C2 A Different Kind of Hell

'WHAT KIND OF SIN DID I COMMIT TO DESERVE THIS?'

Kana Matthews grips the mirror hard, her eyes shaping like iced marbles. She grits her teeth at the sight. No way. There's no way this is true, right?

She looked like a dog! Like that character in that animated show she used to watch when she was a kid. Her fingers twitched and trembled as her breathing became labored.

She moves her hand towards her face, touches it, and finds her skin unblemished and fair. Her nose is pointed but small, and her eyes.. her eyes held a different color to the ones she had before her death. They weren't emerald but blue like frost, reminding her of winter. Her hair is long and is sporting a beautiful auburn.

She was Kana Matthews. But the mirror didn't reflect that person. More than that, is she even a person?

One of her fingers poked the black dog ears on her head. Then, she pokes again. And again. And finally holds it between her fingers.

'Fluffy! So fluffy!!' She delighted, her eyes drowned in guilty pleasure. She kept stroking it and petting her own ears when the thing stuck to her butt wagged.

She glances at it and an urge to pet it comes over her. She is about to indulge in that urge when she hears footsteps drawing near.

'Finally,' she thought, 'someone to ask about this place!'

The wide wooden doors opened to reveal three women in what looked like black and white maid outfits. Not just the plain outfits, but clothings that have been embellished with ruffles and a pretty design.

And for a while, Kana wonders to herself if this is all a cosplay. Then, does that mean her ears and tail are also fake?

Without a warning, she quickly pulled her soft tail. But what followed isn't a sham because Kana screamed loud in tender pain as her bottom began to swell.

"Young lady, what are you doing?" One of the maids remarked as she walked closer to carefully pick Kana up and away from the mirror. She had her arms already stretched but before her hands could even reach the tearful child, the maid suddenly propped in the air and landed on the marble floor.

She was kicked from behind.

The other servants dispersed as a figure loomed near Kana and when she brushed the rain from her cloudy eyes, she saw a woman of deep auburn curls stare down at her.

Kana sniffles.

The woman also had dog ears as did the servants.

Then as if she was hit by a thundering quake, Kana's small body was raised in the air until it crashed on the wall. A strong knot formed itself inside her stomach as her body lied helpless on the floor, salt water trailing down her cheeks.

She coughed, and crimson liquid squirted out of her mouth. Kana's face is buried in the carpet while her hands are tangled around her stomach. Her breathing is ragged and weak.

The woman who kicked her dragged her sharp heels on the floor. She leaned, then sat beside the groaning child. Her long fingers gripped a handful of Kana's hair, lifting her face close to her.

"Who gave you the right to disturb me?" The woman's voice is weak but it's enough to send chills across the child's spine. And all of a sudden, it's harder to breathe. A fire seemed to have ignited Kana's throat, her veins constricting. She glares at the woman's brown eyes, then feels long, slender fingers wrap themselves around her small neck.

"You filthy child!"

Kana could feel her consciousness slowly slip away. She had just died and when she woke up to a new life, she was going to die again. How unfortunate. What kind of god did she offend to make her suffer like this?

She couldn't take it anymore, seconds felt like eternity. Any more and the whites on her eyes will possess them. Then, at that moment, the woman loosened her clutch.

Kana dropped to the ground, coughing and heaving. 'This crazy bitch!', she called out internally. She almost died! Again. And she didn't even have the chance to explore her situation.

She looked up at the woman but the person who almost murdered her showed no remorse, her eyes indifferent and cold. Unlike her, Kana's frost marbles were warm with emotion.

The woman didn't like that look.

She raises her hand and runs it across the child's right cheek, creating a crisp sound in the air. She slapped her again, and again, and again, and again that her palm tingled when she stopped.

Kana lied on the floor, limp as a noodle. Her face ashen and defeated. She can't even move a muscle and all she felt was her cheeks burn and her stomach throb.

What just happened?

First, she wakes up to the body of a child. Second, she finds dog ears and a tail attached to her. The next she is being beaten by a grown and crazed woman as other people silently witness her torment.

The woman stood up, "Get out and don't come in here unless I tell you to. Touch this child and I won't hesitate to skin you alive."

Kana watched the servants' feet shake, but all of them scurried off the place after a second. The woman followed behind. She pulls something out of her dress. She closes the door and Kana hears the woman lock it.

'What the hell?' She thought, but no voice came out of her mouth. She groaned, feeling like hell. If this is her new life and she is going to be abused by that woman for the rest of it, then Kana didn't want it.

She had never experienced such whooping. Sure, her mother had hit her once or twice but Kana knew she deserved it. She was the only child and was a black sheep at that. So, how could she complain about being slapped every now and then?

But this time, she didn't do anything to merit that kind of torment. Maybe that woman is just out of her mind. Or maybe Kana isn't supposed to live at all.

She ponders on that for a while, and plans to seek answers to her problem. However, before she can put that into action, her eyes gave up on her as she drifted off to sleep.