Together Apart | ✓

|Chapter XVII|

It's hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember

Chapter 17: An unborn child

Her hair was just like mine. We shared the same smile which emphasised our cheekbones more. People say that I'm a copy and paste of her when in reality that wasn't entirely true. Where she had chocolate brown eyes I received my eyes from my dad.

The women who sat on the soft cushioned couch was my mother. Her legs were crossed together on the couch as she watched the moving graphics on the television. My eyes zoomed in on the bump on her stomach that got bigger by the day. In there swam my sibling that I've been asking since the tender age of four.

"You didn't have to make me tea." She said taking the white mug that contained ginger tea, her favourite.

I smiled and sat by the open space on the same couch.

I had to make her tea regardless of what she said. She was due in less than a week and dad had asked that I didn't stress her out. My first instinct was that she needed some tea and I've been making her everyday for the past month.

"I'm so lucky to have you as a daughter."

"Parce que je t'ai fait du thé? [Because I made you tea?]"I laughed.

She sent me a playful look along with a lingering smile that never went away. My mother always smiled and it made me wonder if she was human. There was no way someone could always be joyful. It was even more weird since she was pregnant and women are usually supposed to be hormonal during pregnancy.

But that didn't mean that my mom did not react over small things. Last week I finished the ice cream clueless that it was my mother's. She cried, right in front of me and I didn't know what to do. She even passed down my offer of buying a new tub. From that day onwards there were sticking notes all over the contents in the fridge.

"Non, la plupart des enfants de votre âge ne parlent même plus à leur mère. Ils préfèrent sortir et socialiser avec leur copains plutôt que leur famille. [No, most kids you're age don't even talk to their mothers anymore. They would rather go out and socialise with their friends than their family.]"

"You always stay home, do what you're told to do and more. I know that this little one will be lucky to have you as a big sister." She said the last part to the being growing inside her.

I could easily go to a party if I had a social life but no one knew that. It was better she didn't worry that her daughter was a troubled kid who got bullied on a weekly basis. Thank goodness it wasn't everyday.

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"I told you, it's a surprise." I rolled my eyes at her response. I always asked the same question.

"It's a girl right?" I asked.

She made a move as if she was zipping her lips. "Not saying anything. Stop asking 'cause I won't tell you. Don't even think about asking your father because he doesn't know."

"Smart move." She knew that if dad knew then I would find out somehow. Dad and I were close and he told me everything. He couldn't keep secrets from me even a simple a surprise. This was the reason why mom kept surprises from us.