My daughter's secret
As soon as I held her for the first time in my arms, I wondered what future would hold for my precious daughter.
I remember the majority of that day Minako was born very vividly, although being in labour and giving birth feels like a blur now. I remember everything after, my thoughts, my words and so on. It was the best day of my life, I had fallen in love with my little girl the moment I heard her wail out. I knew from the moment she was placed in my arms, I had to become a good mother to make sure my precious child knows she is loved.
Being a housewife it was mainly me who was taking care of Minako during her early childhood. My husband, who was always working, loved his little girl dearly and was a great father but I had always felt that the bond between her and I was stronger than his.
I was so happy watching her grow, I kept track of every milestone she hit as a baby and took pictures whenever I could. She was a happy baby, she only cried when she was hungry, in pain or needed to be changed. Her favourite thing was to snuggle and sleep on my chest, while I rocked her. Not only was she an easy baby, she was just so beautiful with her soft blonde hair and baby blue eyes, to this day she is the strikinly most beautiful person I know.
At the time I missed the infant stage but at the same time, I was so happy seeing the person she was becoming.
As she grew the closer we became, I tried everything to make sure she had the best childhood, thankfully she was always a cheerful girl. She enjoyed playing volleyball and loved to watch idols, since that was her dream to become one, I believed in her like I always have. She may have been a bit of an academic slack in grade school but the teachers and other students adored her.
I remember the day she brought home her first ever best friend, Hikaru Sorano, they were both in first grade. Hikaru was also athletic just like my daughter but she was a lot more calm than Mina, the two got along so well and would do stuff all the time with each other. Their friendship carried on into middle school, they did drift but healthily. Of course I was concerned why my daughter had stopped going out with her best friend all of a sudden but something in me knew, she had moved on to people who suited her better.
I was just so proud watching my baby grow into the strong young woman she is now.
When she reached middle school things started to change… Sure she was still underachieving at school but that was the least of my concerns. I have to admit I was way too harsh on her, I would berate her for oversleeping, failing school and even when she whined about the slightest things, I even made her cry, I still feel horrible about it. I slammed my husband for being a failure in a dead end job, telling my daughter that if she doesn't study she will end up like him. I feel so guilty not only for my little girl but for my husband as well.
One day she had just brought a cat home. I had previously told her that she was not responsible enough for a pet but there was just something about that cat. My daughter told me his name was Artemis and that she needed him, I wanted to say no but my inscist was telling me that there was more to that cat than just a pet. My daughter never seemed to like him at that time but I knew she needed him, so I said, yes. She thanked me and went off, thankfully I had done something right to please my daughter.
Once Artemis came, I noticed that my daughter wasn't around a lot specifically at night. I wasn't too concerned at first but the more frequent the more I was worried. My husband never noticed that much due to his work, he always thought that our daughter was at cram school or was asleep. Juban was always a safe area of Tokyo but suddenly these horrible monsters disguised as regular people were showing up. I was so scared that my daughter would be possessed by one of them considering she was out at night luckily Sailor V was fighting them but really who was Sailor V?
Sailor V did look a lot like my daughter with her blonde hair, blue eyes ,big red ribbon and a similar gorgeous smile. There was the time Sailor V came out and Mina disappeared at the airport. I was shocked and was wondering where my daughter was. At the time I just thought there was no way that my silly girl could be a courageous magical girl. Gosh was I wrong…
The more time passed, the more distant she became. I would ask her how her day was, she would reply and go off to do her own thing. She was still happy at that time and I tried everything to make sure that happiness stayed but of course, I could not do everything.
She asked me if she could go to china for a short 'school trip', I knew it was for something else and I knew she was going alone for a reason that I didn't know of but I knew it was important. Like any good mother I let her go.
Everything changed after that trip…
My daughter was no longer that cheerful little girl she once was, she seemed lonely and down. She no longer saw and spoke to Hikaru. She would go to school, go home, disappear and then come back home. I stopped berating her, I knew I shouldn't have it, I did tell her to try better on her grades but I knew that did not help, although cram school may have helped I let her quit, I knew it was for the best.
I asked her if she needed anything, she refused, I tried to help, I couldn't, something was going on in my childs life that I was not supposed to know. I knew the only thing I could do was to always be there and support her, hoping she will be the cheerful girl she once was.
Suddenly a miracle happened. She was happy again and not only that,she matured and made friends. I felt so relieved and happy that my baby girl was becoming her normal self again but a more mature version. I was so glad when she introduced me to them, they were such amazing girls.
There was Usagi whom Mina was closest to. She was a blonde with odanga buns, she was very bubbly, although she was a bit clumsy, she was the perfect friend for my daughter. Ami was an academic genius but also a sweetheart. I was glad Mina had a role model to help her study. Rei was a gorgeous miko who also had spiritual powers, my daughter adored her despite teasing her for being a 'man hater'. Makoto was a sweet hearted, tough girl, who was also an amazing cook, she was always someone I would have wanted my daughter to be friends with.
Seeing my little girl make such amazing friends had always warmed my heart, sure not everything with her was back to normal but things were getting better or weren't they?
I still noticed my darling daughter disappearing often, I swore I even heard Artemis talking, I knew there was always something about that cat but how was I just realising now. Everything was confusing until I found an answer, I knew I should not have known but I was endlessly proud it gave me so many answers to my daughters behaviour.
My daughter was Sailor Venus before that she was Sailor V. My baby was out fighting all these monsters with her friends but she did it alone first. Artemis was not a normal cat, he was my daughter's partner.
How did I know? I heard her transform and sneak out the house when she was Sailor Venus, she did not see me thankfully but what will happen now that I know her biggest secret? I didn't want to tell my husband and that was for sure. Suddenly it came to my mind what I needed to do…
The best thing I could do was just love and support my daughter while pretending I don't know, yet still being proud of everything she does. I would also hope that this would improve our relationship, even if it doesn't. I just want my child to know how loved she is. The thing I wanted her to always know from the moment I was pregnant with her.
"I'm heading out, see you mama." My daughter called as she left for school.
"Bye Mina, have a great day! I love you." I called to her as she shut the door.
I was hoping that she would not be out there fighting tonight and she will be home tonight but I'll never know…
I heard her walk into the house and to her bedroom, past midnight, and it turns out she did fight another battle…
I walked into her bedroom, where she was fast asleep, she must have been exhausted from that battle earlier. It looked like she must've fallen asleep as soon as she came home. I slightly giggled as she had fallen asleep in her school uniform, in the past I berated her for this but now I just know how hard and courageous she is for what she does.
She looked just like a baby sleeping, she was just so cute.I put a blanket on her and caressed her cheek and long blonde hair as I sat beside her on her bed.
"I love you Mina, I am so proud of you. Sleep well my baby girl." I kissed her cheek before quietly leaving her room.