Sonata of The Shattered | Book I

Curiosity Kills You, They Said

3 May 2022

The end of the term's exam will be here soon and Fransesca made sure that Christine would have more time to study at home instead of going around with her friends. Thankfully, Christine was a responsible daughter who always did her best in her studies and she always wanted to show her mother that she could be a daughter she's proud of.

"Mommy, I'm home!"

She let her know by shouting after she closed the apartment door while taking off her shoes, putting it back into the shoe rack on the left side of the doorway. There, the woman put down papers of datas on the table and greeted her daughter with a warm hug and a smile across her face.

"Good evening, sweetheart. Do you want warm tea or milk for today?" asked the woman, as usual. Christine hummed for a while before she came up with a decision. "Can I have warm tea for today, mommy? It's been a while since I had my last warm tea." she replied. "Sure, darling. Clean up and have your dinner after. Then, revise your study of the day, okay?"

Christine nodded and walked herself into her room, leaving her mother all alone in the living room once again. She moved her feet to the kitchen to make her daughter a cup of warm tea as she reheated the meal for their dinner. No matter how busy or tired they are, they always make sure that they enjoy their dinner together.

Fransesca was well-known by those around her with her cooking skills, thus her daughter herself won't miss dinner for that particular reason. Every single day, the menu changes and all of it tastes delicious! So often Christine would ask her mother to cook more so she could show it to her friends at school that her mother cooks like a chef and Fransesca who found joy in cooking, would never say no.

Fifteen minutes passed yet felt like less than five when Christine showed up, sitting herself down on the dining table, ready to enjoy her delicious meal of the night made with love by her beloved mother, Fransesca Adelaidine. "Mommy, let's eat together?"

Fransesca nodded and sat herself on the opposite side of her daughter. After having a short prayer to thank God for His blessings through the meals they'll be having, they dig into it with their cutleries.

"Mommy, I've been wondering about a matter that started to disturb me. Uh, perhaps not disturb, but it makes me wonder... as I think I'm old enough to know about the matter. Sooner or later, you should explain the whole thing to me as well." Christine told her mother about what has been the clouds to her heart.

"What is it, sweetheart? Shoot me the question and I'll try my best to answer it based on what I know." Fransesca replied, agreeing to answer her daughter's question without knowing the matter she wanted to discuss firsthand. She perhaps never thought that her daughter would ask her the question this young.

"Mommy, may I know my father's name?"

That sentence of question brought her heart to a shock, as she soon coughed from choking on her own food. Never she thought that her daughter would ask her this question today. Out of the blue indeed. Christine never brought the topic to her, not even once— yet now she struck her out of the blue with a question in which... was the hardest to answer.

"I'm sorry that my question probably upset you and made you shocked. But now that I'm stepping into high school, shouldn't I know about him... at least a bit? A name, maybe? My friends, all of them have a father but me. I'm all alone, knowing nothing about my own father though I never experienced his love and care before."

Fransesca put down her cutleries and took a sip on a glass of water to calm herself down. She was flustered, but she didn't want to show it too clear in front of her daughter. No matter what, the matter she currently asks was something that she'll need to talk over with her daughter. But it's just that she didn't have a plan yet on how and what she should explain to the young lass.

"Sweetheart, it's not that I don't want to tell you his name nor the story behind us," Fransesca smiled at her. "There are several things that I need to take care of before I could tell you everything that you need to know, clearly— with no exaggeration, for sure. Nothing but the honest story. The truth that will forever change you and I wanted you to know that.. that I'm preparing you for the worst as well."

"Then, tell me when mom? Pretty please?"

Again, her request silenced her. Her lips were shut as she heard her demand; when. When will she tell her all the truth about her relationship with the man from the past and the story of her existence in this world? When? Something that she couldn't answer at the very current moment.

Her heart that stopped beating earlier now starts to race faster. She could feel that it started to suffocate her indirectly, causing her to close her eyes for a while. To calm herself down from the anxiety that started to engulf her in a matter of seconds.

Nothing's wrong from the question that Christine asked her, but certainly it was her that started to overreact over the fact that she hid so many things regarding it from her little angel. It was too hard to avoid the reaction she unintentionally showed in front of her beloved daughter.

"I will tell you before your next birthday."

"I will tell you everything before you turn sixteen."

Christine has her right to know and to find out about the matter and she promised her, so it was natural for the lass to ask her mother when and what's actually the story... the secret she tried to hide for so long from her child and everyone around her as well. Nobody knows who's the father to Christine except the family next door (re: Khaizan) and her late mother.

She knew that the answer that she gave to her daughter didn't satisfy her but that's the only answer she could give to her at the moment. She knew that she should start planning things as soon as possible in order to let Christine know the facts in the best possible way of two-way communication and so on.

The light and hope in her eyes were deemed as Christine received the answer from her mother, but at least now she knew that in less than a year, she'll know something about her father and the past that bound her as well. Christine knew that it was hard for her mother to tell the truth, but it was harder for her to live knowing nothing but covered up secrets.

'God, help me... for I can't go through this alone.' she prayed in silence, inside her heart. Because she knew the one that she needed to face. The man she decided to hide away from. She knew that she had no choice but to face him and all the bitter memories and the feelings inside.

to be continued.