Chapter 93 - 94. Home [2]
"Tha, are you serious about moving out and living here?" that sharp mouth questioned me. He seemed to be so surprised. "It is not a prank, is it? I am afraid you will only stay here for a few days then leave and say 'I got things to do there'." He chirped on that far end. "That is your habit to come out of the blue and then leave just like that. So annoying."
"Why would I cheat you?" I cut him. "I really want to live there. I have already hired a moving house service to help me. Tomorrow at five in the morning, my stuff will be delivered. It will arrive at seven or eight. But I will come later, around one in the afternoon. Please help me handle it." I asked him. "I'm sorry I am a bit late to inform you because I got things to do at campus."
"Why so? There must be so many things you want to take with you here. How could you treat me like that?!"
"Please Ery," I begged him, "it is just a moment. I need to meet my lecturer and after that I will be going home right away." I explained him
Erick really wanted me to go back and live there. So did I. It was my first time after so long ago that I really wanted to go back to my old house. I missed my old oven there, and my hands could not wait to make my trial cakes, so was my old bedroom from my teenage time and all the things in it. Fear and trauma from the past suddenly changed into a feeling of missing so much and wanting to arrive there as soon as possible.
"Tha, you don't forget my food bowl, do you?" I looked at Mickey and showed me his empty food bowl.
"Just tell me you are hungry," I sneered at him. "wanna eat?" I teased him.
Mickey rolled his body and rubbed his head gently, "Tha, I am hungry." He said pitifully.
"I knew it," I teased him again. "such a tubby cat," I stood up and picked a bowl of cat food and gave it to him. I also put a bowl of water next to the cat food.
"This is the best," said Mickey. His mouth was full of food, "Tha, will you buy me this kind of food again later? This fish-shaped-like food." I ignored the chatter of that fat cat about his food.
I wanted to meet Emma before I went home to say goodbye to him. Then I decided to ride my bike to that florist.
When I almost reached that shop, I saw that a woman was locking the door of the shop. 'Emm!" I called her from a distance before she left the area.
She turned back and looked surprised to see me but that expression turned annoyed in another second. "Where have you been? You keep disappearing," She said as she walked toward me.
On that side street, we instantly hugged each other like twins who had been apart for a long time. "Why do you so often disappear in a sudden without leaving any words!" Her tone was upset.
"When I leave messages that means I am not gone," She knocked me on the head because of my words. "Em, as a matter of fact, I want to say goodbye to you," I said directly. All of a sudden her expression changed, confused and sad. "I will live in my old house until the end of the year before I continue my study." I said.
Slowly a smile was stretched on her lips, "Alright Tha," She said, "You finally won from that trauma. From the first time I met you knew that you were strong. Keep the spirit up and let me know as soon as possible when something happens to you, will you?" When none from my family was around for me, there were many other good people who were sent for me to replace them. I had to be grateful for this fact.
…
All my stuff had been loaded and delivered in the morning. After I took care of all my personal issues, I finally went home with Mickey. The tubby was really a chatterbox. He kept talking along the way and I just responded to him with a smile on and off. This was really unbelievable. He was just like a fully charged automatic radio and never ran out of energy.
Finally the bus we were taking reached our destination. I put Mickey in my arms and got off the bus. It was September. The road we were walking was not dusty anymore. It was completely different from the first time I went here. Grass and trees were wet and the weather was cold.
"I love this scent," I inhaled deeply the petrichor scent that smelled so strong in such weather. "It gives me peace," we were about to walk into the alley leading to the market when someone picked us up. He was a bit late.
"I knew that you would be arriving at one in the afternoon. After finishing with your stuff, mom asked me to pick you up here," He was panting.
"Please have a seat first," I asked him to sit on the bus stop bench. "Why did you pick me up? It is not too far anyway? And I usually walk there too. " He knocked my head.
"Mom sent me," he was irritated, "I would not do it if she did not ask me to,"
"My mom asked me to live in that house some months ago. At first she would sell it if my brother did not want to live there but my grandmother disagreed with the idea. Finally I have to give in and leave my house in order to live in the house." Erick shook his head when listening to my explanation. I did not know what he meant by shaking his head, but I believed he was confused too.
Erick took us to his house first. He kept talking along the way. I just listened to his chirp. Mickey, who liked talking, was quiet too. "He is worse than me I supposed," I giggled to hear him. At least he knew that he was very talkative.
Erick's mother welcomed me well and heartily. She hugged me warmly as we reached her house and the warmth radiated to my chest. The atmosphere of this village and the fresh air in the rainy season had so long been missed, the hospitality of the villagers, the land, and all the noise on this dining table.
She asked if I dared to live in my own house alone. She would be willing to accompany me if I still suffered from that trauma. She also asked about my therapy and my current condition as well as my study.
"I remembered you fell out the first time you came here. We were in so much panic. That's why you finally decided to live in the city," She gave me a pitiful look. "I hope you are fine now. You simply have to face anything that caused you such trauma and keep moving on." She was right. I simply had to get over anything that caused me that trauma. It was all done.
…
When the dark came I left. Mickey told me that he was very hungry so I had to go home and feed him or he would eat anything that he saw.
I arrived at the front gate of my old house and all that shadow was still there, Zie came every morning to pick me up at school and we would go together. It seemed that the cake from Mr. Oka did not help me much. No matter how much I ate, it did not delete Zie from my memory.
"Tha, I am hungry," the tubby started whining. He ran to the door as we arrived.
The house felt so quiet because it was occupied by only both of us. I locked my brother and my mother's rooms, and used only my room on the second floor I used to stay in.
I was sitting on my bed. It felt so long ago, perhaps more than seven years since I was treated in a hospital. This place did not change a bit, my studying table I used to use for studying, my wardrobe, my toy basket, and even my old shoes were lying there.
The clock struck seven at night and I wanted to go to bed. Then I heard a knock at the back door. I knew it might be Erick's mother or her son because they used to use that door to go to my house.
I got up from the bed and opened the door. I was right. It was Erick standing in front of me. "What is it, Ery?" Mickey that was awoken went down with me.
"There were people looking for you here," He said in a hurry. "You were not coming yet,"