A question for Education

Amanda had sent out the divorce papers to the provided address a few days back after filing it out. Despite having a stoic face when she read the terms and agreement of the papers, she couldn't get rid of that same sinking feeling she had from looking into that man's eyes as she signed her signatures.

She was honestly out of luck. It had been a while since she had interacted with Vincent, she didn't know how much he had changed so she couldn't predict much of what he wanted to do with these files.

She did understand that the man wouldn't make a move unless it was something he thought would benefit him or the company sooner or later. So she was nervous alright.

Nonetheless, she signed it and sent it to him. She couldn't just keep it pending forever, that would force Vincent to give them another visit which she hated more than anything. If she disagrees with the papers and files for its termination, it would take a few months to complete and maybe by that time she and Erika might already be dead.

There wasn't a solution that she could think of to go around the files. So she got done with it and sent it away, hoping that whatever it was that might come next was something she could handle. For now, she would spend as much time with her daughter and make sure that an incident like sleeping gas of all things will happen again.

Speaking of sleeping gas, her daughter had woken up before the duration of the gas' effect finished. She knew this because of the surprised look on Vincent's face when he saw Erika by the hallway, silent and wide awake.

That was just one of the things that Erika surprised Vincent with. The other surprise almost cost her her life. 

She looked at her daughter right now, really looked at her, and took her in.

Erika was currently solving the Rubix cube she bought her, she was slow with her chubby little fingers but she had finally managed to find a way to solve it. It was a long and arduous journey for the both of them, Amanda did not know how to solve puzzles for shit so she wasn't much help with Erika's desire to learn. However, that didn't stop her daughter from doing it, she even taught Amanda how the sides turn while she thought and found sequences of moves that would work in solving them.

That reminded her of her daughter's upcoming birthday in two months.

Her third birthday would come in two months.

She was going to be three by November.

Her daughter was still 2 years old.

'Tangina1, wait isn't Erika a bit too advanced for her age?' Amanda put her hand over her mouth as she stared at her daughter and the realization dawned on her.

Erika was a fluent speaker of two languages at two years old, solved multiple puzzles without her help, and easily understood emotional cues from Amanda as an example from what happened a few nights back. Wasn't she a bit too smart??

'How the fuck did I not notice this until now?! Have I grown senile already at 29?'

Erika had finished solving the cube and excitedly showed it to her mom. She was exclaiming something about how much faster she was when she did it this time but Amanda wasn't fully listening. She was fully immersed in her thoughts.

'Ahh but my little puto2 is so cute whenever she does it! I can't help but be distracted whenever she shows me something new she did or talk to me about all the mundane things because of that stupid fucking  smile she has!'

Similar thoughts ran in her head. She was devastated between praising her daughter for her cuteness and having a crisis about what to do with how fast her daughter was developing at a young age.

Amanda was a mother of pride and concern! A two-in-one package! 

"Ma?" Erika shook her arm, looking up at her with a sad face. "Were you not listening to me?"

Amanda immediately perked up at the sadness in her daughter's tone and guilt hit her like a hammer while she was drowning underwater. A bit too specific but that's the most accurate thing she can describe it. Sheepishly, she chuckled before replying. "So sorry, baby. Mama got caught up in her head, forgive me."

Erika thought for a second before looking back up at her, "Is it about the man?"

"There you are again with those questions.." she sighed, "But no, it isn't about him. It's about you instead."

Erika's eyes shone brightly, she must be thinking along the lines of what they'll be having for dinner or something. Which was enough to make Amanda laugh at her antics.

"I was thinking about whether or not I should admit you to school earlier than I planned."

"Oh." Erika thought again, she was a thinker, this child. "Why?"

She stroked her child's hair, "I realized how much you've grown already," She said, "You've become so independent without my help in certain tasks. You can read and speak so fluently and that little brain of yours is pretty smart if I do say so myself. I realized that the time where I can't teach you things I know is already upon us."

