Ruthless Fate

A saturday morning at Carrer Degà Sanfeliu. I woke up by the noise of my parents arguing downstairs so I decided to get up from my fluffy bed. 

Everything was not so extraordinary.

I walked towards the entrance of my bedroom, crossing its threshold with a single step. The commotion is getting louder, causing an uproar to every corner of the house.

"Let's just get rid of our daughter then!" Seems like it's coming from the mouth of my mother.

I heard a loud bang, sounding as if it's a real gun. I slowly walked down the stairs and crouched to witness what's happening. My father hold onto my mother's neck tightly, almost strangling her to death. "Eres una mejer frustrante!" He uttered angrily, telling his wife that she's a frustrating woman. My mother could barely breath, she's already tapping both of his hands.

I couldn't just simply standby, watch how my family gets ruined like this. A tear streamed down my face the moment that I realized that I'm the reason behind this fight. I stood up and quickly ran to the lobby and asked, "Dad! Mom! What're you doing?"

My mother gasped for air when my father lost control of his hands and without a second thought, I separated her from his dangerous intentions as I hugged her firmly. Even though I know that I'm the one at fault, I still let myself hug her—hoping that my feelings would reach her—but no, she gave me a hefty shove which almost made me stumble.

"Pack your things, Jamie," she sounded serious.

Even if I'm still confused why I should do so, I just left a single nod and looked at my father who didn't seem like to care, then I went back to my room. My eyes wouldn't stop releasing salty-watered tears as I grab my clothes one-by-one after slowly opening my closet. I lay it all down to my bed.

My knees are shaking— I can't stand still.

'Why do I have to live this way?' I thought to myself. I have no one else to stay with, just my family. But, what can I do? They're asking me to go away.

I wiped off my tears using my sleeveless, white colored shell blouse and continued to search for my important things that I need to bring with me: garments, documents, gadgets, chargers, wallet and most importantly, my potato chips. My baggage was filled with everything that I need to atleast survive a week or two.

I went to the window of my room after I finished arranging the stuffs inside my luggage. The scenery couldn't be so astonishing as any kind of day. It's too sunny outside, giving me a positive vibe rather than a negative one. It's just as if the nature, or mother earth in precise, is telling me that– this isn't the worst day of my life.

A poignant advice of the passing of time, everything happens for a reason. I should neither be weak nor should I ever think of giving up.

A small smile formed on my lips, finally deciding to leave. I grabbed my luggage and went downstairs. I can see my father who's kind of lonely waiting for me from afar, at the main door.

"Please, do take care of yourself dear," he said while caressing my cheeks. "Disculpa las molestias, querida hija. Adiós... por ahora," he led me the way outside after bidding his farewell and giving me an apology for any inconvenience I had.

I faced him and gave him a short hug as I say "Adiós... dad."

My conscious is ordering me to go to where my mother is but, I know that she must be embarassed of what she did earlier. I'll just send her a message later.

I continued to walk along the streets, not knowing where to go. I could sense that almost everyone is focusing their sight on me. I'm not even a criminal, why are the people acting this way?

This is what I hate about some people's natural attitude— they judge others based on the physical appearance, not even caring about one's situation.

I think I've walked for about 200 kilometers already since it's already nighttime. I'm exhausted. The surroundings are very different from where I came from, although this isn't too far. I saw a signboard telling me that I've reached Plaça de Tavernes de la Valldigna. The leaves had withered from the tree; which is probably an aleppo pine. There aren't many passerbys unlike earlier in the morning.

Many apartments and condominiums are currently for rent and some are for sale. I called the number indicated outside the gate of a condo, the call was answered after two rings. "Hola! I'd like to rent this condo, how much is it?" I asked.

"That would be €200. Wire your payment down to my bank account next week. Someone will come over there in about an hour to give you the keys. Gracias!" The owner ended the call.

About an hour, huh?

I sat down on the streets near the edge of my soon-to-be house. While I was waiting, I decided to call my mother.

Three rings.

Five rings.

Eight rings.

"Sorry, the person you're calling is un–," I pressed the end button on my phone. Maybe she's already asleep? I just remembered that she can't stay awake 'til midnight to avoid experiencing symptoms of her disease. I'll just leave her a text message.

'Hola mom, this is Jamie. How're you doing? Sorry for everything I've done. I should've just stayed away since the very beginning. Don't worry about me, I'll go look for a job to help me live on with my everyday needs. I don't have a choice but to stop going to school, I've already graduated from high school anyway, ain't that fine? I'm sure many company out there will come to me and hire me.'

I couldn't stop myself from crying, remembering the times that I've spent with my mom. Does she hate me this much? I continued typing my message.

'Once I get a stable work on a legal firm, I'll make sure to send over some money to you and dad! Hope you'd wait for it. Thanks for everything, mom. See you soon with a healthy life!'

I rubbed my eyes to stop the tears from falling after sending my message to mom. Moments later, my keys have arrived. A tall, young man gave it to me then left.

Should I say,

Welcome to the outside world, Jamie?