"It's always like this! You're terrible at your job. What do you expect, huh? You want to bankrupt my restaurant?!"
A middle-aged woman's scream broke the silence of the afternoon. The street seemed quiet, and not many people were passing by.
The small restaurant in the middle of the alley was almost empty, there was only one customer in the corner who glanced briefly when the loud noise broke the silence.
The owner's old face turned red. As she put his hands on his hips, she glared sharply. The ponytailed woman in front of him was indifferent. She put both hands behind her back and lowered her head deeply. It wasn't fear that radiated from her face, but rather, she was holding back laughter.
Kalina had been reprimanded like this many times, not only by the boss at the small restaurant but in various places. Her sometimes careless work made her often change jobs.
As if being toyed with, the middle-aged woman became emotional.
"Kalina! What are you thinking?! You think breaking glasses and plates every day, do you think that doesn't make me lose out?"
"You can't work here anymore. Today, I'm firing you! You have no manners at all, you should... think when someone is reprimanding you, not mocking them."
The sacred mantra was uttered, the anger of the plump woman there could no longer be contained. She snorted harshly while throwing several bills at Kalina.
"People like you will never develop. Don't dream of becoming someone great!" she sarcastically left Kalina alone.
The silence felt suffocating as if various problems in life came one after another. Nothing could defeat the bitterness of the soul other than the fate being faced.
Kalina bent down to grab the few bills and left the small restaurant where she had worked for the past three months.
Her feet walked down the small alley. There were many shops selling various foods and drinks. She snorted harshly, lifting one of the bills given by the restaurant owner.
"Who does she think... she is?! Talking like that! Luckily I didn't destroy the restaurant at once. You're stingy, just fixing the leaking roof is a waste of money!"
"She kept complaining, I broke the glass, that's it. What is there to be proud of with that?"
"Argh!" Kalina shouted, venting her frustration. "I'm upset," she continued.
After she had vented her anger, her eyes were fixed on the sky which was slowly turning red.
"Ah~ the sunset is so beautiful," Kalina muttered as if the sunset was caressing her tired feelings.
The simple appearance, far from luxurious, attracted the attention of passersby. Some of them looked in surprise when they saw Kalina standing in the middle of the road.
Kalina didn't care at all, as long as she could find a morsel of rice, she would do anything. She didn't care about appearance, for her as long as what she wore was comfortable and clean, that was more than enough.
***
Night greeted, Kalina arrived at her residence, a slum with walls full of graffiti and a leaky roof where she had taken shelter all this time.
Slum and cramped, the apartment was still a place to come home to. Behind its cracked walls, Kalina gathered strength to face an uncertain tomorrow.
Kalina lives alone. Her mother left her when she was a toddler, while her father remarried and left her alone.
For years she lived relying on herself. No relatives to share her hardships with made her have to be strong and survive.
She didn't know where her mother went, or where her father was now, all Kalina knew was that the world never gave her a choice, except to continue to survive, alone.
Plus the many debts they left behind gave her an even greater burden. Kalina had to work from one place to another to cover the debts that continued to grow.
However, no matter how hard she looked for money, her income was still not enough to cover the debts and finance her life.
You stopped when you found a man standing in front of the entrance.
"Damn! The loan shark came again," she muttered, surprised.
"Oh, you remembered to come home. You're already two months in arrears. How long are you going to play cat and mouse like this? If you can't pay your debt, then we'll be forced to take over the place," said the loan shark when we found out about Kalina's return.
Kalina shook her head quickly, asking the loan shark to give her more time. However, as if she didn't believe it, the man continued to threaten her.
As a result, Kalina got a hard slap on the cheek, and with a harsh snort, the man walked away.
"Damn it! It really hurts, life is annoying," she muttered and went inside.
"I'm tired."
Kalina threw herself onto the folding mattress that was spread out in the living room. The place wasn't big, it only consisted of one room connected to the kitchen and bathroom, like a boarding house.
