Chapter 16: I Want To Jump

There once was a time when Mina's hours were cut after the factory where she worked brought in hi-tech machinery to offset the number of employees. During that time, she had just enough money to cover her rent but not enough to eat.

After two days of not eating, she could no longer take the hunger, so she snuck into the kitchen of a nearby restaurant and pretended to be a new dishwasher. When she was sure no one was looking, Mina helped herself to a few bites of food that may have been leftovers from the previous business day. She only did that when she had to, but she was eventually caught by the restaurant's owner.

The woman dragged Mina out of her kitchen by her hair, and Mina pleaded for forgiveness. Some of the kitchen staff tried to intervene on Mina's behalf. They said that they knew the girl was not supposed to be in the kitchen, but she did not beg, and she worked hard, so they did not stop her. They said that they left food out for her that was personally paid for by the staff and that Mina never stole food - that part was a lie.

The kitchen staff enjoyed Mina's presence and enjoyed hearing her tell them interesting stories about the business sector in Scal. She was pretty and listening to her speak helped the time pass by quickly. They told their boss that their work environment became much less chaotic after they followed some of Mina's suggestions.

After letting them speak, Mina smiled up at the woman clasping her hair, before telling her that she only wanted to help her fellow woman. The restaurant owner knew Mina was being sweet mouthed, but she could not deny that there had been small improvements in the kitchen that helped efficiency. She had believed her staff had finally clicked and worked as a team for the good of the restaurant. Now, she was finding out that the waif in front of her was responsible for the change.

The woman decided to let Mina go with a warning and told her that if she were hungry all she had to do was ask. When the woman let go of her hair, Mina asked for her name, but the woman did not speak. Mina put her finger to her lip and playfully said she would call her 'Lady Boss'. The woman turned back with a scowl on her face, she was not serious, but Mina still scampered away like a puppy. She knew she could not hire Mina. The girl's picture was literally handed to her, and she was warned. The young girl had been blacklisted for life. She pitied the little imp, but she did not want to offend the Arden family.

From that day on, Mina could freely walk into the kitchen of her lady boss and get something to eat. She helped wherever she could, and she made sure to keep herself out of sight. It was all she could do to survive and over the next four years, her lady boss's kindness kept her fed when she could not afford to feed herself. That type of trouble was normal for Mina, but she was good at making people like her, and she was always let go with a warning.

Mina started to think about her sister who helped her remove her shell. She thought about her parents losing their daughter and then she thought about her parents losing the only child they had left. She found that while her memories were being triggered, she could not push down thoughts of Miss Maggie. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that everything started with Miss Maggie, and who names their daughter Maggie?

Mina stood up from the bed in anger, felt a stab of pain in her lower body and felt even more aggrieved. That was right. Everything had all started with Miss Maggie. Yes, she had allowed it to escalate by not using her common sense. Yes, she could have just asked her professors why she should skip ten questions, but why should she have had to?

It was true that she did not consider the real-world consequences, but her entire focus was toward being the best, so she could put out the best, and then give her parents the best. Now, what was there to give her parents besides another funeral?

When her sister left them, Mina's parents recovered quickly, but she knew it would be different for her. She was not blameless, but Miss Maggie was truly the catalyst to every terrible thing that was happening to her in the present.

Lost in thought, Mina casually walked over to the window of her room, and guessed it was around 7PM. She looked behind her and did not see or hear anyone, so she tried to open the window and much to her surprise it opened. She looked down and considered jumping.

First, Mina leaned her body out of the window, but fear made her pull her body back. She then tried to casually fall out of the window, but she managed to catch herself. The truth was that she really did not want to die, but she did not want to be tortured. To her, dying quickly would be a better choice.

Mina was looking over the window ledge while doing some internal calculations. She was talking to herself as she flung one leg out of the window, but then changed her mind about the position.

"What are you trying to do?"

"I want to jump, if I don't land the right way but the height from here is not great enough to kill on impact. I am trying to figure out the right position to fall."

"Have you tried going out head first?"

"I did but I wasn't able to push myself out of fear. Besides, I might rotate in the air and land on my back." Mina was having a conversation with someone, but she did not realize. That sort of thing happened to her often, especially when her sister was still around. "If I land on my back, there are two possible outcomes. The first is that I live, but I would most likely be disabled. The second is that I die from my injuries after suffering for a while. I want to die instantly."

"Then you'll need to run and jump. If you do that, you can land flat on your face. The impact would shatter your skull and the fragments would pierce your brain." Mina considered the suggestion and nodded her head in agreement. She walked backward a few steps before she realized that she was not talking to herself anymore. She looked up and President Lee was standing in the doorway.