“Mama, why do you always follow Papa around so much? You act like his servant”, little Amara asked her mother. The question popped up in her mind while she was getting her hair done. Jet black, wavy, and thick but couldn't be tamed by her tiny arms.

The elder woman with the same hair chuckled as she combs her daughter’s mane, “Well, the job of a wife is to be devoted to her husband. Help him whenever there's a chance. Be with him through thick and thin” She finished off with a braided crown resting on her head, just like the princess she was.

Amara turned to face her mother and replied, “But Mama, my friends’ mom at school are not like that. They’re always talking to the device in their ears and looking at their watch. They’re not like Mama”

The woman kneeled down to face the confused princess and said, “That’s because our families are different. Mama, grandma, great-grandma, and all the way up to your oldest grandma have always followed this duty as a wife”

“Hehe, you said duty”, giggled Amara. The mother replied with a gentle smile.

Amara stood up from her seat with the help of her mother hands. Her face know the same height her kneeling mother and asked, “Will that mean me too? Will I be helping my husband too and be able to be as happy as Mama and Papa?”

“Of course. The unconditional love we give to our husband will be given back to us”, said as she stood up and gazed at her little princess.

Amara was then picked up and embraced. The smell of her mothers natural scent with the meadow fragrance from her clothes flew in Amara's nose. The smell making her snuggle in her mother's embrace. “But that'll be when you're older. My little princess is still too young to think about husbands and marriage", her mother claimed.

"And I bet your father would be bawling his eyes out when I mention this topic", she muttered underneath her breath. Amara hummed in question, not hearing what she said.

"Nothing", her mother replied.

The sound of door interrupted. The door revealed the maid who was the culprit. "Madam, the Sir has arrived home"

"Papa! Papa's home! Let's go Mama. I want to ask him for a kitten. Let's go! Let's go!", Amara exclaimed as she thrashed in her mother's hold, eager to see her father.

“A kitten?”

“Yeah! Papa said if I did good on my final test he would buy mw a kitten. And I want a gray fuzzy kitten. Like the one on the cat food commercial we see on T.V.”, Amara blurted out.

“Really? If we do get one, what should we name it?”, the mother asked

“Abu¹!”

“Abu? As in grey in our language? But what if it’s a girl? Abu is boy name is it not?”, the woman pondered in thought.

Amara rambled on, “It can be for a boy and a girl, Mama. I’m going to buy a lot of toys for them, brush their fur, cradle them to sleep, play with them, feed them yummy snacks, an-“

"Alright, alright. Be patient, my princess. Let’s go see your Papa" The woman chuckled and walked to the entrance with her daughter in arms.

Their voices fading away in the background, replaced by the sound of her name being called.

"Lady Amara. Lady Amara. Lady Amara!", her body being shook. Amara groggily opened her eyes, still recapturing what has happened. A dream. It was only a dream.

 After a few moments she sat up, still half asleep. Amara looked to the left side of her bed and saw Silvia, the maid who had been with her since birth.

Silvia was like a second mother to her. Being there during her first squeal, first crawl, first word, and first walk. Supporting Amara from the background when her mother isn’t there, especially now after both her parents’ passing.

Amara recalled the dream of her mother from her childhood. A memory that has become one of the constant dreams she has ever since her parents’ passing. A sigh slipped out of her mouth. She glanced at clock, still 6 o’ clock. She turned towards the window to the right side of her bed. Basking in the morning sunlight, Amara viewed the sight of New York’s many landscapes she become too familiar with.

“Was it another dream of Madam, Lady Amara?”, Silvia interrupted.

Still gazing at the view, Amara answered, “Yeah. I guess that’s the 22nd time in a row now” Amara turned back and stared down at her hands as she fumbled with the violet silk sheets.

Silvia sat down beside Amara and whispered in a soft voice, “It’s alright Lady Amara. You still have me have me here beside you”

“I have prepared a bath for my Lady”, Silvia said as she stood up from the bed.

