Chapter 3 - Mom

"Before you go, let's exchange numbers," Anna said.

They were both at the cafe's doorstep. Emily had just stayed over the night and planned to go home today as she had to prepare classes for the next day.

"Sure, my number is-"

"Wa wa wait a minute. Lemme get my phone"

Anna went inside to get her phone

Even with the events that had happened this week, Emily couldn't help but smile a bit. She knew that once she went home, she would have to think about what had happened and sort out her feelings. It wouldn't be easy to move on, not after a 4-year long relationship, but she had to do it.

"I'm back! Hope you didn't miss me much" she smirked

Emily decided to ignore whatever Anna said and proceeded to give her number. She turned her back to leave when suddenly Anna interrupted her again.

"Before you go-"

She turned back only to be enveloped by a warm hug. "Don't go doing anything stupid. "Emily nodded into her friend's shoulder before letting go. They waved at each other before heading home.

On the way, back to her house, Emily's face immediately changed from a tiny smile to a soured look. For the last 2 days, she wasn't able to think much as Anna distracted her from the emotional pain, but now that she was alone, her mind was going rampant.

It had been a while since she was alone. So long in fact that she forgot what it felt like. Usually, on Sundays such as this one, she would go over to Alan's place and talk with him while working. Or sometimes they would go to the mall and shop for stuff. But not this time and probably never.

A loud sigh escaped her lips before she removed her phone. To at least distract her for a little while, she started jotting down the plans she had for Monday classes. She always made sure to write down the appropriate amount of notes to be able to make the students understand and also to not give homework, cause she knew how much of a pain in the ass homework could be. Some students just don't have the capacity to be able to work at home, so she didn't want to add further stress onto them. She was a student herself after all.

Once she arrived at her apartment, she opened the door to be greeted by a neat and tidy corridor. She set her bag on the desk that was near the door and immediately went and jumped onto her bed.

'I'm tired…' she thought to herself.

Emily squeezed her pillow tightly as she recalled all the good times she had with her now ex-boyfriend. She was never one to show emotions much, but Alan never minded that. He always had a way of decrypting how she was feeling. Hanging out with him was always a good time and whenever they fought, they always came to an understanding and a solution to solve their problem. Though in the last 3 months, he did start distancing himself from her.

Whenever Emily brought it up, he would always make excuses such as 'Sorry, it's just that a lot of stuff has been happening lately." and she would always try to comfort him. But, whenever she did, Alan would stiffen up and try to divert the conversation.

"I guess that's the reason why he has been like that lately…" Emily spoke to no one in particular. She laid on the bed, looking out the window at the passersby.

A phone ring sucked her out of her stupor as she looked at her phone. She didn't need to read the name to know who was calling her. The only person who would face-call her would be her mother. She looked at the mirror, reflecting her short brown hair, white skin and ruby red eyes which had some tears welled up in them. Taking the ends of her sleeves, she wiped her face and looked back at her phone before answering it.

"Good Afternoon mom." She started speaking in Japanese.

"Ah~ my daughter. How are yo- You don't seem very well, are you alright?" A pale, wrinkly woman, sitting on the hospital bed spoke out from the screen with concern.

Emily's mother is from Japan. She moved to Europe 30 years ago in search of a better life. Here she got married to her now deceased husband, Mr Chloe" Although she has lived here for all this time, she's still more comfortable speaking Japanese than English. So naturally, Japanese was the first language that Emily had learnt. Especially since her mother was the only living family that she had. She naturally learnt English at school but Japanese was the language she would use with her mother. Ms Chloe had been hospitalised a couple of years ago due to her deteriorating health, though she always tries to call her only daughter at least once a week. But Emily has other plans as instead, she goes and visits her every Sunday morning.

It was quite weird to not see her this Sunday and due to Emily's work, they couldn't have any mother and daughter bonding time. So she opted to call her instead today only to be met by her daughter who had red eyes.

"I'm fine, don't worry. How are you mama?" Emily tried to reduce the concerned expression but failed to do so.

"You know, you can always talk to me…"

Emily took a deep breath in and finally spoke.

"Alan broke up with me."

Taking a moment to register the situation, Ms Chloe's face soured a bit before she angrily spoke:

"THAT BASTARD, HOW DARE HE DO THAT. I SWEAR TO GOD IF I SEE HIM AGAIN I WIL-"

"Mama!" Emily's authoritative voice rang out. "We broke up peacefully… it's better this way and I'm sure he'll be happier," she spoke with her regular straight face.

"..."

"If you're sure, then okay. But if you ever need help, I'll always be here for you, alright?"

"I know. How has your week been?"

"It's been alright. There is only so much you can do in a hospital bed after all. What have you been doing, Emy?"

"I have been working all week long. We have just started the school year so there is a lot that has to be planned. Also, I have a bit more classes than last year to teach."

"Aren't you overworking yourself? You should take better care of your health."

"I've been fine. Also, my salary has increased alongside the amount of work."

"Ah~ That's good, that's good. I wish I could see you again though"

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. But you have to visit me next week, okay?"

"I planned on doing so."

"Promise?"

A slight chuckle escaped her lips, seeing how childish her mother was being. "Yeah promise. I can see why you and Anna liked each other so much."

"Anna?" Ms Chloe tried to recall where she heard that name before. "Oh, that girl. It's been a while since I've heard her name."

"Well, I did meet with her by coincidence on Friday. I stayed at her house for the last 2 days"

"Hmm? Why did you stay at her house?"

"She saw me crying at the park…"

"Oh…"

"Yeah…."

Ms Chloe looked at her daughter with a slight blush from embarrassment before shaking her head.

"I would love to talk to you more, but it seems like the doctor is trying to get my attention."

"Oh. Okay"

"Also, if you meet Anna again, tell her that I would love to see her again."

"Okay, Bye mom"

"Bye bye sweetheart."