Chapter 1
It was raining heavily however Celina walked back home. She was drenched and cold when she opened the front door of the humble bungalow she lived in with her mum. She removed her wet sneakers at the door and walked into the living room water dripping on the carpet.
"You are back," her mother said from where she sat down beside the fireplace with a hot cup of ginger tea.
She nodded and smiled despite her tired state. She glanced at the wall clock, it was 10:30 pm. It had taken thirty minutes to walk back from the convenience store she worked as a part-timer during the weekends. She took a very warm shower and dressed up in a brown and white striped set of pajamas and went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of ginger tea.
It surprised her that her mother was at home. She glanced at her mother as she pulled the rocking chair, her favorite chair close to the fireplace and sat down to warm herself up. "Why are you at home this weekend?" she asked suspiciously.
"I am on vacation. One week vacation," her mother stood up with her tea cup after replying her.
That made her even more suspicious. She began slowly rocking herself on the wooden rocking chair. "Did something major happen?" she asked her eyes not leaving her mother's slim slender figure.
Her mother began working in the Stark's mansion since she was a kid as one of the dozens of maids that worked there but this was the first time her mother took a week off except during festive period. It was as though her work distracted her from all the pain she had passed through as a young widow who also lost her son the day her husband died.
It annoyed Celina still but she became familiar with the feelings of being left alone at home most of the time. It was tiring and lonely but she never made it obvious.
"Your uncle," her mother began. That had to be her father's sibling since her mother was an orphan. "He sent a letter two months ago, it only got here yesterday," her mother informed her and picked an envelope from the only book shelf in the little living room. "He wants you to come over to study in his place," she continued giving Celina the letter and returned to her usual spot.
Celina placed the letter on her lap not caring to read it. "I am not going anywhere," she quickly voiced her opinion. She hardly knew much about her uncle and could not consider moving in with someone she hardly knew.
"Liz joined him a year ago," her mother tried to persuade her calmly. "I will work hard here and save enough money to buy you a house over there as soon as you graduate from college."
"Don't bother if I need a house in the future, I will buy it myself," she replied rocking the chair faster to burn down the boiling anger she felt. It sounded like her mother was looking for the easiest way to get rid of her. She had not being much of a mother to her since her brother died but going to the extent of treating her like a burden hurt her really bad.
"It is his responsibility to take care of you. He is sponsoring Liz. His brother died and you need a father."
"No I have you. I don't need anything else." She really wanted to bang her head against the wall to vent her anger. She smiled teasingly. "Are you trying to get rid of me Ms. Gary?" she teased.
Her mother smiled back appearing oblivious to the inner pain she could see in her daughter's honey brown eyes that reflected the burning fire before them. "No, just promise me you will try to live better life when you get there. Make more friends and smile more."
There was no way out of the whole issue. Celina stirred her already cooling cup of ginger tea. She lifted the cup to her lips and drank all up.
"You should leave in four days time."
She glanced at her mother and smiled as bombs upon bombs exploded on her mind.
The D-Day finally like a nightmare she was leaving home to live with a stranger uncle and a cousin she had not seen in a decade. She glanced at reflection in the mirror before and took a deep breath. She encouraged herself to do her best there and return successful, that was the only way she could think of making her mother happy.
She adjusted her golden brown wavy waist length hair and wore her usual forced but beautiful smile showing off a slight dimple on her left cheek.
Her mother as usual didn't bother to see her off but sat down in front of their small TV set watching news. She simply smiled and bid her well before heading out into the world. Her neighbor, a lovely petite woman in her late sixties walked to her smiling broadly. This woman had never seized to check out on her when her mother was at work.
"Take this, buy yourself snacks on the plane," she said making Celina chuckle as she placed a few rolled up bank notes on her hand.
Celina might have never been on a plane but she doubted that they would have to buy snacks on the plane. "They don't . . .," she began to correct the elderly woman.
"Don't refuse it," she woman warned her playfully glaring at her.
"Thank you," she smiled. It took all her will power not to cry. Her mother should be here doing this, making her get all emotional with such a funny goodbye but all she could hear was the raised volume of the TV set.
The drive to the airport was motivating and also the flight. She did not stop chanting the sutra on her mind that she had to return successful to boast to her friends and have a good reason to stop her mother from going to work so that they could spend time together.
The new world she arrived in was more populated than the one she left at home. This was the seat of business and politics of her country. The competition was much but also the opportunities were not less either. She went into a taxi and passed the driver the address of her uncle's house.