At the orphanage
The entire kitchen had burnt down and there was almost nothing left except for the lady whose arms were firmly wrapped around the two kids.
Seeing this, the ladies who were restricting Mia freed her at once.
“Oh Aunty, I thought I would die there. Thank you for saving us” the little girl who survived the fire incident ran out of the kitchen to embrace one of the ladies that stood outside in amazement.
The lady inside the fire was coughing along with the two kids who had survived the fire. They didn’t last longer as they passed out.
The fire department had arrived and they came to quench the remaining fire while the victims were rushed to the hospital. Mia isolated herself and went into her room, shutting the door behind her.
The ladies who were restricting her earlier began to feel guilty as one of them tried to go and appease Mia but she didn’t open the door for anyone.
Mia was drowned in her thought, she began to feel like anywhere she goes, something bad will definitely follow even if she tried her best to save everyone that was in trouble she still felt like she was the cause of their predicaments.
Too much thinking wasn’t good for Mia, she immediately fell into a deep sleep, trying to forget her negative thoughts.
Lakshmi’s POV
At Lakshmi’s house
I don’t know if it was because I overheard my parents’ argument last night that made me feel my parents weren’t good at hiding their differences from their child.
They were totally avoiding each other, well my mum was the one avoiding my dad, breakfast didn’t even settle well with me as the whole scene they were displaying was quite disturbing to me.
“I’m off to school now” I dropped my spoon, barely touching my food. I just didn’t have the appetite.
“But darling you haven’t finished your food yet” my mum tried to stop me but she had the wrong timing , I was already at the door and the driver was waiting for me. I hopped into the backseat of the vehicle as he began to drive.
I stopped at Mia’s orphanage home to pick her up so we could go to school together. It had become a habit I didn’t want to drop.
Mia and I were both lost in our own thoughts that we didn’t even pay attention to the deadly silence on the way to school or to the fact that none of us was looking at the other person. We were both staring out the opposite windows in the backseat of the vehicle.
“We are her ma’am” my driver had to draw my attention and Mia also came to reality. We both picked up our school bags and headed for our classrooms.
I could barely pay attention to anything that was taught in class.
“Other husbands have been faithful to their wives that is what they have done that you haven’t. They don’t cheat on their wives that is what you do that they don’t” that was the only thing that I heard playing in my head over and over again.
My mum’s voice was like a recording in my brain, only that I couldn’t stop this record from playing.
“You are also lost in thoughts. What is it?” Mia asked me as she focused on my food instead of my face as she sat opposite me in the canteen.
I took a deep breath and looked at her, she wasn’t even focused on the conversation herself.
“Mia, are you even present minded?” I asked Mia who was paying all of her attention to a water bottle, she was gently spinning it in her right hand with the help of her fingers.
“Yes I am, so tell me what the problem is” she spoke softly and slowly but she didn’t take her hands and eyes off the very small water bottle.
“It’s my parents” I paused to see her reaction but she was just silent and waited for what I would say next, her face didn’t display any sort of emotion.
“I’m listening” Mia looked at me for a while before she quickly took her eyes off me after she had noticed my unnecessary prolonged silence.
“They are fighting with each other and I don’t know why. My mum is so upset that she doesn’t even want to stand or sit close to him. She doesn’t even want to walk on the same tiles he stepped on” I know I was blowing the thing a bit out of proportion with my last statement but that was how the whole thing was playing in my head.
“Research has shown that every couple has disagreements from time to time. It is a normal occurrence so I don’t see it as something big. It is not worth being worried about” Mia was correct but the way she was talking as if she was selecting her words didn’t really bring out the emotions needed in that statement, it didn’t sound too convincing but I managed to get her point yet I still chose to worry.
“Mia, I don’t think you would understand what it means to see your own parents argue like that” I immediately regretted my last sentence when Mia looked at me and I could see that I had triggered something in her, something that I wasn’t meant to trigger but she focused on the water bottle again.
“Because I don’t have parents anymore?” Mia shrugged.
“No Mia, I just had a slip of tongue, please forgive me.” I begged her and she continued the conversation.
“What did you hear in the argument that drew your attention the most?” Mia dropped the water bottle and placed her hand in between her lap while she moved back and forth on the chair.
“My mum accused my dad of cheating on her Mia” I whispered.
“So he stole her money or perhaps rubbed her of something?” Mia tilted her head towards her left and as usual I used my hand to support her head.
“No Mia, it means that she is accusing him of being with another woman that is not her” I tried to explain to the best of my knowledge.
“What do you think? Do you think that your dad could do such a thing to your mum and if yes what’s your reason ?” Mia was asking me and it felt like an interview but I knew I was still going to answer her questions anyway.
“Honestly Mia I don’t know what to think because although I am my dad’s daughter, I don’t even know who he is. He spends so much time at work that I cannot tell what he likes and dislikes and the same thing goes for my mum. I don’t know my parents” I was so distorted and heart broken.
” You have to talk to your parents. That is the only solution to the problem you are facing right now. Communication clears a lot of misunderstanding between humans’ ‘ Mia was trying to advise me.
“I really don’t know about that Mia, I can’t just walk up to my parents and ask them the reason why they are fighting. It just isn’t..” I was thinking of the right word or phrase to complete my sentence but Mia beat me to it.
” It isn’t normal human behavior?” She asked and I nodded my head, signifying a yes.