In a room with a yellow flowery patterned wallpaper, two distinct giggles and chatter were heard. The room was a mess; plucked flowers were scattered here and there on the furnished wooden floor, crumpled paper balls and doodled scrap paper were all over the place, and splashes of paint had dried up on the floor.
Amongst the mess were two twelve-year-old girls that were shone by the sunset rays from the window. One of them had brown hair, and the other had blonde hair. The both of them were making flower crowns for each other, each with their own variety of flowers.
"Ella, I'm done! Come here!" Abbi called out, "This one will look really good on you!"
Abbi scooted over to the back of the blonde haired girl. She had stopped making her flower crown to look at the brown haired girl put on the crown that the girl had made for her.
The crown had a simple variety, but still very charming nonetheless. It was a mix of daisies and buttercup, a color mix of yellow and white.
"... There you go!" Abbi had placed the crown on Janella's head, "Take a look, take a look!" Abbi happily urged Janella.
"Okay!" Janella took a mirror and looked at herself; She looked very adorable with the crown. The mix of yellow, white, and green color from the crown very much suited the girl that wore it, especially with the big, sea blue eyes she had. She got her eyes from her mother.
Janella just stared at the mirror, her mouth was shaped like a small 'O', her eyes slightly widened.
"... Do… you like it?" Abbi found the silence uncomfortable.
Janella soon looked back at Abbi, "Do I like it?" After she said that, a big smile formed on her face, "I love it!" Janella tackled her beloved friend with a big hug. In response, Abbi spoke out a short high-pitched shriek from her surprise. The hug tackle had made the two girls land on the floor with Janella on top of Abbi's belly, making an X shape. The both of them laughed at what happened without a care for the world.
"Hey, what about mine?" Abbi looked at Janella.
"Ah… um…" Janella looked away awkwardly.
"..." Abbi smirked sheepishly, "Come on, show me!"
"No! It's… not done… Y-yes! It's not done!" Janella said nervously.
Abbi's cheeky smile still hasn't disappeared as she scooted a little bit towards the tin box containing flowers they had picked; Janella's crown was on the other side of the box.
"Ab, no," Janella's smile disappeared as she broke in cold sweat.
"Yes, Ella," Abbi smiled. Soon after, she started scooting quickly towards the box.
"ABBI, STOP!" cried Janella as she tried to stop her by planting her feet to the floor and hugging Abbi with her dear life.
Janella looked at Abbi with a pouty look and tears in her eyes, embarrassed. Abbi, on the other hand, was holding back her laughter as she looked at Janella's flower 'crown'.
Janella's flower crown was barely hanging there, with the flowers having lost most of its petals and the crown itself tied together so badly that it was going to fall from a single touch.
"D-Don't laugh!" Janella pouted.
"N-no, I'm not- pfft!" Abbi barely held her laughter.
"... I told you, it's not done…" Janella looked away sadly.
"No, no…" Abbi giggled a little bit, "It's fine!"
"... Are you kidding me?" Janella looked at Abbi annoyed
"No, no! I'm serious! You made this for me, so it's a very special thing."
Janella looked at Abbi, feeling a warmth in her heart after hearing that from her friend.
"I could help you tie it up! So it would be a whole lot sturdier."
"Sure!" Janella's mood had improved as she smiled. She scooted over beside Abbi as Abbi tried to re-knit the flower crown.
"Though, to think those hands of yours that can play amazingly apparently can't tie a single knot… pfft!"
Janella elbowed Abbi on her side abdomen in response to Abbi's comment.
"Ouch!"
"You deserved that."
Abbi giggled, "I did."
The both of them sat next to each other silently as Abbi steadily fixed Janella's crown. However, just a few moments later, the moment of silence was broken by the blonde haired girl.
"Though… Abbi…"
"Yeah?" Abbi responded.
"Why don't you come see me anymore?"
A brown haired girl woke up in a jolt in a dim room with dark green wallpaper. The curtains were closed, but not completely, letting some light in. The light had a gray color, a telling sign of a cloudy day.
It was all a dream. A happy memory from three months ago.
The two were very good friends and spent a great amount of time together. However… she was never able to meet her again.
She left her bed and headed for her wardrobe to change clothes, still wearing a saddened face. How long had it been since she had smiled again? Abbi herself didn't know.
After changing her clothes, she walked heavily towards the door and opened it into another day.
She wasn't looking forward to it.
The Angelos' house wasn't very big; it was a small two-story cottage with green roofing and the walls used gray colored stones. The entrance is leveled, with a flight of pale red-tiled stairs in front of it and a small garden just next to the stairs. All in all; it was an ordinary house in an ordinary neighborhood.
