" Mei? " he said.
" Yeah? " she answered looking at him deep into the eyes.
" I'll always be there for you, no matter what. "
Six years later
" Mom? " she screamed. " Mom? Where are my shorts? I can't find them anywhere! Mom? Mom! God, why don't you ans- "
" Mei! Do you have to scream this way? I was talking on the phone with your new manager and she was saying that we have to leave this evening. " Christina said looking at her beautiful, perfect daughter.
Mei's jaw dropped. " What? Wh-what are you saying? This evening? But… " She just couldn't believe what she was hearing. They had a flight directed to Akillian, but the following week! She wasn't ready, her mom wasn't ready… well, maybe she was ready, she was always ready to do everything for Mei's career. She was a model, all her life had always been about that modeling thing. The girl just couldn't take it anymore, but her mother… her mother had always tried to make of her the most famous celebrity in the entire universe, and now that she was getting the attention of many people in the sector, Christina felt ready to leave everything just for an advertisement on the TV. She thought her mom was crazy, yeah, but somehow it was her dream too: to be famous all over the universe, to be loved.
" You heard me, we're leaving this evening. I won't accept negative comments on this. Prepare your luggages, we'll be at the airport at five o' clock. " her mother said not caring about the expression on Mei's face.
She closed the door, leaving her daughter all alone, incredibly annoyed. ' … i just can't believe it. Finally i get the permission to go out with a friend at night and we have to go to Akillian. ' she thought to herself. " Now we'll go there, I'll do that damned advertisement and I'll lose a month of my life seeing her on the phone all the time, waiting for the consent of the employers. '
She opened a luggage, placed inside jeans, trousers, blouses, jackets and everything she needed. Into another luggage she put shoes and heels: what she had to wear everytime she met important people. Then she took accessorizes and makeup. She needed to be perfect all the time.
She was finally ready, and made her way down the stairs, looking for her mother. She found her in the kitchen talking with her father. They were arguing, so she decided to listen to what they were saying.
" Christina you're totally crazy, how can you leave like this? This evening? Why do you do this to Mei? She just wanna live her life now, she's eighteen, she has the right to do what she wants but you always hold her back. Always. She needs to be supported but above all to be loved! It's okey to care about her career, but not so much! " her dad told Christina coldly.
" Not so much?! She's where she is just because of hard work! And her beauty obviously, but above all hard work! " replayed her mother. " She takes every chance she gets and she should thank me for that! I'm the one who will make her the most famous model in the entire galaxy, she'll be happy! She'll be even richer than she is right now! Do you understand me? She'll be thankful! We all will be happy! "
" No, you will be happy. She will be okey, but your dream will become true. Tell the truth. Maybe she dreams to be a famous model too but not this way, not forgetting all her life, not forgetting how to feel alive. Christina, think about it: do you want your dream to become true or a happy daughter? Tell me. "
Christina looked at him right into the eyes, icily. " We're leaving at seven o' clock, be sure to be at the airport so you can see Mei before we go. " Without saying anything else, she took her phone and started typing.
Mei, who had heard everything, run to her room without making noise, shocked by the discussion heard. She couldn't believe that her mother cared more about her own dream than her daughter. She felt like she couldn't handle it. She felt like air was missing. She felt like dying a little more. She felt like she was nothing to her mother. She was just a way to achieve her mother's dream.
She was nothing.
" Goodbye my angel, call me when you arrive, okey? " Joseph asked.
" Sure daddy, we'll call you. I already miss you… " Mei hugged him tight. " Goodbye! "
Mei reached her mother who was giving the luggages to a porter. Obviously their flight was private. A person like her mother would have never flown with a public spacecraft. The girl wondered how much it had cost to her parents… but it was definitely not her business. These times, she had just to be professional, as her mother wanted her to be. No questions, just work.
She entered, sat down and took her earphones to listen to music. She wanted to relax and free her mind. She needed it. She looked one last time at her planet, she would not see it for a month. A very long month.
Christina sat right next to her, looking at her phone. She was waiting for a call probably, to talk about something strange, something that Mei didn't want to know. All those boring, annoying things…
Mei decided to close her eyes, she didn't want to think anymore. All she wanted to do was dreaming. And she dreamed, she lost her mind creating a story.
She looked up and saw a white sky, it was snowing. It was so cold and icy, but she liked it. Under her feet there was just a snow's world. Everything was covered in white.
She run and run, she wanted to reach the horizon, because nothing would stop her. She tripped sometimes but she just got up laughing more than she had done before. She felt so happy. Then, out of breath, she stopped and… she had an idea! She was going to create a snowman! What a great thing! She made large snowballs, even though, at first, it had been difficult. When they took the shape required, she superimposed them. It already looked beautiful but… something was missing. It needed a nose, two eyes, a mouth, the arms, maybe even buttons. But where could she find those things? She looked around… oh man, sure! Trees! She found a tree covered in snow, so she took off the icy water and broke some branches. Luckily they were evergreen, so she used leaves to make the snowman's face and the branches to make its arms. Now, it looked perfect.
She smiled at it, as it was alive. She felt alive. Shefelt free. Shefelt like she was finally who she was. And it was amazing.
" Mei! Mei! " she heard someone scream. Wait, wasn't she alone? " Mei! " Who was that? She turned. " Mei where are you?! " It wasn't just a voice, but many voices.
Then shadows started to appear, and they were running. They were coming close, very close. At first she was scared, but then, seeing their faces, she started to understand.
" Mei! You're here! We… we've been searching… we've been searching you for so long… You're here. " a little boy said. He was breathless. They all were breathless. How much had they run?
" Guys what are you doing here? I thought I was alone… " she asked surprised.
" Alone? No! Why would you think it? " asked curiously a girl with blond hair.
" I… I don't know. " she answered.
" Well, ready for a snowball fight? " shouted a small boy with big blue eyes.
Mei widened her eyes. It wasn't her imagination.
They were her old friends. The ones she had left when she had moved to Genesis with her parents.
These were her memories.
It was her life.
It was Akillian.
It was her home.
" Mei? Mei? " a person said. Oh, it was her mother. " Mei, do you want to eat something? "
" Uhm? Oh yeah, chips please. " she answered.
" What? Chips? Oh no no my love. " Christina said surprised.
" Why not? " Mei asked.
" Because we go to Akillian to work, and you can't gain weight right now. " she replied serious.
" But… but mom! " she tried to complain, soon giving up. " Okey, then I won't eat anything, damn. " It was better to think about her dreams and memories, not to live the real life. It was too difficult for her, better believe that something could change. Maybe. She hoped. She really did.
It was better thinking about Akillian. Damn, she was going to Akillian! Her planet! She was going to see her… her friends? They lived there, didn't they? If so, it was going to be a great stay.