Reunited

She turned her head. Her movement was lightning-quick. She leapt seven feet in the air aiming for his neck.

Sineas did not remember ever being hugged this tightly before. She squeezed him while she cried.

'Oh, my boy, my baby boy! Sin, my baby!'

'I think I'll leave you two alone,' Beth said before she stepped outside. She closed the door behind her.

'How have you been, mama?' he asked her as soon as she released her anaconda vice grip. She had not changed much. The saggy eyelids, the weary shadows beneath her eyes and her beauty. She still had it all. After a decade she was still the mother he remembered.

'How have I been? How have I been?!' She clapped her hands, her face drenched in tears. She was smiling from ear to ear. She sat down on the sofa, cross-legged. She sighed and pinched his cheek. 'I'm still alive, my boy. As you can see, your mother is still alive.'

'Mama, you've been in here for eleven years! Surely you've recovered.'

She laughed as she turned her gaze to the ceiling. 'Sin, to recover from something means you had to be suffering from something in the first place. I've passed all of their countless "crazy tests" and yet every week they continue to pump drugs down my throat. Antidepressants, Sineas. Anti-freaking-depressants! The only thing depressing me is the fact that they're holding me in here for no reason!' She slammed her fist into the sofa in anger.

'But why, mama?'

'Who knows, my boy? I've already given up trying to pass their tests. It's like they want me to die in here.'

He placed a hand on her shoulder. 'It's okay, mama. We'll figure something out.'

She smiled too as she wiped her face free of tears. 'And how have you been doing, my son?' she asked him.

'I don't think there's anything worth mentioning. Aunt Janice had me home-schooled from since I was seven until last year. Now I'm at Malrich High School. She wants me to make it to college next year.'

'Does she now?' Her expression turned salty as she looked in front of her.

Sineas noticed it. 'Mama; why is it that you and Aunt Janice never see eye-to-eye?'

'Did she tell you why she has never visited me, ever?'

He shook his head. 'I figured she was, I mean…'

'Sin, your aunt has always had a problem with me. It's like she has always hated me and I still don't know why. Everything I set my mind to, she claimed she could do it better and she tried to. She always tried to outdo me at everything. Our parents, your grandparents, were always troubled by it. They just wanted her to be herself, to stop trying to be me. She had no idea how much I loved her and how much I wanted what was best for her. As the older sister that was my duty. That was my obligation towards her. But somehow, my success became a problem for her.'

'How so?'

She smiled and turned her eyes to him. 'So, anyway, has she been taking good care of you?'

He nodded quickly before she finished her question. 'Of course, mama. She's taken great care of me. She works at a café called Coffee Kings, in Malrich. She keeps me clothed and fed…'

'Don't let your guard down around her, Sin,' her ominous tone returned.

'But, mama…'

'She may be your aunt but I still don't trust her. Just do me and yourself a favour and keep a watch on her.'

He realised she was not joking. He nodded. 'Okay, mama.' He sighed. 'I really miss you. I miss you a lot. I just want you to come home with me. It will be like old times…'

She smiled and began massaging her knees. 'Don't you worry about me, my boy. Besides, I've been with you all this time. I'm a part of you.'

He looked towards the closed door and smiled. 'I see you've made some friends in here.'

'Of course. Spend eleven years in a place like this and you'll make one or two friends. Sometimes some of the doctors here seek my advice concerning a patient experiencing psychological issues; be it trauma, depression, bi-polar disorder and all that stuff. Exploring and decrypting the human mind to find a cure is not a joke, you see. So your mother isn't completely useless after all.'

He hugged her again.

'I just want you to continue to work hard, son. Work hard for yourself and make something of yourself. Be someone you can be proud of.'

He nodded, his chin resting cozily on her shoulder. He finally let her go. 'So, in the meantime, you'll be okay in here?'

'Of course, my boy. I've got dreams too, you know.' She sighed deeply, staring reminiscently at the opposite wall. 'A black BMW.'

He almost laughed. 'What?'

'A black BMW. I always had a thing for fast cars.'

He hugged her again. 'Stay strong, mama.'

'I will, my boy. I will.'