Disappointment

"Erna, My child. How are you? Where have you been?" Her voice, despite being her usual distant self, is riddled with worry.

"I am okay, mother. Just got busy with some stuff."

"You haven't been home in five days." she reprimands me.

"I know, mother." I reply and my face droops further because I can sense her disappointment even through the phone. It clutches my chest in a weird feeling and restricts my breathing. I have felt this way all my life, but somehow, it feels different this time because, I don't know.

"Then why didn't you inform us?"

Instead of telling her the truth, I lie.

"I was stuck in a place with no signal."

She doesn't say anything but the smell of the disappointment already surrounding her is enveloping me even through the phone.

"Well, that's unfortunate." The bite in her tone is not missed on me. I am already dreading the moment I tell her that I am getting married. "We had been trying to reach you."

"Oh, you were?" I ask, skeptical.

"We are your parents Erna. Of course we care and would reach out if our daughter is gone for days, leaving behind a letter that is not even signed by her."

"So it's about the letter." the fact that a mere crumpled piece of paper holds more value than my life is not missed on me.

"Of course it's about the letter. We have questions, we need answers to, starting with, where did you find the letter?"

"Let her at least come home." my father's voice interrupts my mother's and I almost sigh in relief. He cares. He is the only one who does.

I hear some muffled voices through the phone before there are several stomps of heels and boots and then my father's tired and sweet voice filters through the speaker.

"I am sorry about your mother.'' He has apologized for her behavior all my life and it breaks my heart everytime because it's one thing that keeps me going even if it kills me to see him bow his head for her. I nod before realizing he can't see me.

"You don't have to apologize for her Dad."

"But you know I want to. It's how it works, Erna. When you are in love, you incorporate and fill in for the lack of your partner. Not because you love them. But because you complete them." I have heard my father say the same words over the course of my entire life. And everytime, they hit differently based on the circumstances.

When he doesn't continue the words, I do. "Because those two souls are jagged pieces of puzzles meant to complete the canvas of their unique destiny."

"Exactly, my child." That makes me smile.

"Dad?" I call out to him.

"Yes, my child?"

"Do you want to ask me anything?" I initiate the conversation because its better to face my father than my mother. I hear him sigh from the other side of the phone before he lets out those words.

"Not if you don't want to talk about it."

"I found the letter in my room. It was enchanted by a Talisman. I felt it go away when I touched the seal which means it was not tampered with. But ever since then, I have been feeling a bit low." I tell him truthfully. I noticed how the enchantment had entered my body and connected the dots that it had something to do with the weakness I have been feeling.

"I am glad you told me that. Have you ever heard the name of Estella Richmoth?"

"Not before reading it in the letter, no."

"They are… old family acquaintances." Oh. That oddly makes sense.

"How do we know them?"

"We will tell you when you get home." Well that doesn't leave me with much choice.

"Alright, Dad." I say before hanging up the call.

I look up to see Kal enter the room, he left when I called Mom to give us some privacy. Somehow he always finds a way to be considerate. And I won't ever be able to put into words how much I appreciate him and the solace he provides.

"When can I leave?" I ask him, impatience running through my veins. I need to get home quickly.

"They just need to run a couple more tests before they can let you go." he tells me, ignoring the way I sounded.

"But…" he cuts me off before I can get another word out.

"But nothing Erna. You will go through those tests before I let you get out of here." he says, in a tone that leaves no room for negotiation.

"Well I could always sneak out." I tease.

"And if you do that, I won't give you any new jobs." he answers back almost instantly, making me regret saying anything in the first place.

The jobs are not just a way for me to earn money. The jobs give me a chance to embrace my dark side. A side, I never thought I would be able to espouse. Living under the difficult routine of my mother put me under a lot of stress in my childhood. I would hide out in my magic cavern and practice my powers until they ran out and I fainted out of exhaustion. I was scolded, obviously. But I never cared about it. I did it because that way I didn't have to abide by the rules and at the same time I could unleash my true strength without hurting anyone. My mom used to think I was weak but the case was quite the opposite. I never corrected her notion. And now she thinks that her one and only daughter is a weakling with no control over the powers she inherited.

The ringing of my phone has me jolting out of my trip down the memory lane.

I turn sideways and pick up the discarded phone. Its mom.

And even though every fiber of being screams at me to not pick the call, I do it anyway.

"Yes, Mom?"

"Your father interrupted our chat before."

"I am quite aware of that."

"And while I respect his wishes to question you once you get home, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I want you to get married immediately."