . While some were in their cosy fits fit for a flight , probably a long one just like hers , she thought to herself.

She being a little girl and her mess of curly golden locks , stood frozen in the middle , her eyes following everyone moving in all directions of the huge building , mouth hung open , she was in awe. She has never seen so many people all at once but most importantly , she had never been inside an airport. This was her first flight and it was nothing like how she imagined it.

The magazines her mother brought home from work were her only glimpse into a world of luxury . She would spend hours poring over the glossy pages , dreaming of the stunning destinations and elegant people that seemed to inhabit a different world. A world where she would stroll through airports , escorted by handsome guides , wearing big hats that shaded her eyes , not that she needed to see , for her escorts would be her eyes , leading her through the unfamiliar terrain.

Escorts - she really had those but these weren't her eyes. They were to see to it that she made it "home" safe like they had said to her earlier during their introductions , when the truth was that it was so that she doesn't pull any stunts.

She did those a lot , skillfully even.

But not today. Or maybe even never again. Speaking of never's , would she ever see them again , her siblings? That thought made her stop in her tracks and so did her escorts , who exchanged looks of panic. They were ready for anything , one with his hand already on their pistol , also praying that he doesn't get to use it on the child in public. Little did they know that she wasn't in the mood for chaos. Instead , She was having a mental battle of some sort. Her mind wanted her to turn around and look back to what was once her home , her real home , CAPE TOWN , but it laughed at her and told her she would never see it ever again.

She shook the idea off and soldiered on , "it would just hurt" , she mumbled to herself just before she boarded her first ever flight.

As she stepped onto the plane , the gentle hum of the engines and the soft murmur of white passengers filled the air. She felt a thrill of excitement mixed with a dash of nervousness as she made her way down the narrow aisle. The seatback pockets , stuffed with safety guides and in flight magazines , she loves magazines , seemed to stretch on forever like a row of sentinels guarding the secrets of the sky.

She glanced down at her boarding pass , her eyes scanning the unfamiliar numbers and letters and Ah , there it was , seventeen A , Row Seventeen , Seat A , her designated perch for the next few hours.

As she navigated the empty aisle , she couldn't help but feel that everyone was waiting for her , they were already seated and ready to move. Her mind went back to the row numbers as she silently made a countdown , fifteen, sixteen , seventeen

Finally , she arrived at her row , and a sense of accomplishment washed over her. She slipped into her seat and the soft cushion enveloped her like a warm hug. She gazed out the window and watched as the clouds drifted lazily by like cotton candy tufts , the thought making her stomach growl. With a contented sigh , she fastened her seatbelt with the help of the escorts , ready to take on the skies with her anxiety returning tenfold. As the plane took off and the hum of the engines grew louder , she felt her eyelids grow heavy.

The next thing she knew she was waking up to the sound of the flight attendants' gentle voices and the faint smell of food being served. The aroma of roasted chicken and fresh vegetables wafted up , making her stomach growl again but this time in anticipation. She looked at her escorts for approval before accepting the tray with a nod , her eyes scanning the neatly arranged food and utensils. This will be the best thing she has ever eaten in her whole entire seventeen years of existence

As she began to eat , the same flight attendant returned with a glass of water she didn't remember asking for. One of the escorts dropped a white pill on her palm

"This will help you relax dear" , she said with a reassuring smile

She hesitated for a moment but her exhaustion and anxiety won out. She downed the white pill feeling a subtle warmth spreading through her veins. At first the effect was subtle , making the engines quieter and the lights dimmer. Her eyelids began to droop and her thoughts grew cloudy and after what seemed to be forever she was suddenly jolted awake by the sound of the flight attendants' gentle chatter or the occasional turbulence.

Each time her surroundings remained blurry and her mind foggy. Time lost all meaning as she drifted in and out of consciousness , making her feel like she's floating while cool night air whipped her face. She felt her body land on the cool leather seats , heard the car door shutting , and the screech of the tires and muffled hushed tones of her escorts.