Amara hummed in response and headed towards the bathroom. She saw the bath that was prepared by Silvia. A familiar fragrance danced in the damp air. Another memory came into mind, she recalled having a bath together with her mother in the morning when she was too lazy to bathe by herself. Her mother would sit behind her combing her fingers through her hair as she told stories of her own childhood and the life she had before Amara was born.

She slipped out of her night clothes and stepped in the bath that was too big for one person. She soaked her body and recalled all the events happened in the last 2 months.

First it was her father who had died while on a business trip to Japan 2 months ago. A tragic plane accident caused by a thunderstorm that killed almost everyone but leaving 34 survivors, and her father not being one of them. Then it was her cat, Abu. He died because of old age, being with Amara since she was 7 till the day she became 25 on the 16th of April. And it was one of the worst birthdays Amara has experienced. Lastly it was her mother who passed away 22 days ago. Dying from exhaustion because of the amount of work she had to do in her husband’s stead.

Amara curled up in her place, realizing again the pain of losing her dear ones. A lone tear escaping her eyes.

 After a good 40 minutes, Amara stood up and wore her bathrobe out to get bedroom. There she sees Silvia waiting for her presence in front her vanity.

“My Lady”, Silvia said in a soothing voice, she combed and dried Amara’s hair as soon as she sits down on the chair.

“Today I have made you your favorite for breakfast, nasi goreng². Then Mr. Mandino will drive you to work as usual”

A small frown made its way to Amara’s face. Thinking about the past days eating alone in the grand dining room that was once filled with the chattering of her family, “Can you join me for breakfast Ms. Silvia?”

“I believe I can’t do that my Lady. You know how it is, I still have to do the other chores”, the elderly woman responded.

Amara responded with a sigh. She waited for Silvia to finish doing her hair. Styling her hair that had reached her hips was too much of a job for Amara herself, so she would do her own makeup instead.

Half an hour has passed and Amara was done. Amara looked in the mirror to see her reflection. She looks like a spitting image of her mother but with eyes of her father and longer hair.

“I’ll be downstairs my Lady”, Silvia said

Amara stood up from the vanity and walked into her closet. She chose a baby blue formal with a short slit on her leg. She grabbed her bag and keys and headed downstairs to the garage.

There, she is met by Mr. Mandino, who has been he father’s chauffer since the early days. “Good morning Lady Amara”, he greeted her as he opened the car door. “To the office?”

“Yes, to the office we go”, Amara instructed.

*****

¹ Abu means the color in Indonesian

² Nasi goreng means fried rice in Indonesian

Amara enters the towering skyscraper that has the sign “Cerdas Corporation”. The receptionists of the front desks stood up and greeted her, “Good Morning Ms. Amara”. She nodded in response. Amara made way to the elevator and pressed the up button and waited for the elevator. She scrolls on her phone and reads the latest news in The New York Times app to pass time.

Meanwhile, the sounds of footsteps could be heard. A tall shadow inching forward behind Amara’s back, tip toeing stealthy towards her. Amara, still not noticing the approaching figure looks up at the elevator sign, wondering when it will come. She finally notices the huge figure shadowing her and sensing it's presence. Just as Amara looks back-

“BOO!”, a man screamed right front of her face. The poor girl felt so startled, she dropped her phone and tripped from her heels.

Just as she was about to land flat on the ground, muscular arms quickly slid around her thin waist. The man pulled her towards his rock hard body, preventing her from falling. She gazed up to see Damian, her senior co-worker. Their face inches away from each other. Her plump peach lips barely touching the lips below his short prickled beard.

He quickly stood up and helped her up. "Geez, Damian don't scare me like that", Amara pouted as she looked at the handsome Latino man.

Damian chuckled, “Sorry, hermosa¹. I didn’t think you would so surprised like that”, he apologized in his husky Spanish accent as he picked up her cell phone from the ground.

“Lies. You always like to scare me like that Damian”, Amara pouted again and received her cell phone.

“Well yes that’s true. But its because your reactions are hilarious”, he cooed. “Anyway, you look beautiful as usual señorita²”. Flirting with women, especially Amara was something usual, so she paid no attention to it.

“Why, thank you Mr. Damian”, Amara replied. She looked at Damian, and all she can say is wow.

