9

Exhausting day. Tera and her mother got off the plane slowly. Her eyes looked around, seeing the situation that Tera thought was still the same as a week ago. While waiting for the suitcase which will definitely take a long time. Tera opened her cellphone to check the email that had just come in, telling her that some of the pieces of paper she sent to the company she had to revise because they had not met the company's target, of course.

Her mother who heard Tera snorted then looked. Looking at her second child with a heart that Wenda couldn't guess. Was she happy to see Tera busy? Wenda has always dreamed of how Tera finally got her happiness, like the job her daughter dreamed of, seeing her daughter succeed on her path. But, is Wenda happy that Tera finally got it all?

Actually, Wenda was like seeing Tera walking on gravel barefoot. Tera's life is like a foot looking for the right shoe for her to wear. Tera was like walking on fiery pebbles regardless of the pain she felt. Sometimes, Wendah feels sick and guilt always haunts her whenever Tera has to work. She feels that she is not a mother who is responsible for her child's happiness. She felt guilty for leaving Tera alone to seek her happiness without interfering.

"Have you prepared your clothes to take there yet?" Tera asked while they were having breakfast before Tera left for the office.

Wenda, who was playing with her cellphone, answered. "Not yet, after all, I also have a lot of clothes there."

Tera poured honey over her waffle. "But there's only a few left. I've brought some of it here. You said you'd be there for about a month while waiting for Puti for her semester break."

Her adopted sister, Sri Puti Wulandari, is still in her final semester of college and is currently living in the same city as Tera. Every semester break, Puti would happily go on vacation in Singapore to accompany Wendah, who asked Tera to stay, who had to return to Jakarta. Tera, who, of course, couldn't bear to leave her mother alone, allowed her money to be wasted every time Puti came there to accompany Wendah to enjoy Singapore.

"Well, when you come back, bring my clothes then."

"Why not now? So that later I don't have to bring anything else. I can just leave the office right away, I don't have to go home first."

"There are also a lot of my clothes there. Here are even a few of them. Did you deliberately force me to bring all of my clothes to stay in Singapore again?" Her mother had put her cell phone on the table and changed to drink her hot unsalted tea.

"Not like that." Tera swallowed the last bite. "You will be there for a long time, it won't be enough if you just use the clothes there. Now you don't bring anything, right? Just bring a bag, that's a small bag that contains only cell phone chargers, tissues, and others ."

"I'm also not going anywhere. Why do I have to bring all of my clothes?" Her mother looked at Tera in surprise.

"It's impossible not to go anywhere. Puti likes to take you for walks every time. I know for myself, Puti doesn't like you wearing the same clothes."

"To be honest, Tera, you forced me to bring clothes because you were thinking about living there again, right?" asked her mother directly.

Terra took a deep breath. Her heart feels heavy when she argues over trivial matters with her mother. Tera hoped her mother would not silence her all day because of this little argument.

"Of course, no! I just want you to be comfortable. I don't want to hear you and Puti both nagging at me because of this."

"Really?" Sawendah narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Besides, aren't you tired of having to go back and forth from Jakarta to Singapore to accompany me? You don't want to live there? My job there is already comfortable to live in, right? So it's easy if I just take care of the work here. I also go there every Friday to Sunday. There is no one to take care of the house there."

Her mother didn't answer right away. Tera's words seemed to hit her right in the heart. They have been like this for more than 6 and a half years. Tera who works from Monday to Friday in Jakarta and at night has to fly again to Singapore to work from Saturday to Sunday. There is no day off for Tera.

"Aren't you tired, Tera?" Mother asked after a long silence.

Tera, who was enjoying her warm unsalted tea, suddenly fell silent. "No, why?"

"Work on, no days off. Every working day."

Tera was silent hearing Mother's answer. Her eyes looked straight at his mother. "Are you happy now?"

"Are you happy?"

Tera nodded. Looks sure. "I'm happy, how about you?"

"I'm happy."

"That's more than enough. You don't have to think about anything else. I work this way for you so that you can live a decent life both physically and mentally. I'll replace him to make you happy."

Her mother looked at Tera sharply. "You also have the right to find your pleasure out there. Play with your friends, party with your friends, find a partner. Your happiness is not only for me. "

Tera frowned disapprovingly. "I can still play with my friends, Mom. Every time I come home from work or when I'm not in Singapore, I always play with others. You don't have to worry about me. I'm quite happy with what I have now. Seeing you can live calmly like now, that's my happiness."

"Are you sure Tera?" Her mother asked quietly. "Are you sure you're happy? Have you ever thought that your friends already have their respective partners? Not forever will they go with the flow you carry, Ghina will not always be there for you. Soon she will marry. What about you? Where are you real happiness?"

"Mom, my friend is not only Gina. My happiness doesn't just come from me going with my friends. I still have you, Puti, or anyone else. I can still find my own happiness without any interference from other people, you don't have to worry about that."

Tera looked at the clock on the wall which now showed eight o'clock in the morning. Another hour before she left for the office. The debate with her mother would take a long time.

"Have you ever thought that I will not be there for you forever? Humans are not eternal, Tera. No one knows that, maybe I will be called by God in a few moments." Her mother continued to stare at Tera sharply. "I want you to be happy. I want to see you happy with your choice. We are getting older. I'm just afraid that I won't be able to see you with the person you choose. Kiky is always there for you, why don't you try to open your heart?"

Tera quickly groaned loudly. "Mom, I have to go to the office soon. I'm going to my room to get my bag first." Quickly, she walked past her mother, to return to the room, to get her work equipment.

The quarrel took up enough of Wenda's day while Tera was working and left her alone.

Away from her messy marriage. She had to bring her youngest child, and life was very difficult. Because she also put too much importance on her first child, she forgot that Tera still needed her. As a result, because Wendah was too complacent with her first child, she had to accept the fact that her life was so difficult that she had to let Tera's dreams fall to the bottom of the abyss. If someone had to be blamed, it would be her. Wenda who made Tera what she is now. Tera seemed to be refining her many sins by working very hard to be able to live a very decent life.

"Mom?" Tera patted her mother's shoulder. "Why are you crying? Tired?"

Wenda quickly held her cheeks which were already wet with tears, then pretended to yawn to cover her sadness. "Yeah, sleepy."

Tera chuckles. It's too late for the flight time. Tera shouldn't have taken flying hours at this hour. She forgot that her mother was also with her.

"Come on. The taxi is waiting."

Wenda nodded. She helped her daughter carry a small suitcase containing her clothes and toiletries. Tera herself carried her flagship black sling bag which contained a laptop, tablet, charger and accessories.