The little flower of the Angelos family walked towards the living room, being greeted by a familiar face.
"Oh, hello, dear," said Abbi's mother. However, she didn't have the gentle smile Abbi used to have. Instead, her expression was cold and loveless.
Abbi tried to smile at her mother, but the smile instantly disappeared, "...Good morning, Mama,"
"You must be hungry. Take a seat, dear," she said with a monotone voice as she looked away and enjoyed her cup of coffee.
Abbi's mother was sitting next to a round table with three seats; one for Abbi, one for Abbi's father, and one for Abbi's mother. It was the table where the three of them would have their meals together. On the table were fried eggs and bacon. The smell and look was enough to stimulate anyone's appetite.
Feeling hungry, Abbi walked towards a seat and helped herself to breakfast. Abbi took a glance at her mother; it was as if her mother was evading to even look at her. Abbi started to feel even more depressed from her mother's action.
However, this didn't surprise Abbi. After all, it had been quite some time her mother was acting like this towards her.
Breakfast was quiet and calm. The sunlight shone from a window from the side to a green wallpapered room. The antique furniture made the room feel like it was the 1900s instead.
The living room was filled with silence and the sound of metal wares clanging onto a ceramic plate.
While Abbi was eating her breakfast, her mother was sitting on the opposite side with her coffee. The smell of coffee subtly filled the living room.
"How's your schoolwork?"
Caught off guard by the question, Abbi paused her actions and processed what her mother had just said, "It's okay, Mama."
"Good," said her mother as she took another sip from her cup of coffee, "Ms. Mei will be here soon, so you should hurry up and get yourself ready."
Abbi nodded in response, "...Okay, Mama."
Ms. Mei was Abbi's homeschooling teacher that Abbi's mother employed a few months beforehand. Ms. Mei was a strict yet kind teacher, so Abbi was comfortable with her homeschooling teacher.
However, Abbi used to not get homeschooled.
Back before Ms. Mei became her homeschooling teacher, Abbi normally went to school like any other child. However, her mother had decided to switch Abbi's education into homeschooling. It was an unusual change, but Abbi trusted her mother.
After all, parents want the best for their children.
Shortly after Abbi's mother asked Abbi, Abbi had finished her breakfast and tidied up after herself.
"I'll go and prepare myself, Mama," said Abbi as she gave a smile to her mother just after she put her dish into the dishwasher.
"Alright, dear," Abbi's mother responded, one hand on the cup's handle.
Abbi walked towards the stairs to take her books, but paused in front of the stairs and looked back towards her mother.
"Mama?" Abbi called.
"Yes?" Abbi's mother responded but didn't look at Abbi.
"... Never mind, Mama," Abbi looked down. She wanted and hoped that her mother would be her usual self again, telling Abbi how she loved her and showering her with attention and compliments. However, deep inside Abbi, she had believed that the version of her mother that she wanted would never come back.
Abbi looked at her mother for a while, and continued to go to her room to prepare herself.
Ms. Mei was a short-haired teacher with slanted eyes, a beauty mark just right under her right eye. Her face complexion and eyes gave everyone around her the impression that she was a strict and scary person, which was actually true most of the time.
Currently, Ms. Mei was in the Angelos' study room with Abbi on a singular table as she was about to wrap up her lesson. The study room was a room with book-filled bookshelves on all its sides with one window. In the middle of the room was a round table and two wooden chairs with a back and under cushion.
"... That's all for today, Abbi. Good work. You have improved," Ms. Mei said sternly.
"Thank you, miss," said Abbi mentally exhausted; she didn't like and wasn't suited for academics.
Ms. Mei put back her scoring book and a bunch of her teaching materials that she usually brought around to teach her students with. She then looked at Abbi with a worried look that broke the impression of a strict and scary Ms. Mei.
"... Has your mother considered changing your syllabus?"
"... No, miss," said Abbi.
Ms. Mei paused for a second and took off her glasses. She sighed, "Abbi, you have to know, this… is not normal. 3 hours a day for homeschooling and for only 3 subjects is never normal in any teacher's book. Are you sure you asked your mother to reconsider it?"
"Yes, I did, miss."
Ms. Mei massaged the bridge of her nose hearing Abbi's response. Despite her strict demeanor, she truly cared about the students she schooled.
This wasn't the first time Ms. Mei had tried to convince Abbi's mother to change the requested study menu. Abbi's mother had seemingly accepted Ms. Mei's suggestion, but never acted upon it. "I'll think about it," was all that Abbi's mother had and kept saying to her.
"... What did she say?" Ms. Mei asked.
"Mama said that Ms. Mei has to stop trying, and that this is for my own good," Abbi looked at the table, not meeting her teacher's eyes.
