The guard opened the gates for me. The surprise on his face and the other maids' was priceless. I only gave them a pursed smile and continued inside the house like a walking dead. I stood in the middle of the vast living room and let my eyes wander as if this was my first time here. It was quiet and dull. The kind of silence that hurts the ears. Dull that even the expensive furniture and vases would never matter. Gold seemed to be a shade of death.
Memories surged expectantly. A tall Christmas tree was set near the stairs in December and right after New Year's Eve, all holiday symbols were gone. Not even the shadow of my parents went home for the entire week. Most times, it lasted for a month or until school. I was alone with the maids as my friends often left the country to spend their
