A true friend

"I do understand what you mean, but with me, you can't make any mistakes".

She smiled

"Actually, I can make mistakes with you but it doesn't matter anymore".

I looked at her trying to understand what she meant by her words.

"Well, if I'm being totally honest, I've liked you since I was first assigned to you".

"Huh!? No way!"

I said with my eyes open.

"When Mr. O'Brien called me into his office that day, I was like 'Oh my, she's so beautiful'. I kept looking at you but you didn't look back. At first, I assumed you'd be the rude type then, I saw you walking aimlessly till you hit your head on the door".

After that statement, she began laughing so hard, that it made my face turn red with embarrassment. I didn't even know anyone was looking at me back then.

"I'm... I'm so sorry... I just can't help it. You needed to see your face".

I remember what she was talking about and it sure was giving her a fresh laugh.

"Whatever".

I said as I tried to brush the embarrassment away. I began walking into the walk-in closet that was made for me and she followed me.

"Are you mad at me"?

She asked but I wasn't so I shook my head indicating that I wasn't mad.

"It seems you don't get along with the other maids".

I said while I was glancing through the clothes hanging in front of me.

"Nah, not really. They are not my kind of people".

"So, who are your kind of people"?

"Well, someone I can relate with, someone who understands the diversity of life. I wasn't born a maid so our thinking is different".

I turned around to look at her.

"What do you mean by that? No one was born a maid".

She then looked at me and gave me a bitter smile. I knew there was a story behind it. I always knew she looked nothing like a maid right from the first moment I met her.

"That's not important right now, the fact is, I'm your maid now that's all there is to it".

"I want to know. I want to know what is not so important right now".

I don't know why I kept prying but I just did.

I asked her a couple of times and she finally decided to tell me.

"Well, I have not always had to think about working for a tomorrow. My parents were extremely wealthy before".

She said and I noticed this story was definitely taking a number on her so I led her to the couch in the walk-in closet and we both sat down.

"I had everything I needed, I could live however I wanted. Though we weren't as rich as the O'Brien's, my family was still on par with theirs".

I couldn't believe it, she was a girl who was living so well, what happened, why did she turn out like this?

"I was still in high school back then, I was about to graduate. As a matter of fact, it was my graduation day from high school when I got home and met my father on the floor surrounded with blood all over. I begged for help, but no one listened. No one was ready to help the daughter of a killer".

"What do you mean by that? Someone killed your father, how is that your fault"?

"It was my mother".

As soon as I heard that, my heart skipped a beat and my eyes opened wide.

"Hahaha, are you also scared of me now? Or do I disgust you too"?

"I am not scared or irritated, I am just surprised. I didn't expect that".

"Well, my dad was already drowning in debt. He made the wrong investments and lost all of his money. Gradually, he and my mom began having fallouts and arguments and that was how my world came crumbling down. Haha, you could say I'm a fallen princess".

She said in a sad tone as she tried too hard to mask it but it was still very obvious.

"Well, it was after say... two years? The O'Brien's took me in and helped me. They offered better options like me going back to school or a better job but I didn't want the world to see me so I decided to be a maid instead".

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know all this happened to you".

She smiled.

"It's fine, you were meant to find out sooner or later. Everyone knows and that's why I'm not close to the maids at all".

I nodded showing that I understood. She definitely went through a lot, it made me feel really bad for her.

"Oh don't look at me like that".

"Huh? How am I looking at you"?

I asked

"With pity".

She said, but I didn't pity her, I just felt bad for her. Regardless, I now knew why she was the way she was and even though I had no power or authority, I really wanted to help her.

I stood up and went back to my clothes search. Without looking at her, I asked

"So... do you want to be friends"?

Kanada looked at Nadia and for the first time since all of these happened, someone was willing to be her friend first. It may seem unimportant, but this meant a lot to Kanada.

Nadia was waiting for her response but got nothing so she turned only to find Kanada crying.

"Hey, what's wrong"?

I rushed towards her and asked.

"Do you... do you really mean it"?

I looked at her surprised. I didn't know she was one to cry so easily but then again, she probably had no friends for the longest time.

I then smiled at her and nodded and out of nowhere, she hugged me still crying.

"It's okay. You'll be fine".

Kanada had a pretty rough life both in and out of the O'Brien's home. The O'Brien's never treated her badly, as a matter of fact, if not for them, she'd probably have killed herself a long time ago but now, it wasn't the same. This time around, it actually felt like she had someone she could talk to, someone who would understand her.

For the first time in ten years, it felt like she had a friend.