Maya lay await that night, staring at the dark ceiling. A few stars twinkled outside her window, and an owl hooted quietly in the distance. She breathed, heavily, as her thoughts raced through several scenarios. How would Angelou react to the news? After 4 years of dating, her and Angelou had been voted the most popular couple in the whole town. And yet, even now in this quiet room, her heart seemed to break into a million tiny pieces every time she thought of what her mom had said to her that evening. “We are leaving.” The words had sliced through the air like a sharp knife. “Leaving?” Maya had asked, her voice failing her. Her mom had looked at her. Cold. Unmoving. Maya suddenly remembered the days when her mom’s face used to be bright and carefree, and when laughter had filled their two-story condo. But her mother’s face was now filled with hard lines and the spark that had once been in her eyes was long gone. She looked at Maya. No remorse, no sadness. Just fatigue that seemed to come through the bones. It was etched in every corner of her body. Maya sighed. She wanted to argue, to scream, to yell, to stomp upstairs and bang the door. But she was tired. So tired, all she could do was shrug and pick at the pickled onion in her plate. And now here she lay, in the dark, thinking of the memories, the first day she had met him. It was in physics class. She hadn’t wanted to take physics but her mom had insisted she take it. She had sat on a cold, hard desk with her stationary laid before her. Mr. Piggins drawled in a slow, sleepy voice about Kinetics and the Laws of Physics, occasionally stopping to cough hard into his handkerchief. She had sat there, wondering if she would survive half a year in this class. Then suddenly, the door had swung open. A tall boy, slim and about her height, walked in, bright eyed and breathing heavily. Mr Piggins stopped abruptly and everyone turned to look at the newcomer. The newcomer, totally unaware that everyone’s eyes were upon him, went to the desk Mr. Piggins was sitting on and shook his hand vigorously. “A good morning to you sir,“ he said, in a slight accent, “Sorry I am late, where do I sit?” Mr. Piggins, slightly shocked by this interruption, peered at him through his spectacles and then beckoned him to an empty chair, which the handsome stranger quickly occupied, winking at his neighbour, Maya, who turned away to hide her blush. He was very active in class, raising his hand to object and share opinions. This made the class livelier and soon the class wasn’t as much of a bore as it had been in the beginning. Soon, she and him were paired for a group project, and she was invited to his house, where he moved her to the treehouse, because “it was quieter there.” There, he had professed his undying love to her and had asked her on their first date. She sighed as she thought of that night, the wind whistling through her hair as they drove past acres of farmland in his old beat-up truck. She had laughed and shrieked and had sipped on cold kool-aid through the night until her mom had called her angrily demanding that she get home. That had been the beginning of the best days of her life. Every day after that had been equivalent to a dream as she fell more and more in love with Angelou. But one night, Angelou had dropped her off and driven off leaving her standing at the door. She had heard the sounds of digging coming from the backyard and wondered what anyone could be doing out there at this time of the night. She tried the door. It was locked. She shivered slightly in the cold, and made the decision to go see who was in the backyard. A few moments later, she saw her mother. There in the dark, silhouetted against the moonlight, with a shovel in her hands. She looked pale, and her thin frame looked almost stick-like as she bent down to shovel some sand into a large hole. Maya shuddered, and silently approached her mother, stopping only a few metres to whisper, “Mother?” Her mom started in fright. “Mom, what are you doing?”, Maya asked. She moved a few steps forward to peak into the hole, but her mother grabbed her from behind. Maya shook her off and stood at the edge of the hole to see what was inside. In the hole lay several bags, taped together, and in them were many dollar bills, $100, $500 dollar notes. Maya gasped, trembling uncontrollably as she turned to look at her mom. Her mom looked at her, her face expressionless. “I had to do it,” she said. Maya froze. The Rudledge robbery, it had happened only a few nights ago and police were on patrol everywhere around town. 2 women were injured and a child was shot dead in the $50 000 0000 heist. The town was still abuzz with the news. Maya couldn’t believed her eyes. Her head spun as tears sprung into her eyes “That was Tony Brooke’s brother, she cried!” She collapsed onto the ground and her mom, dragged her away from the pit and continued to cover up the hole. Maya lay on the ground sobbing. A few minutes later, they sat at the dinner table. Maya picked at the pickled onions in her plate, her eyes still red and puffy from crying. Her mom sat across from her, motionless. “Do you know what I have had to do to provide for you and your sister,” her mother finally whispered. “The pain I’ve had to endure, the suffering that I had to go through.” Maya didn’t reply. Her mother got up from the table. “We’re leaving,” she said, “we are leaving this town and we are going to start afresh.” Maya shuddered as she watched her mother walk towards the kitchen. The room was damp and cold. Then, she felt an iciness behind her. Suddenly, a cold hand gripped her shoulder. She jumped, startled by the sudden touch. Maya! Maya!! Maya opened her eyes to see her mother standing over her, gently shaking her shoulder. “Wake up Maya, it’s almost time for Angelou’s game.” Her mom laughed, “Goodness Mia, you’ve drooled all over your face.” Mia drowsily got up and looked across her bed. She noticed her laptop, still open from yesterday when she was watching the series, ‘My Mom’s a Murderer.’ Her mom laughed again and stood up, I’ve got to finish up in the garden but make sure to call that boyfriend of yours and tell him to be on time today okay?

The End…

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