章 13: Day Off
That day the sky was so dark, it looked like heavy rain was about to pour down on the city. A girl sat on her porch looking at her yard. The yard was dirty and muddy.
The cold wind was blowing quite strongly, making the girl feel a little cold. Her stomach also felt very hungry, since she hadn't eaten anything since this morning. There was no food in the house, and she had to wait for her father to return with some food that she might not be able to get that day.
She could only hug her legs tightly, hoping that her father would return with a piece of bread even if he had to share it with her younger siblings.
Since birth, she has lived in poverty. To eat once a day is very difficult, even to sleep they still feel cold every night because their house has many holes everywhere.
They live in an area that is slum and not maintained at all. The government has never once provided any assistance to them. Even though they had hoped for just a piece of bread.
'So hungry... I hope father comes back with something soon. If not, we definitely won't eat anything today...' she thought with a look in her eyes that depicted the pain of hunger she was feeling right now.
Not long after, a woman came from inside the house carrying a boy and called out to her sitting daughter.
"Amanda.. Amanda."
******
"Amanda!"
ALERT
Amanda's eyes opened wide as she was fast asleep on her bed. The first thing she saw was a fat woman looking at her worriedly.
"Amanda? Amanda... Are you okay?" the woman asked, holding Amanda's arm.
"Camille? Uhh... Yes, I'm fine. You scared me," Amanda replied trying to sit herself on the bed.
"You scared me! I've been calling you since two hours ago but there was no answer from you. I had to use the spare key to get inside! I was worried something had happened to you..." Camille explained.
Amanda was silent for a moment, trying to wake up her half-awake self. She glanced at the clock on the wall and it was already ten in the morning. No wonder Camille was worried, usually at six in the morning Amanda was up and watering the plants in front of her house.
"I overslept..." she muttered under her breath.
"You're okay, right? Are you too tired to fall asleep at this hour?" Camille gently rubbed Amanda's head out of concern.
She explained that she was very tired yesterday because there were so many customers coming to the cafe.
"I see. Don't let yourself get tired, it's not good for your baby. Your womb is still weak..."
"Yes, thank you for telling me. But there's no other choice because it's my only job." Amanda replied getting off the bed. "Then I'll take a quick shower," she continued.
"Okay."
After fifteen minutes, Amanda was done with her shower and changed her clothes. She followed Camille into the kitchen, where Camille was washing the vegetables that would be used for cooking.
Seeing Amanda ready, Camille began to instruct Amanda on what to do. The woman began to cut the vegetables and meat that had been cleaned earlier and began to process them into food.
Camille said that Amanda herself had to remember and taste every time the seasoning was put in, whether it was right with her tongue or not. Amanda nodded and followed every instruction Camille gave.
While cooking, they talked about several things. Camille asked about Amanda's pregnancy at that time.
"How many weeks pregnant are you?" she asked.
"Hmn... I think it's about 9 weeks since I tested positive for pregnancy..." Amanda replied.
"Have you had it checked at the hospital? For a pregnancy in the eighth month, you should see a doctor."
Amanda said that she just found out about it, she didn't have time to go to the hospital when she was 8 weeks pregnant because she had to work.
"Then go to the hospital later, you have to check your pregnancy. Do you want me to accompany you?"
"Hmn? I don't think it's necessary. I can go to the hospital myself to do it."
There were many things Amanda didn't know that were important to do. She had to ask Camille who was more experienced in these matters. Amanda didn't want anything to happen to her baby.
'Maybe next week I'll get another day off, I'll go to the gynecologist to check on my baby,' she thought at the time.
The two of them continued to chat while cooking, making them enjoy their cooking activity so much. Amanda was so happy because Camille patiently taught her, even Camille's relaxed way of talking made Amanda not feel panicked when she made mistakes.
Before long, the dish was finished. The beef, broccoli and carrot-based dishes look so delicious to eat. Amanda, who hadn't had time for breakfast, was hungry as soon as she saw the results of her own cooking. But she wasn't sure if it would taste as good as it looked.
"Uhumn~ It looks really delicious. You're learning fast, Amanda," Camille said proudly.
"But I'm not sure if the results will be as good as they look... What if it turns out badly?"
"We won't know until we try it." Camille picked up her fork and tasted Amanda's food on her plate.
Amanda frowned and looked at Camille worriedly, whether her cooking was good or not. Camille said nothing after she ate the piece of meat. That made Amanda even more worried and doubtful about the results of her cooking.
"Mnn... I guess I didn't--"
"This is delicious! Very good!" Camille said with a proud smile.
"R-really? No need to lie just to cheer me up."
Camille said she didn't say that to comfort Amanda, so she picked up a piece of meat with a fork and shoved it into Amanda's mouth. At first Amanda was hesitant to try it, but eventually she opened her mouth and ate her own cooking.
To her surprise, it was indeed delicious. The meat was so tender and the marinade seeped into the meat. Amanda couldn't believe that she made the food.
"Isn't it delicious? You're really talented, Amanda. I'm happy for you."
"This is all because of your help, Camille. You directed me to cook this meal. I couldn't have done it without you..." Amanda said. "Thank you."
The two smiled and ate their meal of the day. They talked to each other again, everything was so normal until Camille asked Amanda something unusual.
"Amanda... I know it's rude of me to ask, but can I ask you something?"
"Sure, just ask..."
"If I may know, where is the father of your baby? Is he dead or did he run away?" asked Camille cautiously.
Amanda was a little surprised by Camille's sudden question. She knew that sooner or later someone else would ask her about this. Feeling that Camille had helped her a lot, Amanda opened up by telling her about William.
"Actually... His father is still alive. He didn't run away or throw us away. He just... Didn't know about this child. I... Hid it from him and went off to raise it myself..." Amanda explained.
"Did he treat you so badly that you were afraid to tell him about the child?" asked Camille worriedly.
Amanda smiled and shook her head. "He was... A good man. Very smart and... Very responsible. It's just... I don't want to ruin his dreams with this child. That's why I decided to leave him..."
Camille who heard that felt very sorry, she did not expect Amanda to be such a strong woman to make such a tough decision just for the man she loved.
The woman touched Amanda's hand and looked at her with a gentle gaze. "You're amazing... You let him go because you loved him so much, didn't you? That's the greatest form of love. Letting go of someone you love for their happiness. You're so great, Amanda."
Amanda's blue eyes stared fixedly at Camille's black eyes looking back at her. She felt like someone understood her feelings.
What the woman said was true, she loved William so much even though he never loved her. She was even willing to do anything, as long as William would be happy later. All for the good of William and the dream she had for so long.
Amanda's tears flowed and her head bowed, she didn't want Camille to see her face. At that time she really felt that she needed someone's support with the decision she had made. Then Camille gave it to her, Amanda felt so touched that it made her cry.
"Thank you."
"Never mind... No need to cry." Camille hugged Amanda like she was hugging her own daughter.
Even though Amanda was far away from her family, she felt like her family was here with her.
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