SUSPICIOUS

It was a beautiful morning and Angela was preparing some pancakes for breakfast. She was alone in the caking as usual.

No one was there to help nor keep her company. The only person who can do that was married.

Although she always tries her best to have a good time with Mrs. Celina, yet, Angela won't be satisfied with Mrs. Celina's company because they weren't in the same class.

Their discussion doesn't take an hour like the way she does with Ruby when she was around.

However, Mrs. Celina was going through depression and Angela couldn't bear seeing her in such a condition all the time. It makes her cry.

She tries to comfort Mrs. Celina all the time, but Angela always gets discouraged because it was all in vain as Mrs. Celina never gets relief.

"Good morning, ma'am," Angela greeted after turning around and saw Aunt Elisa standing at the door.

"Good morning, Angela. How was your night?" Aunt Elisa responded with a smile as she gestured towards Angela.

" My night was spectacular," Angela answered as she buried her face in the ground.

Angela was trying to maintain a smiling expression, but it was tough to do that. She was unsettled because Aunt Elisa never smiles at her, nor does she come to check on her in the kitchen.

There must be something wrong somewhere…

"I can see." Aunt Elisa muttered as she studied the already-made pancakes.

Aunt Elisa turned around and said," Angela, can you please do me a favor?"

" It's always my pleasure, ma'am," Angela responded as she slightly bowed down.

Aunt Elisa nodded with a curved smile on her lips. She moved closer to where Angela was standing. Aunt Elisa stood in front of Angela and crossed her arms and said," help me arrange my bed. It's looking so messy."

" Alright, ma'am. But I would like to serve Ruby's mom before doing anything else." she pleaded.

" Do what I ask you to do, Angela if you don't want me to get angry at you this morning." Aunt Elisa warned.

Out of fear, Angela rushed out of the kitchen and headed to Aunt Elisa's room.

The reason was that Aunt Elisa's mood was about to change. Anger was about to replace her smiling face.

' Never in my life have I ever seen Aunt Elisa smiling at me this much. The last time I remember seeing her smile was the day she picked me up from the street. Apart from that day, she hasn't smiled at me.

Even when she smiles, it's always a devilish smile. I just hope all is well today. Because I'm beginning to suspect her behavior this morning. She must be up to something, but what?

Again, this is the first day she's waking up very early. To top it up, this is also the first time she came to check on me in the kitchen. She never does that, but why now? Something is wrong somewhere…'

Angela thought as she walked towards Aunt Elisa's room.

She entered the room and what she saw shocked her to her bone. Everything seems strange today.

' I can't remember Aunt Elisa being a kid. Why is the room looking so scattered?' Angela wondered as she stood in awe.

Why she had the feeling that something was wrong and what it is, is what she can't tell. Everything about Aunt Elisa looks strange that morning.

Everything…

Angela lazily walked into the room and started arranging it. This is not her daily routine.

The first thing to do every morning was to serve breakfast before doing anything else. Why change the routine?

After a few minutes of cleaning the room, Angela went back to the kitchen. To her amazement, Aunt Elisa had arranged breakfast for everyone, including hers.

Angela stood at the kitchen entrance for a few minutes as she closely watched Aunt Elisa moving up and down in the kitchen.

" I'm done, ma'am," Angela informed and Aunt Elisa jumped in fear.

" Hush…" Aunt Elisa sighs in relief as she places her palms on her forehead and shuts her eyes.

" You scared me, Angela," she muttered before settling down.

" I'm sorry, ma'am. I never meant to do that." Angela pleaded as she maintained her gaze on the ground.

" It's okay. But how long have you been here?" she inquired.

" I…" Angela paused and thought of something before replying," I just came in." She lied.

" Thank Goodness," Aunt Elisa muttered.

" Is anything the matter, ma'am?"

" No… No… Nothing. I'm just wondering how fast you finished cleaning the mess in my room. I don't know how I messed up the room that much."

Aunt Elisa responded as she focused on what she was doing earlier before Angela came into the kitchen. Silence reigned amidst them for a few minutes.

" Thank you for the help, ma'am. I would like to take over from here." Angela appreciated it with a faint smile.

" Don't worry about that. I wanted to prepare today's breakfast, but I couldn't wake up earlier. So, I should be thanking you for starting it."

" Alright, ma'am."

" Yeah. Please go tell Ruby's mom to come out for breakfast." Aunt Elisa informed and Angela nodded and responded," alright, ma'am, I would do just that."

' Am I dreaming? What did I see Aunt Elisa doing in the kitchen?' Angela wondered.

She walked up to Mrs. Celina's room and gently knocked.

" Angela, is that you?" Mrs. Celina responded from inside.

" Yes, mom," Angela answered.

" Hold on for a second, I'm coming."

" Okay, mom."

Angela responded as she patiently waited for Mrs. Celina to open the door for her. After waiting for a few minutes, the door finally opened.

" I'm here, Angela." Mrs. Celina said as she stood at the doorpost.

" Good morning, mom." Angela greeted.

" Good morning, Angela, and how was your night?"

" It was okay, mom. How was yours?"

" As usual, as you can see." Mrs. Celina responded with a smirk.

She always has sleepless nights, and she can't tell why. But Angela often said she was overthinking and stressing herself. She was always worried, and it robbed her of her sleep.

" Mom, stop stressing yourself about all these things. It's not good for your health. Always have faith that it will be fine one day. Worrying about all these things won't help." Angela advised.

" Let's not start another argument this early morning." Mrs. Celina smirked.

" Hmm… Alright, breakfast is ready, can you come to the dining table?" Angela's gentle voice echoed.

" Sure. Lead the way," Mrs. Celina responded as she stepped out of the room to follow Angela to the dining table for the meal.

" You must be hungry," Angela spoke with a chuckle.

" Hungry as hell. I can't believe that I ate dinner yesterday. My Tommy is empty like an abandoned ATM."

" Hahaha…" Angela laughed out loud, and they walked to the dining room.

" Here. Have a seat, let me bring your breakfast," Angela spoke with a smile on her face.

" Okay, darling. Be fast about it." Mrs. Celina responded as she smiled back at Angela.

" I will," Angela replied before heading to the kitchen.

Angela took the dishes that were prepared by Aunt Elisa, which contained Mrs. Celina's meal, only. After taking the dishes, she stepped out of the kitchen and gestured toward the dining room and Aunt Elisa followed behind hers.

Surprisingly, something terrible happened. Angela slipped on the tiles and violently fell to the ground, making everything that she held in her hand's splash and scatter on the ground.

Out of anger, Aunt Elisa dropped the dishes she held in her hand on the dining table and went up to Angela, who was groaning on the floor.

" How dare you do this?!" she shouted at Angela as she gave her a dirty slap on the face.

" Enough of this nonsense, Elisa." Mrs. Celina yelled as she was aroused in anger.