MOTHER'S ADVICE
1107 Words
Diane careened her car wildly through the gates, the tires screeching violently, and the car coming to a harsh metallic halt. In her disoriented state, Diane fumbled with the seatbelts and frantically tried to get it off like she was trying to break loose from a prison room. Once she unclasped it, she burst out of the car, slammed the door dangerously shut, and rushed into the house with her heels clapping quickly against the concrete.
“Mum!” Diane screamed when she got in. She took her shoes off and ran bare feet up the stairs.
“Mum! Where are you?” She called again.
She barged into Maya's room, and the latter turned her head from the window, with her phone to her ear.
“Mum—”
Maya put her index finger over her lips to indicate that Diane be quiet. The latter dropped her hand from the doorknob in defeat, still heaving heavily as she ran her hands through the strands of her long hair and disheveled it.
Maya returned her attention to her phone call, replacing her initial frown with a smile as she spoke to the person on the phone like they could see her face, “Yes, yes, of course. I would so much love to… yes… definitely… okay….hmm… Alright then. Have a lovely day. Bye.” She walked away from the window and flung her phone casually on the bed.
“And what was that for, miss? That was a very important call. You didn't even tell me you were in town already….”
“There's a big problem,” Diane declared straight up, showing utter panic on her face as she walked to where Maya was standing.
“Problem? What problem?” Maya asked with sudden interest and worry.
Diane sighed, holding her forehead.
“Talk to me already!” She pulled her daughter by the arm and ushered her to sit, “Here, let's sit.”
“I met Rydar today, mum,” Diane announced.
“Rydar? And who is that?”
Diane eyed her mother disappointedly, and she somehow understood whom Diane was referring to. Maya covered her mouth with both her hands in surprise, breaking into a chuckle.
“That celebrity you have a huge crush on?”
Diane nodded, “Yes, him.”
“That is crazy! My goodness,” Maya smiled enthusiastically, “isn't that great news? Why then do you have this ugly expression on your face?”
Diane winced from her headache and tried to think of how exactly to explain what had happened and what she was feeling.
“I was. I was completely over the moon. He came to me himself, you know?” Diane touched her chest in emphasis.
“He did?”
“Yes. I went to the restaurant with my friends, and he happened to be there. He came to me and hugged me like he knew me,” Diane began explaining in ragged breaths.
“I thought it was me… but it wasn't,” she frantically grabbed her mum's hands, “it wasn't me.”
“You're not making any sense, Diane,” Maya said in confusion. She couldn't understand why her daughter seemed so on edge, with so much fear in her eyes.
“If it wasn't you, then who was it?”
“Sky,” Diane breathed shakily.
“Huh?” Maya raised her brow incredulously, “What do you mean Sky?”
“He thought I was Sky! Don't you get it?” Diane screamed, getting up angrily from bed.
“ 'I looked for you everywhere', that's what he said to me,” Diane recounted.
“He could have meant someone else, Diane. Sky is dead.”
“There's only one person I know who could be easily mistaken for me, and that's Sky. There can't be someone else out there who has the same face as me and bears the name Sky! It has to be her!” Diane's voice cracked, and she was near tears as she paced around the room.
“It's her…”
“Sky is dead, and you know it,” Maya stood to convince Diane.
“Then why did he call me Sky?”
“He must have met her before she died. That would explain why he said he looked for you everywhere. He doesn't know she's dead. No one knows, remember?”
“Why did it have to be her and not me? You know how much I love Rydar, and I finally got to meet him only to find out he's interested in that witch. She's dead and still won't stop causing problems for me.” Diane cried and threw her arms around in a fit as Maya tried to get her to calm down.
“Hey… hey, my darling…. don’t think about that girl, okay? She's long gone from our lives and will remain dead in every meaning of the word there is.”
“Stop crying,” she wiped her daughter's eyes, but Diane wasn't ready to accept it.
“You say you love him very much, don't you?” She lovingly grabbed her daughter's face and wiped her tears with her thumbs.
“I'm obsessed with him, mum. So much I feel like my heart is going to explode,” Diane sobbed.
“That's completely fine, darling.”
“I saw the love and longing in his eyes when he looked at me… but it was all for Sky! I hate her so much! I hate this so much!”
“Then be whoever he wants,” Maya said.
“What do you mean by that?”
“We have yet to figure out what exactly his relationship was with Sky, or when they met. Whatever it is, you need to play along.”
“You mean to pretend to be Sky?”
Maya nodded.
There came the shrill cry of the doorbell downstairs, and the mother and daughter looked at each other in silence for some seconds.
“I think he followed me here,” Diane noted, alarmed, “I'm not sure, but I have a feeling he did,” she added.
“Madam," Maya's househelp came to the door, "a man says he's here to see Sky. But I told him there's no one—”
“Get out!” Maya harshly cut her short.
The young girl stepped away from the door and left.
Diane, with eyes widening in panic, grabbed her mother and asked, “What do I do? He's already here.” Her fingers were ice cold.
“Just play along,” Maya repeated.
- Writer
