Hopeless

Kalea stared blankly at the dark sky, the rain that kept pouring down resembling incessant tears. The wind was blowing quite hard plus the occasional lightning, making her take a deep breath. She should have gone home quickly so she wouldn't get into trouble. However, fate said otherwise, she had even waited for about an hour and a half in the area around the campus, waiting for the sky to stop its tears. It was possible that she broke through the rain, but she forgot to bring her little red umbrella and finally gave up the intention.

"Lea? You're not home yet?" Kalea turned to the source of the voice. She nodded in response to the question of the burgundy haired girl who had just called out to her. "Just finished grading the student's work, huh?" she continued.

"Yeah, and also waiting for the rain to stop, and you, why aren't you home yet?" Now Kalea asked.

"There was group work in the library earlier. Hey, instead of continuing to wait here, you'd better come home with me! My driver will be here soon," said Aluna, pulling Kalea's arm to stand up. Kalea shook her head quickly. She didn't want to bother her friend from high school.

"No need, Luna. I—"

"If the reason is that you don't want to bother me, I don't want to hear it! Come on, Lea, how many years have we been friends? Don't be shy with me," Aluna cut quickly and correctly about Kalea's intention earlier. Kalea couldn't help but accept it, she also didn't really want to argue about trivial matters with Aluna, who was very stubborn.

Not long after the luxurious black Mercy car stopped right in front of the two of them, Aluna turned to Kalea and smiled with the intention of entering the car immediately. The car returned to the city streets, not forgetting the heavy rain that still had no signs of stopping.

While on the road, no one spoke, they were busy with their own activities. Kalea realized something after she had been dreamily staring out the window, she should have stopped by the convenience store first to buy the things her mother wanted but the convenience store was already far away. Kalea pinned her skirt tightly, she guessed the fate she would experience after arriving home.

"Lea? Lea!"

"Y-yeah?"

"Lea ... this has arrived at your house," said Aluna. Kalea looked outside and yeah, she had arrived right in front of her alley.

"Thank you, Luna," she said with a smile that was returned by the girl with burgundy hair.

"See you tomorrow!" Aluna waved her hand, and now the car was running again, leaving Kalea alone on a dark and lonely street. The rain was not as heavy as before, only the remnants of small drizzles were left. Kalea started walking toward her house even though she was scared, she hoped that when she got home, her mother was fast asleep, so there wouldn't be a fight between them.

But indeed today Kalea was unlucky, her mother was in the living room as if waiting for the return of her beloved daughter. Kalea swallowed harshly, her fingers pinching her backpack, a little unprepared for what was to come after this.

Freya stubbed out her cigarette, even throwing the butt at her daughter, "Where have you been?"

"It was raining really hard, so I was waiting for it to stop, Mom..." Kalea replied softly.

"Whatever, where's my alcohol?" asked Freya as she fiddled with her phone, but Kalea didn't move from her spot. Since there was no movement, she turned to look at her daughter in surprise, "Where's the alcohol, Kalea?" she asked again, still trying to be patient. But still. Kalea didn't answer or give her what she wanted.

Freya's eyebrows dipped even further, her emotions unstoppable. She grabs the plate closest to her side and throws it at the wall.

Prang!

Kalea was shocked, staring at the broken plate scattering everywhere.

"ARE YOU DEAF? Can'T YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID THEN?" Freya snapped.

"I'm s-sorry, Mom, I'm sorry..." Kalea bowed her head even deeper, her heart beating wildly. She was really afraid of her mother.

"Where's my alcohol?! You want to die going home without alcohol, huh?!" Freya approached Kalea, grabbing the child's hair without mercy. Kalea could only grimace in pain, unable to fight back. Her fingers grabbed Freya's arm to release the hold, but instead of letting go, her mother's hold intensified and even pushed her head against the wall. Blood began to ooze from Kaela's temple, and only then did Freya release the hold.

"Mom ... I didn't make it to the minimarket because it was raining really hard..." Kalea held her temples, she held her tone so as not to sound like she was about to cry. She lied a little about her forgetfulness because she might get worse treatment from her mother.

"What do I care? Right now you go to that store and buy me alcohol! Or you're really dead this time!" Freya dragged her daughter out of the house so badly that he fell to the ground, but she didn't care and went back into the house leaving her daughter in a terrible condition.

Kalea was silent, still in her position. She looked down at the ground that was still wet from the rain. Blood flowed again on the back of her hand, she did not understand why she could get this kind of treatment especially since the culprit was her own biological mother.

This time it was not blood that dripped, but drops of water that fell from the sky, it seemed to be raining again. Kalea got up from her seat, walking with limping steps while enduring the pain in her temple, towards the minimarket that could be fairly far from her house.

After about 30 minutes, she finally arrived and immediately rushed to pick up the items and gave them to the cashier to pay, she also bought some medicines to treat her wound.

A middle-aged woman patted Kalea's shoulder gently, "Are you alright, Dear?" she asked with a worried look as she saw Kalea's appearance was a complete mess. Kalea's shirt and skirt were wet with soil, her hair was disheveled and her temples still bore traces of blood from the impact caused by her mother. She herself knew that her current condition was indeed attracting attention from many people.

Kalea shook her head softly, looking down without daring to look at the woman. After paying for her groceries, she left the minimarket.

***

"Damn it for taking so long to buy alcohol!" cursed Freya as she took the first bottle she was about to sip, "Why did you only buy two? You know it'll be gone in no time!" Freya kicked her daughter's leg hard.

"The money won't be enough for our daily needs, Mom. My salary hasn't dropped yet so I can only buy two bottles ...."

"Fuck, I don't care! Why don't you make use of your pretty face that looks like a fucking man, huh? You can work as a prostitute to make a quick buck!"

Kalea's heart was pinched at Freya's words, not expecting her own mother to tell her to sell her body to men.

"You go away! I don't want to look at that damn face for long!" Freya shooed her away. In no time, Kalea left her mother for her room.

Once in the room, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore, they just poured out. Fortunately, the rain was coming down again so hard, her mother wouldn't hear her cries because they would be overpowered by the sound of the rain outside. Today's events were so painful for Kalea, she sometimes thought of ending her life. However, she couldn't imagine her mother living alone. No matter what, Kalea still loved Freya.

Because she knew that Freya was like this for a reason.