» Chapter one: Words of Farewell
The sun glared down her naturally pale skin as sweat trailed down her forehead and onto her ragged shirt, causing a damp space on her chest and back. She was a hard working lady who faithfully served her mistress. She was not in a great possession of jewelries or even a single nickle of money. All she had is her ragged clothing and the debt left for her to shoulder.
"Three sacks of flour, three sacks of cinnamon seeds, four sacks of yeast and lastly, a sack of sugar, nicely done with the richest sugar cane there is. Is everything complete, Ma'am?" Her soft voice rang as she checked the inventory. "Hmmm. You can get lost now." The other older woman commanded, taking a sit on her couch causing it to sink miserably because of her weight.
"Okay, thank you." She smiled and left without a single word right after thanking her. Her name is Renee. As introduced awhile ago, she is a hard working lady. But that's not how it worked before. Before her father's death, they lived in a beautiful mansion in one of the richest parts of London. However, after getting her father killed on his way back home, all of their money was stolen by those people who claimed that her father owed them money. Renee's mother had no choice but to give in. Renee was quite young back then and her mother didn't want to snatch the opportunity to teach her child many things as she grew up. Maybe some plans would change since her husband has died, but she still had many dreams to fulfill for Renee. Plus, what else can she do to save themselves against guns and pointy sword? She was not even armed with a small knife.
The door closed softly as a brown haired girl entered the house. "Renee? Is that you?" A faint voice asked. Renee faintly smiled as she walked closer towards the rocking chair that laid near the window. "Good Afternoon, Mom. Are you hungry?" She asked, wiping the sweat off of her mother's forehead. After Renee's father died and after those men took their money, Renee's mother had been ill. She wanted to heal her but she couldn't. They didn't have money.
"Did you go to that woman again, Renee?" Her mother asked, frowning. "Mom, I have to. Ms. Francheska is our last hope to stand back up. No matter how hard the job I'm taking in her hands is, I would still take it as something I'd have to thank her for in the future. I've been earning some money. May it be a small portion everyday." She smiled, taking a small bag from her pocket and placing it towards her mother's palm. "I've bought us some food on my way home. I'm sorry if this is all I could handle to buy..." She looked down making her mother tear up.
"Come here, Renee..." She mumbled, pulling the girl up into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry for making you suffer like this. I should be the one working my bones out there." She cried, making Renee laugh... A bitter one. "You don't have to be sorry, Mother. I'm doing this because I want you to get better. And by then, we could help each other to get out of this rat hole. Just like how you did with dad. Okay, mom?"
This is the type of scene Renee gets to cope up with every time she gets home. Everytime her mother looked at her with that pained expression, it felt like something very sharp and cold was being plunged into her skin, making it unbearable and utterly painful. She would either shrug the pain off with a smile or plainly ignores it as she talked to her mother.
"Thank you, My child." No matter how hard life was, Renee's mother was happy to have her daughter growing up as she wanted her to be. The girl who never gets blinded by money like how her father once did. A girl who has faith and dignity. A girl who wielded her own weapons in the neatest and purest way.
"Good morning, Mom. Breakfast is ready. I'd be heading off now. Ms. Francheska has something for me to do today." Renee informed, pecking the forehead of her mother. "Okay, stay safe at work, and go home early..." Her mother smiled and reached out for her daughter's cheek. "But you know, Renee... If you had just left me here and be happy somewhere, I'd be very, very happy." Her mother cried. There it was again. The pain that surged throughout her heart. "No, Mother. I will come back and I would come back bringing you fortune each day so that we could become happy together. So please don't say anything like that. I will come back, okay?"
Something was off with the way her mother looked at her. It was terrifying. It made her heart break. It almost made her stay home believing that her words seemed like her farewell to her. She feared that the moment she left the house's doorpost was going to be the time she'd last see her mom.
But no, she must move on and push the negative things aside. "Ms. Francheska, you called me earl—"
Renee's vision went blur as she crouched down, trying to find her focus again. But what she saw was the bouncing figure of her boss as the whole place erupted with laughter. Along with her vision, her hearing was muted as well. She tried to reach out but ended up being knocked unconscious.