Erika frowned, "What would you do at home while I'm gone, Ma? I don't want you to be lonely..."

Amanda pulled her in for a hug, showering her face with kisses. "Aw my sweet little sunshine, you don't have to worry about these kinds of things! Seriously, Mama would be fine."

"Don't lie to me, Ma."

Was she lying? Amanda wasn't quite sure. She was also unsure why Erika thought that way. Has she become too dependent on her daughter? "I'm not lying, Erika."

Erika quieted, her eyes straying to the side as she thought of something that Amanda already got the feeling would give her some kind of identity crisis. It was just an instinctual reaction at this point. Her daughter was extremely insightful.

"How about you work?"

"I don't need the money, bubble." 

"It's not for the money, Ma! It's just something to keep yourself occupied while I'm away."

"You're so insistent right now, Erika. What's making you react like this? I already told you that that shouldn't be a problem, why aren't you convinced, baby?" Her voice softened, as she looked down at her daughter worriedly.

She was patient as she waited for Erika to find the words.

"Mama cries whenever she's alone in the kitchen sometimes."

"Eh? Erika, when are you hearing that?" Suddenly Amanda started smiling teasingly. It was a smile that threw Erika.

"Um, before noon and before dinner po3." The poor girl looked so confused that Amanda was starting to hold back her laughter.

"Oh... uhh..." She turned to the side, her chest hurting at the force of her subdued laughter. "Baby... Ahem, Erika. I don't think you understand what's happening in there. Come, let me show you."

Even though Erika could walk with her, she still opened her arms for her to carry the little girl. Erika wasn't so innocent as well, immediately jumping into her mother's arms and letting herself be happily carried.

Amanda led them to the kitchen. She made Erika sit on the countertop as she went away to get a knife and... a suspicious-looking red bulb.

Erika frowned at the object, cautious.

"This, my dear, is what we call a red onion. When you cut it open..." She brought her knife to the middle of the bulb and easily sliced it without too much force. "... it releases chemicals- oh God it's already starting... Um, it releases chemicals that make you cry. It's like a last defense mechanism for these things."

Erika was tearing up as well as she was very interested in what she was saying. She continued to watch her mother deftly slice the onion into smaller pieces before grabbing a nearby container and putting all the chopped pieces inside to join other similarly-looking pieces.

Erika was amazed at her mother's dextrous skill with a knife, but she couldn't properly appreciate it when her eyes were watering every time she blinked.

"Does it hurt, baby?" Amanda washed her hands before she carefully cupped Erika's cheeks as she wiped away the tears.

Erika shook her head, "No no, it's very irritating though..."

Amanda laughed at the funny face her daughter was making as she tried not to cry but the tears wouldn't let her, "Let me wash your face."

As she washed her daughter's face she remembered their previous conversation before this.

"So you see, Erika? You have nothing to worry about." She wiped her daughter's face with a kitchen towel, "You're such a worrywart for a 2-year-old. My love, if you always think about how I might feel when you do things when I'm not even there, you'll begin to forget about your feelings. Do you think I would want that for you?"

Erika shook her head.

"Exactly. I don't want that because that wouldn't make you happy. Constantly worrying over someone's feelings isn't healthy either," She said, "You're not responsible for mine or anyone's feelings. You don't have to find a solution to every problem when there isn't a problem in the first place. It's great that you care so much about me but don't forget to care about yourself as well, okay? Promise me that."

"O-okay... I promise, Mama."

Amanda smiled, "Good! Now, let's go back to the living room. I'll scramble the cube for you."

She helped Erika down the countertop before the girl ran back to the living room. Amanda wasn't worried if Erika had understood what she said, her daughter was smart but she wasn't going to say that she was going to be applying what she said anytime soon.

For some reason, Erika had too much empathy. It's like she's constantly scared of something whenever a bad thing happens. Her fear reminded her of how her older sister used to act.