Even though Damian is always dressed ravishing in a professional way, she could tell he put more effort to it today. His 6’1 figure was complemented with a crisp navy 3 piece suit with an icy blue dress shirt and completed with a denim blue and white tie. His golden tan face with his shirt stubble and dark brown curly hair was a beauty of course. It could make many woman fall to their feet. And Amara has seen it before, literally.

Ding

The sound of elevator snapped Amara from her gaze. They waited for the elevator to empty out, as people scrambled their way out.

Amara and Damian stepped in the elevator and he pressed the 27the floor button. “So what’s the occasion today?”, asked Amara.

“Ahh, I see you can tell by my outfit. I can feel your beautiful eyes on me. Have you fallen for me yet?”, Damian questioned as flashed his one million dollar smile and wiggled his brows at her in a jokingly manner.

Amara seems unfazed as usual and replied, “Well, I can just tell”

“Didn’t Mr. Santoso tell you"

"About what?", she questioned

"About the meeting with Hewcroft Industries today?”, he said.

The meeting! She had forgotten the deal was today. How can she forget about the most important agenda of this month, even though she had put several reminders on her phone and calendar.

Judging the look of Amara’s face, Damian knew instantly. “How can you forget about today?”

“You know, just- Just a lot things happened in these 2 months. I was so busy I forgot about today. But luckily, I finished the documents and have it in my computer. I can print it out after this”, Amara said as she tried to smile.

Damian furrowed his brows and a worried expression appeared on his face. He asked, “Is something wrong, hermosa?"

There was a short pause. She fumbled with her fingers and answered, "Yeah it's nothing. I'm totally fine" But her voice slightly cracked, making it less believable.

Damian fully turned his body to face Amara while he lightly gripped her shoulders and stared into her eyes, "You know, if you need anything. And I mean anything at all. I’m always here for you, hermosa”

Amara felt touched by Damian’s worried, but also slightly confused about the gaze Damian has given her. A gaze that she had seen in romance movies where the male lead shows his affection towards the female lead. But, she quickly brushed the thought off as she thought it was impossible.

She smiled back and said, “Thank you Damian. I’ll tell you when I have time”

In that moment, Damian gazed into Amara’s hazel eyes, seeing her beautiful eyes become dull. She had slight dark bags under them and her slim shoulders being too thin for his desire. Her long jet black hair still luscious as before as they rest on her hips, making him want to embrace her if he can. Despite the change, she was still beautiful in his eyes.

The lonely appearance of Amara right now threatened the bundled up feelings Damian had for her to burst out of its cage. He realized that this was the moment. This was the moment Damian had to confess the love he had for the past 3 years.

As soon he opened up his mouth,-

Ding

The sound of the elevator interrupted again. Damian cursed the elevator under his breath for ruining his confession.

“Damian?”, Amara asked softly.

“Yes, hermosa?”, he answered.

“Umm, you can let go of me now. We need to get out before the elevator closes” she said. They can feel gazes of their coworkers on them as they stood in the elevator for a minute straight. He looked at the stares with his pissed off eyes, and they quickly averted their gaze and went back to work.

“Ah, right. Let’s go”, Damian said as if nothing happened. He leaded the way to their desks.

They walked along the aisles of desk and parted ways to their designated spots, "See you at lunch, hermosa", he said as he winked goodbye.

She giggled in response. But felt a strong death stare from somewhere. She looked around to see who it was, but everyone was glued to their work. Amara arrived at her desk and sat on her chair, the sign “Divisional Sales Manager” greeted her.

She searched for the documents needed for the conference in her computer. The sound of her name being called was heard. A woman with shoulder length auburn hair wearing a tight fitted black dress called her, “Amara, Mr. Santoso is calling you to his office”

“Okay, thank you Janice”, Amara said. Janice replied with a roll of her eyes and sneer as she strutted back to her desk.

Baffled by her attitude, she sighed. After all these years, she still wouldn’t figure out why Janice reacted that way to her, "Another day, another problem”

*****

¹ Hermosa means beautiful in Spanish

² Señorita means Miss, as in unmarried woman

“Alright. Alright. I’ll tell her after this. With this we come to an agreement, right?”, Mr. Santoso said the person on the phone, the other agreed in response.

