Episodes 87. Sorrowful Queen of Fighter Pt.9

Point of View: Erika Rahmana

I'm currently alone with my mother. Rasyid, who helped me get here, is out with Tesi and his son, getting some fresh air.

I hope he doesn't do anything strange; lately, his behavior has been getting weirder. he's becoming more open than before, but Rasyid, who used to be normal, now seems strange to me.

Forget about that man; right now, I'm facing the person who betrayed me and my family.

As Rasyid said, what do I want to do when meeting my mother?

"E-Erika... Are you here to... to... seek revenge?!" My mother's voice trembles with fear.

But, right now, there's nothing she can do in front of me. She is just lying there and can't do anything even if I come to hurt her.

"N-No, mom... I just want to meet with you..." As I expected, when I say that, my mouth feels heavy and I'm short of breath.

A simple sentence, but difficult to say, that's what I'm experiencing right now.

"Just to meet me? You're naive as always, Erika..." She stares at the ceiling of her room.

She seems to be provoking me, trying to make me angry.

Mother, what's really going on with you?

"If you want to make me angry, now is not the time!" Unintentionally, carried away by emotion, I address her with the informal 'you'.

Hearing how I address her, she laughs through her nose and smiles wryly. She seems to have anticipated this.

"'You'... My own daughter calls her mother 'you'?" Her laughter might be can be heard by Rasyid and Tesi who outside now. "From the way you speak, it's clear you want to avenge the past, don't you!"

"No-no-(cut off by her)

"Don't lie!" She tries to rise from her bed. "I've seen many types of people in this world, and I've analyzed them one by one, the result..." Her old face is brought close to mine, her breath entering my nostrils.

"Your way of speaking is just like that boy's," she says as if chewing gum.

"That boy?!" Who is she referring to?

Her hand is raised as if surrendering to my question. "Of course, who else but your two brothers!"

Hearing that, my eyes widen, and my spine feels tingling with something.

"What do you mean-(cut off) What mother mean by suddenly mentioning them?" I'm becoming more confused; she never mentioned anything about them before.

"They both share the same way of life as you do now. As suspected by that man(Erika's Father), his toxicity virus has carried over to the next generation..." This time, she says something unforgivable.

If she insults me, mocks me, spits on me, or even slaps me, I wouldn't mind. But if she refers to my father and brothers as the sources of the problem, then, a simple apology won't be enough to forgive her.

My anger merges, like water boiling to make coffee; right now, within me, there's water that can turn hot if someone keeps heating it up with their words. And right now, that water is boiling.

My body feels heavy; I can't even lift my head. All I can see now are the ceramic floors of this cheaply made room.

"Mother... You out of limit..."

Ahh... I tried to hold it back, but it's unbearable now. My body feels hot and boiling.

But...

"Yes, I know... I said something terrible, something that even a kid as mature as you would find distressing," her words shift my anger.

"Huh?" Now, I'm stunned, looking at her.

She wants to give me a riddle, but I don't understand it at all.

What does she mean?

"If you want to finish me off, now is the right time," she suddenly says.

"If you want to torture me, now is the time."

"If you want to insult me, now is also the time."

"Now, it's up to you to decide what you'll choose... Erika."

She suddenly says something complex, somewhat understandable. But what does she mean by finish off, torture, and insult?!

"Y-You... Why suddenly like this?!" This isn't right; she should be making me angrier like before.

Keep insulting me, and let me get lots of arrows in my heart until you're satisfied.

She looks at the photo on the table beside the bed. The photo contains her, Tesi, and her two children.

"However, Erika is my daughter... Whatever how much I try to forget you." She says, caressing the glass of the photo frame.

"If I want to insult you or even that man(Erika's Father), I don't deserve it..." She looks back at me, but now she seems very weak and helpless. "Remember that time, I sold you to save myself..."

She talks about that dark time, which I don't even want to remember anymore.

"When I fled, I kept running aimlessly... And ended up falling into a deep abyss."

"In that abyss, I kept telling myself, this is all karma."

Note: The abyss referred to here is the dark side of the city.