Eventually the car came to a stop. The door opened and she was floating again , carried into a doorway that led to a bright sterile space. The smell of disinfectant hit her like a slap in the face but before she reacted , her body was slammed on a cold metal table. The machines around her sprang to life , beeping and whirring as the two escorts began their preparation.

Everything went black

•

She doesn't know when she slept but waking up was a struggle. She was in a daze , everything looked blurred even after blinking so many times. It actually hurt , made her headache worse and so did the sun that hit her right in the face. It was all unfamiliar to her , not the sun that is , but it making its way to her through her sleeping area like that. She had never had that. Her shack was a windowless corrugated box sealed tight against the outside world. No sun penetrated the walls and no breeze stirred the stifling air within.

She turned and tried twisting her muscles out of habit and when she heard no cracks she smiled to herself. Her back always hurt from either the naps she takes after work or even after her normal sleep , sometimes during but she was so over complaining about the situation , it was either the old couch or the floor. It was pretty obvious their only green leather moss sofa wasn't gonna give her the best sleep but when she wasn't cut from the charred leather or fell in the middle of the night , she counted those days as blessings.

Today was just more than that , the sofa felt soft and it smelt fruity . Perhaps her mother finally listened to her about getting rid of the damp rain smell and soil that triggered her allergies.

She stretched some more and as soon as her the little of her vision came back she froze with her limbs still stuck in the air. Her eyes though , they roamed everywhere taking in the scene before her. The room she was in was surrounded by walls a shade of grey she couldn't identify , it was dark but made the room light or maybe it was the three beds covered in soft pink duvets and matching fluffy pillows just across her's , that gave out that bright room sense. Beside them were small white desks and they were empty.

"Roommates" , she muttered , her mind slowly coming back to her. She was remembering why she was here , a reminder of who she was.

An orphan.

Her limbs came down with her legs , slowly getting out of the covers. She tripped on the bag on the floor and cursed under her breathe , kicking it aside while looking around for clues to where the bathroom was. She desperately needed to empty her bladder. Fortunately the bathroom wasn't hard to find. It was on the right side of the bedroom and she didn't waste time getting in.

It looked no different from the sleeping area , grey and white and touches of pink here and there around , and on the six toilet stalls , six showers , six bathtubs and six basins , towels , toothbrushes and even toothpaste. It was humongous and made her even more dizzier and nauseas.

She chose the one with the number four above it and after doing her business she moved to one of the basins and Rinsed her mouth , hoping the nausea would ease , and then washed her hands and face , using one of the towels to wipe. Her eyes landed on her wrist with the number surrounded by a red hue. The tattoo was fresh but she doesn't remember getting it , but then again , she doesn't remember getting most of the tattoos she had so it didn't matter.

A voice called out from the sleeping area , interrupting her train of thoughts. She followed it , meeting a white old lady in a nun garment with her arms clutching a pink tortilla vase with flowers whose name she didn't care to know

She was getting sick of the colour pink.

"Evening child , judging by the marks on your cheek I presume you had a great sleep"? , the lady tried to joke and smile but her face told a different story.

Her dark grey orbs looked soulless , making her look like a no nonsense woman. The girl's hands immediately went to her cheeks and brushed them. She hadn't noticed them in the bathroom mirror

She hadn't noticed a lot of things. Like the bed on the far left of the room , just next to the one she was sleeping on . It had the same duvets and its matching fluffy pillows , the desk which had books stacked atop each other on it and a glass vase with Lilly's in it.

Everything however , was white.

Her eyes moved above the white bed , taking in the number SIX engraved in silver and she frowned at that while slowly moving back to look around some more only to bump into the figure behind her. She quickly turned and saved the tortilla vase just in time before it met the floor and quickly apologized to the old woman , not sure if it was for this mistake or for completely zoning out and forgetting about her.

"See it as a welcome package" , the lady said moving towards the door , it looked like she was used to this reaction , "oh and dinner will be served soon. We expect everyone to look their best so if you could freshen up and change out of that yeah?" , and with that she was out , leaving the girl confused.

She thought she looked her best today in her orange mini dress. This is the best item she had from all the three outfits she owned.

She placed the vase on her desk and looked around one more time , noticing the vase on the white desk and none on the others.

"One roommate"