Ms. Mei stayed silent, sensing that Abbi had much more to say.
"Mama said that I should strive to become a very good pianist, so Mama made it so I could practice the piano more," said Abbi, slightly mumbling her words.
Ms. Mei looked at Abbi concerningly, "Abbi, it's never a good idea to not have other options in life. So you should at least learn the things every other child learns at school. That way, you'll have more to choose from. Besides, Abbi, I'm sure there are other things you want to try out other than piano?"
"I…" Abbi paused for a moment, and then finished her answer, "No, I… I love only the… piano."
Abbi lied, there were many things she wanted to try other than the piano.
"Mama said that I will also become an amazing pianist, and she wants me to. Mama said my future will be bright if I do so."
Abbi remembered the past three months and started to doubt herself.
"And also, Miss, I… really love playing the piano," Abbi said with a smile, "So I'll do what Mama says."
Abbi lied again.
Ms. Mei just sat and looked at Abbi in silence. She wetted her lips as she looked away, and finally sat up from the chair. Ms. Mei had clearly seen through the hesitation and lies Abbi had said, but decided that Abbi had her reasons.
"... Very well, Abbi. If you have thought this through, I'll not say anything again," Ms. Mei turned toward the direction of the door, "Don't forget to do your homework, Abbi, I will see you tomorrow."
"Okay, Miss. Thank you," said Abbi.
"And Abbi," Ms. Mei stopped again, turning her head towards Abbi, but not enough to see Abbi herself.
"Yes, Miss?"
"... If you need some help, don't hesitate to call me."
"... Okay, Miss."
"Okay. See you tomorrow, Abbi," Ms. Mei resumed to walk towards the door in order to leave the household.
As Ms. Mei walked towards the door, the door was opened from the other side by Abbi's mother.
Ms. Mei paused after seeing Abbi's mother, excused herself and walked out of the room. Abbi's mother looked at Abbi soon after.
"Are you done, dear?"
"Yes, Mama."
"Good. Let's go and practice."
Abbi just silently followed her mother who was already walking towards another room.
"Good. Now better. Again."
These three words were words that Abbi's mother only spoke to Abbi when they were practicing for the rest of the day. Despite Abbi's well performed plays, the word 'better' never seemed to stop from her mother's mouth.
Despite her attempts at getting better, she wasn't improving a lot. Rather, it seemed to have done a lot more hurt than good. Lately, Abbi's fingers had been aching because of the sheer amount of practice she had to do. It wasn't just the fingers; she was mentally drained as she kept trying her best to concentrate and try to play better. At some point, she would lose focus and hurt her fingers by grazing the piano tuts. There were already bruises present on her fingers.
After she had ended a very good play, she looked at her mother with a pained expression.
"Mama, can I take a break? My fingers hurt."
"We'll take care of it later. Now, again."
"But Mam-"
"Again," Abbi's mother said with a look that Abbi had never seen before; cold and without love.
Afraid, Abbi started playing again.
For the past three months, this was what Abbi did daily for 6 hours a day. Normally, Abbi would've done it for 2 to 3 hours a day. However, for reasons that didn't come to Abbi's mind, her mother had suddenly shunned her off from going to Janella's house and made her practice more and more. At first, Abbi's practice was as fun as it was before and her mother was gentle and encouraging. But as time went on, her mother grew less and less encouraging and colder to Abbi. The entire training regiment wasn't helping Abbi either, as she slowly went down in ranking for every competition she faced in.
Her mother didn't even bother to stop the regiment, however.
Abbi's fingers were currently aching like hell as she played. She wanted to cut her fingers off if it was the last thing she did. Everytime her old bruises hit the tuts, she would wince from the pain, throwing off the tempo of her current play. Slowly but surely, Abbi would hit her breaking point. The mental stress from the pain was too much for her.
Finally, she went past her limit and started to hit all the wrong notes. She soon stopped as the song was beyond recovery at this point and that her fingers were hurting so much. Tears had formed from her eyes as she whimpered.
She looked at her mother, expecting that her mother would help treat her fingers. However…
She soon found herself on the floor, the right side of her head feeling a numbing pain. She sat herself up and looked at her mother with a confused look. She had a hand on the right side of her head in response to the pain.
Her mother had a hard covered book on her right hand; her very own mother, the one who had encouraged her, the one who had cared for her, the one who had always given her a gentle smile,
that very person had hit her with the hard covered book on her hand.
Abbi looked at the book and looked back at her mother with a confused and afraid look. Her mother had a cold and angry expression on her face. Her breathing had erratically started to pace faster as she instinctively tried to distance herself from her own mother.
"You worthless child."