"Karma for abandoning my family... While filling the guests' drinks... I kept thinking... Thinking about the fate of a daughter I left behind, who must be suffering now..."

"At that time, I thought you had become a puppet or a plaything for that CEO, but fate had other plans..."

"Your name... Erika Rahmana, appeared on the new bar's TV screen..."

"The Undefeatable Queen of Fighters."

"Unconsciously, after hearing the news about your whereabouts, I searched for articles about you from newspapers to magazines, I searched for everything about you..."

"While searching for those things, I realized upon one thing... I missed my daughter." A tear fell from her eyes. "I miss you~"

After a long story, my mother stands up from her bed and walks to the wardrobe far from the bed. Her steps were heavy because of how weak her body was.

"Let me help you," I ask, holding her arm.

"Hmm (nodding)..."

We both walk together to the tall wardrobe.

Her steps are a bit slow, but I can't scold her; she's so weak now, even with Anitya's help.

'Maybe if it weren't for Anitya, then my has been mother...' Suddenly, a bad thought enters my mind, but I quickly shake my head.

Whatever happens, I must resist my negative thoughts.

Tak TAK TAK TAK...

The sound of our slow footsteps accompanies each of our steps.

When we reach the wardrobe...

"Release it..." My mother lets go of my hand and grabs the handles of the wooden wardrobe, eaten by termites.

CRACK!

As it's opened, there's nothing stunning or chilling inside.

Inside this wardrobe are just clothes hung neatly.

But after that, my mother's hand reaches for something in her pocket.

When it's taken out, a small key appears from her pocket. She points the key towards a small drawer inside the wardrobe and...

CRACK!

The smaller drawer opens, revealing something.

This time, I truly shiver and tremble.

What's inside the drawer isn't something impressive, but just a book...

As I look at the book, my mother points at it with her five fingers, signaling my hand to open it by myself.

My hand moves like a slow internet, sluggish but steady... My fingers reach for the object.

The object feels cold and full of beautiful memories.

CLICK!

I turn the cover of the book, revealing the first page.

There are pictures of me winning the Championship at that time.

From me holding the trophy, my smiling face, to me shaking hands with Fredrica, it's all in this book.

My mother wasn't lying when she said she searched for me, she even missed me.

I thought she was happy with Tesi now, but in reality, she was just running away.

Running away from her past.

But, those who run away from their past will only be haunted by it...

It is just like that teacher, trying to escape but ending up blowing up the school.

What my mother is experiencing now is the same as mine, she's haunted by guilt for leaving me frozen with that company.

My fingers keep flipping through the pages until the last page, a new photo stuck to the lined paper catches my eye.

"This?" I reflexively ask, surprised.

My mother doesn't say anything, just nods, a bit sad.

"This photo was taken when I became a supervisor for the new teachers," I explained it to my mother.

"Oh, I see. When I looked at that photo, I felt happy... Because among all the photos there... This one showed your true smile..." My mother smiles mischievously at me.

I just give her a sour smile upon hearing her comment on this photo.

"But, this photo indeed holds special memories." I look back at the photo.

It shows me scowling at 'that teacher'. But I didn't expect if 'that teacher' was already smiling since he first entered.

Even though the smile he put on was fake, it was comforting for me.

Seeing myself and him progressing to change, it makes me feel relieved.

"Ehmm (clearing throat)..." My mother startles me, bringing me back to reality.

"Eh?! Forgive me, I forgot..." I give my thin smile to her who now has wrinkled.

She responds to my thin smile with a wide smile. "It seems like he changed you... He had a positive influence on you." Hearing praise from my mother, for some reason, makes me happy.

"But..." The atmosphere suddenly becomes cold and silent. "You should stay away from them..."

That word freezes me. "What does mother mean?!"

"I don't know, but my motherly intuition says, he will bring disaster upon you!" Her glaring gaze at 'that man' leaves me speechless.

What does that mean?

But, as long as I've reconciled with her (my mother), that's enough.

My purpose in coming here was just that, not to ask for advice.

The disaster in that man is no longer a secret to me; he's a walking nuclear bomb in this city.