I just ranked up the moment a maid called me for lunch.
"Coming!" I turned off the screen and placed my phone on the table.
The foods that were served on the dining table looked so intriguing that I nearly drooled. My sister had just arrived when I sat down to eat.
My hands did not stop from delivering food into my mouth. Ranking up sure did use all of my energy.
Just when I was about to take the last bite, Andrea spoke.
"Amanda, are you visiting mother today?"
"I visit her everyday. Why?"
"I thought of going with you. What time?" She's coming along? No wonder she was so
"Sure. After lunch may be the best time, so we can stay until mother gets her nap."
She nodded in agreement and continued eating. I placed my empty dishes and returned to my room. There was still some time before Andrea finished her food so I chatted with Mia for a bit.
Mia kept telling me how excited she was for time to pass. She was going to marry her beloved fiance when we turn 18, a year after we graduate from high school.
Seriously, she's already so ahead of me thinking about her own future while here I am, not even knowing who my fiance is.
Sigh. The world is just so not fair.
She suddenly had something to do and that was when we ended our conversation. Feeling bored, I looked through the shelf of story books in my study room. A book about high school students caught my eye so I read the initial chapters.
"They start school in spring, how nice." Characters in books I've read so far start their new semester in spring while we start ours in autumn.
Come to think of it, next week is going to be our last week of the semester. We'll be in our second year of high school soon, huh?
"What are you spacing out for? Let's go," my sister's knock on the door jolted me back to reality.
I closed the book in my hands and kept it back to where it was. She closed the door behind me when I left the room. My phone's battery was quite low when I checked so I took a powerbank with me.
"Where is Alice?" I asked but was answered when we reached the car.
"Looks like Miss Andrea is tagging along today?"
Andrea adjusted herself into a position she felt comfortable before replying, "Yeah, felt bad for not paying a visit despite being her daughter."
That sounded like I wasn't mother's daughter. Well, whatever.
We fastened our safety belts as Alice started the engine and off we went, to the hospital.
When we arrived at the hospital, the receptionist recognized me right away and knew which room we were going to. She gave us the keycard and we entered the room with a swipe on the door.
A nurse was helping mother to sit up on the bed. She gazed outside of the window and a smile formed on her face. I was curious as to what she was looking at all these times. My legs moved to the window on its own and I was shocked by what I saw.
There was a vase of roses placed in the center of the plain field, surrounded by withered flower petals.
"Mrs Asia insisted on seeing flowers wither day by day," said the nurse when I asked her about it.
Does mother think she's in some kind of story book where the character dies after the last petal of the flower falls?
"She mentioned about her life ending when the flowers withered," the nurse added.
Why do you think that, mother? Do you really want to leave so badly? Don't go just yet, you still have two daughters waiting for you to heal!
I went back to the room and found her laughing with Andrea. If what the nurse told me was true, will mother really let go of the last string of her life when the flowers outside have withered?
Unable to do anything, all I did was stare until my mother noticed my presence. She signaled me to come closer to her bed so I did.
"Amanda, would you mind listening to what I have to say?"
I hesitated before answering, "That depends." If it's going to be her last words, I won't hear it.
"When I die..." Is she saying her will? Am I going to inherit something from her? Either way, I'm not listening.
I stood up to stop her from saying any more.
"Don't say that, mother. You will live on."
She looked at me and sighed, "I'm telling you this now because I know it won't be long before I breathe my last breath." Her smile faded as she looked down. She wanted to continue but failed when I cut her off again.
"Don't wanna! I'm not listening!"
The stubborn me picked up my things and stomped out of the room. Alice was waiting for me in the car so I went on ahead before my sister caught up to me.
"Miss, where is the other miss?"
"She'll be staying for a while."
Alice seemed to have read my mood and drove me home. I had a feeling that things wouldn't turn out good if I stayed there any longer. Who knew if I would snap out and cause a scene in the hospital?
I lied on my bed after a shower and pulled myself together. Much to my surprise, I was actually crying.
"Ha. At this time?" Have I been holding back my tears all along and just let it out now?
Tears stained my shirt as I continued to sob silently. It wasn't teatime yet so no one should enter my room now unless necessary.
I washed my face in the bathroom after calming myself down. My phone was ringing when I got out so I cleared my throat and went to answer it.
"Hello?" Oh no, does my voice sound hoarse?
There was no response from the other line for a while before the caller spoke, "Did something happen?"
"N-no…?" I quickly grabbed my water bottle and filled my mouth full with water. As expected of Eric, never failed to notice the slightest details.
"Well, let's not talk about this then. Call me back after you've calmed down," he said and ended the call instantly.
Huh? What was it he wanted to talk about? I'm really fine, though.
Since it was him who ended it, I shall let him call again if he really has something to say… or so I thought.
I've been staring at my phone for minutes to hours until the maid came to call me for tea.
"Maybe he's really waiting for me..."
"Who is waiting for you?"