Beyond Goodbye

Maya

“Maya! You were supposed to be ready an hour ago, but you have been running around wild again. How many times do I have to say this? You can’t keep going on like this. Look at all your beautiful, well-behaved friends. At least try to act like a lady once in a while.”

Maya’s mother has been lecturing her like this since she turned 16. It seemed as if her mother expected a light switch to turn on and Maya would turn into this graceful, highly sought-after woman the instant she turned 16. But that light switch never turned on. She was still that skinny little girl. Hardly any curves, no butt, no chest. Her friends were all curvy and pretty. The only beautiful things that her mother thought she could boast of were her fierce golden eyes. Well, she didn’t approve of the fierceness, only the color.

If it were up to Maya, she would boast of many other things. She was proud of her strong will and her free spirit. She loved her thick curly chocolate brown hair, but was bullied into cutting it short by her mother, who believed cutting it often would make them straight somehow. The proper way a woman’s hair should be, according to her.

It’s like whatever Maya loved about herself her mother disapproved of and deemed inappropriate for ladies. She always felt out of place in her own home and the only escape she had was in the mountains, where she could be herself without the disapproving eyes following her. That is where she was coming from right now, her hair wild and full of leaves and twigs, her knees bruised and covered in mud from where she slipped near that serene lake, and her eyes bright and excited because she had loved every minute she was there.

“Mother, I do not want to go. I already told you that, didn’t I?” Maya tried to keep her voice from shaking. She didn’t want to be like her fake beautiful friends. Only she knew what they were up to all the time behind their parents’ backs. While she was off running wild in the woods, sometimes accompanied by her best friend Mark, all these well-behaved girls were entertaining boyfriends that changed like clothes every week.

But of course, she couldn’t say that to her mother. She wouldn’t listen, she wouldn’t understand. As always, she would call her a spiteful little girl who was jealous of her friends because she wasn’t blessed with the “natural” beauty and grace that they possessed. Only Maya knew how natural all that was. From their chests and hips, to their hair and lashes. Not that there was anything wrong with that. She could make herself beautiful too if she put some effort and time into it, but she didn’t think it was worth the effort. Also, her mother sounded very hypocritical and that’s what made her steer clear away from all the makeup and pretty things. If only her mother realized her pressure was what was causing Maya to retreat into the woods so often. Sadly, she never self-reflected and never doubted herself. Maya couldn’t do anything other than run far far away from her as often as possible.

Sometimes Maya wanted her 18th birthday to come so she could find her mate and leave this life behind. But then the thought of getting rejected paralyzed her. At least for now she could think of the possibility of a life away from her smothering mother. Once she found her mate, though, that possibility would be closed off forever, because she was convinced she would be the only girl in town whose mate would reject her. Well, her mother mentioned it to her at least twice or thrice a week anyway. And once she was rejected, where would she go?

She had shared her fears with her best friend, Mark. Mark was a sweet boy. He was older than her by around two years but they had been friends for as long as she can remember. Mark always had her back. He loved her like a little sister, at least that’s what Maya thought. Mark would roll his eyes at her when she would say her mate would reject her. He told her it would be good if he did, because it would prove he would be the dumbest person alive. He reminded her of all her good qualities, of how loyal and brave she was, how beautiful and genuine her personality was, and how great her company was. “If a girl isn’t fun to be around with, what would a pretty face and beautiful body be of any use?” Mark often said this. He felt very smart every time he said this. Maya, however, would roll her eyes. “Mark, you are still young, you do not know how important a pretty face and beautiful body are. Let me give you two more years, and I’ll ask you what is more important.” Maya thought she was smarter and knew more about the world than Mark. Turns out none of them knew any better.

Maya reluctantly went to her room to take a quick shower. Her mother had lined up all the beauty products on her washbasin to use on her hair, face, feet, hands, and practically her whole body. Well, she didn’t have time for all that. She took a quick shower, lathered some conditioner on her hair, and scrubbed her face and feet. She looked at her chipped nails and thought she would just take care not to use her hands in front of people a lot. As if that was possible.

There was a beautiful shimmery blue dress draped across her chair, with those sexy but horrible heels right beside them. Her mother must have very high expectations from this night, or she was just desperate. It was the night one of the most eligible bachelors in town would turn twenty-one and find his mate. He was a very handsome alpha, but Maya never gave a thought about him. She hoped his mate would be her kind and graceful friend Josephine. She had been the one drooling over him for four years now.

She put on her outfit, brushed her hair, and did her makeup. Even though she was never interested in all the girly dressing up, Maya knew how to do makeup like a pro. She had spent all these years dolling Josephine up on every occasion that came up and she loved every moment of it. Maybe, when her mate rejected her, she could go to Los Angeles and start up a salon. It would make her very happy, and she wouldn’t have to live with her mother’s disappointment for the rest of her life.

“Maya! Are you ready? We will be late. Her mother called from downstairs, making her snap out of her daydreaming.”