Sage Rage

The clock struck 2 am in the morning. A girl could be seen moving around in a building surrounded by trees, closing windows that had been left open by her relatives. Rain was pouring hard outside, and she couldn't help but wonder how her family could sleep through it. Exhausted from running around, she dragged her feet up the steps leading to the attic.

Inside the small attic, there was a small bed against the wall with a little stool next to it. On the other side of the room, there was a pile of cartons, making the room look even smaller.

She looked around the room and thought, 'No matter how long I've lived here, I can't really call it home.'

Since she moved into this house, life has been really difficult for her. Every day, she tries to do what is expected of her, not what she really wants. Life wasn't always like this for her until the death of her parents. Even then, life was bearable with her uncle Erik around. She moved in with him after the death of her parents, and he never failed to treat her like his daughter. But he had also died a couple of years back.

She was left with his family, and they never ceased to blame her for his death. She was then moved to the attic with all her belongings.

Lying on the bed to rest, she was reminded of how uncomfortable the bed was as it creaked as if to complain about her weight, but it was better than nothing. She laid down and shut her mind from all the memories running through it.

---

"Sage, Sage, Sage." Sage flinched as her name was called loudly, making her fall off the bed and land on her right hip.

"Sage," Ericka said, making Sage panic.

Usually, Sage would be awake before anyone in the house; it had become a normal thing for her. So she couldn't help but panic when Ericka called her.

She quickly ran down the stairs to meet her caller, feeling the more time she wasted, the angrier Ericka would become.

Ericka was a woman that Sage had seen smile a few times, and that was when her husband was alive. Her eyes were always squinted like it was difficult for her to see, adding to the features that made her scary.

"Where is my breakfast?" Ericka questioned. Sage was about to remind her she was an hour early from her usual wake-up time but bit her lips together. She knew Ericka was aware of the time, so she kept quiet.

"I'm sorry, ma," Sage apologized with her head bowed.

"Why are you still here? Go get me something to eat," Ericka barked, causing Sage to lean back a little.

'Sometimes I feel like she could eat me raw, even with just her gaze,' Sage thought.

Looking at the duo, one would think the relationship between them was master and slave, but in truth, they were relatives, and a close one at that.

---

"Ma, your breakfast is all set," Sage said, not minding the fact that Ericka was on a call.

"I'll have my breakfast in my office," she said after placing her hand at the end of the telephone.

"Okay, ma," Sage replied before leaving.

"Ericka, this is big, we can't lose it," a male voice was heard at the other end of the call. Setting the breakfast down carefully, Sage quickly walked out of the room.

Ericka had changed her name from Kate after getting married to Sage's uncle, Erik, but when Erik was alive, he still called her Kate; he never got used to the whole Ericka thing.

Sage went back to the kitchen, trying to make breakfast for her cousins because she didn't have the energy to put up with their crap today. Singing, she sluggishly made them waffles like they requested.

After a while, two blonde females could be seen walking side by side as they approached the kitchen counter. They were so identical it was difficult to tell them apart.

"What is this?" one of the twins asked while the other looked at her plate with disgust. Most times, Sage would wonder if they just woke up bored and made plans on how to make her life miserable.

She looked at Clara, who was the meanest, and she was the one to always annoy her first.

"Did you have part of your memory erased, or are you blind?" Sage questioned, still staring at June. Within a few seconds, Clara pulled Sage's hair while June took her feet in her hands so that Sage was midair. No matter how many times she told them to let her go, they didn't listen; they just kept yanking harder. 'I should have ignored them,' Sage thought regretfully.

"Stop that this minute," Ericka seemed to have witnessed the whole chaos.

The twins froze on hearing their mother's sharp voice; they let go of Sage suddenly, and she landed on her back.

"Mother," June called out.

"What is going on here?" Ericka questioned. 'Is it just me, or is everyone going blind?'

"This witch gave us poison for breakfast," June said, pointing accusing fingers at Sage, "and she also insulted Clara."

"That's not true, Er—"

Sage paused for a moment, realizing the costly mistake she almost made. She was about to call Ericka by her first name instead of referring to her as 'Ma'am, but the mistake was already done, the words had slipped out.

Ericka crouched, and now she was on the same level with Sage, who had unconsciously knelt down, looking at Ericka with pleading eyes.

'If there was anyone in the room who had a witch vibe, it was definitely Ericka,' Sage couldn't help but think, a shiver sent down her spine from looking into Ericka's eyes.

"You are the reason why my husband is no more, and now you want to kill my children? You insult them and dare to lay your filthy hands on them."

Looking at Ericka, it was difficult to read the expression on her face, as always; they were stiff and emotionless.

"Lay my hands on them? I didn't—"

Sage tried to defend herself before she was cut off by Ericka. 'She's twisting the already twisted story. Well, it's not going to be the first twisted, twisted story.'

"You call me by my first name." Sage would've loved to defend herself until she was satisfied, but she knew not to. They've always treated her this way.

"Clean this mess," Ericka said.

"What mess?" Sage asked. As if to answer her question, she heard a loud shatter followed by giggles from the twins. Looking behind her from where the sound was made, she saw the plates she used to serve the twins breakfast broken into pieces.

'This is not funny in any way,' she thought to herself as they walked out of the kitchen.

Running into the attic, Sage soon broke down. She had done everything possible not to cry in front of them; the harassment was becoming unbearable for her, and she wondered if she could be strong enough until she would leave. It was clear to her that she wasn't welcomed.

"I didn't kill her husband; why does she always bring it up? I could never do a thing like that," Sage shouted at the top of her lungs, knowing that Ericka wouldn't hear her as she had left for work.

"I was still little when Erik's corpse was brought home, but you keep blaming me for his death. I've lost both my parents, and you've never shown any form of sympathy," Sage continued, pouring out her heart to an imaginary Ericka.

---

While Sage was busy cleaning up the broken plates, the twins quickly dashed out of the house, having an idea of what they were about to do. She dropped the broken pieces into the kitchen sink and ran after them. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough to catch up to them; she heard the car engine roar to life. Getting to the door and standing outside, she saw the car pull out of the garage. Clara, who was behind the steering wheel, brought out her arm and raised her middle finger to a sulking Sage.

Sage always drove the twins to school, so this action of theirs was not expected.

Left without a choice, Sage walked into the garage. She stared at the old, rickety car.

Taking the key off a shelf, she got in and drove off.

Three reasons why she wasn't happy with this vehicle: one, the first and the last time she took it to school, they wouldn't stop making fun of her; two, it moved like it had hiccups; three, it smelled really bad.