2 My Mom

"My baby, how are you feeling?" asked the woman once she stepped into the room.

Evelyn turned her head to face her mother.

She could never get tired at the sight of the petite woman. She wished she could be by Amelia's side forever. Letting go of the warmth that Amelia emitted left behind a hollow in her chest.

More than that, she was afraid that once she let go of her mother, she would never be able to come in contact with the warmth again.

The days in the orphanage were cold. No one liked her no matter what she did. At first, she tried her hardest to gain their approval, but later on, in a cruel manner, she learned that she wasn't the same as others.

She couldn't fit in the same circle as them.

They pointed fingers and laughed at her while calling her retarded.

She thought she would be forever subjected to that malice.

Having someone hold this never-ending love for her felt like a luxury. Evelyn felt greedy and didn't want to let go of it. That's why, she will protect it to her best— her source of warmth.

"Terrible," Evelyn mumbled.

A pout formed on her face. Her cheeks puffed up.

Then, she pushed her body to sit up on the bed. She extended her hand and acted spoiled by asking, "Hug?"

Finding her baby to be adorable, Amelia laughed before wrapping her hands around her baby and picking her up. A smile formed on Evelyn's face as she leaned her head against her mother's shoulder.

She brought the child over to living room before asking, "What does my baby want to eat?"

"Hot chocolate," Evelyn responded. Her voice came out muffled.

Hot chocolate.

It was because of this she had been locked in the attic by the director. She was asked to bring hot chocolate to one of the girls in the orphanage.

The smell of the drink was tempting to her. It was perfectly warm for a snowy day. This tempted her. She couldn't recall the taste of the drink. The curiosity filled her, and she took a small sip, telling to herself that no one would catch her.

The burst of flavor on her tongue then couldn't be put into words. It was delicious. It made her mouth water for more.

But that happiness didn't last for long.

She was seen by the girl. Displeased, the girl grabbed the mug of hot chocolate from her hand and threw it on the floor. The content splashed everywhere. She got mad and threw a tantrum.

The director got angry at Evelyn due to it, and he was punished.

"Hot chocolate, hmm. Isn't today a perfect day for it? I will make you some."

With that, her mom placed her down on the couch and turned on the television. Animated cartoon played on the screen. Evelyn found them to be childish.

Upon seeing how her mom was about to walk away, Evelyn's hand instinctively reached out for her dress. She held on to the hem on it. This made her mom stop and stare back at Evelyn.

"I want to be with you," Evelyn softly confessed.

Amelia looked at her daughter's pleading eyes. This made her melt from the cuteness. She lifted the five year old up and brought her to the kitchen. After that, she placed her child on the countertop.

Evelyn stared at her mom intently as she worked. Often, she would look back and flash smiles at Evelyn. Her mother had the most beautiful smile. This made her smile as well instinctively.

Once her mother was done preparing the hot chocolate, she brought her over to the living room. She then placed Evelyn beside her as both of them watched the television. Animated cartoon played on the screen.

Evelyn took a sip out of the hot chocolate.

Her eyes widened. It was sweet. It tasted better than the one she sneakily took a sip of in the orphanage. She never had anything more delicious than this hot chocolate.

And it was warm.

A bright smile formed on her face.

Amelia asked, "Is it that good?"

Evelyn enthusiastically nodded head.

Too good that she again wondered whether or not this was the reality.

Once she was done drinking down the hot chocolate of the whole mug, she flashed her mother a satisfied grin. Her mother took out a tissue from the box in order to wipe her mouth.

Then, Evelyn asked, "Mom, can I get a calendar?"

"A calendar? Why all of a sudden? You don't even understand the dates."

Evelyn's expression fell at that. Her gaze lowered, and a pout formed on her face. In a disappointed tone, she softly asked, "So, I can't get one?"

Amelia had always been weak to Evelyn.

There was no way she would be able to refuse when her daughter asked for a simple calendar while staring at her with those innocent doe eyes pleadingly.

Amelia ruffled her daughter's hair.

"Of course, my baby can have everything she wants."

°°°

Evelyn sat on the blue plastic chair. On the small sized matching blue table in front of her was a calendar. Creases appeared on her forehead when she noticed how small the calendar was.

On top of that, it was decorated with cartoon cats and strawberries.

She crinkled up her nose adorably.

This was a little too childish and inefficient.

But she had to make do with it.

Although not all the incidents were clear in her mind, she planned to mark down all she could figure out on the calendar in order to take actions. Also, maybe because she had the memory of a child, she was slowly starting to forget the occurrences in the plotline.

First was the day her mother died.

On the day of her mom's death, she was preparing for mother's day at the school. Reaching for her school schedule, she went through it and read the activities mentioned.

She smiled when she found it.

Although she didn't know the specific date, she narrowed it down to three days. She marked it on her calendar and wrote 'mom' clumsily. Evelyn frowned when she found it hard to balance and control the pen with her small hand and chubby fingers.

How troublesome!

That hardly provided her with any assurance.

Her mother's death was a pre-planned murder. This meant even if she managed to stop this, they would return. And her mother would dismiss it as absurdity if she confessed about her situation. Also, even if the woman knew, powerless as she was, how would she be able to defend herself?

Therefore, she needed to get someone to protect her mother.

When the nanny came, she saw little Evelyn leaning on her table while staring at the calendar with her utmost concentration as though trying to figure out something. A small pout formed on her face.

"Evelyn, come on, you can play later. You must be hungry," the nanny spoke.

This broke Evelyn's train of thoughts, and she looked at her nanny. Evelyn wanted to carry on with her planning, but having the body of a child was troublesome.

Her stomach growled at the mention of food.

She was hungry and unable to carry on until she satiated her.