Kid at Heart

Amele's attention went back to the side table again. Her sombre mood disappears in a sec when she saw the stack of pictures atop it. Evidence! She needs pieces of evidence to justify her action. If push comes to shove, she won't be receiving a harsh judgment from the law.

Immediately grabbing her phone, the door open in a loud bang as she marches outside to take pictures of her once immaculate garden.

She takes a deep breath to prepare herself upon seeing the devastated garden again. She needs to do this, she will mourn later for her prized plants. She might sound crazy but she needs protection first.

Walking in haste, she went straight to her front yard just to flee back inside the safety of her home. The drunkard is in her yard!

Amele was just about a foot away from her door when she heard him call for her. Her stupid limbs stiffened in fear. She's going to have it. Damn it. She's going to die alone and unhappy. She won't even be able to give her dead plants their proper send-off.

A cough behind her prompt her body to move and reach for the knob. "Ma'am, please a moment." shivers rack her body in agitation as she heard the drunkard talk.

"I would like a moment Ma'am." she heard him say once again but she did not dare turn around to face him. Who knows what he'll do if looked him wrong in the face?

Somewhere in the hidden part of her brain, warnings keep telling her that it's way more dangerous with your back against the enemy. But you can't expect someone to think right when they panic.

Counting from one to three, she leapt and grabbed for her door. In a flash, she slammed her door shut and locked it. She's out of her mind in panic and reaches for the shovel placed beside a huge pot of aloe vera beside her door. She was supposed to till the soil to let the plant breathe a little but she forgot hence the innocent shovel lying around.

She thrust the shovel towards the door and jump from her position when a knock can be heard from outside. Why is this drunkard neighbour acting like a psycho?!

Her heavy breathing and thumping heartbeats only filled the air. The consecutive knocks outside the door added to it. She's a teacher, what do people do in this kind of situation?

"Ma'am, we need to talk." the shudders running through her form explains her answer. She should've let the authorities handle his trespasses and shouldn't have attacked him in the first place. She smacked her head in annoyance.

Thoughts ran through her mind as she thinks of an answer to his question. Level-headed. She needs to clear her head and analyze. She's a rational person. She'll ace this.

The first answer that she thought jet out of her mouth. "I-I need to mourn for my plants first!" the quiver in her voice was evident. "I-I'll mourn for my plants first then we will talk!" she tried to make her voice louder. The knocks stop right away.

She whacked herself again on dismay. Mourn for her plants? Really Amele? Of all things to say? Oh good Lord, she's talking to herself again at times like this.

Her eyes went back to the door when the knocks did not come anymore. Did he leave? She approaches the door, intends on checking through the peephole, shovel in her hand. She was just about to check it out when she jumped away from the door once again.

As a result of her silliness, she fell on her butt and the shovel made a clanging sound as it hit the marbled floors. She glared at the door like it was the one at fault. This fucking drunkard startled her!

"Ma'am, are you okay? I said I'm letting you mourn for your plants first." the tone in that voice behind the door made her sound like she's a lunatic. How dare he!

"That's right! I'm gonna mourn first. I'll let you know if I'm ready!" she sounds like a simpleton right now. She looks like she's talking to her door loudly.

"Do that Ma'am." those fading words implies that the drunkard is walking away from her door and leaving her alone in the meantime.

A sigh of relief left her body as she sagged down the floor until her body lay flat on it. Why does this felt like something big is going to change in the future? You know that feeling when you're riding the roller coaster at its highest point and it is about to roll down making your intestines feels like they're floating up inside your body. Or, sky diving where you forget to breathe and your limbs stiffened and your insides cramped up? It's like one of those.

She rolled to her side and rubbed her sore butt. The delayed reaction made her worry about her mental health.

This is not her normal day at all.

---

Amele can feel the intrusive looks her Mom, Julia, sending her way. Her face is twitching in annoyance as she tried her best to ignore it.

A freshly squeezed orange juice is placed in front of her. She murmured her thanks and continues to dabble with her paperwork. Escaping a certain someone won't be enough excuse to skip on her teaching job.

"Isn't it working?" her mother wasn't able to take her nonchalance and decided to probe her with questions after all. This is already a common scene for weeks now.

With a bright smile to make it look like there's nothing wrong, she hopes, she gave her mother some of her attention. "What's not working?" she asked back in the most innocent way she can. Mothers can detect a lot of things you don't want them to know. All you can do is deny and hope to god they'll leave you alone.

Her Mom's brows raised in sarcasm and shakes her ebony hair, "It's not working then." she can hear the pout in her voice. She twists her head in her mom's direction and looked at her, indeed, pouted mouth.

"Mom, like I have told you before I'll tell you when I'm ready." she stacks her pile of papers neatly and set it aside. Her mother's answer to her was just an irritating sneer.

Meanwhile, heavy footfalls can be heard from downstairs and let me tell you, folks, goosebumps littered her skin upon hearing it. She might be an adult but her grandmother scared her shitless and she's quaking in her fluffy slippers right now. She can recognize those heavy steps with her eyes and ears closed.

"Mom how could you?!" she whispered-yelled at her mom as she gets off her seat and faces the door of her bedroom slash work area. The betrayal laced in her can be sensed from miles away. Her mom just shrugged. The audacity of her mom to just shrug as if her life was not in danger!

"Well, you've been here for almost a month and you're not saying anything. So, I took the privilege of calling Mama, she'll set you straight." These two lovely women do have a little competition on who's the most supportive one but when it comes to discipline, her grandma Judy trumps it all. The flashback of those humiliating incidents she has gone through growing up filled her mind. Shudders.

And, imagine her horror when her grandma manifests herself in her open door, her jaws dropped.

One squint from her would send her babbling right away and she's squinting right now!

"Grandma I can explain." She held her hands up in surrender. Her mom's snicker can be heard from her side but she did not dare turn her eyes away from her grandmother. The most dangerous one is in front of her right now.

Her grandma Judy might be almost the same age as Marie, sixty, being sixty-seven herself but she's one of those types you don't wanna mess with when provoked. Her grandma can still kick ass and celebrate a whole week standing without rest.

Another squint was sent her way and she timidly smiles in awkwardness. She was not scared of her grandma because of physically abusing her. She's scared of her grandma because she can be humiliating when she wanted to.

Like five years ago when she attended her commencement from her grad school wearing a dress with her derp face printed all over it. Also with a matching banner of congratulations. Imagine that and her being an introvert.  She was ashamed but find it hilarious at the same time. She doesn't mind but she wants to avoid it as much as possible. These were almost a daily occurrence during her teenage life so she thinks that it was enough to last her a lifetime.

Amele scratched her head in surrender. Her mom is already sitting on her back waiting for her answer while her grandmother's looking at her with her arms crossed. She can never hide things from them that long.

"I might have beaten someone up pretty badly and I'm kind of escaping from the law?" her twitching grin conveys her nervousness about the situation. She forced herself to grin bigger, doing her best to make it seem like it's no big deal and the law won't find her.

She saw their jaws unhinged, in her twisted mind, she felt proud for causing it. A full minute went past with their mouths still open in shock and she's now kind of worried if their jaws were alright.

She can feel fat drops of sweat running down her back as she continues to look at the two. Still not saying anything and just staring at her like she is some creature hailed from another planet.

"Grandma? Mom?" the hesitation in her voice is clear as she tries her best not to panic. She might have attacked her neighbour, yes. And, she might be arrested for assault but with their reactions, she can hear the ticking of her clock somewhere. She's doubting if she can even feel the bars of the prison right at this moment. She awkwardly grins.