In addition to the cheap rent, the place was quite comfortable to live in, although sometimes you had to hear loud noises from here and there.
"I don't want to take a shower. Dad, Mom, why did you have the heart to leave so many burdens on me?" she began to ramble as sleepiness attacked.
Not long after that the subconscious greeted, Kalina fell asleep like someone who had fainted.
"No! Don't, I beg you... don't keep hurting me."
"I can't do it. I beg you... don't treat me like this."
"What did I do wrong? Why are you treating me this cruelly?"
"What's wrong? Wh-why did you lie to me."
"I can't take it anymore!"
Kalina opened her eyes with gasps, sweat flooding her temples, her heartbeat pounding erratically circulating blood throughout her body.
She sat in bed, looking around in the still pitch-black darkness. After arriving earlier, she forgot to turn on the lamp and just fell asleep.
"Damn! Why do I keep dreaming of the same thing? Who is she? Who is that woman who keeps being tortured?" Kalina muttered, rubbing her face in frustration.
"I can't believe it! This is the fifth time I've dreamed of that woman, the template is the same over and over again."
"This makes me so confused," she muttered incoherently. "Who is she?"
"Moreover-" Kalina hung up her own words, a pair of caramel-lensed beads opened wide, "in the dream earlier, the woman... tried to end her life. Who is she? Who am I dreaming about over and over again?"
Fear began to take over, Kalina couldn't sleep anymore because she didn't want to dream about the same thing over and over again. Until morning came she stayed awake.
After losing one job since yesterday afternoon, today Kalina tried to find other fortunes.
From one place to another, she continued to look for people who wanted to employ her. However, it was a shame that they didn't give her that opportunity.
Even worse, Kalina received unpleasant comments about her appearance from one of the clothing store employees.
"You bum, don't ever apply to our store again. What would the customers say if someone like you worked in this boutique? Very disgusting."
The sad words came to mind, Kalina who didn't sleep well last night felt empty and hollow.
She stopped in the middle of the road, looking up at the sky this afternoon.
"How nice it is to shine up there, not having to be burdened with these annoying life problems."
"Ah~ if only I could disappear from this damn world," she muttered, clenching her fists tightly.
Kalina walked limply, walking along the sidewalk while continuing to look up. The hustle and bustle of the capital accompanied her solitude.
Her voice faded away, replaced by silence, the great burden she had been carrying all this time had left a gaping wound in her heart.
She continued walking aimlessly and ignoring people. Not long after, without realizing it, Kalina fell into the subway tracks, and her head landed first.
Instantly, the throbbing pain when falling from a height of approximately four meters made her hesitate. Some people around her screamed hysterically, called an ambulance, and flocked to her.
Her head was bleeding profusely, consciousness slowly disappeared, replaced by throbbing pain.
"Ah, it seems like God has granted my request. Finally, I don't have to carry this burden anymore."
After muttering in her mind, Kalina's consciousness disappeared and darkness completely took over.
***
The sound of the heart monitor sounded heartbreaking, and the smell of disinfectant wafted awakening her consciousness. Slowly her eyes opened wide, she smiled bitterly when she realized she was still in the world.
Foreign, is one word that could describe her surroundings. She got up from lying down seeing the very different surroundings.
"What is this? Why am I still in the world?" her mind, bitter.
"Where is this?"
A completely unfamiliar hoarse voice jolted her consciousness. She paused for a moment trying to respond to what was happening.
Fear suddenly haunted her, her eyeballs wandered looking for something that could reflect anything.
Luckily on the nightstand next to the bed, there was a mirror lying. She grabbed it quickly and immediately looked in the mirror with a trembling body.
At that moment her heart seemed to stop beating, her mind was dead, unable to respond to what she was seeing now.
"W-what is this? Who is she? Why is my face like this? What the heck?!"
Kalina screamed hysterically, shaking off the silence of the early morning.