Knock knock knock

The sound of the door alerted him of the person’s presence. “She’s here. I’ll call you back later” He turned off the phone and welcomed the person inside, “Come in”

The door opened and Amara steps inside. “Hello, good morning”, she greeted the president of Cerdas Corporation, Mr. Santoso, also known as Abah¹, her grandfather.

The sight of an elderly Indonesian man that had slight tan skin compared to Amara, sitting in a chair dressed in a vest and maroon dress suit with a striped wine red tie. His suit is seen hugging the chair he's sitting on.

He was sitting behind a grand window that had the view of New York City. With his hands crossed to get her on top a table and his a professional but stern look, it gave off the final boss vibe or the strict CEO vibe.

She greeted him in the traditional Indonesian way with salim². With her right hand, she grabbed his elderly right hand and kissed his hand with her nose as she slightly bowed. She let go of his hand and quickly tapped the right hand to her body as a form of “receiving” his blessing.

He pointed at the sofa near his desk and Amara made her way to sit on it. The man stood up from his position as he strided to sofa with dignity. His 5'10 body not slouching in the slightest when walking, unlike Amara.

Mr. Santoso sat on gracefully, folding his legs in front of him. He picked up the cup of tea that was placed on the table made by his assistant.

Amara waited a few moments for her grandfather to speak. She tucked in the loose hair behind her ear, an action she does when she is nervous. She sat there, copying her Abah's sitting gesture, making sure to correct her sitting position, while agonizing in silence.

“My granddaughter, Amara”, his voice bellowed. She stiffened at his tone when calling her name. He stared straight at her, analyzing her appearance and movement.

“Yes, Abah?”, feeling frightened to hear his comments.

Abah was a firm believer in discipline and believed that a man should live in discipline. So he did everything with prestige and did it with no mistakes. He would give a short but agonizing lecture that can pierce a person’s heart if things didn’t go his way. After all, he didn’t take no for an answer.

“If your talking about the documents for the meeting later, its being printe-“

Mr. Santoso nodded his head in refusal. “It’s not about the papers”

“Then?...”

He sipped his tea again again for a few moments, as if stalling to answer.

“Do you have anyone special to you right now?”, this question caught Amara off guard a little. The man who always talked when necessary, asked about her love life. Her love life. Amara wondered if the sky be raining money tomorrow.

“Umm, no one in particular Abah”, for a moment the face of Damian popped up. But Amara quickly shook off the thought.

“Then do you want someone to accompany you. As in a companion for the rest of your life”, with this question she had bad feeling appearing in the back of her mind.

Amara pondered about this question for a moment. Of course the thought of marriage came into mind. Especially after the last 2 months feeling alone whenever she arrived home. She wanted to feel comforted and make loneliness go away, as it was a feeling she dreaded.

She wondered about the situation and what made Abah bring this topic up? Nonetheless, she answered, “I do Abah. Being by someone’s side, helping them, comforting them, and loving them. That’s what I ideally want, especially when I become a wife.”

Amara then remembered her mother who had become the ideal woman she wanted to be. Small tears started to form as she reminisced the memory of her mother. She holds back her tears, not wanting to show her emotions. “Just like Mama”, she whispered.

With this, it seems that Mr. Santoso made an assuring gesture in his mind. A few moments went by as he waited for Amara to regain her composure. He then dismissed her, “Alright, you are free to go”

Amara nodded and made her way to salim with her Abah as she parted. She opened the door but her the call of name made her stop, “Rara”, the nickname her Abah called her since she was a child.

She turned to look at her grandfather, “Stay safe”, he said with normal gaze but slight softened eyes “And you know I do want the best for you okay” Amara nodded in responses and exited the office.

But the bad feeling she had was still lingering in the back of her mind. Something is going to happen.

*****

¹ Abah means grandfather in Sundanese (a dialect language in Indonesia)

² Salim is a way Indonesians greet others (handshakes). This greeting is especially used when greeting an elder or someone older than you in general as a sign of respect