Chapter 16
The next morning, Mira woke up a few minutes early before the alarm clock on her phone rang. She was taking in her surroundings, feeling bizarre that she doesn't have classes or was expected to be at the table with her family.
Well, Rani is still her sister but...
Not once had she ever told Mira to be ready for something, let alone join her at a specific time. For the first time, time was moving slowly compared to the fast-paced she had known. Exiting her room, she saw Rani and Mr. Snake having breakfast at the table.
Stacks of pancakes with maple syrup oozing down and smoked sausages on the side with some cherry tomatoes.
They were enough to make her stomach rumble. A part of her wanted to join them to have those delicious meals for breakfast but another part was still hesitant. If her mother or grandfather ever noticed a change from her, they'd probably locked her up in solitary confinement.
It was the very reason she had not switched on her phone.
"Morning, Mira," her sister greeted her. Mira shyly nodded at Mr. Snake, who was sipping his cup of coffee. "Come have breakfast with us."
The young woman sat at the opposite side of the table where she was facing Rani while Mr. Snake sat at the head of the table. As Mira placed a few pancakes on her plate, her sister broke the silence, "So, did you sleep well?"
Mira nodded but was giving them a knowing glance. Confused, Mr. Snake stretched his tail over to tap Mira on the hand. "Something happened last night? Your mom or-"
She immediately shook her head and then spoke up, "You two had an interesting night?"
Now both of the spouses exchanged glances, face heated. "Oh my god!" Rani exclaimed, "Sorry if we were loud, but we tend to lose ourselves whenever..."
"Whenever the moment's just right," Mr. Snake finished the sentence before giving his wife a wink that made her blush and smile at him. It warmth Mira's heart to see her sister this happy. She proved something that her mother would ever deny:
Happiness does exist even without a status or position in this hustled world.
Mira raised her hand, indicating that it was all good. She was trying her damn best not to look at her phone but Rani had beat her to that. "Been off since yesterday?" she asked with concern. Reluctantly, Mira nodded as she took a small bite of her pancake. Not even the sweet maple could quell the anxiety in the pits of her stomach.
"Do you want us to read it with you?" Rani offered. Mira looked up from her phone, seeing her sister and Mr. Snake watching her intently. Pressing a hand to her chest, Mira began to turn on her phone. Immediately, she was bombarded by more than a hundred messages such as:
Mira! pls respond! Where r u?
Answer me! I'm your mother!
When is the assignment due? :p
Mira pls come home :( miss u so much 3 u know I won't be mad at you my darling
The last message made her skin crawl since the ID was from none other than her grandfather. Even Rani looked disgusted at the messages. Mr. Snake said nothing but held both of them comfortingly in his coils.
"My god," Rani whispered, her eyes never leaving the bright white screen. "How long has this been going on? And our grandfather...why...just why?"
Mira was relief that she was not alone but now...there's a chance that her mother might have a search party looking for her. She doesn't want to run away but at the same time, she felt guilty to have her sister and Mr. Snake take the heat from her.
"I'm calling Wolf," said Rani, to which Mr. Snake gave her a peck on the lips before she dialled the number on her phone. The said serpent began to coughed out something from his mouth, which made Mira horrified at the sight.
It was a pocket knife.
"Best to be prepared," said, Mr. Snake as he wiped off the drool before giving her the weapon. Thankfully, it wasn't covered in a lot of snake spit. Holding it close, it was her first time feeling something so sharp yet so small in her hands.
She nodded a thanks to him as they watch with bated breath as Rani talked on the phone.
...
Meanwhile at the wrong part of town, both Mr. Shark and Mr. Piranha were taking down a few goons that were trying to drown a helpless lady. They never would have thought that taking down a few of those guys opened up a can of worms.
"Why didn't Wolf tell us that we're in the middle of the Goodfellas?!" Mr. Shark asked, ducking under a car. Of course, the gang members tried to fire at the great white shark since he was bulky. He was shielding the terrified girl from getting shot. This was the worst mission he had ever been in.
As for Mr. Piranha, this was the best mission ever!
It took him at least ten minutes to take on every guy bigger than him. While Mr. Shark was capable of fighting, he wanted to make sure the woman was safe from harm. In a nutshell, this mission was caused by a feud between gangs and the young girl was caught in the crossfires.
"I want my mommy," the little girl whimpered, burying herself into Mr. Shark's chest. He rubbed her back comfortingly and told her, in a gentle tone, to only look at him. He was backing away slowly until he was out of the gun fight.
That was when a woman rushed toward him. "Sofia! Oh, my baby!"
"Mommy!"
Immediately, she jumped out of Mr. Shark's embrace to reunite with her mother, causing Mr. Shark to tear up at the scene. The former Bad Guy had a soft spot for children and seeing them smile warms his heart.
The mother looked up at him, taking his fin into her hands. "Thank you, for saving her. Both of us got lost in the crowd when the gang war happened. I can't thank you enough."
Sofia then threw her arms around Mr. Shark's thick neck to give him a tight hug. It was so sudden that it made his dorsal fin wag while his expression was flustered. "Thank you, Mr. Shark! You're a good fishy!"
The pair left, leaving Mr. Shark all by himself until Mr. Piranha came up. He was covered in blood and debris but other than that, he was fine. "All good, brother?"
"Y-yeah, Fin Bro," Mr. Shark cleared his throat, then picked up his friend to clean up the dirt with a handkerchief. Both of them had not say a word until Mr. Piranha asked, "Since you came back from Snake's apartment, you seemed happy. Is Mira okay?"
The thought of the young woman and the moment they shared at the beach made Mr. Shark want to kick his feet in the air like some lovesick puppy. "She's okay," said Mr. Shark with softness in his tone. "You really care about her, huh?"
"Of course! Not only is she sweet but beautiful as well~"
"She is," Mr. Shark sighed. Realising what the both of them said, the great white shark asked carefully, "You got something to tell me?"
"No," Mr. Piranha shook his head but then a small fart was heard. This made the shark narrowed his eyes while the freshwater fish gave a frustrated sigh of being caught. "Oookay, I HAVE something to tell you then. Only if we say it on the count of three. One...two...three!"
Thus, the both of them shouted simultaneously:
"I love Mira!"
"I love Mira!"
Oh god, how will this end? Who will Mira choose and what to do about her family?
If you think I'm exaggerating on how Mira's grandfather/mother treats her, you'd be surprise. And I thought Rani's stalker in the previous story "Charmed" was terrifying...